BUY New & Used Commercial Backup Generators 1700kW-1899kW GENERATORS FOR SALE

Industries That Use 1700 kW to 1899 kW Generators

Buyers here rarely have more load than a 1500 kW site. They have a heavier start: a pump, compressor, or process motor whose surge lands on top of a load already near 1.5 MW.

• Water and wastewater: Intakes, high-service pump stations, and treatment plants where the largest pump starts while the plant is already running.
• Cities and municipalities: Stormwater pump stations that must start pumps during the storm that took the utility down.
• Cold storage and refrigerated warehouses: Compressor banks that cycle all day, and that all want to restart together after an outage.
• Oil, gas, and chemical processing: Plants where one compressor or large pump sets the size by itself.
• Mining: Dewatering pumps, conveyors, and hoists on sites with a weak feed or none.
• Rock crushing: Crushers and screens that are almost pure motor load.
• Hospitals: Campuses where fire pump and chiller starts push a 1.5 MW essential load into this band.

Sector-specific sizing notes are on our industries served pages.

1700 kW to 1899 kW Generators at a Glance

• Apparent power: 2,125 to 2,374 kVA at 0.8 power factor.
• Current at 1750 kW: 2,640 A at 480V and 304 A at 4160V on our amperage chart, against 2,260 A and 261 A at 1500 kW.
• Diesel burn at 1750 kW: 124.2 gal/hr at full load and 90.7 gal/hr at 3/4 load on our fuel chart, or about 2,981 gallons a day at full load.
• Headroom over a 1.5 MW load: 200 to 399 kW across the band, or 250 kW at the 1750 kW midpoint.
• Listings inside the band today: none. The nearest stock sits at exactly 1500 kW and 2000 kW.
• What sets the size: the largest motor or pump start, and how many starts the set must handle while already loaded.

An Empty Band and the Sets Just Outside It

The inventory panel above shows no units between 1700 kW and 1899 kW right now. That is the normal state of this band: big diesel standby frames come off the line at round ratings, so our yard sees 1500 kW and 2000 kW far more often. These are the sets listed on either side, from our 1500 kW generators page (below the band) and our 2000 kW generators page (above it):

Both sides are low-hour machines, but only the 2000 kW sets add starting headroom over a 1.5 MW load, so the practical question here is less about finding a 1,750 kW nameplate and more about whether a 2000 kW set fits your switchgear and pad. All sizes below 2 MW are on the 1500kW – 1999kW page.

Bracketing Sheets: Kohler KD1500 Below, mtu DS2000 Above

None of the manufacturer sheets we work from is rated inside 1700 to 1899 kW, so read this band from the sheets on each side:

A set rated in the 1,700s should fall between the two diesels on every column. Watch the size jump: the open DS2000 measures 254.9 x 99.9 x 135.2 inches against the KD1500’s 228.3 x 84.7 x 97.6, so a pad or room built for a 1500 kW frame may need civil work before a 2000 kW set fits. The G3516C, the nearest gas option, works out to roughly 15.7 MMBtu/hr of fuel input at full load.

Diesel Burn on the 1750 kW Row

Our diesel fuel consumption chart has one row inside this band, at 1750 kW. The 1500 kW and 2000 kW rows are shown as brackets:

A 1750 kW set carrying a 1,500 kW running load sits at about 86% of its rating, between the chart’s 90.7 and 124.2 gal/hr. On the makers’ sheets, the DS2000 burns 106 gal/hr when it carries 75% of standby, which is 1,500 kW, and the KD1500 burns 105.9 gal/hr delivering that same 1,500 kW at full load.

A day at full load on the 1750 kW row is about 2,981 gallons (calculated). For scale, Kohler offers KD1500 sub-base tanks of 1,549 to 5,808 gallons, roughly 12 to 47 hours at 124.2 gal/hr; the actual tank comes from the drawing for your unit.

Amps at 480V and 4160V From 1700 kW to 1899 kW

Three-phase current at 0.8 power factor. The 1500, 1750, and 2000 kW rows are from our generator amperage chart; the band’s endpoints are calculated from kVA, because the chart skips them:

Moving a 1.5 MW site from a 1500 kW set to a 1750 kW set adds about 380 A of rated current at 480V, and the breaker, bus, and cables must be rated for it even though the running load hasn’t changed. At 4160V the same step is only 43 A, which makes this band easier on medium-voltage pump stations and plants. At 1750 kW the chart gives no 208V or 220V figure, so 480V is the practical floor. Our power calculators will turn a load list into current at your own voltage.

Why a 1.5 MW Load Ends Up on a 1700 kW to 1899 kW Set

Because the generator has to carry the running load and absorb the largest start at the same moment, and 1500 kW leaves nothing for the start.

