Just picked up a new Generator

I lived in Montague NJ, Sussex county for decades before moving upstate NY.
Ran my Briggs powered 5600w genset on Walmart SuperTech Full Synthetic. 5-30w from day one, drained factory mystery oil and put it in. That gen. set ran 11 days straight thru Sandy and only got an oil change after power came back. No consumption of oil in that time either.
Just sold that 20 yr old unit as I've got a Generac here now. Put the good stuff in and don't look back.
 
Plumb Bob said:
OP

Use a high HTHS oil, 30 or 40 grade. Mobil 1 0w40 is a great option and so are many more A3/B4 oils from Walmart.
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I do have about 24 qts of old Mobil 1 0w40 SN lying around. Bought for my S4 but haven't driven the car in at least 5 years so I haven't changed the oil.

I was probably just gonna get some Amsoil small engine 10W-30. I think I have some of the old small engine 10W-30/SAE 30 left.

Now, I just have to decide whether I want Pennzoil or Castrol conventional. At this point, I don't think it matters. Just need to see the best price. Still expensive for what it is but I think the Pennzoil is a little cheaper for 5 qts. I figure I could use the rest in my snow blower, if I even use it this year. Been using the old Amsoil in that too.

1762307606459.webp
 
Mainia said:
I broke it in with Royal Purple break-in oil (Amazon same day delivery for free) for 10 hours then put in the conventional oil the manufacture provided and ran it for another 6 hours, all break-in was done on propane. Being in Minnesota I chose Mobil 1 ESP 0w30 for it's --54F pour point. I still have to convert it over to floating neutral and kill the CO sensor since it will be ran inside a shed unless it is in summer high temps. I have a portable 3000/2550 Generac inverter that will be wired up for the whole house on a custom cheater box to get both phase A and phase B working with ONLY 120V items. ALL 240 V items with the Generac will be breakered OFF. Using the Gererac when power is out long term and if my gas supply is low. Propane will not be my friend in the winter with the big generator, even if I use a 3 tank threesome supply scenario.

https://westinghouse.com/products/igen11000tfc-inverter-generator-tri-fuel-with-co-sensor
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I just got the generator in. No oil provided by manufacturer. Gonna order some up. I also have to put it together; wheels, etc... That's a project for another day.
 
EvoMan said:
What type of fuel are you going to use?
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Whatever is cheaper. Probably BP or Costco with some Stabil. I have half a bottle of Stabil 360 that I'll put in the container before I fill. I also have a bottle of Amsoil stabilizer.
 
Wheel366 said:
Whatever is cheaper. Probably BP or Costco with some Stabil. I have half a bottle of Stabil 360 that I'll put in the container before I fill. I also have a bottle of Amsoil stabilizer.
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The reason I asked was because I see that it’s a tri-fuel generator. There was a recent discussion about using a low ash oil if you run natural gas.

G

Thread 'Low Ash Required For Natural Gas Engine?'

I have a 4.5 liter 4 cylinder water cooled engine running natural gas in a Generac generator. I was considering AMSOIL Signature Series but Amsoil tech department said I should use the OE because it is low ash and the SS is not. Even though the manual does not mention a low ash requirement, I contacted Generac and they pointed out that I should indeed use low ash 5w30 SN or later oil and that their own oil is low ash and should be the oil of choice. Is there any research to support the need for low ash oil in natural gas engines? It looks like the best synthetics from most companies are...
  • Like
 
EvoMan said:
The reason I asked was because I see that it’s a tri-fuel generator. There was a recent discussion about using a low ash oil if you run natural gas.

G

Thread 'Low Ash Required For Natural Gas Engine?'

