Long Term Storage and the next oil change

[Patrick0525]

With the recent hurricanes: Harvey, Irma and now Maria , it got me thinking that I better check on my Honda EU2000i inverter generator that has been sitting in my foyer with the gas drained.

My records indicate that oil was changed with Mobil 1 10W-30 in Nov 2012. Yes, almost 5 years! It has not been used since the oil change.

I filled with it- 1qt marine-blue stabilized ethanol-free 98 octane and it started on the 7 or 8 pull.I ran ir for about an hour until the gas tank was empty.

Question:
Should I change the oil? Or just leave it alone until I get 25/50 hrs of run time? Yes,oil is cheap.
Should I use my Shell T5 CJ-4 10W-30 HDEO that I use for my Club Cadet ZTR Kohler 22hp? Or buy another 1 qt of Mobil 1 10W-30?

 

[ArcticDriver]

Doesn't this generator have approximately a 3-cup capacity?

Less than half a quart?

98-octane?

 

[ArcticDriver]

I did not edit in time.

I meant 2 cups.

 

[Panzerman]

I change my oil in my Generators once a year which is plenty. The oil looks new but each generator only holds about a qt. Check your air filter too. My Coleman with the Subaru engine is my favorite. I take it camping throughout the year. The rest just set. The foam air filters break down and fall apart.
The Coleman filter was pretty much gone, glad I caught it.

 

[Patrick0525]

Yes, oil capacity is 0.42 Liters or 14.2 oz (< than 2cups). Our ethanol-free dealer sells only 98 unleaded @$9.79/gallon or 116 octane leaded. I only use 2 gal per year for the 2 cycle string trimmer and the Redmax backpack leaf blower.

 

[JC1]

I would change the oil now.

 

[boraticus]

What's the difference between sitting in a container vs. the crankcase of an unused engine? The oil hasn't been used. The oil will not degrade if it isn't subjected to the rigors of lubricating the engine during operation. Leave it in there and use it.

I've got gallons of various oils sitting in my garage for well over 5 years. Should I throw that out too?

 

[Patrick0525]

I agree and that is the point of my original question.

 

[Dyusik]

Change your new oil...yeah makes sense.

 

[friendly_jacek]

prior to that recent run the oil was old, but like-new and didn't need to be changed. now, it's old and used and change it when in doubt. you can use that Mobil-2 oil in an oil burner.

 

[FastLane]

If you let it run for an hour the oil will be hot and burn off any condensation. The oil should be fine.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
What's the difference between sitting in a container vs. the crankcase of an unused engine? The oil hasn't been used. The oil will not degrade if it isn't subjected to the rigors of lubricating the engine during operation. Leave it in there and use it.


This is 100% accurate.

 

[AMC]

Originally Posted By: FastLane
If you let it run for an hour the oil will be hot and burn off any condensation. The oil should be fine.


I concur.

I would also drain the carb bowl, inspect the fuel lines, check all the filters, and maybe wipe it down with a rust preventative of some sort. If you are into fogging your cylinder, I would do that now also.

 

[bubbatime]

I opened a bottle of Valvoline synthetic 10W30 like 7 years ago, used about 4 ounces for top off oil, put the lid back on and put it back on my shelf where I forgot about it. When I found the bottle last month, I opened it and found that it had turned to goop. The bottle was on a garage shelf in Florida, so 85-105 degrees pretty much year round. I dont know what happened to that oil, but it was clearly some kind of reaction.

The oil was no longer fluid and was "goopy".

If it was me, I would change the oil. That's like $2 worth of oil, in a $1000 machine. This is an oil site. Why are we even debating it? We KNOW fresh oil will be good to go, we dont know if 5 year old oil will have broken down.

 

[boraticus]

"I opened it and found that it had turned to goop."


I've got oil in opened containers well over ten years old and it's still fine. However, the climate up here is considerably different than the scorching heat of south Florida.

Is it possible that the lid wasn't on tight enough and the solvents in the oil evaporated off? Doubt that would happen inside a sealed crankcase.

The OP can simply inspect the condition of the oil and if it looks like it should, just go ahead and use it. Despite being a small amount, there's no need for unnecessary waste right?

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
When I found the bottle last month, I opened it and found that it had turned to goop. The bottle was on a garage shelf in Florida, so 85-105 degrees pretty much year round. I dont know what happened to that oil, but it was clearly some kind of reaction.


Weird. I wonder what the formulation of that oil was. I have never seen that happen.

 

[Patrick0525]

The unit is stored in my foyer. So the min/max on an annual basis is 58 to 82F.