A motor coming up to speed pulls several times its running current, and the generator must deliver that surge without voltage and frequency sagging far enough to drop contactors or trip drives. On a site already near 1,500 kW, a 1500 kW set is at nameplate before the big pump is called; the 200 to 399 kW this band adds is room for the surge. An across-the-line start needs far more of it than the same motor on a soft starter or drive.

Put four things on the load list first:

• The largest motor and how it starts. Horsepower, starting method, and what is already running.
• Starts that happen together. Compressor banks restarting after an outage add up quickly.
• The voltage dip your controls tolerate. PLCs and drives set tighter limits than motors.
• Site conditions. Altitude and heat cut engine output. Kohler rates the KD1500 radiator for 50 °C ambient and takes 5 °C off that figure once an enclosure with an enclosed silencer is fitted.

If staggering starts or adding drives brings the step inside 1500 kW, see the 1500kW – 1699kW band instead. Send us the motor list and we’ll show you which start sets your size.

A Set Rated in the Band, or a 2000 kW Standby Set Run Below Nameplate?

For a new installation, a 2000 kW standby set is often the better buy; a set rated in the 1,700s or 1,800s makes sense when the switchgear, pad, or tank was built around it.

mtu’s DS2000 sheet allows the standby rating to be used at an average of up to 85% across 24 hours, with no overload capability. That is 1,700 kW (calculated), so a 2000 kW standby set can average the bottom of this band through an outage with its full nameplate left for a big pump start. Against a 1.5 MW running load, that is about 500 kW of starting room instead of the 250 kW a 1750 kW set offers.

The costs of stepping up:

• Current: 3,015 A at 480V on our chart for 2000 kW, against 2,640 A at 1750 kW.
• Fuel at full load: 141.9 gal/hr against 124.2 gal/hr on our chart.
• Weight and airflow: 47,523 lb for an open DS2000, whose radiator needs 111,890 SCFM of cooling air at its 50 °C rating.

Supply usually tips it: nothing is listed inside this band, while the 2000 kW page carries low-hour used sets and new Cummins units. One caution: if the site will carry its load for days at a time, compare prime or continuous ratings rather than standby. Kohler’s KD1500, for example, drops from 1500 kW standby to 1350 kW prime at 480V, so ask for the prime figure on any frame you consider here.

Will a Natural Gas Set Start a Large Pump?

It can, but diesel is the usual choice when motor starts set the size, because it accepts a large block of load faster.

Gas suits process plants that run long hours on an existing gas line. Caterpillar’s G3516C is rated 1660 ekW continuous, just below this band, and Jenbacher lists its J612 at up to 2,078 kW at 60 Hz, from 480V to 13.8kV, with electrical efficiency up to 45.2%. Confirm gas pressure, flow, and block-load step on the exact unit’s data sheet. Every set listed at 1500 kW and 2000 kW has been diesel. Browse diesel sets in industrial diesel generators, gas sets in industrial natural gas generators, and fixed backup machines in industrial standby generators.

Used, New, or Rented for a Motor-Start Application

Used is a strong fit at this size because standby frames reach us with low hours; new is required when a spec calls for a factory warranty or a current emissions tier.

The sets bracketing this band have run 150 to 770 hours, even the 2005 and 2007 builds, since a standby frame this size only runs for exercise and outages. For motor-start duty, ask for load bank results, since alternator and regulator behavior under load decides whether a set holds voltage through a big start. The listed sets are Tier 2 except one 2005 Tier 1 unit, which needs a permit check for non-emergency use. For comparison, mtu’s basic limited warranty on a new DS2000 is two years or 3,000 hours. Compare our used industrial generators against our new industrial generators before you decide.

Rent for a turnaround, a pump station rebuild, or the months before a permanent set arrives. Stag Power Rentals, our rental arm, covers that work, and our generator financing options help when capital timing is the obstacle to buying. Freight terms for a set this heavy are in our shipping and returns policy.

Bands Around 1700 kW to 1899 kW

If the starting study moves your number, look next door:

A set bought for headroom runs lightly loaded much of the time, and a diesel run that way builds up unburned fuel in the exhaust, so exercise it under real load. Every output we carry is on shop by kW.

Inspected, Load Tested, and Backed After the Sale

Each set we sell passes a 22-point inspection and load bank testing before it leaves the yard, and loaded testing is what shows the alternator holds up through a pump or compressor start. We’ve bought and sold industrial generators for over a decade. Every purchase, new or used, is covered by our 30-day IronClad warranty, and once the set is commissioned our team handles industrial generator repair, scheduled service and maintenance, and emergency service.

Ready to Buy a 1700kW – 1899kW Generator?

Send us your running load, your largest motors with their starting methods, and your service voltage. We’ll tell you whether this band, a 1500 kW set with better starting equipment, or a 2000 kW standby set fits. Compare our used industrial generators and new industrial generators, or contact us to work through the motor-start study together.