Generac GP2200i & GP2500i Inverter Generator - DIY Propane and Natural Gas Conversion Kit

[@Mike-pb7jm]

51:27 the thread pitch on my Craftsman/Generac GP 2500i is M18x2.5 (same as Generac IQ2000). Not the same thread pitch as Honda EU2000. Just FYI for those looking to buy one.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Hi Mike, thanks for the correction. I’ll pin your comment to the top.

[@dwayneable6229]

Great video, lot of info. I have a Craftsman 2200i. I guess it’s the same as the Generac GP2200i. Will this same conversion kit work for it? If so how much is the kit and how do I purchase one?

[@BradHohle]

Great video and this works for my Westinghouse iGen 2500 (basically the same Genny but Blue). Andy takes the time to detail all the "gotchas" for both installation and operation. I completed my installation in a few hours and it started on the 3rd pull. I recommend that you watch the entire video before installing the kit. 😃

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Thanks for the feedback Brad! Enjoy your new tri-fuel kit!

[@michaelcook7243]

Most comprehensive video I ever watched. Thank you for the effort you into this presentation. I will be buying your product as soon as I convert.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Glad the video helped. And were here anytime you are ready.

[@rajanagaskar7897]

I successfully completed this conversion with the Grenergy Kit on a Powermate PM2200i. This appears to be the exact same model as the Generac GP200i, with a different badging/branding (it's red vs. orange). The one possible difference I noted from the video is I think there is no lower rubber boot on the back exhaust -- I presume that is a new innovation that further reduces noise. Thanks to whoever I spoke with on the phone at Grenergy who took the time to look up the details on the Powermate and advise that this kit was probably compatible. I am fairly handy in the sense of homeowner DIY ability, but not in the trades or anything and have basically zero prior experience with generators/ small engines, so I thought I'd share some of my notes from others who might be coming to this project from a similar background. First off, the video is great! I appreciate the thoroughness and the tips throughout. after completing it I suspect some of the tips about ruining threads made me lean more conservative than I would have otherwise, BUT, I'd rather go easy instead of go hard and ruin my generator. It probably took me 4 hours in total to complete this conversion. Everything is pretty much exactly as described in the video and I did not have to re-do any steps (again, the video is very careful to guide you in a way that should prevent you from winding up in a bad place, watch it closely!). The generator I worked on was straight out of the box and had never been run. I bought it around 2019 in anticipation of PG&E "Public Safety Power Shutoff" events, but decided I didn't want to go through all the hassle with storing gas (and there were fewer outages than expected, so it wound up not being entirely necessary). We recently had another outage of around 12 hours, and, having heard about propane conversion kits, I decided this matched my needs perfectly (reduced maintenance, uses fuel I already have on hand). The video is great, but makes everything look much much much easier than it actually is. There are a handful of parts that I found extremely difficult, either because they required a lot of dexterity, or a surprising amount of torque, or both!

[@rajanagaskar7897]

(cont'd) Changing out the studs: I found these extremely difficult to loosen, made more difficult by the fact that the only 10mm box wrench I had was of really poor quality (think a notch below the cheapest wrench Harbor Freight sells, but also rusted). Buy a decent 10mm wrench before taking on this project! Maybe buy a few of different sizes. I wished I had a better box wrench many times. I found I had to torque hard enough to hear a "snap" of (what I assume) is thread lock come loose. After loosening they come out fairly easy. The "back" (furthest from the side panel) stud is more difficult (imo) than the front stud. I also found that one more difficult to thread back in, although that may have been because I had already set the front one and the replacement studs are somewhat thinner than the stock ones and allow for some wobble. I probably spent 15 to 20 minutes getting each stud loose. Again, part of this may have been related to the box wrench I had (probably around 5-6 inches long), a longer wrench might have given me more torque and more easily unset the studs. Moving the lower carb/drain line. Given the video where the bolt gets loosened and this pushes over, I thought this should've taken two minutes. NOPE! The bolt was fairly easy to loosen, but the piece was frozen on there, and there's very little to grab onto to torque it properly. I finally grabbed some knipex mini pliers (smooth jaw) and got them on the bit by the screw and gently torqued it enough to unlock it. Once it was free it moved easily. Snugging the hose onto the carb piece. The nipple lands right in a very tight spot, where it's pretty well blocked on one side by the plastic chassis and on the other by the engine itself. You wind up kind of having to push the hose from pretty far back onto this thing, when you really want to be pulling it from the front right by the flange. Anyways, it sucks. And then, after you get it on, getting the hose clamp in the right place is also a fun "how can I fit my needle nose pliers in here?" game. Pulling the spark plug: The existing spark plug was a real pain to get out. Again, maybe because my generator had never been run, but instead sat in a box for 4 years, but I found this really hard to get out. Mostly I didn't have the right size spark plug socket -- 3/4" -- to use my socket set, so instead I had to use the crappy tool they ship with the generator. Gapping/replacing the spark plug: I replaced with an NGK BPR6HIX (an irridium plug). I _believe_ this is the correct replacement? I would appreciate a clear model recommendation on the site/this video. I haven't dealt much with spark plugs, and discovered only in the moment that the coin-type gap tool I bought is NOT supposed to be used with iridium plugs because of the likelihood of damage to the tip. These are meant to be checked with wire gauge tools or feelers. I immediately got the gap "stuck" on my coin tool and although I think I got it off without damage and got it "reasonably" close gap-wise, FWIW, price-wise I think Grenergy is selling these pretty close to what you would get from Amazon/auto parts store, and it sounds like they come pre-gapped, so buying from Grenergy might save you some grief. I.think they were out of stock/wasn't clear they'd work with my application when I placed my order on the website. Lastly, in the video, it's mentioned "They should be gapped at .020 or .022" with no other comment on how to do this, why to choose one numbe over the other, etc etc. I would have appreciated a longer section on this that explains which gap you should shoot for, what is "good enough" and other tips on gapping. I was pretty anxious that I messed this part up, because if you have to change out the spark plug you're going to be undoing-and-then-redoing some pretty annoying parts.

