1 Year and just 33 hours on oil - Change? Mitsubishi 4G64 2.4L Engine

[SupremePossum]

For my Generac Generator. Mitsubishi 4G64 2.4L Engine at 1800RPM

I've had just 33 hours on it this year, and its now at the 1 year mark. Filled with Kirkland 5W-30 Synthetic

Would you swap or leave it? I will leave the filter for sure

 

[Zee09]

For my Generac Generator. Mitsubishi 4G64 2.4L Engine at 1800RPM

I've had just 33 hours on it this year, and its now at the 1 year mark. Filled with Kirkland 5W-30 Synthetic

Would you swap or leave it? I will leave the filter for sure

That oil is inexpensive....I'd change it..... why not?

 

[SupremePossum]

The reason not is that it states a 125 OCI, but last time I went well over that to 168 and an analysis showed it still good

 

[Zee09]

I would keep the filter as you stated.
Piece of mind with fresh oil

 

[Nessism1]

Oil changes at xxxx miles (hours) OR one year baffle me. What happens to oil such that one year signals the need to change it?

 

[Zee09]

Oil changes at xxxx miles (hours) OR one year baffle me. What happens to oil such that one year signals the need to change it?

It's no longer days old and now becomes 1 year old .....

 

[SupremePossum]

Oil changes at xxxx miles (hours) OR one year baffle me. What happens to oil such that one year signals the need to change it?

For some generators it does make sense. The air cooled Generac's seem to have a tendency to not get to temp during their short 6 min run cycle and end up full of condensation somehow

This unit however does not have that issue

 

[wwillson]

Would you swap or leave it?

How long is the exercise interval? If it's < 20 minutes, the oil likely never gets up to temperature to help boil the water from condensation off. If the exercise interval is short, I would change it.

 

[pbm]

Oil changes at xxxx miles (hours) OR one year baffle me. What happens to oil such that one year signals the need to change it?

They assume a lot of 'short trips' if you're under the OCI mileage but reach a year.

 

[Zee09]

I'd love to see this beauty....

 

[SupremePossum]

I'd love to see this beauty....

Thread '2021 Generac RG027-QS Generator - 208 Hours Total - 5W30 (Hurricane Beryl Run)'

Aug 12, 2024

Alright guys, quite a few people asked me for this and I said I would post it as soon as it came in, and it just came in!

Generac RG027-QS 27kw (25kw on NG) Standby Generator with a 2.4L Mitsubishi 4G64 running at 1800RPM. Generator is liquid cooled

Used Kirkland 5W-30 Synthetic and the OE Generac Filter

Ran for 6 days, 6 hours and 37 mins during Hurricane Beryl. I stopped a day before the power came back and changed the oil, as I was on 168 hours. 138 was all in 1 run from Beryl, and 24 hours was from the Houston Derecho a month or so before

Generator did great!

Picture of genset...

• SupremePossum
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Used Oil Analysis - Gasoline

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[repairman54]

What's the oil maintenance interval that the onboard computer signals or the manuals recommendations? Air cooled Generacs I've had and have are on a 2 yr change cycle. I can't speak to it signaling a shorter interval though as I've not had a real long run on my stationary units, just on portables in prior years.
And the drain oil that comes out looks great in that time, 10 min. exercise cycles weekly. No condensation issues with sub zero winters either.
With only 33 hrs. I'd let it go.

 

[Mainia]

Here is a question? Would not it "might" be a good idea to use "marine use case" designed oils for generators with their high anti- corrosion property's in a generator like this ? They also usually have a good robust addpack for sustained high RPM too, as per outboard marine engine speced motor oils. Or an oil with high ester as it has a polarity that is "metal loving" and takes longer to shed oil the off the metal parts?

 

[diesellover]

Change a minimum of once a year, absolutely! It's shown reguardless of oil type that after 365 days it can form sludge and it can hold moisture which is really terrible.

