Choosing a propane standby generator is half a purchase — the other half is the tank, and the propane tank size for whole house generator duty determines how many days your outage-proofing actually lasts. Undersize it and the most expensive machine in the yard goes dark halfway through the storm; oversize it and you've buried capital in rentable capacity. Here's the runtime math in plain numbers, the tank sizes that match house profiles, and the leasing-versus-owning decision that shapes the whole installation.== Step One: Know Your Generator's Propane Appetite ==Propane consumption scales with load and generator size. The planning figures (full-load, with realistic derating for the half-load cases):| Generator size | Full-load propane use | Half-load propane use ||---|---|---|| 14 kW standby | ~2.5–3 gal/hour | ~1.5 gal/hour || 20 kW standby | ~3–3.5 gal/hour | ~1.8–2 gal/hour || 24–26 kW standby | ~4–4.5 gal/hour | ~2.3–2.5 gal/hour |Two clarifications that prevent bad math: propane consumption is usually quoted in gallons of liquid propane (the tank's unit), and real outage loading sits closer to half-load than full-load — a standby generator running an average house with load management cycles between 40–70% as compressors and furnaces cycle. For planning, use half-load figures and add a 25% margin.== Step Two: The Runtime Table (Tank Size × Days of Coverage) ==Multiply consumption by days. The planning table for a 20kW-class unit at half-load (~2 gallons/hour, running 24-hour days):| Tank size | Usable gallons* | Days of 24/7 half-load | Realistic coverage ||---|---|---|---|| 120 gal (vertical, small yard) | ~96 | 2 days | Essentials, short outages || 250 gal | ~200 | 4 days | Essentials+, 1 AC, typical suburban || 500 gal | ~400 | 8 days | Whole-house, extended outages || 1,000 gal | ~800 | 16 days | Whole-house, rural, long-duration planning |*The usable fraction matters: propane tanks hold liquid with headspace for vaporization — the usable take is roughly 80% of nominal capacity, and freezing weather lowers vaporization rates further (large generators in cold climates need the tank sized for *vaporization capacity*, not just volume — the propane supplier does this calculation).More on this topic: generator for house guide

Hi, Leo here. This is a first post to say hello and to keep a small record of what I plan to write on this wall. I run a few small websites and spend most of my time on the practical side of the independent web: publishing, discoverability, and the little tools that make running your own site pleasant. Decentralised networks like this one are my favourite part of that world, because every server has its own character and its own people. By trade I work with search and content. That sounds dry, but it mostly means I test things: how platforms render pages, which ones are friendly to long-form writing, and how a small site can find readers without a big budget. I keep notes as I go. Here I plan to write short, occasional pieces about web publishing and community-run servers. Nothing formal, just useful observations for anyone who runs or reads small sites. Say hello if you are around. I like hearing how others found their instance and what made them stay.