onan 4000 generator

[oldnewguy]

did not want to leave this one open. talked to onan about my repair . they said a ky generator has a three year thousand hour warentry on it, they are working on getting my money back on my repair. they want you to run it two hours a month with a 3/4 load, but if it will not run , how can you do that. at least someone is trying to fix my problem keep on camping

[mud yapster]

Originally Posted by mud yapster

We are dry camping in our pasture this weekend to see how the 5er acts and to identify any issues. Well after the auto leveling and opening all slides I ran our new Cummins 5500 watt genny for 1 hr just to let battery charge up good. That was Friday, Saturday I did the same ran it for 1 hour, this morning I ran it to make coffee and top off battery it died twice after running for about 15 min. Both times it would restart after waiting a couple min. The third time it ran fine for 30 min. With coffee maker and electric heat on fireplace on. Weird.

Sorry I forgot to up date. I found my fuel line running under my RV smashed off in 2 places not giving me fuel flow. I fixed the brackets holding the fuel line to restore the fuel flow. I restated the genny and it works perfectly now.

[mshell56118]

Originally Posted by oldnewguy

did not want to leave this one open. talked to onan about my repair . they said a ky generator has a three year thousand hour warentry on it, they are working on getting my money back on my repair. they want you to run it two hours a month with a 3/4 load, but if it will not run , how can you do that. at least someone is trying to fix my problem keep on camping

So glad giving them a call is going to help you out. I knew that did not sound correct


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[trdutch]

In order to keep the required 2 hours minimum for the warranty, you obviously have to be able to run it year round
In the off season I fill the Gas tank and add favorite additive Seafoam and run the gen monthly all winter
The Seafoam not only stabilizes the the fuel in the tank and keeps moisture from forming,but keeps the gen sets fuel system and all the components clean.

Get that money Back!
Run that Generator!
They are designed to run
My old Fleetwood had 630 hours on it and it started easier than the one on my new Sunseeker

[mud yapster]

With a 3 year or 3000 hour warranty you can bet they are well built and made to run it won't hurt one bit to run it 24/7 year around if you have the fuel to do it. Just keep up the maintenance on it you will never need another one. My buddy has over 4700 hours on one without a hick-up.

[J. V.]

The tech that did my walk-through on my new 3050s last month made a statement that I did not pick up on at first. He stated "Never start the Onan with the power card plugged into the AC pedestal". I have seen many "A" class RV's started while plugged in.

[mud yapster]

The owners manual does say to run it every month to keep it exercised which is something that won't happen since people don't exercise their own body. LOL

[ATVer]

I never use the generator and am thinking about removing it to reduce weight. However if I did I would probably need it. I maybe have 2 hours on it. Thus after the first summer I disconnected the fuel line, ran it dry, fogged the engine, and plugged the exhaust. Other than spinning it over on the starter once in a while it just sits. The coach is stored inside a dry building except while camping so I'm not concerned about moisture.

[biznsa]

There's also instructions in the owners manual on prepping it for storage if the genset can't be exercised.

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by biznsa

There's also instructions in the owners manual on prepping it for storage if the genset can't be exercised.

Thanks I never noticed that in my manual. Have to check it out but I have a Genrac not an Onan.

[RvBill3]

Originally Posted by J. V.

The tech that did my walk-through on my new 3050s last month made a statement that I did not pick up on at first. He stated "Never start the Onan with the power card plugged into the AC pedestal". I have seen many "A" class RV's started while plugged in.

Don't know why anyone would say that. There is a transfer switch on the power line into the MH. It favors the generator. So when you are on shore power and start the generator, as soon as it stabilizes and starts outputting power, the transfer switch will change your AC power supply from shore to generator automatically. At that point there is no need to stay connected to shore power, but there is no need to disconnect it just because the generator is running. (In my 2300, the transfer switch is in an electrical box under the bed. Not sure where it would be in yours, but it is there somewhere.)

