Festival Power Planner: How Much LPG for a 3-Day Event (2026)
Last updated: June 2026
Running out of propane halfway through a Saturday lunch rush is the festival nightmare. This planner shows you how much LPG your generator burns over a weekend, and how many cylinders to load before you leave the yard.
A dedicated LPG generator is the standard off-grid power source for UK festival catering, and a 3-day event on a 5 kW Greengear typically burns around 25–35 kg of propane. That is the accepted planning figure most experienced traders work to.
In 30 seconds:
- A 5 kW Greengear burns roughly 1 kg of propane an hour at typical load.
- A 3-day event (about 30 trading hours) needs roughly 30 kg for the generator — that is one 47 kg cylinder or two 19 kg cylinders.
- Your fryer and griddle burn their own propane on top — plan that separately.
- Always pack one spare cylinder. Running dry mid-service costs more than a spare bottle ever will.
- Use propane only — butane stops vaporising below 2°C and lets you down on a cold morning.
Not sure which generator you need first? Try our LPG generator sizing calculator. It takes 2 minutes and stops you buying the wrong size. Then use the festival planner below to work out the fuel.
Festival Power Planner
Why festival power needs its own plan
A market pitch lasts a few hours. A festival runs for days, often miles from the nearest mains socket. You carry every watt and every kilo of fuel in with you.
Get the sums wrong and one of two things happens. You over-pack and haul dead weight around all weekend. Or you run short and lose trade at the busiest moment. The planner above stops both.
Why propane, not butane? Festival mornings are cold, even in summer. Butane stops vaporising below about 2°C, so the supply fades just as you fire up. Propane keeps working down to around -40°C. Every commercial mobile catering setup runs on propane at 37 mbar for this reason.
Why a dedicated LPG generator? A Greengear is built for propane from the factory — not a petrol engine with a conversion kit added. That means no second fuel to store on a crowded pitch, cleaner running, and a quieter engine for evening noise limits. It also runs on the same propane you already cook with, so you carry one fuel type, not two.
How much propane your generator burns
The three Greengear models burn fuel at different rates. Here is the real-world figure for each at typical load, straight from the manuals.
GE-3000UK — coffee trailers and small stands
Quick specs
- Power: 2.8 kW continuous · 3.1 kW peak
- Fuel use: about 0.6 kg propane per hour at typical load
- Weight: 49 kg — a one-person lift
- Price: from £649
Best for
Coffee trailers, crepe stands, and small market stalls with one main appliance plus lights and a fridge.
Festival fuel
Over a 3-day event at 10 hours a day, expect to burn around 18 kg. One 19 kg cylinder is cutting it fine, so take a 47 kg or a 19 kg plus a spare.
GE-5000UK — the festival workhorse
Quick specs
- Power: 5.0 kW continuous · 5.5 kW peak
- Fuel use: about 1.0 kg propane per hour at typical load
- Weight: 93 kg — a two-person lift or sack truck
- Price: from £949
- View the GE-5000UK →
Best for
Busy food vans running a fryer, a griddle, lights, and ventilation together. The most popular choice for weekend trading.
Festival fuel
Over 3 days at 10 hours a day, expect around 30 kg. That is one 47 kg cylinder with margin to spare, or two 19 kg cylinders.
GE-7000UK — full fit-outs and busy pitches
Quick specs
- Power: 7.0 kW continuous · 7.5 kW peak
- Fuel use: about 1.1 kg propane per hour at typical load
- Weight: 96 kg — a two-person lift or sack truck
- Price: from £1,249
Best for
Hog roast, pizza, and burger trailers running several high-draw appliances plus refrigeration. It runs more efficiently per kWh than the smaller units, so heavy use does not cost as much fuel as you might fear.
Don’t use it for
- A single coffee machine — you will pay for power you never use.
- A pitch with a strict quiet zone if it is your only option — site it well away from neighbours.
Festival fuel
Over 3 days at 10 hours a day, expect around 33 kg. One 47 kg cylinder covers it, or two 19 kg cylinders with a spare ready.
Don’t forget your cooking propane
The planner above covers the generator only. Your fryer, griddle, and water boiler burn their own propane on top, and they often burn more than the generator does.
A rough rule helps here. A burner at full whack burns about 0.07 kg of propane per hour for every kilowatt it is rated at. A 10 kW twin fryer flat out is roughly 0.7 kg an hour. Burners cycle and idle, so real use is lower — but plan for the full figure and you will not run short.
Add your appliance total to the generator total, then size your cylinders for the whole lot. To split the load by bottle size, our guide to LPG cylinder sizes for mobile catering shows which size suits which job.
19 kg or 47 kg cylinders for a festival?
Both are propane. The right choice comes down to how you move them and how much room you have.
| Cylinder | Rough weight full | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 kg propane | ~35 kg | One-person handling, tight pitches, easy swaps | Runs out faster — carry more of them |
| 47 kg propane | ~80 kg | Longer events, fewer changeovers, lower cost per kg | Two-person lift, needs a trolley and secure footing |
Most weekend traders take one 47 kg as the main bottle and a 19 kg as the easy-swap spare. That keeps changeovers quick without hauling two heavy cylinders.
How to plan power for a 3-day festival
Five steps take you from guesswork to a packed van you can trust.
- List every electrical item. Write down the wattage of each thing the generator powers — lights, fridge, pump, blender, till, phone chargers.
- Size the generator to the surge, not the total. Motors and fridges pull three to five times their running watts to start. Size for the biggest start-up spike, not the running total. The sizing calculator linked above does this for you.
