Mother Earth never ceases to supply us our daily needs. She has been so kind to us that once Carl Marx famously said that the price of anything on earth is just a sum of labor that went into manufacturing it, since the material is freely given to us by the Nature!
One such priceless gift given to us is petroleum. The whole world will come to a standstill if we run out of this precious natural resource. Man has selfishly exploited this natural source that it may one day get exhausted. Not only burning petroleum will put a strain on Mother Earth, it causes global warming through greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere in the form of CO and CO2. If we have to make this earth a liveable place for our progeny, we have to act now.
Natural gas on the other hand is a safer and more efficient alternative, if we have to reduce the carbon footprint. Natural gas is a mixture of propane, butane, ethane and methane. It is tasteless, colorless and odorless. It may originate from micro-organisms as part of their natural metabolic processes or it may generate deep inside the earth due to materials subjected to very high pressure. Propane is a part of the natural gas mixture.
Generators traditionally run on gasoline. But gasoline as a fuel has many limitations. First and foremost, it is the biggest pollutant there is, emitting greenhouse gases. Gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide are carcinogenic. Whenever there is an unfortunate natural disaster, gasoline is usually hoarded, drying up supply in the open market. It has limited shelf-life. When generators are used as backup, gasoline may not come to use when one most needs it. If a generator is used past its working life, it may cause engine failure. Besides, if gasoline simply sits in the generator without being burnt for a long period, it may plug the carburettor, leading to engine failure.
Natural gas and propane on the other hand are almost abundant in supply. In cold weather they help engine of the generator start better than gasoline, leading to better engine life. They don’t have any shelf-life, nor plug the carburettor like gasoline does. They do not pollute the air. When one uses generator as a backup source of energy, natural gas and propane are ideal fit.
While propane is only a constituent of natural gas, in actual state it is a hydrocarbon separated from natural gas. But Propane is more energy efficient than natural gas, since it delivers over twice the usable energy per cubic foot volume than natural gas. Another major difference between natural gas and propane is that the former is classified as a greenhouse gas and the latter is not.
Century Fuel Products is one of the world's largest independent and privately held suppliers of Alternative Fuel Systems. Its manufacturing facility is located in Canton, MI. Century Fuel Products, established in 1919, manufactures a comprehensive range of aftermarket propane parts, generator conversion kits, forklift carburetion parts, forklift conversion kits, engine conversion kits, and more. The company offers easy-to-use DIY kits, so individuals can convert their gasoline generator to propane, natural gas, or all three. Century Fuel Products also offers IMPCO Replacement Parts, with 13 month warranty.