Genset oil

[QuadDriver]

I have a 1994ish coleman maxa ER, 5000W, 6500W surge with a 10hp techumseh. As luck will have it, my planning worked and its currently running my house, and has been for nearly 24 hrs. Over the last 9 years it was used sparingly, hour here, hour there...It has syn oil in it, but I forget which make or grade.

After this run, if and when penelec plugs us back in, what would be good to goto for something like this? 15w40 rotella T? single cylinder air cooled, and I run a floor fan next to it in the garage to keep air moving.

 

[MolaKule]

QD,

Interesting. I have a 1999 Coleman Powermate, same specs, and have been running it
since last night; we had 80 mph winds out here at 12:30AM and all went dark after that.

I now use Redline 5W30 in the fall, spring and winter, and Delvac 1 5W40 in the summer.

BTW, you may want to check the generator brushes as well when doing an oil change.

Good Luck, hope the power comes back soon.

 

[QuadDriver]

I checked the gen spec and they say 30W oil, so if it had syn, it had probly 10-30M1. In the first 12 hours, the low oil shutdown worked...she lost about 8-10oz of oil to put it on the low end of the dipstick. I topped off with delo 15-40 I had an open bottle of, in the next 12 hrs it used 2 oz....Im thinking iit dont like the thin stuff.

Utility guys say tomorrow now at the earliest....places like oil city and franklin - friday at the earliest.

 

[MolaKule]

As I recall those Tecumseh engines run wide open at 3,600 RPM and produce a lot of heat.


If it seems to like the heavier weights, you might want to try Schaeffer's #700, a 15W40 Blend.

Used it all of last summer in all generators, tractors, and other outdoor power equipment. A good all around oil.

[ July 23, 2003, 10:08 AM: Message edited by: MolaKule ]

 

[QuadDriver]

quote:

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Originally posted by MolaKule:
As I recall those Tecumseh engines run wide open at 3,600 RPM and produce a lot of heat.


If it seems to like the heavier weights, you might want to try Schaeffer's #700, a 15W40 Blend.

Used it all of last summer in all generators, tractors, and other outdoor power equipment. A good all around oil.

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48 hrs came and went, now they say tomorrow....it seems we got hit here near the house with a 'macroburst', it flattened a 7 mile long, 2 mile wide stretch, the utility crews are stringing all new wire and new xformers - the old ones were destroyed when the wires literally got yanked outta them. This little powermate has definitely earned its keep. Its gonna get a full oil change and a new plug on the end! The cooling fan in the motor seems to work well, pulls the air right past the head rather strongly. The last run was 14 hrs+ and again, only 2 oz gone, so it likes the heavier stuff.

Nice as these powermates are, Im thinking about a 13-18kw diesel and a whole house trans switch. I have a natural gas line I can power it from....

btw - u mentioned brushes - how do u get at em and where would I get new ones if needed?

 

[MolaKule]

Glad to hear the Powermate is doing it's job. I have oftern thought of buying one of those LPG fueled generators or a diesel from Northern Tool, but the costs seem rather high. I think the diesel may be better in terms of engine longevity. You figure that a regular house needs 10kW to 15kW and the diesel gensets look more attractive. The diesel engines produce more torque and run at about 1800 rpm.

The brushes are hidden behind a removable plate on the generator proper at the back end near the outlets, on my gen. You need a needle-nosed pliers 'cause it's a bit tricky since the brushes are connected to some solderless connectors. I think the brushes are good for at about 100 hours?

Funny, but our power goes out more during the summer than in winter. We did have ice laden wires break two winters ago and we had the neighbors hook into our house because one of the children had to be on a special respirator. They couldn't get to town (everyone was iced in at their homes) to have the child treated. I think the neighbor is seriously considering his own genset at this time!

 

[QuadDriver]

btw - on a light load with occasional spikes, from 9pm last night to 9am this am when I shut it down for maint, I used a 5 gallon can of gas on topoffs. Meaning, I started with the 5 gal tank full, and when I shut down at 9am, the rest ofthe 5 gal can brought it to full (mebbe a 1/4 left) - this means its gets about 12hrs on a tank at light usage. good info to know!

 

[MolaKule]

Cool!

You must have the 5-6 gallon tank. I have 1 1/2 gallon tank and I need to convert over to the bigger tank.

Mine will run for about two to 2 1/2 hours under full load on that one tank.

 

[cryptokid]

ill tell ya one thing, with a propane powered engine you oil hardly ever gets black. seems like propane is some really clean burning stuff.

 

[QuadDriver]

quote:

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Originally posted by cryptokid:
ill tell ya one thing, with a propane powered engine you oil hardly ever gets black. seems like propane is some really clean burning stuff.

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iso propane (aka 2,2 di methyl propane?) splits into methane radicals, and there SHOULD be no alkenes, alkynes or arenes in it, which produce a lot of soot

 

[cryptokid]

back in the day i worked in a warehouse and we had many propane powered forklifts. i dont think we ever changed the oil in em, it awalys was nice and clear looking.