The silence in your park belongs to Honda tonight

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by nothermark

...FWIW I have zero desire to own an Inverter generator. Not true sine, more expensive to repair. The only apparent upside is some fuel savings if one is not drawing much power. In that case I run off batteries...

I have two Onans' that aren't getting repaired because of cost. For that money my inverter generator is disposable if need be. Only paid 650 for 3k generator. Very quiet. I'd rather have the Onan but they're asking too much for the used ones IMO.

[BrentB]

Generac has quiet generators also as long as you buy an inverter model.

[trx430ex]

Originally Posted by MotorPro

I dare your Honda to put out 12000 watts. Why are you comparing apples to oranges. Honda makes a good little generator but onan makes powerful generators. Both are good for what they are made to do. It's like saying my 600 watt solar is better then your 2000 watt Honda because it is quieter .

That's not fair, Onan seems to make great "Diesel" [liquid cooled] gennys that don't breakdown. As for the Onan gas models,, very, not so much. Not to be a wise ass but, one could run 2 Honda 7000's in parallel and get to 14000 in 240.

Diesel Onans are in an entire class by themselves.

The only thing I am bragging about is how quiet I can get, for me, and for everyone around me. The Generac guy down the way let that thing run all day, after 2 hours there is nothing left to charge, just a waste of gas and noise.

The thing about Honda's this generation does not seem to get, is, that you buy it for life. You change the oil after first 20 hours, then after 50, then every 100 until you die. Then your kids get it, then they change the oil every 100 until they are 70 years old.

[nothermark]

The thing you ignore is that the Onan is paid for. It is usually also mounted. That does not leave much need for the Honda unless generator noise is a real personal problem on one hand and you have deep pockets on the other.

I was going to keep quiet but at long as I am at it I don't get having two broken but more or less identical generators sitting around. To me that'a parts to troubleshoot one or both. If one does not like to wrench on things then find a friend who does and will fix both for one of the units.

[60sumtin]

Originally Posted by nothermark

He probably considered the reception he would get.

LOL No doubt.

Solar is fine if you can camp where's theirs enough direct sunlight but for folks like me who usually camp in forested areas solar doesn't always cut it. I tried solar in the past but its not reliable enough especially in the shoulder seasons when the furnace needs to run. So for me an inverter generator is the best choice.

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by nothermark

I was going to keep quiet but at long as I am at it I don't get having two broken but more or less identical generators sitting around. To me that'a parts to troubleshoot one or both. .....

Should have asked questions or stayed quiet. It's the rotor on both of them. No problem wrenching here....... If you need a part for a 4ky I probably have it.


You should have wondered why I had two of them in the first place. In the years earlier I did use one to fix the other one. One of the voltage regulators is bad.

[trx430ex]

Originally Posted by nothermark

If one does not like to wrench on things then find a friend who does and will fix both for one of the units.

I do not mind wrenching on things, I do mind wrenching on the same thing all the time.

I confronted the Onan both at the Hershey RV show today and asked,,, why do these "gas" Onan's keep failing at a 20-1 rate vs Honda? I was polite,and we talked about cooling the oil. They said it did not give much results. He did talk of other heat from the rig washing over the Onan giving it issues, but most of the time I am seeing the Onan's run by themselves when parked. I asked about Onan's failing in Vegas heat at 110 degrees, at that point 4 of the 5 Onan reps peeled away, they know heat is an issue in an air cooled engine.

They can not find a way to get rid of the heat, heat leads to failure. My idea, a fan cooled oil cooler. Or a fan cooled oil filter using the oil pump to circulate. The oil filter can not get any wider, but there is plenty of room to get longer.

A different angle of attack on heat, "fuel injection", but fuel injection (Diesel Onan's have it) that can be backwards compatible in the same space as the current carb.He said manufactures balked at the cost, yea I can see that. At that point one just has to ask what price do you put on your brand?
Charge more for something that works, especially if it can be fixed in legacy. What other genny manufacture are manufactures going to use.

I would say to Onan, raise your gas prices 10% across the gas line and full fuel injection across the line. With legacy upgrade kits starting at $279. Fat or lean fuel can make a big difference in heat.

If there is any lesson to be learned Onan, from Honda is, learn how to sell parts,,, that work.

[nothermark]

Thanks. I did not know the Onan's had a heat problem. The rest makes sense.

FWIW sometimes I make comments like I did to see if I get an explanation. Often I do and they usually make sense like yours did. Thanks for it.

[lynnmor]

Don't know the oil filter layout on your particular unit, but in other applications there are remote oil filter kits used. It seems to me that a cooler and oil filter installed in series might be an answer.

Just an example: SMALL ENGINE OIL FILTER remote kit fit kohler, briggs,kawasaki, onan,tec | eBay

[MotorPro]

Where do you get the onan fail at a 20 to 1 ratio to Honda? There are hundreds of thousands of gas Onans in industrial applications on every continent ,in every temperature that have been running for decades with no problems . Having been in the engine business for many years and having rebuild many Onans and even more Hondas I can tell you that While the Honda is a nice reasonably priced consumer engine Onan is a well built industrial engine that will last for decades if well maintained .

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by MotorPro

Where do you get the onan fail at a 20 to 1 ratio to Honda? .... .

I think that falls under 86.3765 % of all statistics are made up on the spot. ....just sayin

[cwsqbm]

If you really want quiet camping, some places offer sites with electrical hookups on a post. Heck, last one I saw even had water, sewer, and cable TV too!

[trx430ex]

Agreget collection of data, nearly every 8th post, of Onan related issues vs hard to find Honda issue posts Comes to about 20/1

Onan diesel count much lower, and exempt from gasser talk.

[trx430ex]

Irv2 admins could go look at Google analytics for the site and see the same thing. Keywords Onan vs Honda.