Indoor Off Grid Propane Generator

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WA_Sparky

WA_Sparky

Electrical Engineer
Location
Vancouver, WA, Clark
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Electrical Engineer
Hello all. I'm working on a project that is in the middle of nowhere in MT. No utility power available at this location. Project requires a 14kw propane generator to and not rated as standby.
From what I'm finding is standby generators aren't intended for this type of use so it has to be rated as prime or primary.

The client wants the generator to be located indoors in a detached 15x15 shed but every generator I'm finding says do not locate indoors.. is this a technicality to prevent someone from putting it in their attached garage? Is it a propane specific fuel source issue with possibly causing a fire, or for indoor residential ventilation issues?

I'm trying to figure out a solution to make it work, any ideas?
Fuel source has to be liquid propane, for the time being it has to be indoors and a minimum of 14kva.
 
tom baker said:
With the correct ventilation, a propane generator can be inside. For water cooled there is a shroud from the outside to the radiator.
Click to expand...

Larger ones can even have the entire heat exchanger outside the building. The coolant gets piped out. I’m not sure one as small as 14 kva would be constructed that way.
 
I had a customer that wanted one in his crawl space (pretty tall crawl space) sure, I told him it could be done, but it wouldn’t be cheap. He didn’t want the city to know he had a generator.
 
WA_Sparky said:
Hello all. I'm working on a project that is in the middle of nowhere in MT. No utility power available at this location. Project requires a 14kw propane generator to and not rated as standby.
From what I'm finding is standby generators aren't intended for this type of use so it has to be rated as prime or primary.

The client wants the generator to be located indoors in a detached 15x15 shed but every generator I'm finding says do not locate indoors.. is this a technicality to prevent someone from putting it in their attached garage? Is it a propane specific fuel source issue with possibly causing a fire, or for indoor residential ventilation issues?

I'm trying to figure out a solution to make it work, any ideas?
Fuel source has to be liquid propane, for the time being it has to be indoors and a minimum of 14kva.
Click to expand...
That sounds like CYA from the Mfgr. telling you don't kill yourself with Carbon Monoxide posioning by putting this indoors.
They just left out " without proper ventilation"
 
I’ve seen quite a few small ones indoors, Target has a lot of their’s indoors, I looked at replacing a small diesel one in a Belk’s, it was on the second floor, in a room off from the offices. I think the transferswitch said “1951” 10 kw 277/480 three phase. I was in NYC, and they had a little 5 kw in the basement of a small grocery store.
 
hillbilly1 said:
I’ve seen quite a few small ones indoors, Target has a lot of their’s indoors, I looked at replacing a small diesel one in a Belk’s, it was on the second floor, in a room off from the offices. I think the transferswitch said “1951” 10 kw 277/480 three phase. I was in NYC, and they had a little 5 kw in the basement of a small grocery store.
Click to expand...
Were they exhausted to the outside?
 
If the shed is essentially unoccupied and the generator is properly ventilated I wouldn't see a problem. If you need to, build a dog house around it with ventilation cut through the outside wall and essentially seal it off from the rest of the space. Might want to do that anyway if someone works for long stretches inside to cut down the noise, and the heat in summer.
 
tom baker said:
With the correct ventilation, a propane generator can be inside. For water cooled there is a shroud from the outside to the radiator.
Click to expand...
Follow up. I contacted the gen rep and they said because it says not for indoor installation doesn't meant it cant be done it just wont be covered in their warranty. Found another supplier to sign off and provide 3rd party warranty.
 
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