Generator life span

[C-PHartley]

My Generator repair guy told me that he has seen the Kubota/onan diesel generators go 20,000 hours in commercial and marine applications.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by C-PHartley

My Generator repair guy told me that he has seen the Kubota/onan diesel generators go 20,000 hours in commercial and marine applications.

On one forum there was one with over 25,000 hours on the meter and still doing just fine.

[lms1943]

Probablya dumbquestion, but it's not my first, If the generator is on and both a/c's and accessories and I plug into shore power. Where does the power come from

[lms1943]

space bar not working well

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by lms1943

Probablya dumbquestion, but it's not my first, If the generator is on and both a/c's and accessories and I plug into shore power. Where does the power come from

On most the gen power take priority over the shore power, but it can vary depending on how the manufacturer wired it.

[bluepill]

Originally Posted by lms1943

Probablya dumbquestion, but it's not my first, If the generator is on and both a/c's and accessories and I plug into shore power. Where does the power come from

As stated above, most often Genny has priority. Important: you should avoid switching power sources with heavy loads like A/C running - it can cause excessive wear on the transfer switch contacts.

[PatStab]

I just did that no no. I turned my AC off but forgot to let the genny run a bit to cooldown. I guess I need a not for the engine and the genny to do that.

[PatStab]

When we drove back from Indiana, that one day we drove for probably 12 hours, never shut the engine down or the genny. We had to get home, we didn't drive but around 65 most of the time but on a few good stretchs 70 as we had to be home for him to leave. We just traded seats and kept going.

He didn't check it but I did the other day and the genny nor engine used any oil so a 2000 mile trip with no usage. We were surprised and very pleased. I sure hope that is a sign of good things to continue.

[rvguy40]

As anything else, it will last as for as long as it's maintained properly. My Generac Q55 runs like a Swiss watch at 2300 hrs, give or take a few. I change the oil and filter yearly (about 50 hrs ) and never have to add oil between changes. I assume the prior owners did regular maintenance on it since I have no troubles with it. I check the oil during "pre-flight inspection",fire it of and let it run about 3 minutes with no load, before turning on A/C's. I also let it idle about 5 minutes at no load before shutting it down.

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by ga traveler

When I went to the Onan factory school, they said the design life of the generator was ten thousand hours. According to Onan the number one reason for oil usage is shutting down the generator without letting it cool down. The load should be removed from the generator and the generator should be run about five minutes to cool down before shutting it down. If the the generator is shut down under load without being cooled down, You will have a dry start and the cylinder walls will scuff and cause oil usage.

Huh?? Modern oils dont need "cool down" periods. Any mechanical engine has an oil pump. There is no "dry" start regardless of how many RPMs the unit was turning when shut off.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by PatStab

I just did that no no. I turned my AC off but forgot to let the genny run a bit to cooldown. I guess I need a not for the engine and the genny to do that.

Not even modern turbocharged diesel truck engines need a cool down period unless you're using them "HARD". Even going down an on ramp is enough cool down time now according to Cummins.

[genesimmons]

might try sea foam in it and see if it will help the rings, also shell rotella 15w40 oil might help also

[cb1000rider]

Originally Posted by WeatherTodd

Huh?? Modern oils dont need "cool down" periods. Any mechanical engine has an oil pump. There is no "dry" start regardless of how many RPMs the unit was turning when shut off.

It's air cooled, so they want you to take the load off of it first and have it decrease oil temperatures before shut down.... I'd be nice if Onan had a way to rig up an oil-cooler.

Going through the service manual on mine, I did note that I think they want to tear the top end off every 400 hours for de-carbon and I assume to check for wear... If you're pulling the top end every 400 - it's kinda cheating.. :-)



I've got one with 835 hours. We ran it over 65 a few weeks ago on a trip. It used no oil... Course, it wouldn't stay running when it was 105 out, but that's a different story...


So if you've got a gas (or diesel) genset - how many hours are on yours? Brand? Onan, generac, etc?

[wardy]

Originally Posted by WeatherTodd

Huh?? Modern oils dont need "cool down" periods. Any mechanical engine has an oil pump. There is no "dry" start regardless of how many RPMs the unit was turning when shut off.

My Onan 10,000 Quiet Diesel manual recommends a 5 minute cool-down. My coach is an 07 so the gen is likely an 06, fairly modern.