8 REASONS DIESEL GENERATORS ARE BETTER THAN GAS & 4 REASONS THEY AREN’T

[@portwolf2293]

Kubota tractor with a pto generator is the way to go. 2 pto HP per 1kw. A little Kubota BX2680 sub compact can run a 10kw pto generator no problem. There actually made to run the pto that way for long stretches. Plus your more likely to keep the tractors engine maintained along with having alot of other uses like pallet forks on the front loader, belly mower for cutting the grass, tiller for the garden bed or a snow plow/blower during winter.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

I love this analogy because it’s the same thing as buying a travel trailer because you’re more apt to keep your truck in top condition than an RV that you only drive three or four times a year. Wish I had room for a tractor here on my town lot.

[@__documents2580]

Diesel has a much longer shelf life than one year

[@curtrn]

I just purchased a generator form our government that had 14 year old diesel in it and 4 pulls it started right up and runs perfectly.

[@akshonclip]

Not that biodiesel blend. That crap goes slimy in 6 months.

[@mrgustavoperez]

I lived through Hurricanes Irma & Maria in PR. Diesel is the way to go for large emergencies. I was well prepared but a key leasin I learned was to keep a lot of spare Oil, filters, gas-filters and belts. These became very scars and expensive. I gad to run my generator about 12hr per day that means an oil change about every 8 days. You you only have 1-2 spare filters you will be out quickly and they’ll be hard to get. Don’t forget these in your preps.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Thanks for sharing that Gustav that’s a great point those type of things are cheap preps to have :)

[@AJ-qn6gd]

In an emergency you can run a diesel engine on ANY oil, cooking oil,olive oil,peanut oil,kerosene, virtually anything. 👍🏻🇬🇧

[@hectorcastro7978]

Tim, new guy here, living in the south part of Puerto Rico, I can relate to everything you say, I would like you to comment about the Yamaha Diesel generator EDL 7000SDE, most of our homes are small with loads less than 6000 watts ( full Load) , so if you could find another good example for this will be great for some millions guys here thank you.... I will take care for spread it out the information. Good video.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Hey hector thanks for joining the workshop diesel generators are getting harder to find at least the small ones, the only other one out there that might fit what you are looking for is the xd5000e from Generac its runnign watts is 5000 and but it costs in the ballpark of 4000 dollars weighs 250 pounds and is on back order for two months at the moment www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/Generac-6864-Portable-Generator/p50700.html

[@hectorcastro7978]

@@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP Seems ok but they do not ship to PR, also it is a lot louder than the Yamaha, thanks for the help.

[@johanbraanen2108]

You said diesel is more expensive. Maybe per gallon/liter, but not per kwh, which is what counts. Diesel has higher energy density.

[@Kevinrichardsonministries]

I'm a ExPat in the Philippines. Diesel "here" is 40% cheaper than Gasoline. Go figure... beyond that, we just went through a Cat 5 Typhoon and the fuel lines were long but the Diesel Lines were a lot shorter. That said... my experience says that you are Right on all counts but I would add.... Water-Cooled Diesel Generators last even Longer than air-cooled ones.... and both longer than Gas. Good Video... Subscribed....

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

This is great man thank you for your input I’ll make sure I add that in my next generator video. Funny story this video was actually inspired by a question I got from another expat in the Philippines asking about diesel generators

[@robertkubrick3738]

Diesel is only about 10% cheaper now, at least in South Luzon.

[@Kevinrichardsonministries]

@@robertkubrick3738 .... Yes... since I made the original post diesel prices (and gas) have climbed for sure. That said... one can make their own diesel but I wouldn't even dream of trying same with gasoline. We save all of our used cooking oil for bio-diesel...

[@robertkubrick3738]

@@Kevinrichardsonministries Gasoline is super easy if you have the crude oil. I wouldn't dream of making biodiesel because of the leaching chemicals are really bad if spilled and where does an ordinary person dispose of them? Don't tell me, I don't want to know.

