Honda EU 10i 'LPG' suitcase generator: Is calor gas cheaper than petrol?

Larger cylinders such as 13kg i think are about £25 so thats close to £1/ litre, petrol about £1.5/ litre so thats close to 50% saving however you will get 10 to 15 % less effieciency from LPG as opposed to petol hope that helps.

disclosure (I work for Calor)
 
From memory, the energy density of petrol, butane and propane are all fairly similar. That means you'll have about the same energy in a kg. of LPG as you have in a kg of petrol. You buy the LPG by the kilo and petrol by the litre so you'd need to convert petrol from litres to kilos to make the comparison (0.72kg/litre is a fair guess).

These are theoretical values and will be affected by how efficient your engine is on LPG or Petroleum (prob. 15% diff.). I don't know how much you pay for gas but suspect Calor or Camping will turn out to be about 2 x price of petrol. But they are very expensive ways to buy LPG compared to buying it at a garage for a car. It could be cheaper if buying larger cylinders as the price drops hugely.
 
Last edited:
rustybarge said:
Is it cheaper to run a LPG Honda generator on calor gas cylinder, or is petrol cheaper?
Available from: http://www.seddondirect.co.uk/hondagenerators


View attachment 29619
A Honda EU10i Portable Generator LPG
RRP: £998.75
Our Price: £856.99
Click to expand...
Been there done that, buying calor gas, forget it, too expensive. Also the heavier the fuel the more bang you get, so gas is the lightest, petrol next and then diesel. Thats why diesel cars are inherently more fuel efficient, they use a heavier fuel. 10 percent less bang for buck for gas so factor that in. The only way you could do it cheaply is if you have a Calor tank for central heating, then decant it in to bottles. No tax etc. Some people do this to run their range rovers etc on, then forget that the revenue watch VAT returns to see if vat claim back on fuel drops, then they stake out the house and photograph you decanting! Trust me, a mate did it and got caught!
Stu
 
seanfoster said:
If you were using it regularly (i.e live-aboard), would it be worthwhile getting a refillable bottle and filling up with lpg? Supposed to work out a lot cheaper and regularly used by caravanners (did I swear?!)

http://www.gasproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Gaslow_Refillable_Cylinders___Accessories.html
Click to expand...


Thanks for that great link.


I'm lucky enough to have mains electricity on my moorings. On average I've used 2000 kw/year, that includes a lecky hot water cylinder, electric kettle, CRT old fashioned Tv, energy saving lights (not led).

So that's about 5 kw/day @ 15cent kw= € 0.75 cents/ day

Small petrol genny uses 400 Gram petrol/ kw= (0.72kg=1 ltr) €0.83c, 5kw/day= €4.15/ day. Holy sh*t :(

Calor Gas..........Guess - 15% = €3.32/day...............

Makes you think, how about Methane Gas :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Slight thread drift, but if I wanted to use a generator to run a fan heater, battery charger or microwave at anchor or on a mooring (not all at the same time, and being careful not to upset any neighbours) would an EU10i suffice or would I need the EU20i?
 
richardsn9 said:
Slight thread drift, but if I wanted to use a generator to run a fan heater, battery charger or microwave at anchor or on a mooring (not all at the same time, and being careful not to upset any neighbours) would an EU10i suffice or would I need the EU20i?
Click to expand...

I have a Honda 20Eui so have facts on that but think I'll be OK remembering spec. of smaller one.

Both have a lower continous output than you'd think. The larger one is 1600VA and the smaller one is 900VA. The smaller one seems closer to expected output as most people think they are 2kW and 1kW generators.

Fan heater: It could only be a 1kW heater and with the fan it might need 1.1kW So 20Eui would be fine but the smaller one would struggle.
Mains battery charger: 20Eui could run an 80A charger and 10Eui could manage 40A model (def. not 80A)
Microwave: 800W microwave might need 1200W so OK with 20Eui. You might be just OK with 600W via 10Eui

N.B. Cooking times will probably be longer with microwave running off genny. Honda is meant to have a very good quality AC output but I still find cooking times significantly longer than via shorepower.
 
Last edited:
Slight thread drift - but why not a gas outboard?
There was a stand demonstrating propane outboards at the Toronto Boat Show, the small 4 stroke used the camping screw in tins, but also had a connector so that a larger cylinder could be used, drastically cutting the running costs. They would not name the outboard builder, just an imported machine with a gas regulator instead of carburetor.
Running a genny or outboard on Calor Gas will avoid the road fuel duty on petrol, so a saving there.
 
srm said:
Slight thread drift - but why not a gas outboard?
There was a stand demonstrating propane outboards at the Toronto Boat Show, the small 4 stroke used the camping screw in tins, but also had a connector so that a larger cylinder could be used, drastically cutting the running costs. They would not name the outboard builder, just an imported machine with a gas regulator instead of carburetor.
Running a genny or outboard on Calor Gas will avoid the road fuel duty on petrol, so a saving there.
Click to expand...

As already explained above: 4.5kg Calor Butane costs about £3.56/kg and is about 15% less efficient than petrol
So Calor works out at around £4.20/kg vs.petrol at around £1.90/kg
Camping gaz will be al lot worse, perhaps £8.65/kg

It's only cheaper if you decant from very much larger cylinders or can use these cylinders in situ. I'm guessing that they wouldn't sell in huge numbers due to increased hassle, capital cost and worries about storing more gas on board.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top