So my question is this.since energy is energy is energy can you explain how you can have a 10X difference in fuel consumption when there are similar efficiency losses due to both power sources being diesel powered. 41 GPH.īut like your measurements it is likely neither of us has the precision instruments necessary to obtain complete data, although my measurements of fuel purchased was as free of variables as possible since I used the same pump, the same nozzle setting and allowed the nozzle to click off and did not attempt to add more to the tank. At the end of my week long stay I filled up at the exact same fuel stop (another 2 miles) and I took on 71 gallons, or an average of. I am sure that dropped in the evenings when I was asleep and outside temps were cooler. I have no clue as to my total KWH, but most of the time I saw about 30 amps per leg. The refrigerator (full size, double door) was always on. I made coffee and in the evening I cooked on my Jenn-Air grille. In the morning I ran the dryer to dry towels after my shower. I camped 2 miles from the fuel station I topped off at so engine fuel consumption was minimal.ĭuring the 170 hours I had 3 AC units running (daytime ambients were 90 plus), my HW heater, and my inverters. I dry camped for about 170 hours two years ago. Since I have been called anal I felt compelled to respond to questions about fuel use on a 20KW Kohler. I know an idling generator uses fuel, and as the load increases so does the use of fuel. There are a ton of ways to get this done, many of them right. So what you end up with all depends on what you start with, what you want to do, and what you want to spend. It's entirely possible to run the normally small (under 40 amp) intermittant 12v loads from a 24 volt house bank (unless you get 8 volt batteries for some reason) with the equalizer. For me, that means a 24v nominal house bank, tied to the bus charging system if it is large enough, or with at least 150 amp 24v dedicated alternator and a 3000 watt inverter for lots of headroom starting motors. If it's run many house systems 24/7 and also run the air conditioner on the road, that is hard. If it's also run the fridge, a microwave intermittently, a bit harder. What is the ornieriest thing your house system is going to do? If it's run the lights and the TV, anything can do that (OK not anything, but an old car battery and a $50 inverter can do that, has for years in my truck camper). I would not advocate this approach with a more conventional, air-cooled alternator, which often are not rated for this sort of duty.įor me, the decision point is the "killer app". The big Delcos on most of our coaches are rated for continuous output, and the heat is very efficiently removed by the oil supply, BTW. Think about it - running two separate engines to do a job that can be handled by just one is usually not the most efficient solution. Not to mention maintenance - using the main engine alternator does not put nearly as much extra "wear and tear" on the main engine as you will have on a separate genset. Even a more appropriately sized model (6kW instead of the 15kW monster I have) will use about 0.5 GPH, or 3-5 times as much fuel as the main engine alternator. By contrast, my generator uses 1.1 GPH to do the same thing, or nearly ten times as much fuel. My 270-amp 50DN uses an additional 0.1-0.2 GPH to produce the extra 5-6kW I use for my house system going down the road (yes, I have measured). It takes similar amounts of fuel to drive a big alternator at capacity (and is tough on the alternator because of the heat generated) as it does to use the generator to make the power to run house electric devices.Ī common misconception, but it's not even close. If you are wanting more charging power so your can run bigger loads such as AC units, why not just crank up the generator, the most underused 1/2 ton of metal in our coaches. If one pukes you still have the loss of battery charging on the house or coach. What you do not get with two alternators is redundancy. Those two sets of batteries are usually never connected to a common point. On coaches that have 12 volt house systems it is common to see a 24 volt alternator for the coach, usually a 145 amp capacity if the bus does not have over the road air, and the 50 DN set up for the house, so the owner can run a couple of AC units while driving. There is an isolator between the alternator and batteries so neither set can draw down the other set. That is ample to take care of the house and chassis battery banks. On my coach I have the 50 DN 270 amp 24 volt alternator. Depends on how your coach batteries are set up.
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