[@Kevinrichardsonministries]

@@robertkubrick3738 ... I dunno how "you" think one makes bio-diesel but "in my reality" there aren't any leaching chemicals beyond removal of the sludge (mainly crumbs) from the cookin' oil... and one can press that easily and use it to lube bike chains and similar things... as for the crumbs... just burn them when you clean your yard. I supposed one could even mix them with saw dust ... press and use for fire starters... so no waste at all... but the mileage of others may vary.

[@kencornelius9584]

Another benefit of a diesel is the ability to burn used automatic transmission fluid such as Dexron/Mercon. I filter it and run my 7.3 powerstroke on used ATF. There's other thinner fluids that can be run as well. I run our excavator on filtered used motor oil, sometimes thinned with kerosene. Another good video.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Thanks Ken that’s true. When you mentioned burn. It made me think of furnace oil heaters we had out east which is just a dyed diesel. An second use for the stores diesel :)

[@marcbeebee6969]

Ken great idea, I just brought my old oil to the recycling plant. But good idea to burn it.

[@danteerskine7678]

@@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP water cooled diesel generators are the best, I'm planning to buy a Himoinsa (yanmar 3tnv88 coupled to a Stamford newage) 13 KW, very reliable, consumes less fuel and it's not that expensive for a 1600 cc 3 cylinder engine. Perkins 4 cylinder generators seems a great choice too especially the Caterpillar c2.2 genset which uses Perkins engines

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

I will have to look into those sounds like a good machine

[@hectorcastro7978]

Ken, when you use the mix with kerosene, what proportion you use? Thanks.

[@komoru]

One other alternative generator "fuel" that works in all climates/seasons (especially if you don't have enough sun for solar) is wood. You could also make a wood gasifier and run a gasoline engine off of wood. Back in WWII, people ran cars and trucks off of wood gasifiers in Europe.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Absolutely, I love wood gasifiers I had a guy in the podcast last year talking about gasifiers gotta dig into it a bit more

[@CPsGarage]

I can 100% confirm diesel is the only thing left before and after a outage. every hurricane I've been through I could get all the diesel I ever wanted. gas on the other hand long lines and allows a chore to find it. we are currently stuck without power from hurricane Ian. we are at 5 days and counting. I'm 100% switching to diesel before next hurricane season. it's up in the air between Yahama, Yamra, or Kubota. I was thinking about one of the military surplus ones or one off of a RV but the cost used is what a 14kw Kubota would cost new with a warranty. I'm more in the market for a non portable whole house one. the Kubotas have lifting points to easily lift it with a engine hoist or fork lift. plus I could connect to my 40 gal rear tank on my truck. diesel are also able to run multiple different types of fuel. the newest ones likely wouldn't be as happy as the older ones but could mix veggie oil or ATF or engine oil to extend the run time if needed.

[@bujin5455]

For the price of one diesel I really like the idea of owning two of the Firman trifuel generators. You can hook it up to your natural gas, and not worry about fuel storage. In a pinch, you can resort to propane, or even syphon gas out of your car. It's cheap enough that if you're really worried about reliability, you could buy a second one, then you could cycle between them if you had an extended outage. Or if one failed, you'd have a back up while you got the other running. Still heavy, but lighter than a diesel, meaning it'll be easier to bring it to get serviced (if you aren't interested/able in doing it yourself).

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

I’m totally with you on that I’m a huge fan of two is one back ups. I have a firman tri fuel and a Bauer inverter

[@mrgustavoperez]

I lived through hurricane Maria in PR and was 90+ days without power. I new many people with these Firman dual fuel. I can tell you they are finicky and don’t like running for extended periods. A diesel will run as long as you want. Also propane gas is more expensive and was less available during an emergency. For bid emergencies go with diesel.

[@josephpuchel6497]

Diesel is the way to go.

