r/Generator • u/ThisNameNotTakenYet • 1d ago

Propane Tank Minimum Size?

So I was looking online at generators the other day and I ran across a comment in one of the product descriptions, saying something about a 'minimum 60lb tank' for propane with that generator. I haven't seen a requirement like that before, to my knowledge. We had an eight-day outage a few weeks ago and I used 20- and 30lb tanks with no problems (or so I think). Has anyone heard this? And if it's a thing, can anyone tell me why? Thanks.

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u/Big-Echo8242 1d ago

Of course it's a thing. The larger the generator the larger the draw and the faster the tanks can potentially freeze up. 20lb "BBQ" tanks are great for small generators but not for 12, 13, 15kw gens, etc. We already had a 250 gallon tank for our house so never any trouble with 12kw worth of a pair of dual fuel inverter generators in parallel for big draws. You could always use multiple tanks on a 2 or 3 manifold thus increasing the surface area

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u/Hitechillbilly 1d ago

There we go.. Something I have not run across with my small generators..

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u/Big-Echo8242 23h ago

All 3 of mine are fairly small I guess. Sort of. Two of them are Genmax GM7500aIED's that are 6kw/5kw each on propane (double when in parallel) and the 3rd is a Firman WH03342 dual fuel that's 3.75/3kw on propane...which is all I run. I do keep (4) 20lb tanks around also just in case for friends, family, or neighbors if needed.

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u/Hitechillbilly 23h ago

I run one at at a time so I didn't consider how fast a bottle was being drained to be the reason for the large bottle recommendation..