How much does that generator cost to run?

[papaof2]

A spreadsheet comparing generator cost to run by hour and day by size (3-30KW) and fuel type (gasoline, diesel, propane, natural gas).

You'll need to update the fuel cost to match prices at your location.

jecarter.us/files/generator-fuel-use-comparison-by-fuel-type.xls


The forum's editor isn't playing nice with that link right now, so just copy and paste...

[papaof2]

This is from a 2021 article in GeneratorMag (link is in the spreadsheet) which means it has a LOT of averaging in it.

To know how much fuel YOUR generator uses, set up a test with a known load (couple of 1000 - 1500 watt heaters and some KillAWatt meters) and feed the gen from a container than can provide 1 quart of fuel. Run the gen at half load until you burn that quart of fuel, then refill the container and run the gen at full load until you burn that quart of fuel. Now you know exactly how long your gen can run on 1/4 gallon of fuel at half load and full load.

Add a row on the spreadsheet, name it "My Generator" and plug in the numbers. Now you know how much it costs to run an hour or a day at today's $.$$ per gallon for fuel.

If you have a gen that matches one of the listed power ranges, determine your gen's numbers (gallon/hour) and plug them in that column of the spreadsheet. If you get the spreadsheet running sideways, you can always download another copy and try again ;-)