[@rajanagaskar7897]

(cont'd) Replacing the plastic body after opening it to connect the kill switch. I struggled mightily to get this thing to close for nearly 30 minutes. The front panel has a funny set of clips and ridges that need to be part behind and part in front of the panel. I also realized after about 20 minutes that the "ear" mentioned in the video has a rubber "sock" which wound up getting nested in the plastic cover hole, which makes it near impossible to mate. Make sure you have the "sock" on the engine itself, NOT the cover, that was probably 90% of my problem. As part of the video, I would have loved to see how that front panel is supposed to slot in. There's one final kick in the teeth when you go to install the spark plug panel replacement. It's pretty challenging to get the nuts onto the screws, and it comes with the risk of losing the nut inside the generator. I didn't have any socket drivers that were suitable for this, I wound up using a flex screwdriver attachment with a deeper socket that held the nut in fairly safely. This would have been a great place to have a magnetic socket/deep socket.This is the one kind of "huh" for me in the design, especially since I imagine someone who doesn't know that there's a nut on the other side might find a way to loosen it enough to drop it off from the outside. That said, I haven't been able to quickly think of a more elegant solution, and this is definitely a tricky area since it's a hose connection point. While I'm talking about the panel, I should mention that this piece is one of the kit parts that really impressed me. I have to imagine some kits use cheap plastic here, or even just have you drill a hole. Here you get a quality chunk of metal and quality connects. Lastly, one of the things I would have appreciated seeing a demonstration of starting this model in the video or having instructions written down somewhere. This might be obvious for someone more familiar with generators/engines, but I wasn't sure what mode the choke switch was supposed to be in. The website links to a (not by grenergy) video of someone doing a full install and start on a Honda generator, but it looks like that kit has a special setting for the knob. I finally found a comment on another Generac video that mentions that the entire point of the kill switch is to allow the generator to run while the knob is in the "off" position. I think this may be mentioned at the _start_ of this video, but I wasn't able to find it easily. I also couldn't find any direction around what position the vent on the gas cap should be in (again, I think this may be mentioned somewhere in the video, but it'd be nice to have it all in one place). The video I mentioned previously with the Honda conversion says it should be off, and that makes intuitive sense to me -- if it's on you're maybe leaking propane. By the way, even though the kill switch sucks to install, for that reason alone I would buy it. I would also go with the quick connect (can't remember if this is an upgrade or standard). They're both nicely made and worth the money.

[@rajanagaskar7897]

