Generator oil choice
- Thread starter Cowboyjames
- Start date
If you look at the fine print in the maintenance schedule on my Honda EG2800i it says change the oil after 5 hours then every 50 hours -
But in the fine print it says under heavy use in hot conditions change it every 25 hours.
I am in Houston so it is usually hot and I run stuff pretty hard -
Oil is $20 for a 5 quart jug - less than $3 - so I change it everyday - once in a while 2x in a day.
I set my generator up on a 4x4 & 2x4 platform so it is over 5" off the ground - oil pan fits under - and I use a piece of aluminum foil shaped like a valley so the oil drains out and into the pan without going all over the frame.
I can pull the plug - drain it while I am filling up the gas tank - reinstall the plug - fill it with oil and be running again in 5 minutes - and that is in the dark with 40 MPH winds and heavy rain (OK in the daylight no rain or heavy wind)
But in the fine print it says under heavy use in hot conditions change it every 25 hours.
I am in Houston so it is usually hot and I run stuff pretty hard -
Oil is $20 for a 5 quart jug - less than $3 - so I change it everyday - once in a while 2x in a day.
I set my generator up on a 4x4 & 2x4 platform so it is over 5" off the ground - oil pan fits under - and I use a piece of aluminum foil shaped like a valley so the oil drains out and into the pan without going all over the frame.
I can pull the plug - drain it while I am filling up the gas tank - reinstall the plug - fill it with oil and be running again in 5 minutes - and that is in the dark with 40 MPH winds and heavy rain (OK in the daylight no rain or heavy wind)
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2021
- Messages
- 92
“Rod Knocking” mysteriously goes away with changing oil….. equals no “Rod Knocking” in first place. You had another condition that was probably fuel, air, or ignition related that isn’t mentioned.
PS: For those that do not know, “Rod Knock” is a term used for the Rods losing their bearing on the Main (which then “wobbles” out and creates material noise). It’s an irreconcilable condition unless motor is torn down and rebuilt.
PS: For those that do not know, “Rod Knock” is a term used for the Rods losing their bearing on the Main (which then “wobbles” out and creates material noise). It’s an irreconcilable condition unless motor is torn down and rebuilt.
My Honda V Twin 20 HP says 10-30 conventional oil. I broke in with that then went to NAPA 15-40 Universal Fleet for about 300 hrs with 100 hr OCI's. I recently changed oil in my two generators, Pressure cleaner, lawn mower and Yamaha golf cart with M1 High Mileage 10-40. Here in N Fla it can get in the 90's and in the mid 20's some times. I think I'm well protected and probably keep using the M1 10-40. No need for the HM just the 10-40 I wanted.
There can be permanent damage but not if you catch it before the shell is hammerd excessively or it spins.
The rod big ends are not on the main journal. - Ken NIASE Master/ BSME
