generators

[David0725]

How long have you ran your generators before shutting it off? I ran mine 4days before shutting it off. It is bad to do that It is a 7.5 k Diesel Gen set.
thanks

[David0725]

@JimM68 It was all about the A/c. Im not real sure how long I could run on batteries otherwise. I only tried it one time I ran the refrigerator, Heater fan, And 2 TV's over night with no problem. I could have used gas for the refrig but I didn't.

[wildmanbaker]

diazr2 wrote:

wildmanbaker wrote:
I don't get the people inferring the a diesel generator in not quite. The ones I have been around could not be determined if it was actually running. I could detect something but not any engine or fan noise. Even touching the MH, I could not detect any vibrations. We do not have a diesel gen, or MH for that matter, the diesel gen would be the big benefit of having a diesel pusher MH. Our gas gen is fairly quite and vibration free, but nothing like the diesel generators I have observed.

I don't believe that the people complaining about loud generators are referring to the ones you can't hear. I believe they are only referring to the ones that are terribly annoying. I am sure if you have one running you are less annoyed than the folks that don't. Just saying 😉

I personally did not believe an RVer that said his diesel was running, so he unlatched it, and extended it. I was amazed to find it WAS running, and not very much louder than when it was in.

[diazr2]

wildmanbaker wrote:
I don't get the people inferring the a diesel generator in not quite. The ones I have been around could not be determined if it was actually running. I could detect something but not any engine or fan noise. Even touching the MH, I could not detect any vibrations. We do not have a diesel gen, or MH for that matter, the diesel gen would be the big benefit of having a diesel pusher MH. Our gas gen is fairly quite and vibration free, but nothing like the diesel generators I have observed.

I don't believe that the people complaining about loud generators are referring to the ones you can't hear. I believe they are only referring to the ones that are terribly annoying. I am sure if you have one running you are less annoyed than the folks that don't. Just saying 😉

[wildmanbaker]

I don't get the people inferring the a diesel generator in not quite. The ones I have been around could not be determined if it was actually running. I could detect something but not any engine or fan noise. Even touching the MH, I could not detect any vibrations. We do not have a diesel gen, or MH for that matter, the diesel gen would be the big benefit of having a diesel pusher MH. Our gas gen is fairly quite and vibration free, but nothing like the diesel generators I have observed.

[bshpilot]

Weve run our Onan QD10kw for 3.5 days TAILGATING....lets just say it was a good party, even though it was in the mid 20 degrees.

its nothing for us to run it 24 hours or more sometimes when driving and then sleeping in a rest area (during the hot summer), Ive got 3k hours on our Onan....what good is it if you don't use it ?

we also have a 10kw Gasser (that i converted to Tri-Fuel / NG/Propane) and other than to shut it off to change the oil every 48 hours we ran it for nearly 8 days during hurricane IKE (we were w/out electric for 14 days).

[JimM68]

Kinda backwards question, should be: hong long can you run on batteries before you have to turn the genny on?

Unless we HAVE TO have A/C, we run our 8k onan QD for an hour at breakfast time, and an hour at dinnertime.
The rest of the time our standard battery bank and factory 2k inverster take care of everything.

The only thing I don't like about nascar infield camping is all those towable owners who seem to think they must run thier 6500 watt open frame champions 24/7!
Even a cpac will run all night on a 400watt radio shack inverter and a good battery.

[David0725]

Thanks everyone I was at a country fest. And they put us out in the boondocks. everyone was running there Ground gen set. Mine did take about a 1/2 tank.

[Sandia_Man]

Maybe a bit over 12 straight hours and didn't worry about the genny working too hard although it was putting out near it's max rated wattage. Onans love to run and properly maintained will happily provide power for many thousands of hours.

We average about 100 hours per season (yearly) but that's when we are boondocking and camping in temp extremes where heating or cooling the rig via generator is required. Having all the power to run our entire RV with a flick of a switch makes for worry free camping.

[John_S_]

They run these generators that are rated for severe service 24/7 out in the field all the time. Only shutting down for oil change. Fill the fuel tank on the fly. I have no doubt my genset will last me a long time and they do like to be used. I have over 5K hours on mine now and fully expect it to last 30K hours. They are there to use and run and I use it and run it and live vvery comfortably on the road when it is on.

[Vet_Man]

If the neighbors complain, toss them a cord they will stop.

[Dutch_12078]

Some of the service trucks at my former truck shop are equipped with Onan generators (mostly Marquis 7KW's) salvaged from RV's. On several occasions, we ran those units for 8-10 days during remote recovery operations, refueling on the fly. When I sold the shop to our son-in-law, some of those generators had over 13,000 hours on them without major rebuilds, and all were working just fine.

[wa8yxm]

Longest I have run mine is 25 hours... Longest I know of generators running is several months..... The limit on run time is based upon your fuel tank.. When it runs empty (1/4 full on a Motor home) the generator WILL stop. That is the only limit I know of on run time save time between oil changes and such.

[John_S_]

I have run my genset for five days straight many times with no issue. I have 200 gallon tank too.

[jerseyjim]

Hurricane Sandy left my house without electricity for 4 days. I ran my RV generator for 92 hours. Feeds off the RV gas tank (which luckily happened to be "full")...and being gasoline, neighbors did not complain. And...if they did, so what? In that kinds of situation.......
What I had was a 12 gauge extention cord nightmare. Switching back and forth between the RV, fridge and (garage)freezer was a PITA but y'gotta do what y'gotta do.
And that...will never (hopefully) happen again. I bought a second-hand (but almost new) 10,000 watt (gas) generator for the house and installed a transfer switch, which now would give me adequate power and coverage should another storm of this severity hit again. I do start this generator every 2 months. (just like I start the RV generator every 2 weeks or so.)