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Crisis averted
I think that this is an interesting story: We spent Thursday through this morning (Sunday) dry camping at a BBQ cookoff and bluegrass festival (BanjoBQ, in case it interests you for next year). The generator ran from the minute we got there until (slightly after) we left.
I’m not sure when it cut off, but we wanted it on to finish washing some dishes. After about an hour I sent Natalie back to turn it off and she discovered that it wasn’t necessary. The problem was that it wouldn’t turn back on.
Initially I figured it was because when we left my fuel light was on and the tank was on ‘E’, but a fill-up prior to attempting to restart the genny wasn’t enough. When we stopped for lunch I checked the oil to find that it was just below the low line. I stopped at Wally World and topped it off but still no joy. Called Troy and advised that the Watchdog had a light on “Over temp”, though it had been hours since the generator had run. A simple reset times two (he said it was probably vapor locked because it had been run dry) got it going again.
Now, the points and questions: I parked with about 1/2 tank of fuel and was on Empty after only 2.5 days. When I filled it took 165 gallons, which means that there were still 43 in the tank! What the heck?! That shouldn’t have showed me empty and probably shouldn’t have cut off the generator. I’m guessing that because it was parked that the system didn’t know that the fuel level was low until I turned on the ignition to leave, which means that it WOULD have run me drive in another day or so. Why show me empty with 1/4 tank left?
Why didn’t the genny cut off sooner from the low oil?
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10 Replies
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The gen cutoff cause it ran out of fuel, tank below 1/4, but what’s up with the overtemp? Also, your fuel is 208, but if I remember, you only get 90 or 95%, I’m sure I’ll be corrected on that percentage. As for the oil, you didn’t run out of oil, just low, correct? If the gen didn’t see oil pressure, it would shut down as well.
Why are you running so low on fuel, there’s an app for that, called PC Fuel Program.:)
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I did not run out, just low. Still scary. And a little unexpected.
I used the PC program at a Pilot now long after. Great to have that available!!!!!
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I believe most converters limit Webasto or Aquahot and the generator to 25% of capacity. Thats a rough number because the true number of gallons we actually hold is determined by how level the fuel stop is, and where the pump clicks off. So I am not surprised to see 50 gallons or more remaining when they run out of fuel.
For those who do use the generator for long periods the amount of load dictates fuel usage and with a couple of AC running, the HW tank a lot of lights on in the house, the TV, water pump etc. I think a conservative fuel usage would be 3/4 to 1 GPH which means in 2.5 days you could have used anywhere from 45 to 60 gallons.
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I had always heard the 25% number too, and that doesn’t surprise me. The two surprising details were that when I started the coach it said I was dead empty with 45 gallons still on board (roughly 25%) and then that the generator didn’t shut off until about that time. Maybe it was just coincidence, but either the generator has a separate fuel level gauge OR it receives it’s input from the gauge on my dash that doesn’t update itself until the ignition is turned on. If that’s the case, you could easily run yourself dry using the genny.
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I think you’ll find the pick-up fuel tube for the gen is installed in the tank in a way that it can’t get fuel at or under a 1/4 tank.
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The Prevost fuel gauge and low fuel indicator are set to the high side. In other words, when you think you are out of fuel you still have enough to get you a ways down the road.
But the pickup for the generator is way off the bottom of the tank purposely because running the generator out of fuel is an inconvenience, but running the bus out of fuel can be a serious problem that might affect your safety which is why things are set up that way.
If you know your plans for driving and generator use you can plan ahead to avoid problems.
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Ok, so coincidence that it shut off as I pulled out, unless the slope moved the fuel enough. I get it.
But still, 200+ miles of fuel left on dead empty? 50, maybe even 100, I understand.
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Karl,
Many report the Prevost plastic fuel tanks tend to sag on the top over time. This pushes the fuel sending unit further down into the tank which leads to lower readings than they should be. Prevost also, as mentioned, sets tank level readings to be conservative. They sure don’t want a bus operator to say 55 passengers were stranded because a bus ran out of fuel with fuel being shown on the guage. Also, keep in mind the fuel guage will almost always read higher when driving when compared toto being parked to to the slosh effect of driving.
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I suspect boaters like Gil and pilots like a lot of us on the forum develop fuel strategies.
I now know enough about my current coach to have established some rules for myself. My safe range is 1000 miles. Yes I can stretch it, but based on my fuel consumption that is my never exceed limit. I used 4 hours from full in the plane and I use 1000 miles in the bus as limits never to be violated.
With that in mind I learn my route, and then with my route established I pull up the Love’s location map and start looking at fuel stops along the route that will fit within my fueling window. I like to go more than 700 miles, but never more than 1000 so I base my planned stop with those ranges in mind and look for the cheapest fuel within that window.
If I know I will have a lot of generator time I adjust to compensate for the fuel that will be used. If I anticipate extensive moutainous driving, I know fuel flow goes up so I will shorten the range I anticipate. The point being spontaineous road trips are nice as long as I am always aware of when I am going to need fuel, and where that fuel will be found.
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I like to be even more conservative than Jon! (Write that down, those words may never again be uttered). I really like to fill up at half a tank (600 miles), 1/4 at the most, which is about 900 miles. I usually don’t plan fuel stops, but go on what’s around when I am ready. For this summer trip I have planned those stops. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out.
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