Generator hours

Most problems with generators are due to lack of use and it's rare that a generator dies before the RV. Opinions vary but many exercise their generators a couple of hours per month just to ward off issues like gummed up carburetors etc.

A gas engine one... couple thousand hours. A diesel... 8-10,000 hours would start to worry me but more because of the amount of use of the MH, not the generator.

An Onan could be around 2000 hours.
A generac would be looking at less.
A genset with very few hours could have gasoline sitting in carb and turning to varnish.

Depending on how it was maintained I would agree 2000 to 3000 hours. Ive seen flat head propane powered fork lift engines with 6,000. Cleaner fuel, strict maintenance program.

In my Honda, I make sure I always use Sta-Bil to make sure the gas doesn't gum up. I run it a couple hundred hours a year, and it's 9 years old now.

I have around 73 hours on mine in the last 10 years. Just had it running last week for a 1/2 hour loaded. IMHO you will wear out your coach before the genset unless it's not maintained properly.

My 97 DP has a 7500 diesel Onan in it with over 3000 hours. I service it once a year and exercise it about once a month---if its parked that long.

My Onan 4bgs has over 4000hrs. and still going Onan generators like to run, not situp. Generators with low hours may need lots of work to get running correctly.

it comes down to maintenance a low hour unit would not bother me IF it was taken care of.untreated fuel is a gen set killer.

milkman41 wrote:
How many hours of generator use would be a lot? Looking at used class A and I really haven't used one a lot, generally shore power.

A friend of mine had a houseboat with a gas powered generator on it. I forget the exact size but I think it was in the 7.5kw range. He would start the generator when he left the dock and not shut it down until he was plugged in to shore power. Finally had to replace the thing at 12,000 hours.