eric@babin.com Report post Posted August 29, 2018 I was curious as to about how much diesel my Onan 10000 RVQD used. I finally got a chance to run the numbers. Usually, since it uses the same fuel tank as the diesel engine, I really could not judge how much the generator used. This past weekend I ran the generator for 80 hours, with only 31 miles between fill ups. Doing the math, the generator used 1/2 gallon of diesel per hour. (under semi-heavy load on average) With diesel running about 3.10/gallon where we've been, that makes it about $1.55 per hour to run the generator, plus maintenance. So, including maintenance (oil, oil filter, air filter) every 250 hours we're looking at like almost $2.00 per hour... (really about $1.90)…. so, if you run your generator for the entire day, about $45. Is this about what others have been experiencing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sstgermain Report post Posted August 29, 2018 Never thought about it. It's there and if I need it I use it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted August 29, 2018 That is pretty close. Onan does publish consumption numbers for their generators. But, one does need to factor in their "percent of available power" to the published figures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eric@babin.com Report post Posted August 29, 2018 1 hour ago, wolfe10 said: That is pretty close. Onan does publish consumption numbers for their generators. But, one does need to factor in their "percent of available power" to the published figures. I was not aware. Where might a guy like me find such a thing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eric@babin.com Report post Posted August 29, 2018 found it.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fagnaml Report post Posted August 29, 2018 Eric -- The 0.8 gallons per hour "full load" diesel fuel use for QD 10,000 Watt generator shown on the Cummins chart looks reasonable. For my LSU football tailgating weekends (which starts next weekend!!) I run my QD 7500 watt generator 24/7 under mostly full load (both air conditioners running most of the time on a hot September weekend) for 48 hours. Per the fuel gauge on my dashboard the generator uses ~1/4 of a tank or ~25 gallons which equates to ~0.55 gallons per hour. But as sstgermain said, I personally don't think about the cost of generator fuel use during an LSU weekend as the most important thing is making sure the wife, daughter, daughter-in-laws and grandkids are cool and comfortable. During football weekends a "hot wife" is not a "happy wife"...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eric@babin.com Report post Posted August 29, 2018 6 hours ago, fagnaml said: Eric -- The 0.8 gallons per hour "full load" diesel fuel use for QD 10,000 Watt generator shown on the Cummins chart looks reasonable. For my LSU football tailgating weekends (which starts next weekend!!) I run my QD 7500 watt generator 24/7 under mostly full load (both air conditioners running most of the time on a hot September weekend) for 48 hours. Per the fuel gauge on my dashboard the generator uses ~1/4 of a tank or ~25 gallons which equates to ~0.55 gallons per hour. But as sstgermain said, I personally don't think about the cost of generator fuel use during an LSU weekend as the most important thing is making sure the wife, daughter, daughter-in-laws and grandkids are cool and comfortable. During football weekends a "hot wife" is not a "happy wife"...... True.... I'm only running numbers to make the decision when we have an option to plug in at a park..... Park cost vs. generator cost. Not only must the wife be happy.... but we have 2 dogs that must have a/c even when we are out for the day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
