I have a 3500 Watt Honda generator. So far, I've been buying Honda brand 10w30 in conventional oil, but the friendly dealer is getting almost $7.00 per quart, just because it says "Honda" on the bottle. Is there anything special about this Honda oil, is it because I've been smelling too many exhaust pipes? Is any good quality oil going to do the trick? What about switching to 5w30 full synthetic? Thank you.
Oil for Honda Generator. Techs? Anyone who knows
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A passenger car 5w30 or 10w30 synthetic would be fine. If you buy in jugs for multiple changes at Walmart you can pay 4-5$ per quart.
Its an average oil,nothing special. Any 10w30 from walmart will be as good or better.
Mobil 1 0w40 is what i use in everything outdoor. Its works great in generators that have to run 24/7 in winter.
200 hrs and the valve adjustment was still in spec, that speaks volumes as to the amount of wear.
200 hrs and the valve adjustment was still in spec, that speaks volumes as to the amount of wear.
Originally Posted By: Trav
Mobil 1 0w40 is what i use in everything outdoor. Its works great in generators that have to run 24/7 in winter.
200 hrs and the valve adjustment was still in spec, that speaks volumes as to the amount of wear.
+1. I use Mobil 1 10w30 in all of my OPE including my Subaru Robin powered 5K genny with very good results.
Mobil 1 0w40 is what i use in everything outdoor. Its works great in generators that have to run 24/7 in winter.
200 hrs and the valve adjustment was still in spec, that speaks volumes as to the amount of wear.
+1. I use Mobil 1 10w30 in all of my OPE including my Subaru Robin powered 5K genny with very good results.
Talked with the Honda service rep for my area about Honda oil. He's been to the plant that mixes the oil to Honda's specs. According to him everything from the base stock to the additive package is tailored for air-cooled small engines. I bought two 55 gallon barrels for the shop to use in customer's machines. The barrel label has Idemitsu as the brand name. I was using Chevron 10w30 in bulk but I had oil consumption problem's and switch to Kohler branded oil which solved the consumption problem.
As far as your Honda generator, I would run any synthetic 40 or 50 weight of your choice and change it frequently (20-50 hrs.) due to not having an oil filter.
As far as your Honda generator, I would run any synthetic 40 or 50 weight of your choice and change it frequently (20-50 hrs.) due to not having an oil filter.
My absolute favorite oil besides Amsoil small engine oil is Mobil 1 High Mileage 10W30 for OPE.
a synthetic motorcycle oil is designed for aircooled engines and has a stout add pack, like m1 or amsoil 10w 40 motorcycle oil.
Amsoil small engine oil.
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40 is a robust synthetic that will work quite well. Also, the above mentioned T6 or Amsoil.
Choose a quality synthetic. Here in South Florida, generators fail like crazy when pushed to the limit (post hurricane power failure) in extreme heat and humidity. A nearly universal truth is the failures are almost always on automotive 5w30 conventional oil.
I used Mobil 1 15W-50 in my generator with excellent results, after 2 Honda powered water pump failures on Pennzoil 5w30.
Choose a quality synthetic. Here in South Florida, generators fail like crazy when pushed to the limit (post hurricane power failure) in extreme heat and humidity. A nearly universal truth is the failures are almost always on automotive 5w30 conventional oil.
I used Mobil 1 15W-50 in my generator with excellent results, after 2 Honda powered water pump failures on Pennzoil 5w30.
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My experience with consumer and commercial single cylinders is that they will run on just about anything and if they don't you need to check the oil. We have probably 50 of these engines between 2.5 and 16hp (lots of generators running 8hrs a day 40hrs a week, and concrete saws/finishing machines)and the only time they don't run is when the low oil shutoff stops them, we easily get 1500+ hours out of them under severe conditions with pretty sketchy maintenance intervals, they might get their oil changed once a season if their lucky and the best the air filters get is the dust knocked out of the pre-filter.
For oil, we use regular old 5w30 or 10w30 house brand, sometimes some Rotella-T gets poured in if it's handy. Never had any signs of oil related problems, burned bearings, sludged up motors, excessive wear. They are very robust engines IMHO
For oil, we use regular old 5w30 or 10w30 house brand, sometimes some Rotella-T gets poured in if it's handy. Never had any signs of oil related problems, burned bearings, sludged up motors, excessive wear. They are very robust engines IMHO
Rotella 5w-40 in both the generator and HRX mower - although they call for 10w30. No issues yet.
Originally Posted By: ironman_gq
My experience with consumer and commercial single cylinders is that they will run on just about anything and if they don't you need to check the oil. We have probably 50 of these engines between 2.5 and 16hp (lots of generators running 8hrs a day 40hrs a week, and concrete saws/finishing machines)and the only time they don't run is when the low oil shutoff stops them, we easily get 1500+ hours out of them under severe conditions with pretty sketchy maintenance intervals, they might get their oil changed once a season if their lucky and the best the air filters get is the dust knocked out of the pre-filter.
