New Predator 9000w Generator

[[email protected]]

Have a new 9000w Predator Generator that didn't consume oil when I had the Havoline semi-syn 10w30 they sold me at Harbor Freight when I bought it. Changed the oil at 3 hours & again 20 as recommended in the manual with Amsoil small engine 10w30 and now I am having to add anywhere from 2-5 ounces of oil at every fuel up (12 hours). Its not hot out, I am in N. Michigan, and it never smokes and has no leaks. It's not really even heavily burdened.

Anyways, just wondering if anyone else has one of these Predator engines, and what they use - this thing has been used every day since the ice storm on March 28th decimated our power lines. It may still be days to weeks until we get power back. Quarts of Amsoil are getting expensive and it seems odd to me that this thing uses oil like it is. I have an craftsman generator from the early 2000's that we ran for 3 days during a power outage and it didn't use ANY oil. None. And it was worked hard.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Did you load it somewhat under break in? I have a cheapo Chinese engine in my Westinghouse WGen9500 similar to yours and no issues with it burning oil. For the first 5-10 hours during "break-in" I made an attempt to apply varying loads to it. When the power went out for 3 days it handled running the house fine (within the 10K capacity), zero oil consumption.

I've always heard that consistent no (or low) load @ high RPM (gas generator is constant 3600RPM) is bad for break-in.

I've used cheap diesel rated 10w-30 or 15w-40 in mine since day one. The last change I think was Mobil SAE30 monograde diesel oil.

 

[faltic]

Well the options are keep doing what your doing or try a heavier oil. I've never had a small engine that didn't use some oil (but not as much as your saying). Long as the low oil shut off doesn't activate before low fuel requires stoping your golden IMHO.

 

[bugeye]

I have a Honda EM 6500 and Wen 3800 generators. Our area has multiple power failures throughout the year mostly due to trees dropping on the distribution wires. Typical outage 4-6 hours. Maybe a day or two failure duration every year. I use Rotella T6, 5w-40. Neither engine uses any noticeable oil. I use a magnetic dipstick. It has very little deposits after an engine run. When new both engines exhibited debris on the magnet. I check oil level and clean the magnet prior to every run.

 

[burbguy82]

10w30 they sold me

what does it say to use in the manual.......they sell wd40 to, but you did not put that in the engine, right?????

If the oil is not leaking externally, there is only one other place it can go.

So you are saying that it did not use a bit with Havoline, but using a bunch with Amsoil? Go back to Havoline then.

 

[97prizm]

Have a new 9000w Predator Generator that didn't consume oil when I had the Havoline semi-syn 10w30 they sold me at Harbor Freight when I bought it. Changed the oil at 3 hours & again 20 as recommended in the manual with Amsoil small engine 10w30 and now I am having to add anywhere from 2-5 ounces of oil at every fuel up (12 hours). Its not hot out, I am in N. Michigan, and it never smokes and has no leaks. It's not really even heavily burdened.

Anyways, just wondering if anyone else has one of these Predator engines, and what they use - this thing has been used every day since the ice storm on March 28th decimated our power lines. It may still be days to weeks until we get power back. Quarts of Amsoil are getting expensive and it seems odd to me that this thing uses oil like it is. I have an craftsman generator from the early 2000's that we ran for 3 days during a power outage and it didn't use ANY oil. None. And it was worked hard.

Have you considered going with a high mileage oil or slightly heavier oil 15w-40?

 

[Pablo]

Same oil. Same engine. Mine consumes zero.

Rings or valves, perhaps?

 

[BobsArmory]

If it's not to late I'd bring it back and try to swap out for a different one.

 

[hemitom]

Pull the spark plug see how it looks .
And go back to Havoline next change see if it makes a difference.

 

[Zaedock]

I have multiple pieces of equipment using various sized Predator engines and none use oil.
I've used everything from Castrol HD30 to Mobil 5000 10W30, to PZ Plat 10W30 and various 5W30's in Winter - no oil usage.
Swap back to Havoline and see if it makes a difference.

 

[[email protected]]

Same oil. Same engine. Mine consumes zero.

Rings or valves, perhaps?

I suppose, but the things brand new. I bought it from HF summer of 2023, it has been started every month or two and ran for 10-15 mins, I put a small load on it, like a shop vacuum for a while, then shut off the gas petcock, and run it dry. I cant understand why its burning oil unless I truly got a dud from the factory. Theres no telltale smoke at any point, and its not running hot.

If it's not to late I'd bring it back and try to swap out for a different one.

It's definitely too late, I bought it May/June 2023. We've used it twice for brief power outages (2-3-4 hours at a time) but this time we've had to use it continuously and noticed the oil consumption issue. I guess I could sell it, disclose that it uses a little oil, and go buy something else, but that sounds like work, lol.

 

[meep]

3 oz consumed every 12 hours? There are 32 ounces in a quart. Assuming half a quart from L-H, thats 60 hours for every half quart consumed, or 2.5 days nonstop. I might be ok with that….

 

[NETWizz]

Two things to do.

One is load the machine slowly and pretty heavily to near its full load. Then suddenly disconnect the load. That makes the engine try to brake and slow RPM, or not over-speed. In break-in, that can really help to seal piston rings by ultimately reversing the G forces a bit.

Another option is to try a different engine oil… it doesn’t have to be Havoline and can be Synthetic if you like, some engines just do better with some brands vs another. Others only consume when switching oils and some even stop at the next oil change. In short figure out what works for you. Your generator does NOT need Ams Oil, which is excellent. You could even switch back to a Semi-Synthetic or even a Conventional especially based on your “it’s expensive comment.” Whatever works... simply try something different. Someone mentioned High Millage oil. That may be a good option, too. Either way if there was an oil that worked that was in grade, there are probably plenty of others that will work quite well without burning any. Also sometimes oil burn accelerates toward the end of the oil's service life, too.

The key is all these small engines do NOT generally have oil filters, so it is especially important to change the oil frequently. My personal practice is to change the oil every 25 hours (simply put about once a day in a storm)… or every 50 hours (every other day) if in the middle of a bad storm (I.e. it is raining and heavy, and I do not want to move it or even go outside). In an automobile if you figure an average of 50 MPH then 3,000 miles is 60 hours. Take away the oil filter, lower manufacturing tolerances, and always run at greater than 3,000 RPM with an effective design redline of only 4,000 to 5,000 RPM, and suddenly 25 hour oil change intervals make sense on small engines (moreso as cheap insurance ... they do NOT take much oil).

If you are down a couple of ounces between oil changes, that is really not a problem. It is a problem when it is visibly smoking, the engine is struggling to make horsepower, or the engine oil does not outlast a full tank of fuel (especially if you do not have a low oil sensor)!

Either way, I would personally not run the unit 100 hours between oil changes because oil is cheap insurance and changing it frequently will add to engine longevity... Small engines also do NOT take much oil.

P.S. It IS frustrating that you got a brand, new Predator that is burning oil!