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Generator 24/7
We are setting up for a meeting next week on a commercial lot in Wichita and there is no power any where near the front of the lot for a temporary power pole. There is power on the back of the lot but the quote for the temporary pole was nearly double the cost of diesel to run the generator for 10 days. Plus the pole would have been over 400 feet from where we need to park.
I have run the tent services from gasoline generators lots of times so that is no problem. I have never ran the bus generator for more that 12-16 hours so that is going to be a lttle different. With temps in the 90’s next week I will probably need to run the generator nearly 24 hours a day for 10 days.
I know the generator is made to do this and that some of you do it regularly but is there anything I need to watch out for or any tips I need to know. The oil and filters are fresh and the coolant, hoses and belt were changed in June.
Is it better to start it and let it run right on or should I plan to shut it down at night if the outside temperatures permit? Anything else?
Davy
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22 Replies
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Davy, This is my personal opinion and it reflects my comfort level with my generator.
I do not intend to be uncomfortable in my coach. I start all decisions regarding its operation with that in mind. That suggests to me that unless evening temperatures are comfortable enough for sleeping without the AC on, I am going to run my generator as long as required.
Having said that there are two considerations. The first is inssuring I have adequate fuel. My guess is you might average about .4 to .5 GPH and that is based on my experience with running for 171 hours and measuring the fuel burn of the generator. I would imagine if you totaled 250 hours of run time you could burn 125 gallons. If I were you I would monitor that, but my guess is you will not reach the limit of the generator fuel pick up point at that level.
The second concern is maintenance. Regardless of what the recommended oil change interval is for your specific generator it is not likely you will shut it down just to change oil and filters. Will 250 hours hurt it? I doubt it. I have a small diesel in my John Deere Gator and the recommended interval is 250 hours. If you are concerned start with a fresh oil change and use synthetic oil because of the longer life.
You are working, and I know when I am working, at the end of my day I want to return to a comfortable coach. Go for it.
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Davey run it 24 hours for the 10 days will not hurt it just make sure your tank is full of fuel and at 5 days it may have used about 60 gallons of fuel just check it The 250 hours won’t hurt it at all start with fresh oil and filters and leave it run , in the deal when I have no power I always thought if it was running all things good but if I shut it down at night maybe a chance it might not start so now what. Leave it run check fuel level and all will be good
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Thanks. I will fill my tank when I arrive in town so I can start full. I will not have direct access to city water either so at about day 5 or 6 I will go for water and will probably top off the tank then for good measure.
I will have to drive hard when I leave there but the next location in Mississippi is a great place to change the oil in the generator, right around the corner from NAPA!
Davy
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Davy, you will have no problems. I do it frequently when I’m racing for 3-6 days at a time. The constant long run time makes the service interval less important than if you accumulate those hours starting and stopping many times. Same concept as longer intervals between oil changes with highway miles as opposed to short trips around town in your car. Geo.
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I just ran mine 85 hours last week and it was in the high 50s for a couple of nights so I did shut it down for those nights,I averaged .7 GPH.
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Davy,
Run it long, hard and often.. Remember, overhaul is around 30,000 hours.
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We change the oil in the 20KW generators on our work trucks at 300 hours. These generators typically run 12-hours a day. We use synthetic oil.
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The hardest thing on a diesel or a jet engine is cycles. The less it’s started and shut down, the better it likes it.
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Normally at night the loads on the generator are not as great as they are during the day. Does it affect the generator if it runs with minimal loads.
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Davey
back in Feb 2015 we had to race to Ohio from vacationing in Palm Springs, after learning my mother had died
we parked the coach at her church parking lot for 31 days. Aside from turning off the genset to check fluids, it ran without hiccups for 24/7/month. We have always followed “Leon’s rule” from Marathon. The generator IS always your first choice for coach electricity followed by its battery bank, and at last resort, shore power. We run the ” snot” out of our generators without issue. -
Wilbur, If a generator is run lightly loaded for a long period it can develop issues but I don’t think typical loads are small enough to create such problems. In the summer with A/Cs running plus other normal stuff from refrigerator to water pump to lights, etc. I think that is enough of a load. At night if the outside temps drop into the comfortable range it is not seeing those loads, but as soon as you are up and around the usage of power kicks back up.
If it were idling with no load at all for most of the day then I would be concerned.
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Jim wrote: “We have always followed “Leon’s rule” from Marathon. The generator IS always your first choice for coach electricity followed by its battery bank, and at last resort, shore power.”
When parked and the bus engine isn’t running …
I would have thought that shore power is the preferred source of electricity (and hence #1 on the list), unless the draw exceeded 50 amps (or 30amps, whatever you’re hooked to) like 4 A/Cs, water heater, etc.
When not hooked to shore power, then the coach batteries until the amp/watt draw exceeds that of the inverters or the volts in the coach batteries are pulled down to recharge time.
Then the generator should kick on (or be kicked on).
I’d be interested in hearing more about the logic behind “Leon’s Rule”.
If shore power is available and the power needs of the coach don’t exceed 50 amps, why would I fire up the generator and not use the shore power?
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I think it might be better said that the priority your transfer switch provides is generator, 50 amp shore power and then batteries.
But I like his philosophy. When I run the generator the phrase “power managment” never enters my mind. I can run anything and everything any time.
As we all know 50 amp is convenient, but requires us to select the circuits and systems we want to run with the available power.
Batteries as far as I am concerned are for use when I am desperate. They are good to have, it is nice having them to handle the refrigerator during the night and maybe a few lights, but other than the occasional rest area lunch my coach is using generator or shore power when I am not rolling.
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I normally use Rotella T 15w40 in the generator. Which oil do you use when you use synthetic? I see a synthetic blend in the 15w40 but the full synthetic Rotella T6 seems to be 5w40.
Davy
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We use Shell Rotella T-6 in 5W-40 in all the work generators.
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