Generator oil change

[Jimenez61]

Good morning all. I was wondering about the oil in my rv's generator. I've had this RV for about a year and a half. My generator only has 20 hours of run time. Which its from occassionalnally cracking it up to run it. It has the original oil from Factory. Should I change it? And reading mixed thoughts on what type of oil to put in it.

2019 Freedom Elite 22 FE. Generator is a Onan Cummings Series RV QG 4000.

It did say in their specs to change right after the first 20 hours and then every 150 hours. Is this necessary? And does someone know why?

Thanks hope every one is doing well out here

Ozzie

[ducksface]

The 'why' of the 20 hours is due to potential accumulation of metal from all the parts 'sanding' themselves into a comfortable position.
If you don't remove the newly scraped off stuff (by performing the 20hr oil change)the loosed particles becomes sanding medium and will remove too much metal making for gaps which make for lower compression and higher oil consumption.

The 150 hours is the equivalent (3600 rpm gen vs 1800rpm car) of 280ish hours of a car at hiway speed(rpm's x hours). I did not calculate for idling time on car or generator.
280hrs@50mph=14,000 associative/comparative car miles.

The amount of actual 'time' between oil changes is a bit of marketing. It's been in the ground about a bazillion years and refined for lord knows how long.
Religion rears its head here on the time thing. 'My dad said' carries heavy weight.

[taylorbob1]

It’s very ez to change and only holds 1.5 quart (if I recall)
I changed mine at about 60hr and 20 months.

Here’s a video link for an Onan 4000 that shows you how-to...

https://youtu.be/7xEqC048YMU

[Beau388]

Contamination is the reason for an oil change, as oil does not wear out. Contamination can come from cylinder blow-by or water from condensation.
Cummins Onan recommends running the generator for at least one hour, under load, each month. This is to put new fuel in the carb to avoid the carb gumming up as the gasoline evaporates and to heat-up the generator's rotor to prevent it from rusting. The reason the first oil change at 50 hours is to remove the break-in oil and break-in contaminants from the engine as it has no oil filter. So, just change the oil when you change the engine's oil.

[Jimenez61]

Thanks for the info.

[Jimenez61]

Thanks. Have a good one

[Jimenez61]

Thanks for the info

[paulwadley]

The oil change is either by hours as recommended by the manufacturer or by time. Usually every year for a change unless you hit the hour time limit listed.

Paul

[ducksface]

Originally Posted by paulwadley

The oil change is either by hours as recommended by the manufacturer or by time. Usually every year for a change unless you hit the hour time limit listed.

Paul

Why would a calendar based change be required?

[Lt Keefer]

Originally Posted by ducksface

Why would a calendar based change be required?

Because it's easy to write in a manual and easy for a customer to remember.

[ducksface]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

Because it's easy to write in a manual and easy for a customer to remember.

That is the answer.
Calendar based is simplistic and requires absolutely no reason or thought.
It IS NOT a requirement.
It is a simple nicety for those folks who need regiment.
(And it sells maybe five times the amount of oil over a vehicles lifetime)

[lwmcguire]

I am not a huge proponent of any type EV and certainly against subsidized methods by the government fir their proliferation

However it does save oil that the millions of owners dump because of the old 3000 mile BS

Originally Posted by ducksface

That is the answer.
Calendar based is simplistic and requires absolutely no reason or thought.
It IS NOT a requirement.
It is a simple nicety for those folks who need regiment.
(And it sells maybe five times the amount of oil over a vehicles lifetime)

[MJC62]

Couple quarts of premium synthetic oil is cheap. I change mine frequently.

[Pete'sMH]

It’s important to do an early change because there isn’t an oil filter and both production and break-in debris needs to be flushed out. Subsequent oil changes might be even more important for low hour generators because with only occasional use condensation can build up in the oil. In any event, with no filter and only a quart and a half of oil why not change it? Takes about 10 minutes and costs less than $5.

[OldWEB]

[Campnjoe]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

It’s important to do an early change because there isn’t an oil filter and both production and break-in debris needs to be flushed out. Subsequent oil changes might be even more important for low hour generators because with only occasional use condensation can build up in the oil. In any event, with no filter and only a quart and a half of oil why not change it? Takes about 10 minutes and costs less than $5.

Mine has a filter.

[m1noel]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

It’s important to do an early change because there isn’t an oil filter and both production and break-in debris needs to be flushed out. Subsequent oil changes might be even more important for low hour generators because with only occasional use condensation can build up in the oil. In any event, with no filter and only a quart and a half of oil why not change it? Takes about 10 minutes and costs less than $5.

I've had 3 Onan generators. 4000, 5500, and 8000. They have all had oil filters.

[paulwadley]

The oil is cheap and it uses very little(just over a quart) in my diesel generator. I would rather change it more often and not have a problem down the road than to have a large repair bill just because I cheaped out on changing the oil. With my diesel generator I don't have an oil filter so it might be more important to change it to flush out debris.

Paul

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by m1noel

I've had 3 Onan generators. 4000, 5500, and 8000. They have all had oil filters.

Well, I’m happy for you. Wish mine had one. The rather ubiquitous Onan KY/QG 4000 doesn’t have one. Perhaps the diesel units are different. Obviously, if you have one it makes the job a little more expensive and time consuming. But it’s still worth doing.

[Muggs]

We are in our 5th year. Our generator has 500 hours on it. The Champion on racecar trailer is likely over 5000 hours. Oil change interval is annual or 150 hours, bought it woth just under 200 hours. I have yet to change Onan oil from hours, only time. The champion gets changed every 6 months.

I do same with v10. It has only been changed twice due to miles.