For oil, we use regular old 5w30 or 10w30 house brand, sometimes some Rotella-T gets poured in if it's handy. Never had any signs of oil related problems, burned bearings, sludged up motors, excessive wear. They are very robust engines IMHO
Is 1500+ hrs considered a lot for generators?
My experience with consumer and commercial single cylinders is that they will run on just about anything and if they don't you need to check the oil. We have probably 50 of these engines between 2.5 and 16hp (lots of generators running 8hrs a day 40hrs a week, and concrete saws/finishing machines)and the only time they don't run is when the low oil shutoff stops them, we easily get 1500+ hours out of them under severe conditions with pretty sketchy maintenance intervals, they might get their oil changed once a season if their lucky and the best the air filters get is the dust knocked out of the pre-filter.
For oil, we use regular old 5w30 or 10w30 house brand, sometimes some Rotella-T gets poured in if it's handy. Never had any signs of oil related problems, burned bearings, sludged up motors, excessive wear. They are very robust engines IMHO
Is 1500+ hrs considered a lot for generators?
1500 hours is a joke. I've got chonda powered generators with well in excess of 5000 hours on them,and 16 Honda powered air compressors,2 of the compressors are my originals I bought almost 10 years ago,made in japan. They've got in excess of 10000 hours and 1 of them is closer to 15000 hours.
None of them has had the head off. I use tc-w3 in the fuel,and mos2 every second oci.
Summertime I use Walmart 5 gallon pails,15w-40,and winter I use Walmart 5 gallon pails of 5w30.
I change the oil every second Saturday,or every 100 hours,whichever comes first.
My retailer is in awe as to why my small engines never require service. I use the cheapest oil I can buy,and the only real difference between me and other crews is the use of mos2.
I had the oil alert fail on a 3500 watt generator years ago,however the engine had already run a steady diet of mos2.
So my guess is it ran without oil for at least a full working day before it locked up. I got the call that the generator was seized.
I got there,removed the pull cord,used a 3' pipe wrench to break it loose,and poured in about 2 quarts of transmission fluid(all I had in the truck)
I ran it in the transmission fluid for a few minutes while I went to the co-op and bought oil.
Did 2 quick drain and fills,running the engine at full throttle,the first drain mud came out,the second the oil was black but not gritty.
Filled it up with 15w40 and told the guys to get back to work.
That generator is still in service,consumes no measurable oil between changes,and still gets mos2 every second oil change.
Not bad for an engine that was siezed.
None of them has had the head off. I use tc-w3 in the fuel,and mos2 every second oci.
Summertime I use Walmart 5 gallon pails,15w-40,and winter I use Walmart 5 gallon pails of 5w30.
I change the oil every second Saturday,or every 100 hours,whichever comes first.
My retailer is in awe as to why my small engines never require service. I use the cheapest oil I can buy,and the only real difference between me and other crews is the use of mos2.
I had the oil alert fail on a 3500 watt generator years ago,however the engine had already run a steady diet of mos2.
So my guess is it ran without oil for at least a full working day before it locked up. I got the call that the generator was seized.
I got there,removed the pull cord,used a 3' pipe wrench to break it loose,and poured in about 2 quarts of transmission fluid(all I had in the truck)
I ran it in the transmission fluid for a few minutes while I went to the co-op and bought oil.
Did 2 quick drain and fills,running the engine at full throttle,the first drain mud came out,the second the oil was black but not gritty.
Filled it up with 15w40 and told the guys to get back to work.
That generator is still in service,consumes no measurable oil between changes,and still gets mos2 every second oil change.
Not bad for an engine that was siezed.
1500 might not be a lot of hours on a generator, but on other equipment (saws, compactors, pumps) that operate in very poor conditions, the rest of the unit is is just about used up. What I was getting at is the Honda motors are outlasting the equipment they are bolted to in a commercial/Industrial environment with little concern to engine maintenance. About all the love they get in the field is to fill em with gas and run the snot out of them in temps from -50F to 100F+, oil changes every 2-500 hours of operation and top them off if the low oil cutoff shuts down the engine. The last Honda that died was at least 10yrs old and only got replaced because it was smoking a bit and they pulled the starter cord out and decided it was due to be replaced. That engine lived on whatever oil was around to top it off with and might have had an actual oil change once a year if it was lucky. Most carpenters aren't too good about routine maintenance and only care that the thing starts and runs at WOT all day every day.
Considering most OPE has a life expectancy in the 2000-2500 hour range under specified maintenance conditions using the specified fluids, I'd say they do pretty good.
Considering most OPE has a life expectancy in the 2000-2500 hour range under specified maintenance conditions using the specified fluids, I'd say they do pretty good.
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i use gc 0w30 in my em6500
That's been my experience with them.
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