Generator life span

[buck454]

I recently was mentioning generators to a friend who commented thar a Newell dealer had told him that they had sold a unit to an entertainee who traded it in a couple of years and it had 11,000 hours on generator. Now that is a bunch of hours.

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by TheArnolds

I, for one, am not looking for anyone to debunk the cool down requirement and if they tried I would ignore their suggestion.

I am not a diesel engineer however I am a gas turbine engine engineer and on jet engines there is a cool down cycle and limits on how quickly you can restart the engine to prevent compressor rub. It allows the various parts to stabilize. Unloading my 6KW diesel genset (turn off A/C) and waiting a couple of minutes is not a big deal nor harmful. The same goes for exercising my genset periodically…no harm.

I have a lot of money invested and I am not going to pick and choose what OEM (Original Equipment manufacturer) recommendations/requirements to follow regardless of all of the wisdom contained on this forum. Maybe once I am out of warranty and have a lot more experience with my Class A DP but for now I follow the rules.

But we are not talking apples/apples here. Your diesel gen set is different from the OP's and my genset. Sure you can follow what Onan recommends if youre under warranty. I am not... and many others arent... so some facts regarding actual operation would be pertinent to this thead... no?

FWIW... I have a local friend that sells alot of replacement generators for coaches and boats. Guess what he does with the units he removes from these swaps??? He spends about $100-$300 in parts rehabbing them and resells them for obscene profits. These are units that "should" have gone 10,000++ hours... yet the owners didnt spend the effort to ensure that.
He could offer the customer a rebuilt unit at significant savings and an extra day of downtime... but folks always opt for the more expensive option with a warranty.
Whats the saying about fools and their money???

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by WeatherTodd

But we are not talking apples/apples here. Your diesel gen set is different from the OP's and my genset. Sure you can follow what Onan recommends if youre under warranty. I am not... and many others arent... so some facts regarding actual operation would be pertinent to this thead... no?

FWIW... I have a local friend that sells alot of replacement generators for coaches and boats. Guess what he does with the units he removes from these swaps??? He spends about $100-$300 in parts rehabbing them and resells them for obscene profits. These are units that "should" have gone 10,000++ hours... yet the owners didnt spend the effort to ensure that.
He could offer the customer a rebuilt unit at significant savings and an extra day of downtime... but folks always opt for the more expensive option with a warranty.
Whats the saying about fools and their money???

I think we are saying the same thing. While under warranty I follow the rules to keep my warranty valid Once I am out of warranty I make decisions based on what is best for all especially my pocket book

[Ubetcha]

Vegas39. Are you using the proper oil in your gen maybe try a little heavier weight oil. I have had engines use oil with the wrong weight?????

[ga traveler]

I remember three of the reasons they gave us in school for the monthly exercise. 1. when rubber sits and ages it gets hard. Running the generator gets the seals hot and softens the rubber. 2. the brusholders are exposed to the outside air and moisture and tend to corrode. When you run the generator it vibrates the brush holder and keeps it free. 3. the most important. Gas in the carb. gets crappy and should be exchanged freq. All three of these made sense to me. When I took over as ser. mgr. my boss called me and said the salesmen were complaining that when they went to show a coach and tried to start the generator, it would not run. He wanted all the gens. up and running. I got all of them working. we started a system of running the generators for the two hours every month. Like many of you, I felt this was excessive. We cut back to one hour a month. We still had good luck. We finally settled on 30 min every other month. This kept the gas clean and the carbs free. When we tried to go longer, some of the gens. started hunting and running rough. This was back in the ninetes and I still reccommend 30 minutes every other month.