When I installed my power management system, I did it after the transfer switch so I have surge protection and under/over voltage protection, as well as a digital readout on power, no matter whether I am on shore power or generator. That does leave the transfer switch "exposed" to possible surges, but I prefer having the protection on both shore and generator.


2012 Forest River Sunseeker 2300 Chevy

[davidki]

I would have called Onan personally on the phone and got up the ladder as far as I could to see if they would help. This is the first time I have heard of running a Gen 2 hours a month.. we plan to leave our unit in an enclosed garage.. so that means it would have to be backed out of the garage ever month to run it.. Crazy...

I guess if you are doing a lot of trips you could just kick it on and use your AC or TV or something else while traveling to the campground.... but that just does not seem right.

Does anyone use any gas additives? I use an additive in my Porsche which sits in the garage for long periods ... it never gets any fuel issues..

[trdutch]

Originally Posted by davidki

I would have called Onan personally on the phone and got up the ladder as far as I could to see if they would help. This is the first time I have heard of running a Gen 2 hours a month.. we plan to leave our unit in an enclosed garage.. so that means it would have to be backed out of the garage ever month to run it.. Crazy...

I guess if you are doing a lot of trips you could just kick it on and use your AC or TV or something else while traveling to the campground.... but that just does not seem right.

Does anyone use any gas additives? I use an additive in my Porsche which sits in the garage for long periods ... it never gets any fuel issues..

We talked about it earlier
I use Seafoam in my winter storage fill up and then run the gen on the way back to the farm so the treated fuel gets distributed
I actually am a fan of driving the Unit once a month so on this drive I start the gen put on the air (for a load) and freeze my TUSH off

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by J. V.

The tech that did my walk-through on my new 3050s last month made a statement that I did not pick up on at first. He stated "Never start the Onan with the power card plugged into the AC pedestal". I have seen many "A" class RV's started while plugged in.

I think it's just good practice not to start the generator when plugged in. True the transfer switch circuit should provide protection but if it malfunctions you could fry your electrical system and the generator or start a fire. Why put yourself or your equipment in that position purposely.

[biznsa]

Davidki...I use Onagard (Onan) to fog the genset. My genset is a 4KY and my manual recommends fogging the carb and then draining the remaining gas in the bowl, about 1/4 cup.

[trdutch]

Originally Posted by biznsa

Davidki...I use Onagard (Onan) to fog the genset. My genset is a 4KY and my manual recommends fogging the carb and then draining the remaining gas in the bowl, about 1/4 cup.

This is what I would do if I still lived up North and "Put Her up for Winter"
But if you can run it one a month like I can in the Carolina's the Seafoam is added protection and keeps that unit ready to go.
Never know when you might need a "mobile"home at short notice

[Lumpty]

For winter genset exercise I start it up and plug in a 1500w ceramic heater set on full hot and run that for the recommended time, also while turning on most to the lights to run some 12v through that side of the RV's electrical system.

[trdutch]

Originally Posted by Lumpty

For winter genset exercise I start it up and plug in a 1500w ceramic heater set on full hot and run that for the recommended time, also while turning on most to the lights to run some 12v through that side of the RV's electrical system.

I like your idea for loading the electrical system better than mine (A/C)
I thought it was a good idea to exercise the AC unit and kill two birds with one stone but I'm guessing it's not necessary considering all the thousands of units that are stored for winter and never run the AC unit till spring
I keep a ceramic on low (40 f) all winter just cause I can so ill just crank that up on my monthly run around town on Gen power
Thanks you guys for all the good ideas

[oldnewguy]

thank you mshell56118 i got all my money back for the repair. onan covers all parts and labor as long as the generator is under 3 years old a under one hundred hours keep on camping

[OakHillFarm]

Looking at a Sunseeker 3010DS, comes with a 4K Onan. Is this really enough generator? Unit has a 15K a/c, 4 door fridge, gas/elec water heater, etc. I have a similar load on my current T/T and run 2 x 2K gens "paired". Sometimes my setup has trouble keeping up with the load. I realize my setup probably puts out a bit less than 4K. I notice most similar sized class A units run a 5.5K genset. Any thoughts?