DX3 Generator Usage

[FOURWHL]

We're doing some boondocking in New Mexico and the highs are over 100 most days (I know wrong time of the year to be in NM). One good thing has been we've gotten to really put the generator though its paces and as a result have a much better idea of the fuel usage.

The result has been a surprise in the good direction!

So over 7 days, we ran the gen for 48 hours. Just fueled up today and only put 21 gal in. That's less than a half a gallon an hour! And believe me the ACs have been pretty much running constant during that time. Now I know we're not at full load still, but that's surprisingly lower than the 1 gal per hour we had been estimating with.

Furthermore, upon inspection it appears the genset is drawing from both tanks. It sounds like it may be returning only to the drivers (can hear a trickling while its running and the passenger seems to be going down slightly faster) but that's not something I'd call concrete yet. Either way I'm pretty pumped to have both tanks available for use, not just the drivers side like I was understanding. It does beg the question whether the gen has it's own draw or is just pulling from the same pickups as the chassis, but even with the potential of getting stranded I think I'd prefer it use both.

All in all this new revelation means even with heavy gen usage our fresh and holding tanks are still the limit on boondocking for us (two weeks if we stretch it). By my calculations our diesel will last this and then some.

Nice to cross off another thing I've been guessing on!

[Cyote61]

Great infomation and boy nice low fuel consumption. Have not had a chance to measure mine yet since the last trip a couple weeks ago it was still cool in SD. But I did find out how much wind the DX3 would handle with safety.

[mookieblaylock]

Awesome news...thanks for reporting!

[TRN]

Good news on the usage as I'll be running mine for 4 days straight in South GA in a couple of week.

Pumps from the drivers side but balances both tanks. See information I posted in the fuel tank thread. https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ml#post2336744

[FOURWHL]

Ah interesting. I hadn't seen anything showing there is in fact a gravity equalizer in addition to the engine running. That would explain what I'm seeing as well!

[TRN]

Just spent 4 days in my DX3 with the generator running the entire time (off for 10 min each morning to check oil level). It was hot, mid-90's and sunny, mid-70's at night. Both ACs were running full force from 8am till 8pm, then on and off during the night.

Filled the tanks at 1pm on Sunday and noted the height. Drove a total of 115 miles from Loves-Camp-Loves and then refilled in the very same fuel lane - 47.5 gallons (1pm Thursday). If I assume that I got 8 mpg (usual for me), that means I used 14.4 gallons for travel, leaving 33.1 for generator use. Doing the math, it shows that my gen burned on average 0.34 g/hr. Much better than I had anticipated.

[FOURWHL]

Yeah we were only running during the hottest parts of the day, about noon to 8pm. It stands to reason the gal per hr will be even lower when running fulltime since it's not working as hard then.

This lower usage coupled with the fact that it draws from both tanks (in essence) really eases my concerns about fuel level when boondocking. Fresh/grey tank levels really are the limiting factor for us.

[Coolbaldguy]

I had an older Dynaquest, so they may not be the same as yours. I ran my Generator until it ran out of fuel once. The pickup tube must have been separate from the chassis because it left the gauge reading 1/4 tank. It would not leave you totally stranded. Also, I was in my driveway at the time doing some interior modifications, so I wasn't worried about being stranded.