(cont'd) It took me 10 or so pulls to get the generator running. I'm not sure if this was because it was 1) sitting so long/had never been started before or 2) I had the gas cap vent in the "ON" position, and I think it should have probably been "OFF" (see above) and maybe that made it harder than usual or 3) I messed up the spark plug/spark plug gap. It ran kind of "hard" (with an occasional putt-putt out the ) for about 15 - 20 minutes and then settled down a bit after it warmed up. Generac doesn't have any "recommended" kind of break-in in the manual, but it sounds like most people advise a 1 hour run and an oil change. I have an extractor kit and magnetic dipstick in the mail that I would've liked to use for this first hour I ran it (sounds like that's when you're most likely to get some metal shavings out), but I'll probably just do a change, run it for an hour, and then do one more change. Given my experience, I would advise the following: 1. Make sure you have a nice 10mm box/combo wrench. 2. Make sure you have a couple nice 10mm sockets and an extension, with maybe a tiny driver so you can get into tight spaces. 3. Buy plugs from Grenergy pre-gapped. 4. If you haven't run your generator before, order a magnetic dipstick and oil extractor so you have them on hand for the "break-in" and first oil change. You might want some synthetic oil as well (it looks like I can use the same viscosity that goes in my car, so I had some on hand). 5. Give yourself a good chunk of time to do the conversion. Anyhow none of my nitpicks above are reasons not to buy the kit. I was impressed with the quality of the parts (this is a thoughtfully executed mod), the clarity of the instruction, and the help I got when I first called on the phone. Would definitely recommend.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Thanks for taking the time to write your experience! This will help out other folks with similar generators. And if anyone needs help, feel free to reach out to the OP or us!

[@rajanagaskar7897]

@@GrenergyTriFuel of course! Thanks for making such a great kit! Can you comment on the spark plug gapping? Is it "if you get it between .020 and .022 you're close enough" or is there a specific reason to target one number or the other? A couple other updates: my magnetic dipstick from Amazon showed and I can confirm that the M18x2.5 (as mentioned in the pinned comment) is the right threading for the PM2200i. I ran it for another hour for "break in" and it spun right up on the second pull (this time I did a few slow pulls on the cord before trying to start it). It's still occasionally "putting" (small "put" sound every few seconds or so), more frequently when cold, but having watched some videos on KZbin of a true "rough idle" I think this is normal behavior. I'm going to do an oil change, and then I think I'm all set for the next power outage.

[@ratbagley]

Ok, just placed my order for my i2500. I guess i will be studying this video for a while :)

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

I got your order! We'll get this shipped out asap!

[@Mike-pb7jm]

Thanks for making this kit! Ordering one for my Craftsman (Generac) 2500i now.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Hi Mike! Thank you for your business! You'll defiantly love the kit!

[@Mike-pb7jm]

Kit works GREAT thank you!! Running on propane now. Will try nat gas later.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

@@Mike-pb7jm glad it went great! Your very welcome!

[@brmelectric]

I have Briggs and Stratton p2400 year 2020. Is there a kit available for this. Thanxs.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Unfortunately with 50+ other generators I have at the shop, I am unable get to all of them in a short amount of time. It takes a lot of R&D to build one fully bolt on kit, and with how busy the shop gets. I can only work on what is in most demand at the moment.

[@brmelectric]

@@GrenergyTriFuel totally understand.

[@db.db12345]

Great video ! My question is if I already have a Dual Fuel gen (propane + gas) : Would I only need to change the regulator ? or is there more to it ?? Thanks !

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Hi, if the genset has an external regulator assembly. You can get away with just building your own kit and plumbing into your dual fuel genset.

[@georgegould667]

Very good

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Thanks

[@ratbagley]

Beautiful kit!! I will be buying one. Love the machined bar stock cover on the top. Great video. Subscribed. I am also converting a pristine fire-engine red Generac 4000XL to propane. Got a video on converting that one? Also, what size propane tank is that?

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Thanks for the feedback Jess, unfortunately for the Generac 4000XL this generator has been discontinued long ago and I don't have one on hand to test.

[@JerryCheevers]

great job on the small details, nice work.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Hey Jerry, glad you like the kit!

[@dsparks4130]

Will this kit work for a Westinghouse iGen 2200? Looks the same to me but just want to confirm. Thanks.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Hi, yes this kit will work with the iGen2200. They are basically the exact same generator with different brand names. So the kit will install the same as the one you've watched in this video. You can purchase in the link here -----> tinyurl.com/2r93zxee

[@dwayneable6229]

Great video with lots of info. I have a Craftsman 2200i. I guess it’s the same as the Generac GP2200i. Will this theme conversion kit work for mine? If so, how much does it cost and how can I purchase one? Also, the spark arrestor on the one in your video appears to have a threaded brass fitting on it. What is that for? One last thing, what do I gap the NGK spark plug to? Thanks for your time.

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Hi Dwayne, yes the Craftsman 2200i should be the same as the Generac GP2200i. You can head to our website or in the video description and click on the link to purchase the kit.

[@dalelong7822]

Does this work for the Onan Cummins P2500i

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

Unfortunately we do not yet have a kit for this generator. I do have this generator at the shop but with the work load I have with other kits it may not be for a while until I have this done.

[@dalelong7822]

@@GrenergyTriFuel ok thank you

[@GrenergyTriFuel]

You're very welcome!