highest hours on diesel genset?

Topic: highest hours on diesel genset? (Read 922 times) previous topic - next topic

highest hours on diesel genset?

July 01, 2017, 12:27:38 pm

What's the highest hours anyone on this forum has achieved with their liquid cooled three cylinder diesel genset before overhauling it? I mean with good maintenance and normal wear, not a premature failure. Just curious if mine will last me a lifetime or not.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #1 – July 01, 2017, 01:48:32 pm

Quote from: RRadio – July 01, 2017, 12:27:38 pm

Just curious if mine will last me a lifetime or not.

Depends...how long are you going to live?

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #2 – July 01, 2017, 02:47:21 pm

Since the generators are constant RPM, the only real wear they get are during startup. As long as the engine doesn't smoke and it is not bogging down under a heavy load, I would just keep running it. When you do decide to overhaul, the kubotas are extremely easy. I overhauled a three cylinder kubota that had been under water during a hurricane and was allowed to sit befor being repaired. The only real wear was where the salt water had rusted the cylinders. Had block line bored and the cylinders bored oversize. Reassembled engine in a couple of hours. Parts from the Kubota industrial engine distributor was cheap. I would there fore suggest you run your generator till it starts smoking then yank it out and overhaul.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #3 – July 01, 2017, 03:32:59 pm

10,000 plus hours if you run it regularly and service per mfg. alternator needs serviced as well, can get very expensive as documented elsewhere on forum

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #4 – July 01, 2017, 04:33:56 pm

Mine has over 6600 hours on it and it doesnt miss a beat

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #5 – July 01, 2017, 04:36:00 pm

They use our powertechs in the oil oilfield and they go 30K hours.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #6 – July 01, 2017, 08:52:24 pm

...so maybe if I stop riding a motorcycle and do a lot of dry camping I'll outlive the genset?

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #7 – July 01, 2017, 08:54:01 pm

Is there any significant difference in longevity between the Kubota, Powertech, and the Onan (Cummins) that's in my coach?

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #8 – July 01, 2017, 09:54:20 pm

It all comes down to maintenance.. take care of it and it will take care of you..

Yes there are exceptions to the rule ..

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #9 – July 01, 2017, 10:05:04 pm

Quote from: RRadio – July 01, 2017, 08:54:01 pm

Is there any significant difference in longevity between the Kubota, Powertech, and the Onan (Cummins) that's in my coach?

Is yours air cooled? They do not last as long.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #10 – July 01, 2017, 10:23:36 pm

Air cooled gas onan, maybe. Probably diesel, onan now owned by Cummings

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #11 – July 01, 2017, 11:25:02 pm

Quote from: Tim Fiedler – July 01, 2017, 10:23:36 pm

Air cooled gas onan, maybe. Probably diesel, onan now owned by Cummings

His coach being a '91 and Mike's being a '93 air cooled with propane is why I ask.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #12 – July 01, 2017, 11:48:29 pm

Call Oregon Motorcoach and ask them about the " prison preacher's " coach that came in with 40K on the geny, it was still running OK. He had it repaired or replaced just because , I don't remember which.

That was a year ago and I don't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday 😳😳

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #13 – July 02, 2017, 06:58:29 am

As all of you know Brother Dave was generator guy for 57 + years . I ask him that very question about how long I could expect my gen set would last . He said --with proper maintenance you don.t need to even look at it for 12,000 hours ." he was talking about my Onam diesel gen set . Also that gasoline sets had a much shorter life , and sir cooled shorter yet , Gas on LP was next best to diesel on longevity , He knew this stuff inside out . I always felt like a dummy compared to him on anything to do with electricity . I miss him badly . We spoke on the phone daily . Brad Metzger

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #14 – July 02, 2017, 11:56:02 am

I have a liquid cooled three cylinder diesel. It says that waaay up there in the original post. Liquid cooled engines normally last longer than air cooled engines, probably because air cooled engines expand and contract more as their temperature changes a lot. Liquid cooled engines don't get as hot and they tend to stay at about the same temperature while running. Motorcyclists get to feel the difference in temperature of air cooled engines on their legs as they ride unfortunately. Diesel gensets usually last longer than gas gensets because they normally run at only 1800 rpm. Gas engines normally run at 3600 rpm, which is twice as much wear for the same run time. The rpm has to stay steady and be a multiple of 60 hertz and the windings have to be set up for the rpm of the engine in order to make 60 hertz, so you can't swap a gas engine for a diesel or a diesel engine for a gas engine. Not that anyone was gonna try that. Some of the newer little gasoline gensets have an inverter so they can produce 60 hertz no matter what rpm the engine is turning. This is good if the genset is often running with low / no load on it because the engine can go to idle and save fuel while it's unloaded. RV gensets are normally loaded if they're running, or at least mine always is. I only have 1625 hours on my genset at this point and I do regular oil and filter changes. It'll probably last me a lifetime. I was just curious how many hours other people were getting before overhaul.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #15 – July 02, 2017, 12:05:20 pm

Scott,
I was just wondering if your question was about the diesel generators in general, not your generator. Yours is 2 years older than some on the forum with propane air cooled ones. Also the newer quiet diesels have the inverter and change rpm's

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #16 – July 02, 2017, 12:06:02 pm

I was actually considering getting one of those Delco 12 volt DC generators that was used on early 1960s cars and installing it on the fan belt of the genset to charge the cranking batteries while the charger is charging the coach battery. There's a phony alternator looking belt tensioner there that could be replaced by a Delco generator. It looks to me like the belt ratio would be about the correct rpm for the generator. Apparently these same gensets were used in non RV applications where they had to charge their own cranking battery. I could order the correct alternator from Onan / Cummins but I think a generator would be more efficient than an alternator in a steady rpm situation like this. Why make three phase AC power only to run it through a rectifier to convert it to DC and lose about 20 percent of the power to heat in the process?

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #17 – July 02, 2017, 12:13:07 pm

I think you could order the coach with any generator that would fit into the compartment. I read on this forum a while ago that the U280 came standard with an LP gas genset but most customers ordered it with the optional diesel. The U300 came standard with a diesel genset but I presume a customer could order it with an LP gas genset if they wanted to (?) It would probably be less expensive in the short run, especially if it doesn't get used much. Also it would probably weigh less and it should be quieter. The major issue for me would be burning up my LP gas in something other than my refrigerator.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #18 – July 02, 2017, 02:34:19 pm

Quote from: Brad Metzger – July 02, 2017, 06:58:29 am

As all of you know Brother Dave was generator guy for 57 + years . I ask him that very question about how long I could expect my gen set would last . He said --with proper maintenance you don.t need to even look at it for 12,000 hours ." he was talking about my Onam diesel gen set . Also that gasoline sets had a much shorter life , and sir cooled shorter yet , Gas on LP was next best to diesel on longevity , He knew this stuff inside out . I always felt like a dummy compared to him on anything to do with electricity . I miss him badly . We spoke on the phone daily . Brad Metzger

I miss him too Brad.

Re: highest hours on diesel genset?

Reply #19 – July 06, 2017, 10:40:20 pm

At an FMCA tech seminar awhile ago a Power Tech rep told me the design life of their diesel generators was 20,000 hours.

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