Read your owners manual to see what inlet pressure is required. You need to also check the diameter of the line to see if it can meet the demand of the generator. There are plenty of discussions on this board that will answer your questions.

 

Which Duramax model? Most clothes dryers typically have a one half inch pipe running to them. That may be insufficient for your generator. It just depends on how long your runs are and which model generator.

 

Duromax XP1200HX Has standard propane hose connection

We ran a 3/4 pipe to the dryer located in a utility shed. This is the end of a 100+ foot pipe run from a regulator.
The Duromax is currently sitting ~20ft from the propane line stub.
We can move it closer, but prefer running a 20' flex hose, so would appreciate comments and recommendation on that.

I do not see anything in the owner's manual providing propane specs. Apparently one of the negatives about the Duromax is lack of parts schematic and I guess now this.
But, I can call them.

Thank you for the responses.

 

If the regulator on your tank is a two stage and reduces the pressure from tank pressure to 11-13 inches of water and the generator is more than 100' from the regulator I think the generator is going to starve for fuel under load. Some of the other experts on this board can help with the technical explanation. With that long pipe run you would be better off tapping off the high pressure side of the tank and installing a high pressure regulator and then installing a low pressure regulator as close as possible to the generator. I hope someone who is more technical will jump in and see if they can correct me and provide good numbers for piping and regulators.

 

That length of hose/pipe and the I.D. may be your problem. You may need a manometer to test the pressure you have available too. It is a combination of pressure, length, and I.D. that needs to be correct to supply the generator with enough fuel to run. The pressure at your clothes dryer is likely already reduced for that appliance. You may need to run a high-pressure line from the tank and then have a separate regulator at the gen as oldcodger is suggesting.

Take a look at these links and it will give you an idea of pipe sizing for propane should be at 100'+. There are more charts available, I just picked a few...

Installation Information and Pipe sizing – Motorsnorkel by US Carburetion

motorsnorkel.com

Propane Hose | LP Gas Line Sizing Chart | Propane Warehouse

Refer to our LP gas line sizing chart to equip appliances with tubing for propane tank fittings. Includes copper and polyethylene tubing sizes.

propanewarehouse.com

Propane Gas Piping - Low Pressure Capacity vs. Size

Sizing of low pressure propane gas pipe lines - Imperial units.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

 

Wow! Thank you for those references and your consideration.
Those links are informative. The first one included a decisive paragraph.
I'm realizing that I've had my "nose in the weeds" thinking that anything (including a dryer) can be simply "tacked on" a gas line system.

We are rural. Two of our building were constructed 1947. Since then, it's been pretty much a jury-rig development.
Our 250 gal propane tank is located ~550 ft. from the closest Regulator and distributes over ~100 ft of line after T-ing off another ~400 ft and up ~50 ft. to another regulator & building.
See what I mean.

I think the best thing to do is
1.call Duromax and determine propane pressure and flow required
2. get our Propane Guy out to Test and advise.

Seems there should be a way though, since ... you can run the generator from a "small portable" propane tank?

Continued thanks. Appreciate the conversation.

 

A simple sketch with dimensions and regulator locations would be helpful. You are doing the best thing by getting the manufacturer and the propane supplier involved.

 

Since you asked;

 

Would a 150 gal LPG tank installed near the generator be accessible for the delivery truck? It would be expensive but you would save laying 250' of pipe.

 

the one thing to keep in mind is
are they running liquid to the house or vapor?
you can have lots of btu in a 3/8 LP liquid line...
but vapor needs a LARGE dia line....

yea look at the hours per LB of lp on a gen run...

 

I do not think I have ever heard of piping liquid propane to a house. Your tank is where the liquid turns to vapor so the devices can burn/consume it. I do not think the regulators normally available work to regulate gas in vapor form.

 

Correction: last sentence should read ".....gas in liquid form."

 

most rural lp systems in my area are small line liquid to the house then the first stage regulator to a 1 inch or larger pipes depending if they go with
2 psi or 6-9 wc on the secondary regulator.
it all depends on how far away from the house the LP tank pad is placed.
and how the system is designed.
and how many btu the house system needs.

always use a pressure gauge to check ALL LP and NG gas lines before connection of any new equipment...
some NG systems are CNG in some areas of the usa.

 

most rural lp systems in my area are small line liquid to the house then the first stage regulator

Wow, I have never seen that. How is the liquid to vapor conversion done? Do they have a secondary tank at the house?

I have heard of running high pressure vapor (such as 10 psi) from the tank to the house and then regulating down to lower pressure. This allows the line size from the tank to the house to be smaller (as you stated) and thus cheaper to run.

 

Never seen or heard of such a system. I would like to hear from an LPG installer in your area who would install such a system

 

I've seen installations that route LP in liquid form to a separate heated vaporizer before eventually plumbed for consumption in gas form. This is particularly useful in cold climates or where the application requires consistently high flow rates wherein the natural vaporization in the tank is not as efficient in low temperatures.

 

OK learn something new each day, but would this be used in a small residential installation?

 

The propane connector to the generator is for tank pressure, you would have to bypass the first regulator, perhaps replacing it for another, and feeding the engine “regulator” directly.

 

I doubt that. The gen itself would only have the demand regulator built-in.

All the "What's in the box" entry for any of Duromax' tri-fuel models includes a hose with a propane regulator that connects to the LP tank.

 

All propane generators I have seen require 11-13 inches of water pressure and feed the demand regulator on the generator. I have never seen one that required tank pressure.