Gas Versus Diesel Generator

When a generator is required many people choose a diesel generator over a gas one. There are several reasons for this. Firstly the diesel generator naturally uses diesel fuel which is much cheaper to buy than petrol, so they are saving on the cost of running the generator. Diesel fuel is also easy to access, being available almost worldwide, so no matter where you live you should find no problems in accessing the fuel.

Many people have to store quantities of fuel on site or somewhere nearby since they cannot be running into town every few days. They may live in remote areas where access is difficult or be cut off by snow or flood. Diesel storage is much safer since diesel almost never explodes. It does not release a significant amount of inflammable vapour, so it is safer to store and use than gas.

Diesel generators, while significantly more expensive to start with, are going to last a great deal longer than other types of generators due to the heavy quality of the parts. They are ideal for situations where extreme weather is experienced for this reason. And don't forget that the cheaper running costs will help to recover the cost of purchase.
They take minimal maintenance which is another big benefit in their favour. No one wants to be forever pulling down a generator to see why it is not working. When it comes to generators that provide power you need reliability above everything else and that is what you can expect with a diesel generator.

The quality of the parts and the size may mean that the diesel generator is very heavy to transport, to load and unload. Thus special arrangements may need to be made to ensure that the heavy lifting can be managed more easily. Most construction or industrial sites would not find this a difficult chore as they would be equipped with men and machines to take care of heavy lifting. If the generator is for private use then special arrangements may be needed.

If service or parts are needed, it is such a common type of generator that nearly every mechanic will be able to fix it easily and in addition there is no trouble in accessing parts. You would not have to wait for parts to come in from another country, for instance, as you may with certain car brands.

Diesel generators are extremely versatile as they can be used for both mechanical energy and electrical output. You can therefore get diesel generators that suit more than one need, thus saving costs.

There are a few disadvantages in diesel generators which may or may not be a bother. They are noisier than their petrol counterparts, but this may not worry those in remote locations, or in applications where it is installed away from the neighbours. More modern diesel generators are not quite as noisy as the older models. Pollution may worry some people as under light loads the generators may develop what is known as 'wet stacking' during which time they emit more smoke.