I just recently picked up a new dual-fuel inverter generator (GXS-4300iDC) at Costco on sale.
Manufacturer Link - GXS-4300iDC
As of right now in person it is selling for $669.99 which is a really good deal, especially given the specs. However, I noticed that online discussion is rather lacking for this model. Notably, there was no information on propane consumption. As such I will post my testing results here in case they ever end up useful for someone else. All testing has been performed running the generator with propane, which will be my primary use case.
Firstly I wanted to validate that the waveform output of the generator was a pure sine wave, which as you can see below is the case. Along with this the output frequency and voltage are quite stable and well within spec.
I tested the waveform stability by loading down the generator with a 1500w space heater. As soon as the space heater is turned on the generator is clearly bogged down, but shows very little to no impact on the output.
The generator includes an "ECO" mode, which allows the engine to run and idle at lower speeds in order to reduce fuel consumption. This is evident, as when enabled/disabled the generator immediately ramps the throttle as expected. In many generators, this can cause sluggish response to load which can have a negative impact on devices being powered by the generator. As such I repeated the 1500w load test while the generator was in "ECO" mode, with the resulting waveform being captured below.
As can be observed, the output sine wave amplitude is impacted, with a pk-pk drop of about 20v, resulting in a voltage output drop to only around 118v; well within spec for NA power. In addition, no ringing, waveform degradation, or frequency shifting is measured.
These tests aren't a perfect example, as 1500w only represents ~50% load, but should be sufficient to indicate that relatively large changes to load should not significantly impact the output from this generator.
Finally, I ran a 30-minute fuel consumption test when running the same 1500w load, measuring the total weight of the source propane tank before and after the test. I used a bathroom scale, so do take these numbers with a grain of salt, but it should be sufficient to get a rough expectation of runtime. Starting the test the tank was still roughly full, weighing in at 37.0lbs. This did drop to about 36.9 within the first 2 minutes, as this tank had been used to run the previous tests prior to this. At the 30-minute mark, the tank was again weighed and came to 36.3lbs. This gives a propane consumption rate at ~50% load of ~1.4 lbs/hr. This runs to about an 18% conversion efficiency of propane BTUs to Kwh, which is in line with the expected value for an internal combustion engine. At this consumption rate, a standard 20-lb BBQ propane tank can run this load for a little over 14 hours.
Overall I am quite happy with this generator, especially given the ability to run using cheap and easy-to-store propane. The output (even though reduced when running on propane) is exactly within the range of what I would need to run internet, fridges, freezers, furnace blower, and other creature comforts, even in the event of a prolonged outage. With 3 propane tanks being cycled I can expect to be able to run with minimal issue, especially with the ability to fall back to gasoline should the need arise.
Manufacturer Link - GXS-4300iDC
As of right now in person it is selling for $669.99 which is a really good deal, especially given the specs. However, I noticed that online discussion is rather lacking for this model. Notably, there was no information on propane consumption. As such I will post my testing results here in case they ever end up useful for someone else. All testing has been performed running the generator with propane, which will be my primary use case.
Firstly I wanted to validate that the waveform output of the generator was a pure sine wave, which as you can see below is the case. Along with this the output frequency and voltage are quite stable and well within spec.
I tested the waveform stability by loading down the generator with a 1500w space heater. As soon as the space heater is turned on the generator is clearly bogged down, but shows very little to no impact on the output.
The generator includes an "ECO" mode, which allows the engine to run and idle at lower speeds in order to reduce fuel consumption. This is evident, as when enabled/disabled the generator immediately ramps the throttle as expected. In many generators, this can cause sluggish response to load which can have a negative impact on devices being powered by the generator. As such I repeated the 1500w load test while the generator was in "ECO" mode, with the resulting waveform being captured below.
As can be observed, the output sine wave amplitude is impacted, with a pk-pk drop of about 20v, resulting in a voltage output drop to only around 118v; well within spec for NA power. In addition, no ringing, waveform degradation, or frequency shifting is measured.
These tests aren't a perfect example, as 1500w only represents ~50% load, but should be sufficient to indicate that relatively large changes to load should not significantly impact the output from this generator.
Finally, I ran a 30-minute fuel consumption test when running the same 1500w load, measuring the total weight of the source propane tank before and after the test. I used a bathroom scale, so do take these numbers with a grain of salt, but it should be sufficient to get a rough expectation of runtime. Starting the test the tank was still roughly full, weighing in at 37.0lbs. This did drop to about 36.9 within the first 2 minutes, as this tank had been used to run the previous tests prior to this. At the 30-minute mark, the tank was again weighed and came to 36.3lbs. This gives a propane consumption rate at ~50% load of ~1.4 lbs/hr. This runs to about an 18% conversion efficiency of propane BTUs to Kwh, which is in line with the expected value for an internal combustion engine. At this consumption rate, a standard 20-lb BBQ propane tank can run this load for a little over 14 hours.
Overall I am quite happy with this generator, especially given the ability to run using cheap and easy-to-store propane. The output (even though reduced when running on propane) is exactly within the range of what I would need to run internet, fridges, freezers, furnace blower, and other creature comforts, even in the event of a prolonged outage. With 3 propane tanks being cycled I can expect to be able to run with minimal issue, especially with the ability to fall back to gasoline should the need arise.
Yours truly,
Ayydan
(This post was last modified: 05-10-2024, 07:41 PM by Ayydan.)
Ayydan