Generator plastic spin-on fuel filter failed
Just had an exciting time with the generator. The shop that did oil and filter change on the generator (Power Tech Isuzu 8 KW) installed a spin-on all plastic Fleetguard fuel filter in mid-April. I was sitting inside the coach running the generator, heard it start to miss and slow down and then the Xantrex charger and the roof AC complained and shut down. Opened the generator door and found the fuel filter completely off and sitting on the deck with fuel streaming out. For some reason the generator was still running. Shut the gen down and then tried to reinstall the filter but the threads were stripped, and it just fell off again.
My take on it is that the installer overtightened the filter and the plastic threads were just about ready to go, and over the time since mid-April, the threads completely failed.
I had a new metal NAPA filter and installed it, and (after a massive clean-up of the spill) all is working fine, but I'll never let a plastic spin-on be installed again. If you check your generator and see a plastic spin-on, and you didn't install it (or didn't follow the exact tightening directions,) I'd replace it.
Googled for problems with plastic spin-on filters, and it seems that many filters - presumable not the big ones used on our main engines - are being supplied in that form now. Some say no problems with them, but there was one thread that said that NAPA had pulled all the plastic ones off their shelves. Another comment was that the metal ones will no longer be supplied. I'm gonna see if I can stock up on metal ones if they are still available.