[@MrThidj901]

you put time into building this video you decorticate the subject well, im now a sub. good job on teaching me!

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Thank you welcome to the workshop

[@RobertBrown-cz9qz]

Great video. In 04 bought a jd2210 tractor. & also 04 had straight winds come. Got lucky found a 13kw pto gen. A little big for tractor but had ac 110 for cooking tv lights. July 95% out moral of story ran 24/7/4 days 09 ice storm same senero 24/7/3 days these diesel engiens are built to run 24/7

[@robertbrown6143]

Agree diesel engines are built to run 24/7

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

absolutely

[@BRENT3143945]

Lol diesel last years and years I've heard of people using 10 year old diesel without issue and diesel engines sit better then gas engines

[@danteerskine7678]

And runaway phenomenon is a highly rare condition. It could occur if the diesel engines are not well built which is not the case for most part. I recently spotted a 1994 Toyota Corolla running on diesel and run like a new car. Water cooled diesel is the way to go

[@kimtablada7449]

Tim what type of 55gal drum is best to store diesel?? Plastic vs metal…etc????

[@mikerossman9863]

Plastic don’t rust, ask me how I know…

[@francisvazquez13]

😂​@@mikerossman9863

[@carperdiem8754]

So are these diesel generators typically fuel injected? I need something for high altitude and efi seems like a good solution on the gas ones. Not familiar enough with diesel fuel delivery methods

[@marktomlinson3448]

ALL diesels are fuel injected by definition. older ones are totally mechanical, and newer ones may have electronic controlled injection.

[@scottsnodgrass4361]

My question is Propane vs Diesel. My thought is in a SHTF situation, Diesel will be more available than propane and natural gas can be shut off. Your thought?

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

It’s tough diesel will be available a bit longer for sure and stores longer than gasoline but propane has basically an infinite shelf life. Natural gas typically will continue running longer than we think but long term for sure it will be off. If I had to choose I’d take a propane/ natural gas generator with a 500 to 1000 gallon propane tank on hand. Best case scenario for sure

[@komoru]

Look into wood gasifier as well. You can run a gasoline engine off of wood vapors.

[@probuilder961]

The main reason I'd like an 8.5kw "portable" diesel generator is that I have 600 gal. of heating oil in my cellar tanks and as long as I keep them full, and get a crank pump, I could run for many days to power my house + no need to keep it fresh as we use it for heating.

[@davidkbrees]

I'm looking in to this also. I have heating oil for my house and I'm looking in to getting a diesel generator that can run off of it.

[@jaydeesin3309]

You can also get military surplus gens cheap as well. Like a huge one on trailer for 500 to 1000 all day long. At least that's what I have seen .

[@jwfmechanical9864]

Well said. Ty

[@p39483]

Get a small one and load it up. Diesels can wet stack if they're not run hard. That's a huge disadvantage. If you have high load variability you may need a dummy load to keep it happy.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

I wasn’t aware of that. I’ll add that to the next follow up videos. Appreciate the information

[@kimtablada7449]

I have a big diesel generator for my off grid house and it uses 5 gallons of fuel in 45 minutes!!! Your comment has me wondering. I usually only turn the generator on to replenish my battery bank and I do not turn any appliances on. In other words, I believe I’m not putting it under enough load to work more efficient. What’s your thought? Thank you so much for your time? Kim

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

@@kimtablada7449 I guess my thought on that would be if you’re generating more power than you’re using when charging your batteries why not turn your appliances on and use things I mean either you know run your freezer your fridge I’m guessing you probably don’t use an electric dryer but if you do, that would be the time to use it just those type of things but yeah if you’re using access power, why not happened to that so you’re not draining your battery so much like another form of battery storage

[@josephpuchel6497]

5 gallons of diesel in 45 minutes 🤔 What KW do you have ? What model ? Is it a military model ? Something doesn’t sound right

[@aldavison420]

We have hurricanes in the south. Power outage means that all gas stations, banks and everything imaginable are down. The only source of fuel is natural gas and it is plentiful for standby generators such as Generac. You do not worry about gasoline storage. Install something like a Generac, and you done!

