"Generator set" is not one duty cycle. It is seven.
A camp genset running 4,000 hours a year at 40% load and a standby set that idles for eleven months share a spec sheet and nothing else. This page breaks the genset population into the classes that behave differently, says plainly which ones we think are worth fitting, and says which one we would talk you out of.
Which generator sets suit hydrogen combustion enhancement?
Continuously running prime-power sets that spend most of their hours at part load — camp and site power, irrigation pump sets and large stationary industrial plant. These combine high annual fuel burn with the part-load operating condition in which published studies report the largest effects, and with enough running hours to establish a defensible before-and-after baseline. Standby and emergency sets are a poor fit: annual fuel burn is too small for the economics to work or for a measurement to be credible. Units are sized by engine displacement, not kW rating, and draw from the set's existing 12/24 V DC starting battery.
Genset classes, duty cycles and our honest view
| Class | Output | Engine | Duty cycle | Unit | Our view |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camp & site power (prime, remote) | 20 – 150 kW | 2.5 – 7.0 L | Long continuous hours, frequently loaded well below rated capacity, diesel delivered rather than pumped locally | HydroHub™ H-Power (up to 7.0 L) | Strong fit High annual hours give a measurement window, part-load operation is the condition where published work reports the most room, and landed fuel cost is usually a multiple of pump price. Measurement is straightforward: litres per hour at a repeatable load. |
| Large stationary prime power / industrial plant | 150 – 500 kW+ | 7 – 16 L | Continuous or long-shift running under managed load, professional maintenance regime, fuel metered | HydroHub DH-Power (7 – 16 L, 4 L reservoir) | Strong fit Hour counters, fuel metering and load data usually already exist, so a controlled baseline is realistic. Larger fuel burn also means a small percentage change is measurable above noise sooner than on a light-duty engine. |
| Standby / emergency sets | Any | Any | Idle most of the year; monthly exercise runs and occasional outage duty | Not recommended as a first fit | Poor fit Annual fuel burn is too small for a fuel-consumption case to be worth making, and too small to measure credibly. Standby sets also sit under statutory availability obligations; we would rather you spent the money on load-bank testing than on our hardware. |
| Rental & event fleets | 20 – 200 kW | 2.5 – 10.0 L | Highly variable load, mixed operators, short hires, frequent relocation | HydroHub H-Power or D-900 by displacement | Case by case Duty cycle variability is the problem, not the hardware. A rental fleet can only measure honestly by running a matched pair of sets, or the same set across comparable hires, since operator and load differ every job. Installation is reversible and does not alter the engine, which suits asset resale. |
| Telecom & remote monitoring sets | 5 – 30 kW | 1.5 – 4.5 L | Unattended, long low-load runs, refuelling visits dominate site cost | HydroHub A-900 or H-Power | Case by case The economics here are often about refuelling trips rather than litres. Any reduction in consumption extends the interval between visits. Against that, these sites are unattended, so consumable servicing — the resin filter in particular — has to fit the existing visit schedule. |
| Irrigation & agricultural pump sets | 20 – 120 kW | 3.0 – 8.0 L | Seasonal, long steady-load runs during watering windows, often older engines | HydroHub H-Power, D-900 above 7.0 L | Strong fit Steady load across a season makes for the cleanest baseline of any class on this page, and older engine populations are common. See the agriculture guide for the fuel-cost and biodiesel-blend context. |
| Ship's service & auxiliary sets | 20 – 250 kW | 3.0 – 16.0 L | In-port and at-anchor auxiliary load, extended part-load hours, exhaust plume visible in confined harbour conditions | HydroHub H-Power or D-900 | Case by case Duty cycle suits it, but marine installation is governed by class, survey and flag-state requirements that override any general guidance we give. Marine fitting must be signed off by the appropriate authority for the vessel first. |
Output and displacement bands are indicative of typical equipment in each class, not specifications of your set. Size on the actual engine displacement.
Size by displacement, not by kW
| Displacement band | Recommended unit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2.5 L | HydroHub A-450 / A-675 | Small telecom and light portable sets |
| 2.5 – 4.5 L | HydroHub A-900 or H-Power | 20 – 30 kW class; choose H-Power for continuous duty |
| 4.5 – 7.0 L | HydroHub H-Power | Camp, site and irrigation sets in continuous service |
| 7.0 – 16.0 L | HydroHub DH-Power | Large stationary plant, industrial and marine auxiliary |
A generator set's kW rating depends on alternator, speed and prime / standby rating as much as on the engine. Two 30 kW sets can carry different engines. Gas output is matched to swept volume, so displacement is the number that decides the unit.
The part-load argument, stated once
Published studies of hydrogen and oxyhydrogen enrichment on compression-ignition engines report that the size of the effect varies with operating point rather than being uniform across the load range, with the larger changes appearing away from optimised full-load operation and on older, less tightly managed engines. That is the reason the classes above are ranked the way they are, and it is set out per study — with the NOx trade-off disclosed — on the duty-cycle page.
- · Saravanan & Nagarajan (2008), An experimental investigation of hydrogen-enriched air induction in a diesel engine system, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 33(6) 1769–1775
- · Karagöz et al. (2016), Effect of hydrogen enrichment on combustion characteristics, emissions and performance of a diesel engine, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 41(1) 656–665
- · Yılmaz, Uludamar & Aydın (2010), Effect of hydroxy (HHO) gas addition on performance and exhaust emissions in compression ignition engines, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 35(20) 11366–11372
No projected, typical or expected fuel-saving figure is published. Actual results vary materially with engine condition, duty cycle, load profile, fuel quality, installation and operating conditions. A controlled field evaluation on your own equipment, with baseline data captured before installation, is required before any commercial projection.