- Work out the fuel. Use the festival planner above for the generator, then add your cooking propane using the 0.07 kg per kW rule.
- Pick your cylinders and add a spare. Round up, then pack one more bottle than the figure says.
- Check siting and noise. Place the generator outside, downwind, away from neighbours and the public, on firm level ground within its 25° tilt limit.
Festival siting, noise, and the grass under your feet
A generator gives off carbon monoxide, so it always lives outside the van — never in an enclosed space. Keep it clear of the public and downwind of your serving hatch.
Many festivals set evening noise limits. A dedicated LPG engine runs smoother and quieter than a petrol unit, which helps you stay inside the limit after the music stops.
Trading on grass brings one more advantage. Propane is non-toxic to soil and water, so a small spill or exhaust will not poison the pitch the way diesel can. That matters on a field a landowner wants back in one piece.
Weighing up the fuel types? Our LPG vs diesel generator comparison covers the running-cost and siting trade-offs in full.
What a festival weekend costs to power
Fuel is the cost that changes with how hard you trade. Here is a rough guide for the generator over a 3-day event, at UK propane of around £2.80 per kg.
| Generator | Propane over 3 days | Rough fuel cost |
|---|---|---|
| GE-3000UK | ~18 kg | from £50 |
| GE-5000UK | ~30 kg | from £84 |
| GE-7000UK | ~33 kg | from £92 |
Running on propane instead of petrol saves around 40% on fuel, by Greengear’s own figures. Over a full festival season that gap pays for a lot of cylinders. For day-by-day numbers, see our guide to LPG generator running cost per hour.
Common festival power mistakes
- Forgetting the cooking propane. Planning only the generator fuel leaves you short by mid-Saturday.
- No spare cylinder. The nearest LPG stockist is often a long drive from a festival field.
- Using butane to save a few pounds. It fades in the cold and stalls your morning service.
- Undersizing the generator. A unit run flat-out all weekend works hard, burns more, and wears faster.
- Bad siting. Too close to the public, on a slope, or in an enclosed corner — all unsafe and often against site rules.
- No regulator check. A worn 37 mbar regulator or hose is a fire risk and an easy fail on a site safety inspection.
Why Greengear for off-grid festival power
Greengear is the only brand making dedicated, purpose-built LPG generators for the UK market. Every other “LPG generator” sold here is a petrol engine with a conversion kit bolted on.
Greengear is a brand within the Cavagna Group — described on its own site as the world’s leading maker of equipment and components for compressed gas control. The engine uses the ENERKIT propane system, engineered with Cavagna to burn propane cleanly from the start. You are buying the consumer brand of a serious gas-engineering company, not a kit on a generic frame.
All three UK models run from -10°C to +40°C, so they cope with a cold festival dawn and a hot afternoon alike. We hold UK spares — filters, plugs, regulators, batteries, and the ENERKIT carburettor — and we give pre-purchase sizing advice based on running these units in real mobile catering. Browse the full Greengear LPG generator range to compare the three sizes.
Putting a whole off-grid setup together for the first time? Our off-grid mobile catering setup guide walks through power, water, and propane as one system.
Frequently asked questions
How much LPG does a generator use over a 3-day festival?
A 5 kW Greengear burns about 1 kg of propane an hour at typical load, so 3 days at 10 hours a day comes to roughly 30 kg. That is one 47 kg cylinder with margin, or two 19 kg cylinders. Your cooking appliances burn their own propane on top of this figure.
How many gas bottles do I need for a weekend event?
For the generator alone, most weekend traders need one 47 kg or two 19 kg propane cylinders, plus a spare. Add separate bottles for your fryer and griddle. Always pack one more cylinder than your sums suggest, because the nearest stockist is rarely close to a festival site.
Is propane better than butane for a festival?
Yes, use propane only. Butane stops vaporising below about 2°C, so it fails on cold mornings and lets your supply fade mid-service. Propane works far colder and powers every commercial appliance at 37 mbar. Butane is for patio and domestic use, not outdoor trading.
What size generator do I need for festival catering?
Most food vans need a 5 kW unit for a fryer, griddle, lights, and ventilation together. Coffee trailers manage on 3 kW, while full hog roast or pizza fit-outs need 7 kW. Size to your biggest start-up surge, not the running total, using our sizing calculator.
How long does a 47 kg propane cylinder last on a generator?
On a 5 kW Greengear at typical load, a 47 kg cylinder runs roughly 47 hours — about four to five trading days. A smaller 3 kW unit stretches the same bottle to around 75 hours. Heavy use shortens it, light use extends it. The planner above gives a figure for your own usage.
Can I run my cooking appliances off the generator?
No. The generator makes electricity for lights, fridges, pumps, and tills. Your fryer, griddle, and water boiler burn propane directly from their own cylinders. Plan two things in parallel: electrical power from the generator, and propane supply for the burners.
Is an LPG generator quiet enough for a festival pitch?
A dedicated LPG engine runs smoother and quieter than an equivalent petrol unit, which helps with evening noise limits. Site it outside, downwind, and away from neighbours. If your pitch has a strict quiet zone, position it as far from the boundary as the lead allows.
Do festivals allow generators on grass pitches?
Most do, with conditions on siting, noise, and fuel storage set by the organiser. Propane is non-toxic to soil and water, which landowners prefer over diesel on a field. Check the site rules, keep the unit on firm level ground, and store spare cylinders securely upright.