Best oil for Honda 3000 Quiet Gen???

[NVRENUFF]

I have a Honda 3000 invertor gen and want it to last as long as possible. It's normal use is to run a 33' travel trailer over a weekend, and power the basics in the house during power outages. Currently I have about 500hrs on it and change the oil @75hrs. I was using the recommended Honda oil but switched to Amsoil EL on my last change. Every time I change the oil I see what looks like tiny copper flakes and that worries me. Hoping to see less of that with the Amsoil. On some of the "off the grid" forums I've seen guys claiming they use plain cheap rotella 15/40, changing oil every 150hrs, and have over 12,000hrs on these generators.

My questions is, what oil is best for oil bath engines to have maximum life? At $2,200 I'd like this gen to last as long as possible.

Thanks!!!

 

[NVRENUFF]

BTW I have a SW hour meter installed on it to track run time.

 

[901Memphis]

Amsoil EQT the small engine oil is supposed to be one of the best

40 grade HDEO are appropriate for hot climates under constant load

 

[Bud_One]

If it's the EU3000is Honda Generator, we have one that we use at our shop.
Company purchased it in 2008 when Ike hit.
We use it to keep our servers , phones and company computers going.
It's run non stop for days on end and we've used the Honda OEM 10W-30 , Mobil 1 10W-30 and currently it has Rotella T6 5W-40.
No shavings noted whenever we change it out. It's only had 3 oil changes since '08 .

 

[crazyoildude]

Im not familiar with that engine but i have used Pennzoil strait 30 in all my small engines since i was a kid and they all are still running well. Including a 1966 Allis Charmers snow blower with the Briggs engine and it was always used on a big piece of property with lots of long sidewalks.

I go out of my way to find the Pennzoil 30 for all my equipment including my generators..

 

[SatinSilver]

Castrol Magnatec 10w30, runs super quiet and the only reason I tried it was all the good things I read on here about it. Has great UOA reports, wow!

 

[Best F100]

Originally Posted By: NVRENUFF
I have a Honda 3000 invertor gen and want it to last as long as possible. It's normal use is to run a 33' travel trailer over a weekend, and power the basics in the house during power outages. Currently I have about 500hrs on it and change the oil @75hrs. I was using the recommended Honda oil but switched to Amsoil EL on my last change. Every time I change the oil I see what looks like tiny copper flakes and that worries me. Hoping to see less of that with the Amsoil. On some of the "off the grid" forums I've seen guys claiming they use plain cheap rotella 15/40, changing oil every 150hrs, and have over 12,000hrs on these generators.

My questions is, what oil is best for oil bath engines to have maximum life? At $2,200 I'd like this gen to last as long as possible.

Thanks!!!




I Bet I won't get one person to agree with me, when I say the following:

Here it goes; Honda's recommendation for all its generators is either straight 30wt or 10W30 ( a generic, non specified, mineral or synthetic based). If you believe that Honda's specified 10W30 viscosity works BEST in all climates, lets start from there. If cost is no object (generator only holds 1/2 quart, so why not open your wallet), lets spring for the 10W30 product with the highest flash point, lowest NOACK figure, and highest HT/HS money can buy. In my book, that cuts it down to one. On paper, these should work just fine.

Taking the Gold medal is: Amsoil MCT 10W30. HT/HS of 3.5, Flash point of 238C, NOACK of 5.4.

Taking the Silver medal is: Mobil 1 10W30 High Mileage - because it can be easily bought over the counter at a reasonable cost and probably has specs almost as impressive.

Taking the Bronze medal is: Chevron Severe Duty 15W30. It is a recently discontinued product. I bought several 4 gallon containers for under $8/gallon. Great hot weather performance for cheapskates like me. This is what I am using. I believe I am getting 9/10 of the performance of the other two, for a fraction of the price.


Full disclosure, I own a used Honda EU3000is. A 2004 model with under 100 hours. I also bought a used Honda EU6500is with over 3600 hours. A 2012 model that came from a steel company. Don't know what oil they used, however, it runs like new, and is now used for standby back up duty at my house.

 

[NVRENUFF]

I think I've always used 10w40 in it. When I bought the gen I had them throw in a gallon of their recommended Honda oil and it was 10/40, so when I got the Amsoil EL I went with 10/40.

 

[NVRENUFF]

Thanks, I'll check out the Amsoil MCT 10/30

 

[dave123]

Originally Posted By: NVRENUFF
Thanks, I'll check out the Amsoil MCT 10/30

Would be an outstanding pick along with ASE Formula I'd run either one.

 

[Bluestream]

Wolfshead #30; It wont let you down.

 

[Reg# 43897]

Rotella T5 10w-30 or T6 5w-40. I use 10w-30 in my Yamaha-engined Rigid. Seems like a smart choice to me. Would use the T6 in a hotter climate, extended use, perhaps.

John.

 

[crainholio]

My EU2000i and EU3000is have each put in multi-day service runs using Rotella T5 10W-30, T6 5W-40, and Mobil 1 0W-40 in sub-freezing conditions without an issue. I changed oil every 3 days (~70-80 hours continuous use). Oil was just a hair under the full mark on dipstick every time, so maybe
With splash-lubricated engines, I prefer thin cold viscosity...especially the EU2000i which has plastic scupper blades on the oil flinger. For that reason I don't normally use the T5 10W-30 oil, it was what I had on the shelf at the time and during the 12-day power outage I was chewing up my oil stash on my generators and a few neighbors needing help.

I got a deal on Delo 5W-40 synthetic at Wal-Mart a few months ago, so that's what is on the shelf for next oil changes.

 

[TiredTrucker]

I use a 10w30/30w Amsoil 4 stroke oil in my Yamaha EF2000 that gets used on my semi truck on occasion year round. Summer 100F or winter -10F, doesn't matter. it rides right in it's own box on the frame rail of the truck and run in the box with a couple of removable side panels off. I have a bit over 600 hrs on mine now.

 

[CrAlt]

My EU2000i has 500hours on it from Sandy, Irene, and the "Halloween" storm alone.I have used it for many other shorter term outages. It has countless weekend and week long camping trips on it.

I have an extended fuel kit on it so it can run 24hours non-stop. It just idles down when there is no load.
I got it in 2001.
Spark plugs and change the oil by the book. I run just name brand dino 10w30. Running 24hours non-stop means I dump the oil every 2 days.

When I put it away I change the oil regardless of the hours on it and completely drain all the fuel.

These Honda EU series are built so well I think the most important thing is just keeping CLEAN oil in them. They seem to not have any weaknesses that need help from special oils.