Onan fuel tank 36TK3

[berghild]

i don't know why I didn't think to ask you guys first. ' been waiting days for DT to tell us the answer to this. Installer is waiting to install Onan....either gas or propane.
Does anyone know where the fuel tank was supposed to go?
we should have had it all done at the factory but we were not sure which way we would go...so we just had the generator prep done.
HATE TO UNDO THE UNDERBELLY JUST TO FIND OUT THERE IS NO PLACE FOR IT. oops..hit the wrong key.

[47hook]

We have the propane fired one and it is just plumbed into the existing propane tanks. For us it is much simpler to not have 3 different fuels to worry about: diesel, propane and gas...

[wingnut60]

Our is the factory Onan and runs off the propane tanks. This seems to me the simplest solution. Having another fuel source on board doesn't sound as safe as not having anything but propane. Didn't even know there is a choice of fuels.

[berghild]

i think we wil go propane also. i am not sure if there is even a gas option. Diesel one is way heavy and expensive to consider anyway. hate to use propane to charge batteries...maybe will keep the Honda 2000 for that. Wouldn't it take a lot of propane/run time to charge four 6 volts? It will be nice to have the generator on occasion I guess. DH is very excited about it....I would be more excited if we had the Solar panels too! I hope tht will happen in the Spring.....basically I don't want to listen to the generator..mine or anyone else's!

[Motor31]

If you have a Honda 2000 you can run everything in the rig you want to other than the AC. I use one for winter dry camping and have no need of additional power. I also can run it for more than 6 hours for less than a gallon of gas. We used to have an Onan propane gen set. It was noisy, unreliable and used about a gallon of propane per hour. I don't miss it one bit now that we have the MS.

[47hook]

My experience with noise is quite different, step away about 20-30 feet and you just hear a purring noise. Used ours last winter when the power went out with 200' of extension cord to run house refrig, tv; sorry I don't recall fuel usage but go to the Onan site and they list fuel consumption.

[Huck]

Wouldn't it take a lot of propane/run time to charge four 6 volts?
This is what I do to charge the batterys with a generator.

I carry a 10 amp deep cycle automatic battery charger with me.
I just hook it up to the batterys and plug it in.
It helps charge the batterys much, much faster.

[RGordon]

Well I went with the Onan 5500 Gasoline model and currently using 12 gallon plastic marine tank that sets in bed of truck. I noticed that Transfer Flow now has a gasoline tank that replaces one of the propane tanks so it will fit inside the vented propane compartment. I did not choose the propane due to large consumption of gas and gasoline is easier to obtain. That was my thinking at the time and really don't use it much after paying the high price for it.

[berghild]

WELL WE NOW OWN THE ONAN. installation tomorrow. I hope he loves it. i still don't want to give up the Honda....we are at odds about that...and I still want solar.
I don't see using the generator much except for the occasional stop at the rest stop or for a quick cool down before running of the 30 amp shore power. Lots of money out the window . we wnded up with the propane 6500 Gold. bought it in vegas today saved 1,000 over san bernadino price. 3 hours to vegas and 3 hours back today....good nite.

[RonS]

I have the Honda 2000 and a charging cord. I think I could charge my two 6V batteries with that, and it would not take very long. Correct??

[Motor31]

IIRC the Honda puts out 8 amps using the small DC charging cords. If you plug in a regular battery charger to the AC outlet of the Honda you can get more amps and a regulated charging system instead of just a straight 8 amps from the gen set alone.

[RodeWorthy]

Hi all,
Cyndy already knows this but for the rest of you be aware that I could not start the Xantrex Inverter on one Honda 2000. The 4 6-V batteries were calling for bulk charge. The Inverter tried to start but immediately shut down. The gennie was not in econo-mode.

Your success with a single Honda, or any other generator, will depend on the load applied to it. We are not all rigged the same. The Converter is a 80 Amp charger -the Inverter is 150. 440AH of discharged 6V batteries poses a substantial load for a charger/generator.

I was able to start the Inverter and charge the batteries with the second generator and the parallel kit.

I received lots of advice that the single Honda would charge my batteries. I should have done my homework and worked out the load requirements. I may have made a different choice for my generator.

I am considering installing the Converter to enble battery charging with a single generator. Doubletree eliminates the Converter when you order the Inverter option.

Ultimately, the success of my auxilliary power is dependent on the installation of solar panels. I will have much less need to run the generators then. The two Honda 2000's running with one A/C unit are definitely not quiet. I would not want to camp near me under those conditions.

RodeWorthy