skipnchar
Google Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Space heater here also and if heat isn't needed turn on the electric water heater, run the vacuum, just about anything will do the job.
2004 F-250 SCREW Long Bed (new)
OR 2004 F-150 HD (85,000 towing miles)
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
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Wes Tausend
Bismarck, ND
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Joined: 12/04/2008
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I will take a different tack here. I don't think you have to exercise the generator and it may even do some minor harm, the harm being mostly unneccesary wear. The following is just my opinion.
Granted, the fuel will get old if it is left in the tank, or lines, in the case of motorhome fuel supply direct from a main fuel tank. But for the most part this will burn just fine next spring when the gen is really needed. I think it is important to leave the fuel supply turned on so that evaporation does not leave solid fuel deposit residue in the new smaller lean EPA idle jets. Shutting fuel off is one of the most common errors, IMO. Owners manuals may recommend shutting fuel off, but it is mostly for "corporate safety reasons" in case the carburetor float valve might leak, prompting a lawsuit to say otherwise. Better to leave it on and observe it to be OK on occasion, just like it is being frequently used. If the gen is run, then the fuel tank will no longer be full perhaps causing some condensation in the tank "airspace". An alternative is to run the gen, gas off, until fuel is dry, but this is a better strategy when the gen won't be used for several years. It's OK to turn LP powered generator fuel off, with no reason to do otherwise.
There is no reason the windings will "get wet", other than minor condensation, and if they did, the damage, if any, is already done unless they got wet only an hour before starting.
Otherwise, you got good information on loading it. Make sure it does warm up thoroughly if you do. The oil must be warm enough (over 212°F) to evaporate any water produced from combustion that is deposited in the crankcase by blowby, although this is less serious in these days of low sulphur oil. For every gallon of fuel burned, more than a gallon of water (vapor) is produced. Water is the main byproduct of all hydrocarbon combustion, and always, without fail, gets in every crankcase upon cold start-up.
Wes
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- 2000 Excursion V-10 - 1995 Coachmen Catalina 280RK, 5091# tare
- Hensley Arrow pending - McKesh mirrors - Champion 4000w/3500w gen
- 1994 Mazda B4000 1/2 ton, 4.0L V6, 3.73, 125"wb
- Linda, Wes and Quincy the Standard Brown Poodle
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RJCorazza
Maryland
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Joined: 12/17/2005
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Good Sam RV Club
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Moisture will evaporate off at a much lower temperature than 212 deg F.
The oil does not have to be over 212.
As far as excerising a genset, all manufacturers I am familiar with recommend frequent loaded use unless the set is to be stored for an extended period. Use it or loose it!
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Dave H M
IL
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Joined: 08/11/2006
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I am with Wes. I have a gen set in the barn for standby power for the stick house. I don't know, guess I just get hinky, but I run it up in the fall once a year.
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hard3
southern Illinois
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My generac guardian home unit starts automaticly every week and runs 20 minutes with no load at reduced rpm's. this is set up from the O.E.M. and this is on a 17kw natural gas unit. The reason is to keep every thing lubricated, and from bearings from rusting while setting un-used.also excersises starter motor. remember that the way generators are used. Dead stopped to wide open as soon as it cranks up. a good load source is halogen work lights . Onan used a load box with 300-500 watt light bulbs in lamp holders to load test small units.
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Wes Tausend
Bismarck, ND
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RJCorazza wrote:Moisture will evaporate off at a much lower temperature than 212 deg F.
The oil does not have to be over 212.
As far as excerising a genset, all manufacturers I am familiar with recommend frequent loaded use unless the set is to be stored for an extended period. Use it or loose it!
RJ,
Thanks for bringing this up. I think I once read the 212°F in a factory (Helms) automotive manual. While it is very true that water evaporates at less than 212°F (ice actually evaporates), the condition in the crankcase is slightly different.
Let me elaborate. 
The idea is to continue to evaporate moisture even after the engine is shut down. But think about the crankcase for a second. Any water contained in the crankcase will have oil floating on top of it. In this instance I don't believe the "covered" warm water will evaporate, or, more accurately, will do so at an extremely reduced rate. Actually it may even take slightly over 212°F to gas-off the water where the lighter steam bubbles will actually rise through the oil. Because the water is buried beneath the weight of the oil it is slightly under pressure as in a pressure cooker or radiator. Water boils at 212°F at sea level atmospheric pressure, but at higher temps under greater pressures.
And what is the consequence? When oils used to contain sulphur the Helms(?) manual suggested that oil-trapped water, along with this sulphur, formed sulphuric acid which in turn ate at precision engine parts while the engine was off. It was suggested that this, along with dry cold starts, accounted for more engine wear than the lifetime spent running. Non-oil trapped water collects in the bottom of the oil pan and is the first thing the oil pumps picks up from the sump upon start-up. So accumulated water in the crankcase was very evil.
Another article by Consumer Reports tested both regular and synthetic oils to see if there was any advantage to more expensive synthetics. They basically bought newly rebuilt engines, took them apart, made precision measurement records and installed them in New York Taxi's for one year. After subsequent removal, there was no discernable difference in wear, oil vs oil. I believe they attributed this to better standard oil formulations and this (or another article?) mentioned lowered sulphur content. I quit using synthetics, except in the wifes Corvette which specifically calls for it (because GM quit installing oil coolers). The one undisputed advantage of synthetic oils is their ability to withstand higher temperatures without thickening, good for extreme performance duty.
Another (somewhat gross) example of subdued evaporation is the slop bucket we had in the machine shop on Grandfathers farm. It isn't always handy to "go behind the barn". So we had this bucket for human waste. The bucket had about ¼ inch fuel oil floating on top of the liquid. This oil prevented evaporation and odor. It even withstood winter and got dumped once a year. Whew! Not very EPA, I know. As a kid, I left ordinary water in a calf bucket once and it froze and pushed the bottom out.
Quote:all manufacturers I am familiar with recommend frequent loaded use
Not sure why the manufacturers would want us to wear our gennies out. 
Wes
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Deen
Vancouver, WA
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Joined: 12/07/2000
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joemyers wrote:built in heat strips which most RVs have. JMTCW More don't have them than do, none of our last 5 RV's have had them and they're NOT enough load to heat the gen windings up enough.
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Deen
Vancouver, WA
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Joined: 12/07/2000
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skipnchar wrote:Space heater here also and if heat isn't needed turn on the electric water heater, run the vacuum, just about anything will do the job. I turn both heat pumps on, one on heat and the other on cool and let them run. the next time I reverse the use of the heat pumps so they get exercised on both settings.
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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Joined: 07/04/2006
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teddycp wrote:Perhaps this question has been answered here before, but here goes anyway. For those of us that livewhere it is too cold to run the A/C to exercise the generator in the winter, what do you do to put enough of a load on it to really make it work?
I have 4 electric heaters in the coach (And a couple in store)
I use a 2,000 watt (yes it really is) and a 1500 watt, that's 3500 watt
The generator is 5500 watt so that's over half load
(The other two in the MH are 1500 and 150 (yes 150) watt
The two converters I have in the motor home can draw 20 amps combined
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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SULTINI
PENNSYLVANIA
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Joined: 06/08/2004
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Microwave, Toaster, Hairdryer.
SULTINI
40'INNSBRUCK
TBS 40
#1 18'NOMAD, #2 20'MALLARD #3 27'SUNLINE #4 30'C FOUR WINDS #5 40' INNSBRUCK.
BEENTHERE DONE THAT
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