Onan generators all constant rpm?

[twinboat]

There are about the only brand out there, gas or diesel.

Your going to see bad reviews.

[oscarvan]

Originally Posted by twinboat

There are about the only brand out there, gas or diesel.

Your going to see bad reviews.

Bad review is not the same as an unsupported blanket statement.

[saddlesore]

Originally Posted by twinboat

There are about the only brand out there, gas or diesel.

.

There are other Manufacturers of gen sets for RV's.. Altho...you will not normally see them in the mass produced RV brands however..
We have a PowerTech (Kabota engine)

[Redapple]

Two of the major players are Onan and Generac.

[Kennzz05]

Originally Posted by Redapple

Mine (Onan 5500 Gold) is 13 years old and doing fine. Replaced fuel pump and filter and adjusted valves last summer, other than that air filters oil and oil filters. Trouble free

20 yr old 7.5k with almost 1900 hrs still chugging along

[jcussen]

Powertech and Martin Diesel both make quality generators, but are only found in higher end coaches and bus conversions. So hard to make a blanket statement about what rv's use.

[avfordguy]

Had 2 onan qd 7500's both were variable speed, as load increased rpms went up,no load or light load basically idled, had 2 pnan 4k micro,s never had a issue, current one has 280 hrs, o ly thing I do on the 4k is drain the float bowl if it's going to sit more than 5 days, travel buddy I had in CA had a 4k onan with 3,000+ hrs on it, only needed belt replacement. Also both onan qd 7500's I had had well.over 2,000 hrs when I sold the coaches nothing major just filters and oil and a couple of coolant changes, never had a issue with onan' ok gas units have poor fuel.pumps but that is a easy and cheap fix.

[Kahoona]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

Only the variable RPM ones !!

Do you mean the variable ones are bad or the cv ones?!
I became an sort of expert on the in-aptly named Microquiet 4k. I became a regular on the Smokestack forum's Onan section, learned to pull the unit by myself, installed a hoist ti get it up on the bench and learned to tear it down including the rotor and stater. Now I know just which wire will fall off while in the Mohave and how often to replace the breaker before it breaks. I have spent multiple days in Cummins dealers conversing with Flight Systems on the phone while telling the techs what not to do. It is now 17 years old and doesn't break any more often than when it was three. End of rant. This is why I am leery of Onans. On the pluss side it is always nice to learn a new machine while boon-docking.

[George Schweikle]

Great post. We had one of the old 1980's era two cylinder 4K Onans that ran 1800 RPM, and had no problems. Two 4000 Microlites in two subsequent motorhomes, and the last one would have been so expensive to repair we bought another one. At 5 years old and 700 hours, it developed the "stop running when the Start switch was released" syndrome and Cummins Onan Louisville relieved me of $381 for a new control module.

Originally Posted by Kahoona

...I became an sort of expert on the in-aptly named Microquiet 4k.... It is now 17 years old and doesn't break any more often than when it was three. End of rant. This is why I am leery of Onans....

[Kahoona]

Originally Posted by George Schweikle

Great post. We had one of the old 1980's era two cylinder 4K Onans that ran 1800 RPM, and had no problems. Two 4000 Microlites in two subsequent motorhomes, and the last one would have been so expensive to repair we bought another one. At 5 years old and 700 hours, it developed the "stop running when the Start switch was released" syndrome and Cummins Onan Louisville relieved me of $381 for a new control module.

You got away easy. I had that problem and they tried to relieve me of $1,800. They said 2 new plugs, a weak spark due to a failing magneto bad board and faulty starter gear (8 month old starter.) The board was fine but was an improved board from Flight Systems. They said very old and worn out better get a new one. Once convinced that I didn't want a new board just because... . I convinced them that the board was fine, told them since it was a one cylinder they only needed one plug but go ahead with the magneto (clearly the root of the problem and replace the starter gear while it was out. It cost $1100.
I was lucky that I knew that I had a new carb and very good compression, new wiring harness and the stater and rotor had tested same as new or they would have really got me.