Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

EVs have their place, and can suit certain people's local needs, but the Run Till Dry approach some people used with ICE engines creates bigger problems - in fact, with large (commercial) applications, if the battery pack is run-down below a certain level, it can void the warranty.

A guy @ work knows an MD, who drives a Tesla, and her daughter drives a second one the mother paid-for. He said they are often on a tow-hook - I asked what failed, the answer was "Just a run-down battery". He said he wasn't surprised @ the spoiled daughter doing that, but was a little surprised that his friend the doctor kept doing the same.....

Yep, hard to beat the immediate utility of a can of 5 gallons of gas or diesel..... in an engine that burns it...... Consciously or not, many people have been conditioned by that ^ fast Life-Line present in ICE engines.

Rgds, D.

 

[Racer4]

Yesterday, the generator at my mom’s didn’t start when the power went out. 3F and the battery was shot. Jumped it with my truck to get it going, then picked up a new Die Hard Silver at advance. Went up today and swapped that out. Changed the oil and filter too, as I didn’t get it done this fall. 2 quarts of Mobil 1 and an oem generac filter. Should be good for another 2 years.

Generator worked fine earlier this month when the power went out, but it wasn’t as cold. Not sure how old the battery was. Possibly the original from 2012? I don’t remember ever changing it before. If it was, it was way overdue.

 

[grsthegreat]

Yesterday, the generator at my mom’s didn’t start when the power went out. 3F and the battery was shot. Jumped it with my truck to get it going, then picked up a new Die Hard Silver at advance. Went up today and swapped that out. Changed the oil and filter too, as I didn’t get it done this fall. 2 quarts of Mobil 1 and an oem generac filter. Should be good for another 2 years.

Generator worked fine earlier this month when the power went out, but it wasn’t as cold. Not sure how old the battery was. Possibly the original from 2012? I don’t remember ever changing it before. If it was, it was way overdue.

A generac air cooled should only take 1.7 qts of oil. Dont overfill it

 

[3930dave]

Yesterday, the generator at my mom’s didn’t start when the power went out. 3F and the battery was shot. Jumped it with my truck to get it going, then picked up a new Die Hard Silver at advance. Went up today and swapped that out. Changed the oil and filter too, as I didn’t get it done this fall. 2 quarts of Mobil 1 and an oem generac filter. Should be good for another 2 years.

Generator worked fine earlier this month when the power went out, but it wasn’t as cold. Not sure how old the battery was. Possibly the original from 2012? I don’t remember ever changing it before. If it was, it was way overdue.

Time does Fly, doesn't it .

A quick Save for Mom, and a useful Holiday present !

Best Wishes to All for the Holidays.

Rgds, D.

 

[Racer4]

A generac air cooled should only take 1.7 qts of oil. Dont overfill it

1.9 quarts for the 17kw. 2 qt. is close enough. Measures just right on the dipstick.

 

[grsthegreat]

Thats strange, i service over 300 air cooled generators and there either 1.1, 1.7, or 2.2 qts. But as long as it shows ok on dipstick your good to go.

 

[Racer4]

Thats strange, i service over 300 air cooled generators and there either 1.1, 1.7, or 2.2 qts. But as long as it shows ok on dipstick your good to go.

I have serviced a bunch over the years. Mostly generacs. Even the older steel enclosure 12kw & 16kw were always happy with 2 quarts. The Briggs powered Cummins/Onans were something like 80 oz.

One of my customers just had a Taylor 30kw installed. Perkins turbo diesel powered. Not hooked up yet, just sitting in place. It’s in a special room in the crawl space. This Taylor replaces a Kohler unit from the 80’s that developed a smoke problem. He threw parts at it to the tune of 10 g’s before deciding to replace. That one had a 4239 Deere engine. It was a noisy beast.

 

[3930dave]

I have serviced a bunch over the years. Mostly generacs. Even the older steel enclosure 12kw & 16kw were always happy with 2 quarts. The Briggs powered Cummins/Onans were something like 80 oz.

One of my customers just had a Taylor 30kw installed. Perkins turbo diesel powered. Not hooked up yet, just sitting in place. It’s in a special room in the crawl space. This Taylor replaces a Kohler unit from the 80’s that developed a smoke problem. He threw parts at it to the tune of 10 g’s before deciding to replace. That one had a 4239 Deere engine. It was a noisy beast.

Ouch.... just Parts today runs up a bill fast; sad when it doesn't play-out.

Sounds like you are fine on Oil. When I got my 7kw Briggs, it was the first one I've had with a screw-in dipstick. The delta is minor, but to help me sleep @ night , I labelled it, as you can be off by the height of the threads.

Automotive electronics (modern) can get funky with batteries much older than 5 years, at least in this climate here. We had a chat in this thread a while back...... can't recall exactly, but I think grs's ballpark on typical Generac battery's life was near there...... any which-way you play it, In-Service Date on a battery is Good To Know !

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

what would it cost to have a real dipstick instead of the screw in cap?
if the unit isn't perfectly level, readings are not very exact
I miss a dipstick.
I also miss an oil pump and an oil filter.
current setup to me not very robust.

 

[Robin Veerman]

I’m sure that setting a generator level, corner to corner to corner, is imperative whether equipped with a dipstick or screw cap/dipstick.
Yes, a fully pressurized lube and filter system would add significant cost to a small engine. But if Honda GX small engines can last for thousands of hours with regular maintenance, why bother?! It proves that quality design and build really matters…