Idling your diesel for home power. - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ds190 · #16 07-05-2012, 05:07 PM

I ran the 84 190D for five days straight to power a 1500w inverter and to charge a deep cycle battery after the hurricane took out power lines in our area. September temps were 80-85 degrees day & 70 night, I left the hood up, and the engine temp never went over 85c. I did add diesel, but don't remember how much.

I was ready to do it again last Saturday, but my electric did not go off.

So yes, I use my diesel as a electric power generation station

ngarover · #17 07-05-2012, 05:40 PM

I idled an 85 Lesharo Turbo diesel motor home with a Renault 4 banger from a Thursday afternoon till sunday morning so almost 4 days. It mellowed out after the first couple hours to the point you would have though is was a gas engine... Ran the roof air, lights, the camper fridge etc the whole time. Used a total of a quarter tank of fuel. Smoked like hell leaving, (carboned up) but cleared after about 10 mile on the highway. As much of a POS engine that was, I would thing the MB would do quite a bit better.

edge · #18 07-05-2012, 09:36 PM

How many watts power inverter do I need to power a refrigerator and two lamps?

buffa98 · #19 07-05-2012, 10:25 PM

Depends on starting current on fridge. A 2500 "should" be enough to handle the starting surge of the fridge. Lights just add up the bulb wattage for the power requirements. I have a 5000 watt generator that runs 2 freezers, 2 refrigerators and 4 ceiling fans with light attachments with no issues.

bipolardave · #20 07-05-2012, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edge

How many watts power inverter do I need to power a refrigerator and two lamps?

I suppose it depends on the size of the refrigerator and the wattage of the lamps. The type of inverter might make a difference as well.

I have no plans to use our main refrigerator. I have a smallish $100 Walmart model that draws 10 amps at 120V. That's 1200 watts already without factoring in a starting surge (2-3x that).

Compact flourescent lights draw less power (10-15 watts each) than the old fashioned incandescent bulbs, but might not work with a modified sine wave inverter.

So, if you can find a small, low power fridge then you might get by with a 1500 watt inververter that has a 3000 watt surge rating.

Full sine wave inverters are the way to go if you can afford it. They provide a cleaner power than the modified sine wave (really not much more than a saw tooth wave) and won't damage motors or sensitive electronics. The downside is that they are quite expensive. The best price I've found so far is $500 for a quality 2000 watt unit.

pawoSD · #21 07-06-2012, 01:00 AM

Small fridge that draws 10 amps?

Our normal fridge only uses about 3-4!

I have used my diesels as power stations in the past......usually for only a few hours at a time, I don't need power other than to keep fridge/freezer cold and charge some stuff.

I use a 2000watt inverter.

bipolardave · #22 07-06-2012, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Small fridge that draws 10 amps?

Our normal fridge only uses about 3-4!

I have used my diesels as power stations in the past......usually for only a few hours at a time, I don't need power other than to keep fridge/freezer cold and charge some stuff.

I use a 2000watt inverter.

Honest! I pulled it away from the wall and double checked before I posted. I now wonder if, in the dim light, it wasn't 10 but 1 Φ as in single phase? :/ My smallish deep freeze draws 3 amps, so you could be right.

Getting off topic, but this could be a pricey endeavour to do right. Two quality deep cycle batteries run about $350 each (100 aH discharge per), 2000 watt true sine wave inverter is $450ish, charge controller to handle both AC and DC is $150. Without factoring in storage and wiring you're already at $1200. Cheap but supposedly reputable diesel generators can be had for $1500. Silent Diesel Generators

Given that our "Boldie" is always garaged and with a full tank of fuel (18 gallons of diesel on hand), it might be cheaper to sell the small gasser we just bought and upgrade generators.

ROLLGUY · #23 07-06-2012, 11:20 AM

I guess I should think again about selling my 1,500 watt inverter. I have had it for 10 years, and have not used it in at least 5. I thought about selling it a few weeks back, but I think I will keep it now. I do have a 3,000 watt Diesel generator, but the thing is very loud. I usually run it on biodiesel, as it really stinks when ran on pump Diesel. The inverter idea seems like a decent way to go. The question I would have is, how would you keep someone from stealing your car while it is running (especially if you are inside)? I suppose you could pipe the exhaust outside with the car in the garage.

MB-Owner-in-ind · #24 07-06-2012, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strelnik

I know whunter has idled 300D engines overnight at his house, with no ill effects that I know of.

