Believe what they say!!

[Dtwallace]

Originally Posted by F76Marion

Rick,

I should really like to know the reasoning behind the "Not Exercising" excuse. I
am sure that they will not tell you. The exercise it to keep it dry was a pre-WWII thing. Since that time, the materials used are no longer prone to water absorption.

My first bet would be cheap electronic components, and running it will not help at all in that case.

What do I know?
Well, a lot. Not to brag, but I worked deep water as a ship's electrician, then got my wrote USCG license and made enough money to come ashore and earned a couple of engineering degrees.

Do I know more than Onan about there machines? Maybe not, but I don't make money selling parts for them either. I do happen to own two Onans and several others. All will start and run on a moments notice and none are newer than 30 years old and all have lots of hours.

Frank

I totally agree with Frank, The answer you got was a sales pitch to convince you, you did something wrong, you did nothing wrong and this failure was due to defective equipment only.

The exercising of a generator will ensure you have fresh fuel in the fuel lines, oil is circulated and the crankcase is as free as possible of any water vapor.

Notice I mentioned nothing related to the power generation section of the unit, (electrical). Exercising the generator does nothing to preserve components in this area.

Bottom line, your failure was not engine related, therefor the information you were given was totally false.

Sorry for your problems, but there was absolutely nothing you could have done to prevent it.

DTW

[89sandman]

Have owned rv's for over 30 years and never "excersized" one once. But I live in Oregon where there is no humidity. Does everyone do everything that someone tells them to??? The only reason I could see for starting one would be to keep fresh fuel in it, my current one is efi and starts instantly after sitting for months.

[Dtwallace]

Originally Posted by 89sandman

Have owned rv's for over 30 years and never "excersized" one once. But I live in Oregon where there is no humidity. Does everyone do everything that someone tells them to??? The only reason I could see for starting one would be to keep fresh fuel in it, my current one is efi and starts instantly after sitting for months.

And that may work just fine,
But just understand running and loading a generator heavy for as long as it takes to get it good and hot, is better for the engine than a light load for a very short period of time. And this holds true for gasoline and Diesel engines.

Leaving your genset unused for long periods of time without starting it will not cause it any harm, as long as you use it hard when you do put it into service, and service it as needed properly.

[R_2ndWind]

Originally Posted by YC1

Perhaps time to read the manual, then follow it.

If yours is diesel you hold the button down till it turns over and starts. It does pre-heating during that time. IF your glow plugs are working it should start right up. If it is hot outside it will start faster.

In very cold weather I will hold the button down to let it pre-heat for about ten seconds and then let off. Then I press and hold to let it do its thing.

They are not the quietest generator out there but most of that noise is the intake air noise and not exhaust or the motor itself.

I have experimented with modifying the air intake area but due to mine being on a slide it is difficult to come up with a permanent one.

Yep, a nice Honda would be great.

Mine’s a 4000 watt gas. I’ve read and followed the manual. Now I’m just trying to find a way to get it to start on the first attempt.

From the manual: “If the genset ran out of fuel prime the fuel system by holding the control switch at STOP/PRIME for 30 seconds.”

I’ve never run it out of gas and unless the STOP button turns off the fuel pump to starve the engine, then according to the manual, it should never need priming. If STOP does stop the gas flow, we wouldn’t have to worry about carb varnishing. Yet in everything I’ve read, we work to prevent carb varnishing and everyone primes before starting.

And I love this: “The genset will shut down in 15 to 20 seconds if it does not start…” Ok.
“Wait 5 seconds … before trying again.” Ok.
“After five tries let the starter motor cool down for 30 seconds before trying again.” FIVE TRIES?!? REALLY?!? Then it goes on to say be sure to let it cool at least 30 secs. after every fifth crank. Mine does start by the third attempt but if it didn't after five tries I'd probably kick it and give it a shot of starter fluid on the sixth try.

Maybe getting it to start on the first try is not possible. Like some cars (Chrysler/Plymouth) seemed to take longer to crank and some (GM) would start with a flick of the key. Not knocking one or the other – I traded in the Olds for a Fury. Sure wish I had that 442 today, though

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by YC1

Scott, I looked and looked for my copy of that chart and can't seem to find it.

Myron,
On page 39 of my Onan Service Manual, (Section 10-3) that is where I found the mini-chart of glow plug time duration, based on input temp. For reasons beyond my control, I cannot copy and print just the chart. PDFs are funny animals. I quite often have issues trying to convey info from them to here. But, in short, if I do this right, here's a version of it.

TABLE 10. PRE-HEAT TIMINGS
------------------------------------------------------------------
Coolant temp > 120° 0 seconds
Coolant temp 50° 5 seconds
Coolant temp 23° 10 seconds
Coolant temp <4° 15 seconds

Scott

[YC1]

Originally Posted by hoosierrun

Same here in Florida. Probably 290 days of the year, water is dripping off the RV until 10:30 AM. There are many days where it stays so humid, nothing dries up. I can't imagine a generator that can't deal with that. We have backup generators all over for cell phone towers, sewer lift stations, certain fuel depots, etc. Why can't an RV generator stand up to dampness?

Those generators are programmed to run at prescribed intervals. All 911 centers I serviced had scheduled generator tests.

I think people are forgetting things like bearings needing to be lubed.

[YC1]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Myron,
On page 39 of my Onan Service Manual, (Section 10-3) that is where I found the mini-chart of glow plug time duration, based on input temp. For reasons beyond my control, I cannot copy and print just the chart. PDFs are funny animals. I quite often have issues trying to convey info from them to here. But, in short, if I do this right, here's a version of it.

TABLE 10. PRE-HEAT TIMINGS
------------------------------------------------------------------
Coolant temp > 120° 0 seconds
Coolant temp 50° 5 seconds
Coolant temp 23° 10 seconds
Coolant temp <4° 15 seconds

Scott

Ok, you got me "fired up". I looked once again for my pdf of the pre-heat times and did not have but I do have the manual so here it is in two forms.

If you like to do a lot of snapshots of things for posting I highly recommend "Snagit". I have been using it for years. You can even record videos which is really handy at times. It is user friendly.

[JohnBoyToo]

I am of the camp that I use the genny when I need to use the genny
In our case, it is regularly since we take it out on a regular basis, but no formal schedule as such.

It starts in about 5 seconds every time, but we are at or near sea level and in a warmer climate than some...

As far as priming ours? it only needs priming after the system is serviced, never between starts...

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by hoosierrun

Same here in Florida. Probably 290 days of the year, water is dripping off the RV until 10:30 AM. There are many days where it stays so humid, nothing dries up. I can't imagine a generator that can't deal with that. We have backup generators all over for cell phone towers, sewer lift stations, certain fuel depots, etc. Why can't an RV generator stand up to dampness?

Yep, and those backup generators generally have automatic systems to start periodically and run for a specific amount of time. Even the relatively inexpensive who house or backup generators available through big box stores come with transfer switches and automatic systems to start and run periodically. Generac for example run for about an hour once a week as preset from the factory. The explanation in their manual states it is to reduce corrosion and keep seals and internal parts lubricated.

[Pa Miller]

Fuel related problems are the number one reason for exercising the generator, but there are other reasons too. Moisture build-up can result in damage to the generator. When you exercise the generator it heats up the generator windings and eliminates moisture build-up. Last but certainly not least exercising the generator helps lubricate the engine seals and internal components, and helps prevent carbon build-up.... Run it hard !!

[Ray,IN]

I kinda figure my genset is living on borrowed time. Prior to our purchase our MH had been parked in a barn for 6 years.