I have a 4.5 liter 4 cylinder water cooled engine running natural gas in a Generac generator. I was considering AMSOIL Signature Series but Amsoil tech department said I should use the OE because it is low ash and the SS is not. Even though the manual does not mention a low ash requirement, I contacted Generac and they pointed out that I should indeed use low ash 5w30 SN or later oil and that their own oil is low ash and should be the oil of choice. Is there any research to support the need for low ash oil in natural gas engines? It looks like the best synthetics from most companies are...
  • Like
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I don't have a gas hookup at the moment and I don't have any propane tanks either, save for what I use for the grill. My next step is getting an electrician out to the house to give me a hookup for the generator. Then I need to figure out coverage outside from the elements. I was thinking a shed but I haven't decided yet. My property isn't big and it isn't great either. Putting a shed anywhere is a challenge.
 
If it is warm where you are - say above 60 degrees -- for break in -

Go to Walmart - buy a 4 quart jug of 15w40 Super Tech diesel rated / also SN rated oil for $13.50 - $3.40 a quart!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Te...allon/17134877?classType=VARIANT&from=/search

Change it after 30 minutes - change it after an hour, change it after 2 hours - you can even store it with this oil - run it for a day and then switch to full synthetic.
 
Already done. Did 8 hours with Pennzoil conventional 10w-30. Changed right at the 8hr mark with 1qt of the Amsoil Small Engine 10w-30 and topped off with the Pennzoil.
 
I just broke in a senix 2000 watt that popped up on Walmarts website for $199. That sale lasted about 10 minutes. There was no mention of a break in so I used Royal purple break in oil for 2, 1 hour runs on each change. The 1st hour was just idling and started increasing load the 2nd hour. I then did 2 hours on some Costco 10w30 clearance oil from 5 years ago and started loading it up and down, ending with a 1500 watt space heater. The 1st two oil changes with RP weren’t horrible. That two hour run on 10w30 was just downright nasty. I put in HPS 5w30, changed out the crappy plug to an autolite and called it good. I’ll be lucky, or unlucky, to use this for more than a football tailgate once a year. But at least I have it.
 
Wheel366 said:
I just purchased a Duromax XP13000HXT 13,000-Watt/10,500-Watt Tri-Fuel generator and apparently, it doesn't come with oil (I would have thought it would, but this is my first generator). It says to use conventional for the first 8 hours and they recommend 10W-30. Are there any recommendations as to which one to run? I see there is Castrol GTX, Pennzoil, Quaker State, etc... even a RP.

I live in Northern NJ. What would you run after the break-in? Should I stick with a 10W-30? Maybe a 5W-30 or even a 10W-40? There is no guarantee when this generator would be run. Could be any season. Temps get down to around 0 degrees, but sometimes it will get colder than that where I live but not often.

Here is their chart.

View attachment 308074
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I’ve settled on Royal purple xpr, 5w30 during the winter and 10w40 during the summer. I’ve got 1 small generator and am going with a generac 10k watt as well. The wife and I are empty nesters and I’ve had it with the cold. I’m buying an RV and heading south after Xmas next year. Amazon has xpr for a decent price today and that’s what I ordered.
 
Wheel366 said:
Whatever is cheaper. Probably BP or Costco with some Stabil. I have half a bottle of Stabil 360 that I'll put in the container before I fill. I also have a bottle of Amsoil stabilizer.
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Is ethanol-free gas available anywhere in your area? If you don't know, this site can help you find a station. It costs more but will last much longer than regular pump gas because it won't absorb water so readily. I live in hurricane country and every Spring I fill four 5 gallon jugs in preparation, then when the season's over I (hopefully) use the gas up a few gallons at a time in my cars and yard equipment. I don't use any stabilizers but the gas seems as fresh as when I bought it.
 
Dborch41 said:
Is ethanol-free gas available anywhere in your area? If you don't know, this site can help you find a station. It costs more but will last much longer than regular pump gas because it won't absorb water so readily. I live in hurricane country and every Spring I fill four 5 gallon jugs in preparation, then when the season's over I (hopefully) use the gas up a few gallons at a time in my cars and yard equipment. I don't use any stabilizers but the gas seems as fresh as when I bought it.
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Yes but not close. Probably 30+ minutes away.
 
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