Community Forums

allbrand1999 · 07-01-2018, 08:43 AM

I have a diesel generator mounted in the front of my motorhome. Believe it’s a Owens four-cylinder 10. I was looking for any feedback on how long I can run it for. I’m in a situation now where the temperature is well over 90° and I need the generator to run my air-conditioners. So is there any time limit, should I turn it off at night and run just fans.

Spk64 · 07-01-2018, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allbrand1999

I have a diesel generator mounted in the front of my motorhome. Believe it’s a Owens four-cylinder 10. I was looking for any feedback on how long I can run it for. I’m in a situation now where the temperature is well over 90° and I need the generator to run my air-conditioners. So is there any time limit, should I turn it off at night and run just fans.

You can run it for extended amount of time. We have ran almost all weekend when tailgating.

Skip426 · 07-01-2018, 08:57 AM

Diesel generators , are built for continuous operation 24/7 , the problem comes at the fuel supply end.
They take their fuel from the main tank and their supply is mounted so the gen set will run out , long before the tank is dry , leaving fuel for the operator to reach a filling station . ( approx 1/3 fuel left in tank. ) Most diesel gen sets will use 1/2 gal per hour, at half load. More if your using their full power, so expect to use more fuel, powering multiple A/C units.

distaff · 07-01-2018, 09:26 AM

You don't include your coach in your post, so can't really tell what you have. I've never heard of a generator called an "Owens four-cylinder 10", I'm going to guess you mean an Onan 10k watt.

Given your vague description I'm also going to guess you don't know much about it. My apologies if in fact you do and I have drawn the wrong inference.

My point is that if your knowledge is limited you may not know when it was last serviced and what was done. A well serviced generator, not one at the end of the life of the coolant, oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, and with a clean spark arrestor can run for a week so long as you have fuel. It also has to have enough oil and coolant.

It is an engine and just like a car or your coach, you can run it 24 hours a day without a problem so long as it is taken care of.

RobRoy · 07-01-2018, 09:33 AM

We used to run our 12k Onan Diesel sometimes for weeks straight at a time while racing and with no issues other than fuel bills. Yes 5-7 days at a time was not uncommon at all.

We maintained it accordingly to use that it got.

Happy Trails

allbrand1999 · 07-02-2018, 06:13 AM

Thank you everybody

Hit_the_Rhod · 07-02-2018, 06:41 AM

We have the Onan/Kubota 7500 watt generator in our coach. Recently ran it for 51.3 hours, used 17 gallons of fuel running both AC units, and whatever else we were running, so about 1/3 gallon/hour. Diesel's love to run, just make sure they have clean air, clean fuel, and clean oil!

BigLar368 · 07-02-2018, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobRoy

We used to run our 12k Onan Diesel sometimes for weeks straight at a time while racing and with no issues other than fuel bills. Yes 5-7 days at a time was not uncommon at all.

We maintained it accordingly to use that it got.

Happy Trails

Wow....that makes me feel better about running ours continuously. I stay on top our maintenance so I know it wont hurt it to run continously but in the back of my mind I always see the bad things happening...lol. One question though...In extreme temps do you slide yours out for better cooling or air circulation or just not worry about it? Thanks.

Hit_the_Rhod · 07-02-2018, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigLar368

Wow....that makes me feel better about running ours continuously. I stay on top our maintenance so I know it wont hurt it to run continously but in the back of my mind I always see the bad things happening...lol. One question though...In extreme temps do you slide yours out for better cooling or air circulation or just not worry about it? Thanks.

Leave it IN! That's the way it's designed to work. Besides, if it were in direct sunlight, it will probably run hotter OUT than IN! Also, probably not an issue, but it will be louder out, and also I would not want to put the added vibration on the slide mechanism with it running for extended periods in the out position.

TonyMac · 07-02-2018, 07:08 AM

On my rig, I change the genset oil and filter every 100 hours. Given 24 hours in a day, that's 4 days. I have yet to run my genset for days on end, but those who did like RobRoy, how often did you chance your oil during your weeks straight of continuous operation? Would once a week do, or do you stick to 100 hours religiously?

distaff · 07-02-2018, 04:35 PM

Some good questions.

First, running it with the slide extended will make it vibrate more and set up some interesting harmonics (the extended rails will add a factor), and will do no good since all the air movement is up through the bottom of the generator and back out the bottom. What you do want to do if running it constantly in hot weather is make sure you have at least 6 inches of clearance under it.

Regarding 100 hours of running time vs a week, keep in mind that running it is not as hard as starting and stopping. I would not run it more than a week constantly without changing the oil, but I wouldn't worry about 100 hours between changes either. Having said that, if you are running three A/C units all the time, that is max load and I'd probably do it at the 150 hour point.

BTW I always run synthetic oil in my generator - it breaks down more slowly and is less viscous at very low temperatures for cold weather starts.

JohnBoyToo · 07-03-2018, 07:13 AM

I have always wondered about the 100 hours change suggestion... Do you think they do that on the generators @ construction sites? or is it a different class of generator ?
just curious

ok, you made me go look at my manual for the 10k

250 hours ... 10 days @ 24/7

even then, I'd be stunned if that happened !

distaff · 07-03-2018, 09:43 AM

JohnBoy, I should have looked at my manual. Yes it is 250 hours (or 10+ days of continuous operation), with and advice to change it more often in hot or dusty conditions, and to change it at least once a year.

A well serviced unit should not have a problem with 24 hour operation.

JakeF · 07-03-2018, 04:26 PM

If I were running mine 24/7, and in a relatively dust free environment I'd only change it monthly. Oil and filters need changed early because of the acid and condensation due to not running, fuel dilution from cold starts, ect. Firing a serviced generator up and leaving it working for the month is the best thing you can do for it.

Our farm tractors used to have recommended service at 100hrs, then 250, and now our new ones are up to 600hrs and they run in a lot of dust. We just have so much cleaner fuel, better oil, filtration and they run so much cleaner with the new emissions. Our newest tractors still have new looking oil at 150hrs, where the old ones were coal black after first startup.