I have seen some of his post and I believed there is a case for ill effects

pwogaman · #25 07-06-2012, 02:15 PM

We were just out of power for 4 3/4 days. I ran my 300SD @ 1,100 rpm (note picture of clamp on cruise control actuator for idle control) for 3 plus days of that. It used about 5 gallons a day. I shut it down each night for about four hours. The only problem is one of the alternator belts looks loose at the end of it all. I also used each of my W124 300Ds for a turn. I used a Harbor Freight 1,500 watt inverter to power the refrigerator, a couple lamps, internet router, a fan, various phone and blackberry chargers, 24" LCD TV, and VIOS TV receiver. Never had any problems so long as I kept an eye on the volt meter to make sure I was not drawing negative.

Power is still not on for a friend and he is using the set up, including the car, at his house with portable air conditioner.

vstech · #26 07-06-2012, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edge

How many watts power inverter do I need to power a refrigerator and two lamps?

are the lamps CF/LED or Incandescent? for cf/led's and a normal household fridge, a 450/800 model works fine. the 750/1500 models are overkill for just two lights, and the fridge, but that will give you a larger surge for starting older fridges and handling additional items.

I've used these along with some 750 UPS devices during long periods of no power... (I also have a small solar array on my garage to handle things...)

funola · #27 07-06-2012, 03:48 PM

Cool! What size is the fridge?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwogaman

We were just out of power for 4 3/4 days. I ran my 300SD @ 1,100 rpm (note picture of clamp on cruise control actuator for idle control) for 3 plus days of that. It used about 5 gallons a day. I shut it down each night for about four hours. The only problem is one of the alternator belts looks loose at the end of it all. I also used each of my W124 300Ds for a turn. I used a Harbor Freight 1,500 watt inverter to power the refrigerator, a couple lamps, internet router, a fan, various phone and blackberry chargers, 24" LCD TV, and VIOS TV receiver. Never had any problems so long as I kept an eye on the volt meter to make sure I was not drawing negative.

Power is still not on for a friend and he is using the set up, including the car, at his house with portable air conditioner.

johnnyqnola · #28 07-06-2012, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

The question I would have is, how would you keep someone from stealing your car while it is running (especially if you are inside)? I suppose you could pipe the exhaust outside with the car in the garage.

on my 85 300d, you can have the car running, take the spare key and lock the doors from the outside. i do this in winter warm-ups. or just throw a club on it...

pwogaman · #29 07-06-2012, 07:43 PM

I usually just parked another car right behind the 300SD to block it in. Speaking of block-heads, I was also kind of figuring your average one interested in stealing the car would not know how to put the hood down fast enough to make a quick get-away. I was most worried about someone swiping the inverter.

My refrigerator is a 2006 Frigidaire listed as 8.5 amps @ 115 volts, or 977.5 watts. I was using CF bulbs. The biggest draw was too many fans at once.

By the way, my mileage on my last tank fill-up was about 1.16 MPG because all the idling. It is a record low.

bigblockchev · #30 07-06-2012, 09:30 PM

I am a bit of a generator hobbiest. I have 3 largish Onan generators 1 each 6.5KW gas 15KW marine diesel & 15KW Propane/natural gas. I don't need them of course but I enjoy tinkering. All told I have less than $2000 invested in all three of them. I just sold an Isuzu 8Kw diesel last week with 6900hrs on it to free up a bit of real estate in my garage. There are a couple of comments I would like to make regarding what is available in the way of generators. The silent diesel generators will indeed fall silent fairly quickly , lifespan of a few hundred hours if you are lucky. check the reviews online. Not too many happy campers. If you actually need a generator to get you through a short power outage , it is hard to beat a used Onan RV generator. Can be had for $500 or so and will last many thousands of hours, will run fairly quietly at 1800 rpm on regular gas. If you need something to keep going for a longer period then a Marine or radiator cooled Onan diesel will be the most reliable and economical. If you are looking for something to hook up to an automatic transfer switch so you don't have to worry about your wife having to try and start the gen then a propane or natural gas Onan is a good bet, one wire start. The Generac aircooled generators sold by Home depot etc are basicly crap again look at the online reviews. Honda aircooled portable generators are OK but the watercooled ones are bulletproof. Anything made in China regardless of brand is going to have a short lifespan ie less than 500 hrs. Sorry but that is my experience. I sometimes wish I could lend one of my units to the less fortunate in tornado or hurricane country but hopefully my experience will help someone out. Cheers Dan

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