Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

Yamaha bought a couple of the bigger Subaru tooling ect. and is making those engines.

The rest of the line was sold to a Chinese company and they will be built in china and sold as Subaru's...

SR

Good 411, thanks !

Rgds, D.

 

[check]

I would add that I am confident the V twin Vanguard clone Generac in my 22kw gen would last more than 1000 hours.
Generac/Vanguard uses some seriously good oil rings in those engines, I have never seen the oil level go down.

Interesting. My 17kw Kohler uses A LOT of oil, and frankly I don’t see why this is necessary.

 

[daugen]

Interesting. My 17kw Kohler uses A LOT of oil, and frankly I don’t see why this is necessary.

I'm now on my second Generac 20-22kw whole house gen and they both have been the same. I change out perfectly clean oil once a year and the level is always full. Now I bet if it ran for a full week it might use some, but just speculation. On long outages, I always shut down for several hours once a day, if only to check the oil, and so far, the oil consumption has been negligible.

SR, thanks for info on Yamaha buying Subaru equipment, never knew where those engines went. Kubota used Subaru engines on several models, including my RTV400. Yamaha is a remarkable company, engineering driven, like Subaru, probably similar corporate culture which helped the deal. How many other engine manufacturers also make grand pianos?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Interesting. My 17kw Kohler uses A LOT of oil, and frankly I don稚 see why this is necessary.

I have a 20hp Kohler with 500 hrs on it, it starts easy, runs really nice, but it uses oil. It's the only small engine I own that I have to keep an eye on, for oil usage...

It's had regular oil changes with good oil, and it doesn't matter what oil I use in it, it still uses oil...

SR

 

[Sawyer Rob]

SR, thanks for info on Yamaha buying Subaru equipment, never knew where those engines went. Kubota used Subaru engines on several models, including my RTV400. Yamaha is a remarkable company, engineering driven, like Subaru, probably similar corporate culture which helped the deal. How many other engine manufacturers also make grand pianos?

Thanks for reminding me!!!

Kubota bought one of the Subaru engines/tooling too, but I THINK it's the 2 cyl that they are now using in their 850 ?...

At least, that's what I read in an industry magazine that usually has all the latest/greatest news... lol

SR

 

[3930dave]

I have a 20hp Kohler with 500 hrs on it, it starts easy, runs really nice, but it uses oil. It's the only small engine I own that I have to keep an eye on, for oil usage...

It's had regular oil changes with good oil, and it doesn't matter what oil I use in it, it still uses oil...

SR

May be just low-tension rings.... going back a long ways, various manufacturers have pushed that strategy too far.

Some recent car engines use enough oil that I'm tempted to chase down what the oil consumption is in a modern 2 stroker....... my money is on the 2 stroker......

Rgds, D.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

One of the most common misconceptions is that engines should use little or no oil. It’s a choice between emissions and engine life and manufacturers would rather have engines use oil and outlast the warranty period.

An engine that uses no oil will have better emissions but rapidly wear the cylinders and one that uses moderate oil will last a very long time but produce higher emissions. For a typical car engine that’s about a quart in 5000 miles and an engine that uses that amount from new will usually still use the same amount after 150,000 miles.

The “target” for a midrange Diesel engine like a 15L about 3 gallons of oil in 250 hrs. Max allowable would be around 8 gallons in 250 hrs at 60% load.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

An engine that uses no oil will have better emissions but rapidly wear the cylinders and one that uses moderate oil will last a very long time but produce higher emissions. For a typical car engine that’s about a quart in 5000 miles and an engine that uses that amount from new will usually still use the same amount after 150,000 miles.

My wives car has NEVER used any oil, at least if it does, you can't detect it on the dip stick... It now has 221,000 miles on it, and it STILL doesn't use any oil and oil changes happen every 5 to 6,000 miles or so, depending on several things, like convenience.

When does this wear start ?, and when will I notice it when I step on the gas, because it runs/sounds and has power just like it did the day I bought it!

My Colorado doesn't use any oil either...

SR

 

[3930dave]

One of the most common misconceptions is that engines should use little or no oil. It痴 a choice between emissions and engine life and manufacturers would rather have engines use oil and outlast the warranty period.

An engine that uses no oil will have better emissions but rapidly wear the cylinders and one that uses moderate oil will last a very long time but produce higher emissions. For a typical car engine that痴 about a quart in 5000 miles and an engine that uses that amount from new will usually still use the same amount after 150,000 miles.

The 鍍arget for a midrange Diesel engine like a 15L about 3 gallons of oil in 250 hrs. Max allowable would be around 8 gallons in 250 hrs at 60% load.

Interesting #'s on that 15L , a bit higher than I would have expected. Thanks for sharing that.... many of us don't get to play with "mid-range" engines that size.....

Plenty of people would kill to only go through a quart in 5000, even km, at that..... in the new and expensive vehicles with these issues. I don't expect zero consumption, but some of these engines are truly ridiculous....... certain Subaru 4's, and VW 1.8T for example.

And..... very few road vehicles have what many $300 generators do..... Low Oil Shutdown...... meaning the non-permanent version.....

I found it "interesting" that the generation of circa GDI engines that ushered in a lot of these problems also coincided with the end of tailpipe emission testing (here)........ Trust the computers...... Trust the computers.....

(I was discussing this ^ extensively with a really smart mechanic buddy of mine, long before dieselgate broke publicly....)

As a close friend of mine crafted on a T-shirt all those years ago....... Don't Accept, Question !

Rgds, D.

 

[check]

Interesting #'s on that 15L , a bit higher than I would have expected. Thanks for sharing that.... many of us don't get to play with "mid-range" engines that size.....

Plenty of people would kill to only go through a quart in 5000, even km, at that..... in the new and expensive vehicles with these issues. I don't expect zero consumption, but some of these engines are truly ridiculous....... certain Subaru 4's, and VW 1.8T for example.

And..... very few road vehicles have what many $300 generators do..... Low Oil Shutdown...... meaning the non-permanent version.....

I found it "interesting" that the generation of circa GDI engines that ushered in a lot of these problems also coincided with the end of tailpipe emission testing (here)........ Trust the computers...... Trust the computers.....

(I was discussing this ^ extensively with a really smart mechanic buddy of mine, long before dieselgate broke publicly....)

As a close friend of mine crafted on a T-shirt all those years ago....... Don't Accept, Question !

Rgds, D.

Yes, Dave, and indeed my Kohler generator did shut down one time because of a “low oil” condition. There had been a multi-day power outage, and in that one event, the generator used up enough oil that the low oil safety mechanism kicked in and shut the generator down. Scary stuff! And it is why I also have a freeze/power out alarm (even though my generator has an automatic standby switch).