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How long can a Generac run before I need to change the oil?
Posted on 8/31/21 at 8:52 am
Posted on 8/31/21 at 8:52 am
We rode it out. Lost about 30% of my shingles and had multiple roof leaks. Pretty stressful but made it.
They are saying several weeks before power. Any Generac owners know the drill on how often I need to shut it down and change the oil?
They are saying several weeks before power. Any Generac owners know the drill on how often I need to shut it down and change the oil?
20
Posted on 8/31/21 at 8:53 am to Slippy
Standby 22kw has 200hrs run time before oil change. That’s all I know about mine. (8 days)
Posted on 8/31/21 at 8:54 am to Slippy
Portable?
Posted on 8/31/21 at 8:54 am to Slippy
200 hrs like said above.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:00 am to Slippy
Rest it every two hours to keep the spark arrestor from clogging up.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:00 am to OldCat55
Portable 6500 ST manual says every 100 hours
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:01 am to drjett
quote:
Rest it every two hours
Lol no
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:03 am to Slippy
I saw that you should shut it down once a day for about an hour. Check the oil level. Add any if low. Change oil after 200 hrs.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:03 am to Cosmo
Got a generac 6500 new a couple days ago, it says first oil change should be 20-30 hrs then 100 hrs after that.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:05 am to Cosmo
Really. They are designed to run.
That said, if you do some alternative shift like 5 hours on / 5 hours off you’ll be just as good as if running all the time and extend your gas supply quite a bit.
That said, if you do some alternative shift like 5 hours on / 5 hours off you’ll be just as good as if running all the time and extend your gas supply quite a bit.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:06 am to Slippy
I have a Generac GP6500 and I change it every 100hrs. I replace the oil with 5w-30 full synthetic.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:11 am to BananaManCan
quote:
Got a generac 6500 new a couple days ago, it says first oil change should be 20-30 hrs then 100 hrs after that.
Thanks. Same model. They shipped tons of them to Louisiana stores. It’s loud and inefficient, but works fine.
I’m turning it off for a few hours in the morning every day. Someone recommended that I turn it off at least 30 mins before refueling.
Rated for 10 hours of use at 50% load. I’ll be using 15 gallons or more per day.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:23 am to AtlantaLSUfan
There are definitely a lot of proud new owners of the Generac GP6500 in the past several days.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:23 am to scottfruget
Thanks for confirmation. I pay a premium fee for yearly maintenance that translates to an extended warranty. Supposed to have "priority service" during an extended outage. So they serviced mine a a month ago, all good. Now is flashing alternating green and yellow indicator light on side. WTF? Running well anyway. I called the company's answering service yesterday at 7:45 AM and asked for a call back. Nothing. Called company at 2:30 PM yesterday-"We're very busy" was response. I told them I simply had a question about the flashing light, would probably take less than 5 minutes. ("Internet" says flashing likely because they did not reset after maintenance.) Today, still no response. Glad I am paying out the arse for that yearly bullshite service and "priority response." 
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:25 am to Slippy
posted this is in another thread
quote:
assuming air cooled, best thing you can do is the following
-service it frequently as in check/change oil, air filter, oil filter. all of this should be changed at beginning of august. Have a extra filter for both oil and air on hand for hurricane season no matter what. Keep 2-3 gallons of the synthetic oil on hand. For generac i know its 5w-30. I suggest royal purple. Make sure you have something to put the old oil in. Same goes for spark plugs.
- if you have to use the generator, change the oil every 72-96 hours. its easy, learn how to do it.
- if you evac, make sure you turn the generator to off. You do not want it running 24/7 while you are gone in that heat with the box on and shut....asking for it to burn up.
- when you get home and turn it on, open the lid and pull the front side off. Air cooled engines are not made to handle and run in this kind of heat. especially when in side an insulated box. You will want to put a towel over the electronics to keep them dry. If it is going to rain, close the top and try and keep the front off if its not a terrible rain.
- shut the generator down every day for a few hours. If you happen to be leaving the house for a while, shut it off. early morning and late afternoon is great for this. perform the daily maintenance liek checking oil and filters. Trust me this makes a big difference.
- learn how to change to what the stepping motor is(generac term, not sure what kohler and others call it). this is the small "motor" that reads the electric amp draw and adjust the motor rpms to match the draw. These things have a small circuit board in them that tend to burn up in the South LA heat. This goes for all brands. They are abotu $100 and I suggest having 1 or 2 extras on hand at all times.
-if you have a pop up shade tent to keep rain off the generator, i suggest putting it over the generator and removing all sides and putting a fan blowing on the generator. Makes a big difference. Its nothign for these things to be glowing after a couple hours use.
on the end....the most important thing you can do it make sure you have the properly sized piping and the correct regulator to provide the right pressure to the generator. You can find all of that on manufacturers site. Many times even certified installers shrot cut this. This is another thing that causes the stepping motor to burn up. Constantly starving for gas.
last thing remember that you get less output with NG compared to LP. The Rated KW reading is based on LP.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:26 am to AtlantaLSUfan
quote:
I’ll be using 15 gallons or more per day.
May want to look into a MotorSnorkel if you have natural gas. LINK
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:28 am to Meauxjeaux
quote:
That said, if you do some alternative shift like 5 hours on / 5 hours off you’ll be just as good as if running all the time and extend your gas supply quite a bit.
Yesterday I shut mine off right before bed to conserve gas. The house stayed comfortable over night and shutting off for that long won’t spoil anything in the fridge/freezer.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:30 am to Slippy
FTR the manual will say 200 hours, I found during laura that the 5w-30 got really really dark after 72 and after 96 was damn dirty and black. If you have the oil on hand or can get it, change every 72-96. Its cheap and makes sure you are good.
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:31 am to lsu777
quote:
Its cheap
earl is the lifeblood of an internal combustion engine, cheapest and best thing you can do for its longevity
Posted on 8/31/21 at 9:33 am to Slippy
I know it's wrong, but I haven't shut mine off to fill it even. Since sunday.
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