[@Jamesmoore-km3me]

Diesel requires injector cleaner. And require glow plugs that go bad.

[@komoru]

Yes, but glow plugs are super cheap and they can last decades.

[@basspig]

Diesel always used to be cheaper than gasoline because it was lower on the refractory scale and took less processes to make. It wasn't until the EPA stepped in and forced low sulfur diesel which caused the refining process to get much more expensive and cause the price of diesel to surpass that of gasoline. Now with regard to generators it is important to run a diesel engine at full load. Periodically to burn off excess on burnt fuel in the exhaust system. A condition known as wet stacking can occur if a diesel engine is not run at full load and brought up to full operating temperature from time to time.

[@erikthoren4152]

i dident think about that but i bought a diesel generator used for 4000 sek thats about 532.75 cad thats cheap in sweden. but the main reason i got it was that it as diesel becource i am so facinated about aircooled diesels with pullstart thats cool. For that i got a perfectley fine generator that i upgraded with electric start and charging system. I have the generator full of diesel and extra 30 liters and i have 2 diesel cars that i can take diesel from the return line from the fuel system so in best case senario i have 180 liters of fuel. Thats about 47,5 gallon of fuel.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

That’s a good amount to have on hand

[@sylviacandler5541]

If you want to use high tec electronics in your home, be darn sure you have an inverter generator.

[@marktomlinson3448]

A good diesel generator operates at 1800 RPM instead of 3600 RPM.THAT is why they are much quieter when loaded AND not loaded and also why they can run very long times and a last a LOT longer.

[@stan5949]

Do they make a diesel/ natural gas or propane generator???

[@mikerossman9863]

Not likely, diesel has higher compression than the other would need and they require spark plugs unlike the diesel.

[@robertkubrick3738]

I would agree that water cooled diesel generators are better. Air cooled diesel generators do not scale well, get a BIG one or stay home. A diesel generator that runs in one spot for a long time will begin to stink up the place in a lasting way, no way to get around that. Parts aren't as common, when parts of your diesel generator fail get ready to wait. Diesel is about 10% cheaper than gasoline in the Philippines currently, as I am there right now but I'm still not going for it. It would be great to pump fuel for the generator out of my Fortuner, Innova or my L300 though. I see no businesses or even government offices with a generator greater than 5000w surge, aside from hotels. I'm looking into the feasibility of Gasul which is propane in the Philippines but buying it by the bottle as people do for cooking is out, you would need tanks in commercial quantities. They used to run taxis on propane here when it was cheaper. I would say the coffee shop needed two gasoline generators, one sized to handle their continuous needs, hopefully ceiling fans, lights and a mini split aircon to remove humidity from the air(which might be handled by a 2500W generator) and one for the massive load of heating water occasionally. If you have ever been in a Philippine coffee shop, you would be under no illusions that the coffee is brewed on demand.

[@whitefreeman5798]

diesel fuel can be stored for several years easily.. the gas in your mower from last fall gummed up the carb and wont burn in your mower this spring

[@Imwright720]

Unless it’s a kubota. They run it at 3600 rpm same as gas

[@rickclooney5461]

Ha Ha Ha ha NO, most Diesel Engines or Generators of any quality are all low RPM. The cheap small Portable Chinese gen sets run at 3600.

[@alexanderrosales7675]

I have a kubota light tower/generartor it is nowhere near that high in RPM.

[@militarygradegear4004]

You are correct. The Kubota Lowboy GL diesel generators run at 3600 RPM.