In indiana, I'd do the same with the snow blowers! Drain the oil once per year regardless of hours or if it was even used. It was only 20 ounces of oil or something like that so it doesn't cost much.

There's more reasons than hours or miles to change oil. A minimum of once a year or every 18 months is great for things that don't get used a lot. There's small amounts of moisture and contaminates to drain out and oil is shown to become acidic which is actually worse on oil seals. Seals have been shown to do better in studies with fresh oil and almost refresh themselves in doing so according to the last truck shop I worked at.

 

[TomYoung]

That oil is inexpensive....I'd change it..... why not?

Especially Kirkland that you hopefully got on sale for $17 a jug. Changing the oil is ALWAYS the right answer.

 

[TomYoung]

Here is a question? Would not it "might" be a good idea to use "marine use case" designed oils for generators with their high anti- corrosion property's in a generator like this ? They also usually have a good robust addpack for sustained high RPM too, as per outboard marine engine speced motor oils. Or an oil with high ester as it has a polarity that is "metal loving" and takes longer to shed oil the off the metal parts?

Lot of ideas here, but would urge you to stay away from specialty oils. If you want more durability, hardly necessary given usage, go with an extended life automotive oil.

 

[kschachn]

Change a minimum of once a year, absolutely! It's shown reguardless of oil type that after 365 days it can form sludge and it can hold moisture which is really terrible.

In indiana, I'd do the same with the snow blowers! Drain the oil once per year regardless of hours or if it was even used. It was only 20 ounces of oil or something like that so it doesn't cost much.

There's more reasons than hours or miles to change oil. A minimum of once a year or every 18 months is great for things that don't get used a lot. There's small amounts of moisture and contaminates to drain out and oil is shown to become acidic which is actually worse on oil seals. Seals have been shown to do better in studies with fresh oil and almost refresh themselves in doing so according to the last truck shop I worked at.

For oil to get acidic it takes heat and the products of combustion. It also requires the TBN to be depleted.

 

[Hohn]

What's the oil maintenance interval that the onboard computer signals or the manuals recommendations? Air cooled Generacs I've had and have are on a 2 yr change cycle. I can't speak to it signaling a shorter interval though as I've not had a real long run on my stationary units, just on portables in prior years.
And the drain oil that comes out looks great in that time, 10 min. exercise cycles weekly. No condensation issues with sub zero winters either.
With only 33 hrs. I'd let it go.

Sub zero temps are a non-issue for condensation; the air is too dry to hold much moisture at all.


Condensation is mostly an issue where you have a heavy iron/steel mass in an ambient environment where the dew point is crossed. Think Louisiana or Thailand where for most of the year the dew point is crossed every day.


Let's say you're in New Orleans and the overnight low dipped to 60 degrees. You'll have dew on the ground in the morning from the temperature dropping past the dew point. Your generator cools with the air, but slower. Because the generator is therefore warmer than the air (it's lagging in cooling rate), it gets no condensation.

But the next morning, the temperature and dew point of the air will rise faster than the engine temperature. And when the engine temp is below the dew point (it's lagging in warming rate now), you will have condensation inside it because engine crankcases are vented and so is the intake/exhaust system too. Intake and exhaust valves, seats, cylinders, etc are all prone to rust from such condensation. Residual oil is protecting many internal surfaces, but the intake and exhaust aren't protected. Especially the exhaust, where residual soot caked on the inside tends to attract moisture.

For the oil side, the solution is the same year round all over the earth: an oil pan warmer or other means of engine heating. Just keep the main castings warmer than the dew point at all times and you'll be as good as reasonably can be.

 

[TomYoung]

For oil to get acidic it takes heat and the products of combustion. It also requires the TBN to be depleted.

So what…. Don’t change the oil?

 

[Bighorn2500]

If it's under warranty and you keep your records, I'd just change it.

For the 20-30 minutes of your time, and a couple quarts of oil it's an easy decision to make for me.