[Theluckys]

Originally Posted by ga traveler

I remember three of the reasons they gave us in school for the monthly exercise. 1. when rubber sits and ages it gets hard. Running the generator gets the seals hot and softens the rubber. 2. the brusholders are exposed to the outside air and moisture and tend to corrode. When you run the generator it vibrates the brush holder and keeps it free. 3. the most important. Gas in the carb. gets crappy and should be exchanged freq. All three of these made sense to me. When I took over as ser. mgr. my boss called me and said the salesmen were complaining that when they went to show a coach and tried to start the generator, it would not run. He wanted all the gens. up and running. I got all of them working. we started a system of running the generators for the two hours every month. Like many of you, I felt this was excessive. We cut back to one hour a month. We still had good luck. We finally settled on 30 min every other month. This kept the gas clean and the carbs free. When we tried to go longer, some of the gens. started hunting and running rough. This was back in the ninetes and I still reccommend 30 minutes every other month.

Did you implement this policy for both gas and diesel generators?

How much of a load, if any, did you have them running under during those 30 bi-monthly period?

[Murf2u]

A friend of the family has a cottage on an island that is not serviced by electricity. He powers the place with a 4k Onan generator bought at a surplus auction. It had originally been installed in a telephone company service truck. It had over 2,000 hours when he bought it and he & I installed it on his island in a little shed built for the purpose.

He says it runs about 6 hours a day when there's people there. Thats about 40 days a year, so figure 240 hours a year, for the last 12 years.

I figure that little thing must then have nearly 5,000 hours on it by now.

[ga traveler]

Originally Posted by Theluckys

Did you implement this policy for both gas and diesel generators?

How much of a load, if any, did you have them running under during those 30 bi-monthly period?

If the coach had two AC's,we ran both. If it only had one Ac we ran the one. According to Onan, the generator should always be run under a load so that it gets to full operating temperature.
We ran both gas and diesel.

[Kwayzhar]

Folks, my job is mobile diesel power plants... don't listen to me just because it's my bread 'n' butter.

That said... you want your gen to live long and prosper? Do preventative maintenance and exercise that puppy under load.

[vegas39]

Originally Posted by newmar2002

Vegas39. Are you using the proper oil in your gen maybe try a little heavier weight oil. I have had engines use oil with the wrong weight?????

We've only had the coach a couple of months and when I got it, I immediately did an oil and filter change and used 30 weight and thats what I've used since. Who knows what the previous owner used.
Maybe I'll try something a little heavier?

[vegas39]

Like I said before, I may just pull the unit and have my cousin in law rebuild it. Seems like a proper rebuild kit shouldnt be too expensive.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by ga traveler

I remember three of the reasons they gave us in school for the monthly exercise. 1. when rubber sits and ages it gets hard. Running the generator gets the seals hot and softens the rubber. 2. the brusholders are exposed to the outside air and moisture and tend to corrode. When you run the generator it vibrates the brush holder and keeps it free. 3. the most important. Gas in the carb. gets crappy and should be exchanged freq. All three of these made sense to me. When I took over as ser. mgr. my boss called me and said the salesmen were complaining that when they went to show a coach and tried to start the generator, it would not run. He wanted all the gens. up and running. I got all of them working. we started a system of running the generators for the two hours every month. Like many of you, I felt this was excessive. We cut back to one hour a month. We still had good luck. We finally settled on 30 min every other month. This kept the gas clean and the carbs free. When we tried to go longer, some of the gens. started hunting and running rough. This was back in the ninetes and I still reccommend 30 minutes every other month.

According to Power Tech the main reason to run the generator every month with a load is to heat up the generator windings and burn off the moisture tha accululates and leads to shorting them out. They say that shorting them out is the most common cause of failures.

[Kwayzhar]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

According to Power Tech the main reason to run the generator every month with a load is to heat up the generator windings and burn off the moisture tha accululates and leads to shorting them out. They say that shorting them out is the most common cause of failures.

Yes absolutely. Moisture is the enemy of insulation. This is tested with a megohmmeter. Get those amps through the windings for some needed drying action. Your generator thanks you...

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by Lincolnboy2

WOW, I never knew that ga traveler! Once again, you come through with more information! Thanks! I have done just that, shut off the genny from a full a/c load with no cool down. In the future I will remember this information. Thanks!

Did just that the other day, myself!

doh!!!!!!!!!