Breaking in a Honda EB2800 generator (GC 190 Engine), best oil for break-in and long term.

[wpod]

Most equipment used in commercial use get purchased and put into service and used with out any special voodoo and lasts a long, long time,

 

[Sword_of_the_Spirit]

Toaster Oven for 30min. Rings take less time to seat….. “Break-In” Wear will occur well beyond 5-10hrs. Why waste fuel, oil, and life of motor without any actual “needed” use….

I broke my GXR by drying off the dogs after their respective showers. Warmed it up at idle out of the box for about 3-4min. Then low heat setting till the 7/8min (when I “felt” comfortable the oil was near/at temp) and the had at it! I alternated between the 500/1000/2000 watt blow dryer settings for who knows how long. Did that procedure twice for a guess of 1hr total. It doesn’t consume anything in the 1.5yrs owned. Odd isn’t it….

Oh…tune the carb to how the motor actually wants to run. Don’t bandage the problem with needlessly thick oil…..

 

[Owen Lucas]

I have a EG2800i - exact same engine as EB2800i

http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/manuals/00X31Z43B011.pdf

Nothing in the owners manual about break in - and it would be a bad idea to let it run for hours with no load.

You want to get it hot and let it cool back down a few times -

This is how I broke mine in -

I bought a couple quarts of 10W30 conventional oil (SuperTec or whatever SN is cheap) Honda EG2800i does not come with oil -

It takes just under 20 ounces to fill -

I ran it for a few minutes to warm it up
Then 500 watts for 15 minutes
1,000 watts for 15 minutes
1,500 watts for 15 minutes
Then about 2,000 for 10 minutes
Then a few minutes at 1,000 and 500 and then let it idle for a few minutes then shut it down

Let it cool down - changed the oil

Then did the same thing again but went through two cycles so about 2 hours worth

Let it cool down and changed the oil

Then ran it hooked up to my breaker box with an interlock switch for 5 hours - power was out and it was really cold -

Then switched over to Honda 10W30 and changed it once per day - after I burned through 2 quarts of SuperTec breaking it in and 2 quarts of Honda 10W30 conventional I used Mobil1 10W30 full synthetic.

Thanks for your advice, I will try the same approach. I was incorrectly under the impression that the engine should be broken in for 5 hours when in fact the first oil change should be after 5 hours.

Since it is in the 30°'s F here I will break the engine in on Honda Power Equipment 5w30 for an hour, reapeat, and then top off with some extra 5w30 SuperTech I have.

 

[NH73]

I would use whatever the manufacturer specs for break-in. Probably a 10w30. Then for use, I would go with HDMO 10w30 or 5w40. You want to have an oil in there that can hold it when you need to run it hours on hours.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I would use whatever the manufacturer specs for break-in. Probably a 10w30. Then for use, I would go with HDMO 10w30 or 5w40. You want to have an oil in there that can hold it when you need to run it hours on hours.

10w30 is the recommended oil but in the manual it's indicated you can use 5w30 if the temperature is low enough.

Daily temps here are in the lows in the 30s - mid 40s highs, so I figure I'll be safe starting off with a 5w30 unless this temp is still ok for 10w30?

 

[kschachn]

The lower winter rating facilitates starting at lower temperatures, it doesn't prevent use at higher ones.

And any temperature above 0F or so is fine for an oil with a 10W winter rating.

 

[Owen Lucas]

The lower winter rating facilitates starting at lower temperatures, it doesn't prevent use at higher ones.

And any temperature above 0F or so is fine for an oil with a 10W winter rating.

Thanks for the advice! I have 2 cans of Honda 10w30 so I'll break it in with that and then do a winter fill of 5w30 Valvoline Advanced synthetic if I need to start it up in sub zero temps that we have here occasionally.

 

[Astro_Guy]

I broke in two generators with Honda pattern engines plus another piece of OPE with a Honda GSV-190 using Mobil1 10w-30 High Mileage. That was back in the day when they published a 3.5 HTHS spec. Mobil no longer lists that on their website, nor is the oil listed as meeting ACEA A3/B3 with its required minimum 3.5 HTHS. Presently I run RT6 5w-40 in the generators. I started the Predator 3500 inverter a few minutes ago in 40 degree ambient. The starter battery was weak and it took four or five pulls on the rope. Maybe I will leave it out overnight sometime and repeat the experiment at 20 degrees F. In any event, it wasn't hard to start and all of the above seem to run just fine on the RT6 5w-40.

 

[Ride_Red]

Thanks for your advice, I will try the same approach. I was incorrectly under the impression that the engine should be broken in for 5 hours when in fact the first oil change should be after 5 hours.

Since it is in the 30°'s F here I will break the engine in on Honda Power Equipment 5w30 for an hour, reapeat, and then top off with some extra 5w30 SuperTech I have.

The important parts of the break-in process are:
1. Change the oil early and often until it drains clear of metallic glitter
2. Vary the load on the engine
There really isn't any magic timeline or schedule.

 

[wpod]

I have a 58 amp [ 13.500 watt] generator with a 690 Honda V twin engine .The wife wanted full power so that is what I bought. I filled the sump with 0W-40 M1 and like magic we had a 2 hour power black out so I plugged in the generator fired it up let it run for a couple minutes and turned on the breaker and we had full power. Probably it won't get used again, but the wife wanted a generator. Honda recommends 20 hours for either the filter or the oil and filter. I will look it up the next time I run the generator. Just like my lawn mower I filled up the oil and gas then cut the lawn.