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Old 12-09-2016, 01:30 PM   #15
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look on page 10, about 1/2 way down.
If they don't know how to care of a expensive system, who would.

https://power.cummins.com/sites/defa.../F-1123-EN.pdf


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Old 12-09-2016, 01:40 PM   #16
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I ran mine once a month but not for as long as Onan recommended. I ran it for 30 minutes or so. That worked fine for 11 years.
I always tried to do it when the neighbor on that side was out.
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Old 12-09-2016, 02:53 PM   #17
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Run the genny when the grass is being mowed and no one will know.
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Old 12-09-2016, 04:12 PM   #18
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I have two different conditions...

Normally I will run it on or about the 1st of the month for about an hour during the day when neighbors are working so as to not disturb them. Also note the ONAN Emerald is not all that easy to hear.

Second: Well.. I gave it a good workout a few weeks ago when some dude named Matthew, Himicane Matthew, came by and knocked out power.. and a few months back we had a case of BANG no power.. It was cool enough I did not need A/C so I did not run mine but my neighbor did. (The Bang was a car v/s a utility pole by the way) and another Bang no power that the park owner liked.. What he liked was when I spotted the power meter, it's a digital type and the display was dark. >Indicating the BANG in this casde was a power company issue,, Fuse at the top of the pole as it turns out, Failed, not blown, failed. That was during the day, and hot so I needed some A/C.
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Old 12-09-2016, 04:21 PM   #19
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Quote:
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It is the carb! fuel evaporates and it plugs the idle and main pilot jets. Some times you can rebuild them. Best thing to do is drain the float bowl or shut off the gas and run it dry. Sitting unused will not hurt the rest of the components. Yeah, I know, easier said than done...... putting a fuel valve on the a gen set.
Not if you have a diesel generator! And you still need to exercise them because moisture builds up on the windings of the generator and shorts them out.
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Old 12-09-2016, 04:37 PM   #20
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when doing an extended stay we run ours once a month for at least a half hour.
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Old 12-09-2016, 04:41 PM   #21
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They may know that generators need regular exercise; however, many parks prohibit use of generators, period.
If you are going from camp to camp and not just sitting full-time at an RV park, you can fire it up while you drive. Run the AC or heat pumps and let it do the work.
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Old 12-09-2016, 05:53 PM   #22
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Has anybody had there windings changed due to not exercising ?

I ask, because I bought a 2000 MH, in 2014, with 6 hours on the generator.
It has worked fine, with over 500 hours on it, now.
This will be my third winter of storing it for 4 to 6 months, unattended. I do pull the gas line and run it dry, but that's it.

I read about lots of bad carbs, fuel pumps and voltage regulators, but haven't read about anyone replacing the windings.
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Old 12-12-2016, 06:36 PM   #23
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First of every month exercise genny
Weather traveling or not
First of every month when extended stays exercise genny AND slides in and out AND jacks up and down
Also I move rig ( rolling tires ) back and forth
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Old 12-12-2016, 06:54 PM   #24
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If its gas( I assume) should run it once a month to keep the carb from drying out. there bad for that deal
the hour under load suggested is erroneous at best I find 30 minutes
is more than adequate
The 1 hour may indeed be erroneous, however that is what is stated in my Onan Owners Manual! I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they know what they are talking about . . . because, . . . well, they designed and BUILT the thing after all! The generator portion of the unit shouldn't be all that different between diesel and gasoline powered units.
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Old 12-12-2016, 07:02 PM   #25
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Has anybody had there windings changed due to not exercising ?

I ask, because I bought a 2000 MH, in 2014, with 6 hours on the generator.
It has worked fine, with over 500 hours on it, now.
This will be my third winter of storing it for 4 to 6 months, unattended. I do pull the gas line and run it dry, but that's it.

I read about lots of bad carbs, fuel pumps and voltage regulators, but haven't read about anyone replacing the windings.
Can't specifically say it was because it wasn't "exercised" because I have no way of knowing the previous owner's habits, but on our old 1987 Coachman Leprechaun, shortly after we purchased it, the generator portion (windings) on our Onan 4kw gasoline generator shorted out. When taken apart, the windings showed signs of deterioration, discoloration, corrosion, even where there weren't obviously shorted! It wasn't cheap to replace the generator portion either. In retrospect, it would have been less expensive to find a working used replacement than repair that one.

So, call me over zealous on the maintenance side, but I'll go ahead and follow the manufacturers recommendations and run my at least one hour a month at 50% or greater load . . .
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Old 12-12-2016, 09:29 PM   #26
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Well not to pile on - the reasons above for exercising the generator are right on. However, there is one more I did not see - dirty slip rings. It probably takes quite awhile, but they will get fouled, and a generator running with fouled slip rings will burn up the voltage regulator. In reading the smokstak forum this is pretty common.
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Old 12-13-2016, 01:51 PM   #27
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I've had two rotors on two different 4ky units break apart. Could have been wasps or something inside? Jury is still out.

It's no fun tearing the onan down to the rotor!
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Old 12-13-2016, 03:55 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twinboat View Post
Has anybody had there windings changed due to not exercising ?

I ask, because I bought a 2000 MH, in 2014, with 6 hours on the generator.
It has worked fine, with over 500 hours on it, now.
This will be my third winter of storing it for 4 to 6 months, unattended. I do pull the gas line and run it dry, but that's it.

I read about lots of bad carbs, fuel pumps and voltage regulators, but haven't read about anyone replacing the windings.

A friend has a summer place on an island, he got it cheap(er) because there was no electricity to it and the local utility wanted a ridiculous amount of money to lay a cable to it.

Instead he bought an Onan 4kw genset and installed it in a shack on the island. It feeds a hybrid battery / genny system. Small loads run off the inverter, bigger loads run off the genset, the excess power charges the batteries.

It is used sporadically between mid-April and mid-October and then hibernates for the winter. It's done that for 10+++ years.

Every spring it sparks right up and runs flawlessly after sitting dormant for 6 months.

My new-to-me unit hadn't been running since the fall of 2012, and sparked right up and worked just fine when I picked it up 2 weeks ago.



BTW, that 'exercise monthly' directive started shortly after Cummins bought Onan, before that they somehow worked ok even without that.
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