The Best Yanmar Generator for You

If you’ve found a Yanmar generator for sale and wondered if it’s the right Yanmar generator for you, there are certain questions you need to ask yourself. Do you need a diesel generator? Or is petrol better for you? Because Yanmar are known for their diesel generators; in fact, I don’t believe they sell petrol generators. In this article, I will go through the few simple questions you need to ask yourself before you settle on which generator is best for you.

Diesel vs Petrol

Firstly, let’s cover whether you want a diesel generator or a petrol generator. Diesel engine generators are the only option when you start getting up in the hundreds of kVA level of generators (the only other option is natural gas generators and variations, like biogas generators). So, if you’re going to power your whole business or industrial work with your generator, then diesel is the only option.

For those who are looking on the much, much smaller side of generators, petrol is the only option. Diesel engines do not use spark plugs to ignite the fuel-air mixture inside a combustion engine; instead, they use super high air pressure to cause spontaneous combustion. This means that they are built to withstand this high air pressure and cannot be built as small as a petrol engine generator.

In fact, the smallest generators are petrol inverter generators which are ideal for use cases like camping, due to their higher fuel efficiency and more consistent power output which is ideal for powering electronics which can be sensitive to any inconsistencies. These generators can be as small as 1 kVA in power output and weigh only around 20kg which is fantastic for an entire engine and generator.

The ambiguity begins when you are seeking a generator that is in the middle range, where diesel and petrol are both reasonable options. The easiest way to solve the dilemma is to base your choice on the expected usage of your generator. Diesel engines are more fuel efficient but diesel fuel is more expensive, so it only really works out in your favour if you are using a lot of diesel fuel. Otherwise, if you think you’ll rarely use your generator, then petrol might just well be the better option, especially if you have a petrol car which can serve as an emergency fuel source for petrol generators in blackout scenarios.

In this middle range, it’s up to you to make the choice informed by your circumstances. Perhaps you have a mower that runs off diesel fuel so you’ll always have some of that around for your backup diesel generator. And once you’ve made your considerations of the fuel type, next is to consider whether to have a portable or fixed generator.

Portable vs Fixed

This decision can sometimes be already made for you, because there are almost zero portable generators that can power a whole business worth of power. If your power needs are up in that kind of range (the 100s of kVA), then you’re almost definitely going to have to go with a fixed generator. Generators of that size weigh a lot, so even if you could get one on wheels it would need to be towed around by a vehicle such as a car.

If you want a much smaller generator, then the majority of those are portable. For most cases where you want a backup power generator for your home, a portable generator is more ideal because it can be safely stored away until it is needed. Another factor to consider is the fuel capacity, because fixed generator models generally have a much higher fuel capacity.

The last consideration to make is whether you want an open-framed or a closed-frame generator, which can also already be decided for you, with the small petrol inverter generators coming with a cover (or canopy), making them closed-frame. This ensures against accidents occurring with the more delicate electronic components of these specialised generators.

Closed-frame vs Open-frame

Along with inverter generators, most fixed generators are also closed-frame. The benefits of closed-frame generators are that they can be safer because the components are not exposed and they can be quieter because there is noise dampening from the canopy.

A drawback of closed-frame generators is that the components are not as easy to access and perform maintenance on as their open-frame counterparts. And there are open-frame generators which are fitted with a Long-Range Tank (LRT) which provides increased fuel capacity, whereas closed-frame generators have a fixed capacity that cannot be optionally increased with an LRT.

Summary

As you’ve found through reading each section, you’ll realise that most high-power supply generators are fixed, covered and diesel. Also, the smallest generators are petrol, covered generators and the in-between options give you a lot of variability when it comes to fuel choice and capacity, frame, and portability. However, with this information in hand, you can tailor the generator you choose to your needs.