Buying Advice Aurora Silent Diesel Generator

[TractorBob1529]

I'm looking to buy a generator for when the power goes out...it's a matter of time. I was lookin to buy a 3000-6000 watt unit for all my needs. Then I started doing research and that opened up a can of worms. Whole houe, tri-fuel, diesel, 1800rpm vs 3600 rpm...on and on. I kind of narrowed it down to a diesel powered 6kW Aurora Silent Diesel Genny for about $1600 plus shipping. Has anyone had any experience with this company or any suggestion on what to buy. I would like to know what kind of setup everybody has for when the power goes out. Oh, I would like to one day go off the grid...long term goal. Thanks.

[davel745]

I thought that the 15000 hours between rebuilds was a little low. Most as far as I know are rated for 30,000 hours.

[Monster5601]

I have a 14 kw Generac running on natural gas. The Generac is wired in using their automatic switch. When power goes (which is often) I just have to wait 30 seconds for the Generac to fire-up and take over. When the grid comes back, the Generac shuts down.

[IslandTractor]

I thought that the 15000 hours between rebuilds was a little low. Most as far as I know are rated for 30,000 hours.

If the 15000 hr figure is real then the Aurora is a bargain and must be very reliable. We love to disparage China diesel engines but don't forget they power more than half the world these days. Sure a JD based Lugger will be more reliable and last longer but it will also cost twenty times as much. If you are providing emergency power for a hospital it might be worth it but for home use a light duty diesel and proper maintenance make more sense. 15000 hrs seems high to me but even if it lasts 5000 hrs that is the equivalent of about five Honda or ten other brand gas generators. Not a bad deal.

[Toyboy]

I have a 14 kw Generac running on natural gas. The Generac is wired in using their automatic switch. When power goes (which is often) I just have to wait 30 seconds for the Generac to fire-up and take over. When the grid comes back, the Generac shuts down.

I have the same set up only mine is 20kw

[Gary Fowler]

Going off the grid by totally generating you own power with a fossil fueled generator is not economical by any meansiif you plan to keep all your modern amenities. Take a look at the full load fuel needed for even a 14Kw and you will see that it takes a lot of $$ to run one full time. Wind powered ones up front cost is staggering also along with solar panels. I just dont see it viable in the near future unless you just cant get power at all where you live.

[90cummins]

That winter we had a prolonged power outage and fired it up, at 41 hours the generator started shutting down due to low oil pressure.
Inspection found the oil filter to be full of metal. A teardown found the small end of the cam to be severely worn. The contamination required replacement of the cam, cam bearings & lifters along with the crank main & rod bearings.
It took me quite some time to find replacement parts. When I received the new parts I inspected the new cam and found it to be soft in the bearing & cam surfaces but I installed it & hoped for the best.
After running it for approx 5 hours at load I tore it down because of curiosity and found the new cam showing signs of impending failure in the same manner as the first. As I suspected the new cam was not properly manufactured and hardened and was showing wear.
I would stay away from the Chinese brands and buy a generator with a Genuine Yanmar diesel not a cheap clone!
Generators are needed during emergency痴 don稚 compromise here!
Be careful there are e-bay sellers out there selling these Chinese generators as having genuine Yanmar engines.
For more information and photos of the damage go the Yanmar forum and search Yanmar clones.
Forum for air cooled diesel engines and clones
90cummons

[BobRip]

15000 hours is 500 hours a year for thirty years. I hope your power is not off that much every year. The unit will probably rust out before then anyway. Do you keep Diesel around anyway?

[RoyJackson]

That winter we had a prolonged power outage and fired it up, at 41 hours the generator started shutting down due to low oil pressure.
Inspection found the oil filter to be full of metal. A teardown found the small end of the cam to be severely worn. The contamination required replacement of the cam, cam bearings & lifters along with the crank main & rod bearings.
It took me quite some time to find replacement parts. When I received the new parts I inspected the new cam and found it to be soft in the bearing & cam surfaces but I installed it & hoped for the best.
After running it for approx 5 hours at load I tore it down because of curiosity and found the new cam showing signs of impending failure in the same manner as the first. As I suspected the new cam was not properly manufactured and hardened and was showing wear.
I would stay away from the Chinese brands and buy a generator with a Genuine Yanmar diesel not a cheap clone!
Generators are needed during emergency痴 don稚 compromise here!
Be careful there are e-bay sellers out there selling these Chinese generators as having genuine Yanmar engines.
For more information and photos of the damage go the Yanmar forum and search Yanmar clones.
Forum for air cooled diesel engines and clones
90cummons

Good and informative post!

Chinese metals do leave much to be desired...and, it's apparent they haven't got heat treating down pat yet.

[JB4310]

Yes you did open a big can of worms

It is Chinese, I just had a bad experience with a little Chinese generator. But that was partly my own fault buying a used one (non diesel) that was way under priced.

As Bob pointed out, nothing wrong with the life expectancy, if it were true.

The good thing is that brand is one of the most popular now, and the price seems reasonable. There are all these idiots of craigslist trying to sell little diesel generators for absolutely stupid money. I've seen some for over $5,000.

A couple of years back I was at a contractors rental store and they had a bunch of Chinese diesel gennys in the fleet and said they were no problem.

I'm not real crazy about a diesel spinning at 3600 rpms, but there are alot of them out there now.

JB