Generator Fuel

[JDHarrin]

I've always been a little fanatical about tracking the gas mileage in my cars. It's easy to tell when you might have a problem when the mileage dips without cause. I planned to track the RV mileage the same way, but in thinking about it last night, I guess I might not be able to. Let me know if my assumptions are correct here.


My wife and I plan to use full-service campsites sometimes and boon dock other times. When boon docking, we'll probably run the generator 12-16 hours a day due ot the heat in our area. I believe the generator pulls gas from the truck's main gas tank. If that's the case, the generator would eat up three, four or more gallons of gas per day, thereby making it impossible to track gas mileage since there's no way of knowing how much gas the generator used.


Does this sound about right?

[Morich]

Right and those small items can add up to make a campground a more practical thought. Campground when the convenience is nice and practical versus the generator so much and boondock when it fits. It takes some time to get down what works for you and varies with what we are doing for the trip purpose.

[DavidM]

It probably takes more gas than you might think to run the generator to power your A/C. The Onan QG 4000, a common gas generator installed in medium size RVs, burns half a gallon an hour at half load which is roughly what it will take to run an A/C. That is 6-8 gallons per day for 12-16 hours of running time.

That also brings up the point of running out of gas, for the generator at least. If you have a 55 gallon gas tank which most Ford E450 chassis have, then if you arrive at the campsite half full then it will run out the second day. Most RVs are plumbed so the generator can't draw below the 1/4 tank level.

So if you are planning to stay a few days, fill up first.

David

[Winterbagoal]

Originally Posted by JDHarrin

I've always been a little fanatical about tracking the gas mileage in my cars. It's easy to tell when you might have a problem when the mileage dips without cause. I planned to track the RV mileage the same way, but in thinking about it last night, I guess I might not be able to. Let me know if my assumptions are correct here.


My wife and I plan to use full-service campsites sometimes and boon dock other times. When boon docking, we'll probably run the generator 12-16 hours a day due ot the heat in our area. I believe the generator pulls gas from the truck's main gas tank. If that's the case, the generator would eat up three, four or more gallons of gas per day, thereby making it impossible to track gas mileage since there's no way of knowing how much gas the generator used.


Does this sound about right?

David's comments are pretty much what you can expect, using a gas fired QG4000 generator.
For a more exact burn rate, go to Cummins.com, and click your way through the various menus until you get the owner's manuals for the QG4000 - it should show the bench tested burn rate at 1/4, 1/2, and full load.