Generator oil BLACK after two hours!

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Oldtom

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I bought a brand new 2000 watt Powerhouse generator for home use. The unit had been test run and had traces of oil and gas in it. The manual specified ONLY 15 w 40 oil for all usage over 32 degrees F. I used Shell Rotella 15 w 40 dino since it was available at Walmart. I test ran the genny for 2 hours, using an electric heater to load the engine and make sure it was putting out power. After 2 hours I changed the oil and it was very dark. I have never seen oil darken up this quick. Has anyone else seen this? More importantly, does this indicate a problem? I plan to change oil after every weekend of use until things clean up.

Thanks in advance for any advice :) Oldtom
 
You may have simply cleaned out a lot of manufacturing debris.
Maybe the engine could have been assembled cleaner than it was?
OTOH, maybe the black was just a lot of high moly assembly lube which you might have better left in.
Either way, unless you see this continue, I wouldn't worry.
 
The generator will be mostly used for 4 hours a day to charge trailer batteries while camping. Good idea about the moly assembly lube, I never thought of that. The manual said to change the oil after the first 4 hours. I may have dumped the oil too soon trying to be extra cautious. I will switch to 5 w 40 synthetic after break in.

Thanks for the fast replies:)
 
The oil from my Generac 5500W was a milky dark gray after 1 hour. Maybe would have looked black in 2 hrs. You could just be seeing break-in metals.
 
Originally Posted By: Oldtom
I bought a brand new 2000 watt Powerhouse generator for home use. The unit had been test run and had traces of oil and gas in it. The manual specified ONLY 15 w 40 oil for all usage over 32 degrees F. I used Shell Rotella 15 w 40 dino since it was available at Walmart. I test ran the genny for 2 hours, using an electric heater to load the engine and make sure it was putting out power. After 2 hours I changed the oil and it was very dark. I have never seen oil darken up this quick. Has anyone else seen this? More importantly, does this indicate a problem? I plan to change oil after every weekend of use until things clean up.

Thanks in advance for any advice :) Oldtom


Perfectly normal. I ran my new Briggs & Stratton 5500W generator for about an hour. The oil was black and "sparkly". I've since run over 9 hours on the replacement oil and it's still real light. I'm using Briggs & Stratton Synthetic 5W-30, I got it cheap! Make sure to run under load every few months for a 1/2 hour at least. I'll change the oil after I exercise it the next time just to see if there is anymore break in material. VERY important make sure you check the oil level frequently!

Whimsey
 
I also agree that its manufacturing debris. Run it another 2-4 if you want and change the oil. Take note in the color and see if its lightening up a bit.

If $$$ is an issue, buy a gallon of Supertech 15w40 to clean the engine.
 
New engines run hotter and make more wear particles. It's normal to have the first couple changes show up pretty dirty really quickly. With those chinese engines I expect the oil to look pretty bad after the first couple hours, after a couple oil changes though they clear up and have been pretty reliable for the most part.
 
Oil getting black quickly could also be the rings not sealing as well as they should. A upper cylinder lube (Lucas UCL, MMO or TCW3) should help that. Use it in the gas every other or every third tankful.
 
Don't worry about it getting dark on the first oil change. Assembly lubes will quickly turn an oil black. Worry more about the shiny bits that appear in the first change than the color of the oil.
 
I put 10-15 hrs of hard use on the 212 cc Predator before I changed out my original fill. The oil was dark brown, but no shine or gray. I probably have another 20 hrs or so on the change. The engine starts easily on 5w30. I'm a happy camper.
 
I have a Yamaha 9hp engine on Rigid generator and oil is pretty clean after sitting 1-2 years in sump and only used maybe 5hrs.
 
> The unit had been test run and had traces of oil and gas in it.

It sounds like it was returned.

When I've bought OPE they either are fully dry and have tags on them warning not to run without adding oil, or they (bought at retail) are full with oil already. I've never had one "test run" then drained of fluids but still have traces.
 
Originally Posted By: spackard
> The unit had been test run and had traces of oil and gas in it.

It sounds like it was returned.

When I've bought OPE they either are fully dry and have tags on them warning not to run without adding oil, or they (bought at retail) are full with oil already. I've never had one "test run" then drained of fluids but still have traces.


I use to work at Lowe's and it seems that, at least with snow blowers, some of engines must have been tested then had the oil and gas removed and used on the next machine most likely. Yet some came filled with oil, mine did, and there was evidence that gas had been in the tank. It depended upon the model, some were "ready to go" right out of the box and others needed to be prepped more before use, such as adding oil.

Whimsey
 
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