Generator Questions

[Yo Ken]

Generator Questions

[FED 387]

Excellant idea-- I'm sure many racers have questions regarding "situations" with their Onan as well as maybe troubleshooting other makes as well.
Those situations might range from how to winterize a generator to heavy repairs like replacing engines or rotors/armatures etc., routine maintainence questions and the like...

[396chevy]

Matt: Since you are probley enjoying the nice weather at Maple Grove I have a quick question to break up all the excitement. Recently bought a very clean used Vintage trailer with a Honda EV6010 gen-set. (600 hours) Seems to have be well maintained and runs perfect. Question is; seems when I check reviews people either love them or hate them?? What do you think? We run our gens alot and always had excellent luck with our previous old green onan. Should I consider something else. We have a normal LQ trailer with 2 13500 roof air's The Negitive reviews seem always be reliablity and cost issues in the generator repair or the engine cooling system repairs. Thanks Bill

[Matt Schurman]

Thanks for your question.

We don't have a tremendous amount of experience with the Honda rv units. I've worked on a few and like all hondas, the quality is exceptional. This unit is liquid cooled and runs at 3600 rpm. It's a twin cylinder so I would expect this unit to have a 4,000 plus hour life expectancy before major work is required. Like all machinery, preventive maintenance is so important to it's lifespan.

If you have doubts about the machines ability to serve your needs I would recommend you carry a small spare generator. Something big enough to keep your batteries charged and lights on, say 2000 watts.

If you'd like to talk more about your generator options email me at matts@rjcontrol.com

Matt

[Jim Wahl]

Matt, I have an Onan/Cummins Quiet 4000 generator in my MH. What is the realistic oil change interval (no oil filter) and is synthetic oil OK? Thanks in advance. Jim


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[Matt Schurman]

Thanks for your question Jim!

I get many questions about oil change intervals and also the type of oil recommended.

On your particular model, the MicroQuiet 4000, the factory says, change the oil at 150 hours, more or less depending on the conditions of use.
Hot ambient conditions and heavy loads, all will require more frequent changes. An RV that is not used much, would only see maybe 30 hours per year, so the factory says, change it annually in that case.

Realistically, in my opinion, 100 hours is a good interval mark. After all, that unit runs at 3600 RPM, is a single cylinder machine, and if we made a comparison between this machine's 100 hours of operation and mileage, we would probably arrive around 4000 miles. So, given that it's just one and a half quarts, I say....do it, do it frequently....

On the subject of what type of oil to use, the factory recommends 15-40 weight oil between 10 and 100 degrees of ambient temperature. In my opinion, Shell Rotella T 15/40 is an excellent choice, reasonably priced and will provide heavy duty protection. That being said, all synthetic oils of good quality names I'm sure will provide excellent protection however I will caution you to observe the weight ratings and don't use anything light such as 5/30 unless you are operating the machine in frigid conditions (below 40 degrees).

Hope that helps you, you can always reach me directly at Matts@RJControl.com

[FED 387]

Not hijacking the oil change ??? thread but with the older Onans is there anyway to retrofit them with a oil filter??? Thanx Dick Ulrich

[Matt Schurman]

To the best of my knowledge the machines that Onan produced with oil filters have an oil pump and a pressure fed oil system.

The machines that were produced without an oil filter utilize "splash" oil design, they have no oil pump. The connecting rods actually employ a wing on it to bring the oil up and direct the oil to where it needs to be.

An oil filter would not function in this system, because there is no pump.

[FED 387]

thats what I was thinking just thought I'd ask cuz those older gens come up for sale in my area pretty often and usually are very cheap--thanx for the reply---FED387

[Tom Goldman]

I'd just like to say thank you to Matt and Rich.
They just recently refurbished my Onan 7500 Quiet Diesel generator for my coach, and the price and service was outstanding.
They installed a new inverter section and replaced all the hoses and the belt,and a whole lot more for a fraction of what a new generator would have cost.
I highly recomend R&J Controls to anyone needing to have their gen repaired or to buy a new unit.
Thanks guys!