These are combustion-enhancement devices. No emissions-compliance or fuel-saving guarantee is expressed or implied. Professional installation and controlled field evaluation are recommended.
Generator-set class questions
Which generator-set class is the best candidate?
- Continuously running prime-power sets that spend most of their hours at part load — camp and site power, irrigation pump sets, and large stationary plant. They combine high annual fuel burn, the part-load condition in which published studies report the largest effects, and enough hours to establish a defensible baseline.
Should I fit a standby generator?
- We would generally say no. A standby set that runs a monthly exercise cycle burns too little fuel for a consumption case to make sense, and too little to measure credibly. Availability, load-bank testing and fuel condition matter far more on a standby asset than combustion enhancement does.
How do I size the unit for a generator set?
- By engine displacement, not by kW rating. Under 2.5 L, the HydroHub A-450 or A-675. From 2.5 to 7.0 L, the H-Power is the recommended continuous-duty unit. From 7.0 to 16.0 L, the flagship D-900 with its larger reservoir. Where a set sits near a boundary, size up rather than down for continuous duty.
Does a genset installation need its own power supply?
- No. The unit draws from the generator set's existing 12 or 24 V DC starting battery system. No separate battery bank, inverter or auxiliary supply is required.
What should a genset trial actually measure?
- Litres per hour at a repeatable load, over enough hours to clear normal variation, with the same fuel batch and the same load profile before and after. Log smoke opacity if you have the means, and record ambient conditions. A single week of unmatched running proves nothing either way.
How often does the resin filter need changing on a continuous-duty set?
- Every 6 to 9 months in typical service, and this needs to be planned into the site's existing service visits rather than treated as an afterthought — particularly on unattended telecom or remote sites where nobody is present between visits.
Where each genset class actually runs.
The class tables above map onto these verticals — camp and prime power on mine and drilling sites, ship's service sets at sea, irrigation sets on farm.
Generator sets →
Stationary diesel gensets on continuous and prime duty from 100–500 kVA — remote camps, telecom sites and standby plant fed from the set's own starting battery.
Mining fleets →
Haul trucks, articulated dumpers, production dozers, loaders, drill rigs and camp gensets. Dust, pit heat and remote servicing decide as much as displacement does, and carted fuel changes what a percentage is worth.
Drilling rigs →
Rig power packs, mud pumps, air compressors and pad plant running long steady-state hours where fuel is trucked in and every litre carries a freight cost.
Marine →
Workboats, charter and dive vessels, ferries and ship's service gensets. Nothing is stored aboard — gas is made on demand — which is normally a surveyor's first question.
Agriculture →
Tractors, headers, sprayers, farm trucks and irrigation pump sets. Seasonal idle periods, on-farm water quality and distance from a dealer shape the specification.
Confined space & underground →
Underground headings, tunnels and enclosed workshops where diesel particulate and ventilation load are the operating constraint before fuel cost is.
All applications — the full vertical index →·Partner program →
Continue reading.
Hydrogen combustion enhancement
What it is, how PEM gas reaches the cylinder, and what it does not do.
Engine performance improvement
Flame speed, burn completeness and load response on diesel engines.
Fuel efficiency
How to baseline and measure litres per 100 km or litres per hour.
Emissions reduction
Soot, particulate and unburnt-fuel behaviour, and how to test it.
Visible smoke reduction
Smoke opacity findings per study, with the NOx trade-off disclosed.
Remote-site fuel logistics cost
Landed cost versus pump price, and why the same percentage moves more money.
Idle & part-load duty cycles
Reefers, camp gensets and high-idle plant — where the literature reports most room.
Hydrogen with biodiesel blends
Per-study findings for hydrogen enrichment on biodiesel, NOx disclosed.
Installation guide
Nine-step fitting sequence: mounting, wiring, gas line, commissioning.
Safety & compliance
On-demand gas, no storage, alarms, shutdowns and reversibility.
Troubleshooting
Alarms, low gas output, water quality and no-start diagnostics.
Case studies & field results
Published operator data and trial methodology.
Compare PEM systems
A-450 to DH-Power side by side: displacement, output, current draw.
Does it actually work? Evidence review
The published literature, the FTC/EPA history and the ACL context.
How it works
Gas path and established physics, explained with diagrams.
PEM vs alkaline
Membrane on water versus caustic KOH: servicing, purity, cost.
Sizing combined gas
Why PEM and alkaline gas-volume benchmarks are not interchangeable for ICE sizing.
Four hydrogen technologies
Enhancement vs H2ICE vs fuel cell vs chemical generation.
Compared with Hydrogen Fuel Systems
Honest comparison with the Perth-based Gen alkaline range.
Compared with H2i Technology
Hardware, pricing and evidence transparency versus the Victorian supplier.
Compared with dynaCERT HydraGEN
PEM versus alkaline, published price versus dealer quote, Verra versus ACCU.
Compared with HYDI
The South Australian manufacturer: UniSA testing, field history and quote path.
AU installation, warranty & safety
VSB 14 and VSB 6, ACL guarantees and documentation to keep.
Mining fleets
Haul trucks, dozers, drill rigs and site gensets: unit selection and dust.
Marine
Workboats, charter, fishing and ship's service gensets — no gas stored aboard.
Agriculture
Tractors, headers, pump sets and farm trucks across seasonal duty.
FAQ
Answers on fitment, water, warranty, freight and duty cycles.