When you’re ready to choose a generator, regardless of the reason why you need it, you’ll need to choose between diesel generators and gas generators. Both types of generators have distinct advantages so you will need to determine where your personal preferences lie. You’ll also need to look at things like cost, reliability, whether the fuel source is available, emission regulations, and whether diesel or gas better fits your needs.
Gas Generators
There are both pros and cons to using gas generators. Let’s look at the cons first:
- These require additional maintenance, which will increase your costs and downtime
- Unfortunately, these generators don’t have a very long lifespan
- Since these generators are bigger, they’ll take up more space than diesel generators
- Remember, a natural disaster can result in a gas shortage
- When natural gas pipelines burst fire hazards occur because it’s explosive
- Although gas is a relatively clean source of fuel, it still emits more carbon dioxide than diesel
You’ll see that these are outnumbered by the pros, which include:
- Since they’re typically connected to a gas line, you have a readily available source of fuel on hand
- Their consistent fuel source makes them great for prime power applications
- They’re less expensive than their diesel counterparts
- Although natural gas is a fossil fuel, it’s cleaner and gives off less emissions than most other fossil fuels
- There’s no pungent odor given off when they’re turned on
Diesel Generators
There are many great advantages to using diesel generators. These include:
- Since these generators require less maintenance, you won’t have to spend as much money on them as you’d spend on gas generators
- These are sturdy generators that you can rely on for a long time
- Although they’re typically small, they’re still quite powerful, making them ideal for mobile, rental, and portable applications or as a stand-by power source
- They’re fuel efficient especially in comparison to gasoline
- They’re safer because diesel is less flammable making it less explosive
- The newer models emit less nitrogen oxide and other particulate matter
This doesn’t mean that these generators don’t have their drawbacks. It just means that their drawbacks are outnumbered by their advantages. Nevertheless, you’ll still want to know that these drawbacks include:
- Fluctuating diesel prices affect how much you’ll pay to use these generators
- New regulations mean you’ll pay more for newer models of these generators
- Unfortunately, they’re loud when running
- You’ll have to keep additional diesel around because it’s not readily available
The Bottom Line
Regardless of your choice, you must also consider maintenance. You don’t want to face unscheduled down time or have it take longer than you’d expect to have routine maintenance performed. Additionally, it’s important for you to know how to efficiently run the generator so that it lasts a long time.
Whether you’ve already decided you need diesel generators or gas generators or you still need some help making this decision, Mid Florida Diesel has you covered. They’ve helped many people over the years and there’s no reason you shouldn’t ask for their help too.
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