rabagley, welcome to the forum.

The diesels that are based on the old British designs are made in India (i'm sure that some are made in China also),

http://www.utterpower.com/Lister%206/1.htm

If you are looking to build your own there is a lot of good information on this site.

The "China Diesels" are based on a German design, if i remember correctly. From what i understand the build quality of these units is poor and you might make it to a few hundred hours before a major mechanical malfunction happens. Have lots of spares and know how to work on it.

The India made engines don't have a stellar reputation either. These are the engines can be torn down and put back together in an afternoon. And you still need to have lots of spares and know how to work on it.

If you are looking for an diesel that parts are available though the US one of the Detroit diesel refer generators might be the way to go. Here are a couple of sites,

http://www.green-trust.org/wiki/index.php?title=Green-Trust_Heat_%26_Power_System

http://stores.ebay.com/AFFORDABLE-POWER

Disclaimer, i have no affiliation with any of the above web sites and this is presented for information purposes only.

If you like working on and playing with engines, one of these would be a wonderful toy. But if you want a small reliable diesel generator i would go for an Onan or one of the welder/generators mentioned by Reddog.

Update....


Well I am starting to prepare...I got my (3) 5 Gallon Justrite Cans today, funnel included.

Now it is time to fill them up (not for the generator, as I don't have it yet) but to fill the cars if needed.

Also time to start saving for the generator. Should have enough in about 2 months. Hopefully nothing will happen before then

Small steps are still steps....

Holy crap. Those AFFORDABLE POWER gensets look awesome. I know of one person who's had one of the Chinese generators for about ten years, and though he complains a little about the lack of regulation (when he adds loads, there are temporary voltage and frequency sags), he doesn't have any reliability complaints.

But with these gensets running even slower and just as efficient (1gal/hour to supply a 12kW load is excellent) and being a much more established Detroit Diesel prime mover...

Get one of these.

Those things are huge! I really don't know where I would put that....

About storing those justrite cans...I have a section of my house that only gets sun for 1-2 a day and in the morning....so if I put those cans there, obviously filled, would I even need to worry about putting them in a shed?

They have the vapor valves on them...so if they did get hot then it would release the vapors...I hope

My garage gets sunlight all day. I spoke to a local company that sells generator and they said as long as the cans get vented, which the justrite cans already do, then I should not have any issues.

Justrite also said the same things about the ventilation.

The area I am going to place them in has no electrical outlets, pilot lights, etc. within 5 feet.

So I should be alright. My garage gets hotter then hades in the summer, because of the all day sun exposure.

Shouldn't I?

As long as your garage has the wall vents on the bottom (as most of my California houses did), then it should be fine. Any gas vapors that vent from the Justrite cans will be able to escape from the garage. Also consider whether your garage sits below any other living space (i.e., first-floor garage sits below second-floor bedrooms), as that can cause some problems if the gasoline accelerates a fire.

There may be some other NFPA codes and recommendations (which I think includes not storing gasoline in any part of the actual house, unless it’s a detached building), but heeding the above paragraph would at least mitigate most of the risks.

My local law says that I cannot store more then 100 gallons of gasoline on my residential location. I have the three 5 gal Justrite cans sitting on a metal storage rack fight next to the suicide vents (the slang term for the gas vapor vents)

I am putting a thermostat in the garage first for a few days and see how hot it really gets in there before I fill them up for gas. Just to make sure. Make sure of what? I don't know..... lmao.

Look at what I found:

http://duropower.com/index.asp?FID=14&level=1

the smallest they will see in california is the 15k version...a 1000lbs beast...but look at those stats!!

Also here:

Plus they lease...maybe this would be a better option. Since if the world goes to hell, then who needs to worry about payments

JUST KIDDING!!

http://www.generatorjoe.net/product.asp?0=541&1=552&3=451