[@tunnel-stash]

You failed to mention diesel doesnt store well in colder climates compared to propane. While in cold zones natural gas is usually available to homes via pipeline. Diesel fuel needs to be temperature controlled in cold zones because they will congeal under low temperatures. Natural gas isn't as flexible as propane or diesel but as long as the natural gas keeps flowing, there will always be zero hassle fuel.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

These are good points this vidoe is due for a v2 I’ll make sure to include those points in it

[@phide01]

When the went sulfur free that’s when diesel cost more. Around the 1980s

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

That makes sense

[@nezarl8374]

I had nothing but problems with my diesel generator Bought it new and it only lasted 8 months It was a Kipor I think it's a Canadian company

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Thabsk for sharing that I’ll keep an eye out for that company haven’t heard of it before

[@rickclooney5461]

Ha ha Ha Ha Kipor Generators are made in China and like ALL Chinese product they are garbage. They have nothing to do with Canada.

[@caru3497]

Kipor is a chinese brand. Not recommended. The starters are the main problems in this brand. Yamaha and Kubota are the best in diésel generators.

[@mrgustavoperez]

Agree, stay with quality brands

[@slowmo3977]

When they went to low Sulfur and ultra low sulfur. Is when the price is really started going up

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Thanks for that I always wondered

[@charonstyxferryman]

Funny that your guys are talking about power outages, Here in the Nordic countries, i.e. Northern Europe, the longest time the grid had been off, is for about 4 hours. I'm 50+ yo, so during more than the last 1/2 century the longest time without power has been 4 hours. The total time of power outage it's less than 18 hour during those 50+ years, AFAIK. There hadn't been any power outages in the last decade.

[@patrickday4206]

I bought 16 years old diesel fuel and ran it in my truck no problem it was from a y2k holder lol

[@fixitphinney2620]

I'm tired of hearing that diesel last 1-2 years! Try 10 years at least! Untreated! Keep tank full and condensation out and you can cycle out diesel when your newborn graduates!!!

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

I think the one to two year thing comes from two points first still a heck of a lot longer than most modern gasolines and two I think a lot of people are nervous to list a big number like that and then get blow back when people say no that’s not true if you know what I

[@idkidk7985]

Bio fuel that's my reason

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

That’s a great reason I never thought to mention thanks for sharing that

[@misters2837]

NON-OXY or Aviation Gas will go a year without stabilizer... Too Bad the NEW DIESEL has that Bio Sh!t in it, as the OLD STUFF (1990's) would go several years without problem.... My Advice if you are going to run a Diesel Genset, Get one that you can run on Jet-A (Military) as its shelf life is years much like OLD DIESEL.

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

That’s great advice I’ve gotten so much good advice off of this one video in comments that it’s probably time to do an updated video on it

[@armareedesign526]

Price went up because the EPA made them take out the surfer. I had a 7,3l at the time, before in the summer it was a lot cheaper then gas, i remember the EPA statement that it would only add $.17 a gallon but it was more like $.35 at the time,

[@fixitphinney2620]

Air cooled diesels are garbage! Liquid cooled will last 10,000 hours of run time (ones with a radiator). Most "portable" generators are air cooled and won't last under constant use. They are made for maximum 3 days outage! If you want to be prepared for the next ice storm of the adirondacks then find a Liquid cooled generator! Gas or diesel! No i don't own a diesel generator, i have been in charge of operation and maintenance of 5 of them for 11 years now. If you want more than 3 days of continuous run time then anything other than Liquid cooled is a gamble. P.s. air cooled= 1 hour on and 4 hours off. This is the minimum to keep fridge and freezer cold and home reasonably warm

[@TOOLMANTIMSWORKSHOP]

Thanks for sharing that fix it. This video is due for an update as it’s getting to be a couple of years old so I’ll make sure I include that tip in the next one. I would appreciate hearing from people who have experience in this field.

[@jmaegm]

Diesel trucks stay on all the time almost a month and run better last longer so yeah diesel generator inverter are way better

[@F4Insight-uq6nt]

Diesel is superior in every way.

[@tedmcdonald3377]

😎🛠️😎🛠️😎