What easy to locate oil(s) with respect to season, would be best for a 10 HP Tecumseh HM-100 on a Coleman 5000 Watt/6250 Watt-Peak Generator. This is one of the cheap non-inverter type that runs at 3600 RPM regardles of load. Minimum winter air temp. -22 F. Maximum summer air temp. 101 F.
Note: the manual says to not use any 40 oil.
Curently using Castrol HD straight 30.
Initally had to adjust the governor sensitivity spring to get this unit to run at a steady RPM regardless of load.
Set the throtle to exactly 60 HZ, while under 1/2 rated load. A teck told me that they all come factory set to too high of a RPM and he was right. There are three ways to set RPM, a frequency meter (I had to build a noise filter simple RC), a tack on the motor, or a clock that has a 120 AC motor will actually be fast- right on- or slow depending on generator frequency.
Added a car muffler with flex pipe from McMaster-Carr, now less noise than a gas lawn mower. Note exhaust port on these motors is all-ready threaded (remove muffler to see if yours is threaded). You must use a flex pipe to protect everything from the stress tht would be placed on it from movement. You have to addapt up in size to get to the muffler size Summit makes a flex pipe that works with the muffler pipe size.
Unit is stored inside, run under light load for 10 minutes every four months with fresh gas, then carb run dry, then plug pulled and Sta-Bil foam sprayed in, plug reinstaled, roap pulled several times,then roap lightly pulled and stoped on a compression stroke so both valve springs are not compressed.
I realize the striaght Castrol 30 is too thick for winter temps.
Have several M1(all synthetic) oils stored for winter 10W-30, 10W-30 extended, and 5W-30. After reading some post I wonder about the M1 10W-30 (without the extended additives).
I am thinking of geting some GC (local AutoZone has some) and forgeting about M1.
How can some people recomend Amsoil 10W-30/SAE30 blindly without talk about minimum ambient temp., when a 10W should only be good down to -4 F ? Ambient Minimum and Maximum air temperature, Load, and usage should be talked about more when recomending oils.
Knock on Wood, I have never had to use this unit for a real outage yet. Change the oil once a year for 2 and 1/2 years now.
It is certinaly cheaper to throw away Castrol straight 30 once a year after only 30 minutes of running than a more expensive oil.
I figure that if we have a real outage in the winter that the oil in the generator will still be some-what warm when we drag it out to the far side of the back yard and fire it up. I figure that it probably will be cooled down a lot by the time we get oil into it doing a out-door oil change. Then I would want a good winter oil for the start-up.
Also could someone coment about change time when low hours, and time stored in months becomes the major isue. And could someone coment about how many hours they would run an oil under what ambient and loads.
I would like to know what oil is best for each season.
Thanks.
JimPghPa
PS: Also store K&N air filter and cleaning oiling kit for air filter for long outage.
