Synthetic oil worth it? 18k hour yamaha generator says no.

There is no oil filter in my Yamaha generator. So I change as needed every 50 hours of use.

SkiSmuggs wrote:
With continuous use like that, does oil really need to be changed every 10 days? You can drive a car across the country and back and still not need an oil change. I towed a 10K fifth wheel across country and back with my Powerstroke and got notifed by the oil life monitor to change at about 8000 miles.
I can understand if the generator sits a lot like most do, but continuous running should be more like highway instead of city driving.

I'm with Beemerphile on this one. Cold oil start-ups can really take the toll. One genset I prepped for 11,000+ feet altitude (summer) use incorporated a 12 volt centrifugal oil pump. The pump was started and pressure was allowed to build up on that ancient Witte engine before it was cranked. Wotta hoot! It had a motor generator off an old Dodge for starting and charging. I remember replacing the regulator cut-out with a 70-amp rectifier. Synthetics seem to be designed for super-cold or super warm operation. I haven't seen authentic fuel mileage comparisons between synthetic and petroleum which would tell another part of the story. But it's fraudulent to compare 0W-20 synthetic to SAE 30 motor oil. Gotta watch these guys...

With continuous use like that, does oil really need to be changed every 10 days? You can drive a car across the country and back and still not need an oil change. I towed a 10K fifth wheel across country and back with my Powerstroke and got notifed by the oil life monitor to change at about 8000 miles.
I can understand if the generator sits a lot like most do, but continuous running should be more like highway instead of city driving.

I am a little biased since I am an Amsoil dealer. I run synthetic in everything I own.
Amsoil makes an oil called "Formula 4 Stroke" that is designed for small engine use. It is an SAE 30 that meets the 10w spec due to its full synthetic base stock which doesn't thicken in cold weather as much as conventional.
I have run it for going on 10 years in my small engines with great results.
I like a synthetic for small engines since they run so hot.

Wear and oil usage in an engine that is run nearly continuously has no relativity to the way most people use engines. The hardest test on the oil is when the engine is first started and operating cold.

for those looking for his oil change interval, i asked his answer is below, but short answer is roughly 200 hours between changes

"Changing the oil by the book (which I couldn’t locate just now, for whatever reason) would have broken our piggy bank in a heartbeat, since for years we ran this generator model for up to 21 hours per day, day in, day out. With Slick 50 helping out, I got away with changing the oil no more than once every 10 days or so, or somewhere in the 200 hour range. NOBODY would recommend that, though, and I’m not recommending it, either. Also, I no longer use Slick 50 in small engines until they’re well broken in (at least), because if I do, the rings never seat and the machine ends up using a lot of oil over time."

Several years ago I purchased a used Honda EU2000i and like many others thought I'd see (mostly out of curiosity) whether it would successfully start & run my Coleman Mach 3+ 13,500 BTU A/C. With fresh premium grade non-ethanol gas, fresh dino oil in the crankcase, and a new plug it ran properly at full speed but did surge somewhat with ECO turned on, a situation I managed to clear up with a generous treatment of SeaFoam in the gas tank and SeaFoam sprayed directly into the carb throat. However, it would not start my A/C ... adding an SPP6 hard start cap to the A/C didn't do it, wiring up the thermostat so I could start the A/C compressor first, then manually switch the fan on once the compressor had ramped up to speed also still didn't do it. I then dumped the dino oil in favour of Mobil 1 synth ... and the A/C started right up. :B I could even then switch the ECO mode on, the genset would slow, but still be able to ramp back up to speed without collapsing on it's face as the compressor cycled on/off. The downsides? - elevation was close to sea level and it would only do it if the outside ambient temperature was 85F or below ... increase either and it became evident I'd need a larger genset. Regardless, there was also no doubt that running synth oil in the crankcase noticeably improved how this genset handled any other loads it was asked to support, including the trailer's microwave oven. I now own my second EU2000i, likewise run premium grade non-ethanol Sea Foam treated gas and Mobil 1 synth oil, and it too starts in one or two pulls even after sitting a month and will run any load I ask of it other than the Dometic A/C on our current trailer. JMO, but I'm convinced and would only ever run synth oil in any genset I may own. :)

I use synthetic in my lawn tractor, snow blower, tiller, and 5500w generator. I change it every couple of years and have never had an engine failure.
I recently got the Smarter Tools 2000w inverter generator for camping and it has the Yamaha M80 engine. At $600, I am sure it is made in China. Once I get through the break in period, it will get synthetic as well.

18,000 hours of gasoline could have bought and paid for an adequate solar setup, no oil needed.

As far as oil- my first truck used non detergent 30 weight, no oil filter. Hauled tons of hay. oats and gravel, 250,000+ miles. Flathead 6.
My last tow vehicle I would have to start in sub zero weather then pull the full rated gcvw. Synthetic was the *only* way to go for that. For a small air cooled engine- meh.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
I didn't read anywhere about oil changes.....:H

Wouldn't it be interesting if he never changed oil?