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Generator oil pressure
17.5kw Powertech with Isuzu engine, what is considered normal to low oil pressure?
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20 Replies
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I got on the power tech website for you but could not find any info on the Isuzu engine.
Mine has a Kabota engine and at 190 degress operating temp the oil pressure is around 40 or 45 lbs.
On start up it will be around 55 or so then come down to about 40 when at running temp.
I would think anything below 30 at running temp and I might be concerned.
I found nothing on their web site referencing oil pressures at all.
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Charles, the gen set only has aboiut 30 hrs on it. I ran it under about 50% load for 6 hrs yesterday. The first hr or so it was showing better than 60 psi, as the times passed, it got down to about 25psi. It is not low on oil. I am going to try a mechanical gauge tomorrow.
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My experience is most all engines running at 1800 RPM will have more oil pressure than that.
I don’t know anything about the Isuzu engine and this could be normal but I don’t think so.
If you can’t find a mechanical gauge to verify the pressure, try a new oil filter.
I don’t think there will be any damage at 25 psi, just seem low to me on an 1800 rpm engine.
Maybe Jon or Tom will see you post in a little while any way at least you can call Power Tech tomorrow.
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I don’t have any access to or infomation on a Powertech but I agree with Buddy. I would expect to see 40 PSI on a warmed up generator.
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Proper viscosity? My Kubota wants 10w-40. Also, check the connection to the oil pressure sender. If corroded or loose you will get wonky readings. Hope it’s that simple. Good luck.
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Larry & Becky,
We too have the Power Tech Isuzu 17.5KW genset… ours would be a ’98 model and has over 9K hours on it… it’s a work horse… when running it’s under a full load our oil pressure is between 60-70 all the time.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Diane
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I talked to Powertech this morning and was assured that 25psi was fine, their words were anything from 7psi to 80psi.
I do remember that the 2 cycle Detroits had a tendency to have extremely low oil pressure at idle, low enough that it got your attention and it was ordinary for this to happen. I was in the well drilling business for many years, we had Detroit stationary power units, low idle oil pressure was something you got used to, but never had a problem.
I was just concerned that 25psi might be low at 1800rpm, but was convinced otherwise. -
Great news. I have never owned anything that ran with that low of an oil pressure.
Its strange that it can vary that much but I will take their word for it.
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That is good to know… I would have had a heart attack if I ever saw it that low !! Probably would have shut it down !!
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I won’t take their word for it. If we do a poll of all our members I would be surprised if any generator runs less than 40 PSI oil pressure when it is warmed up, so a generator that has almost 40% lower pressure has something going on.
I didn’t get excited about the low pressure on my 8V92 because every other 8V92 had the same low pressures.
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I think you want to pay attention to what has been normal for that gen, if it’s 40 and then one day down in the teens or single digits, something is way wrong.
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My experience is that 25 to 60 hot (not cold) is normal. And I would feel safe with manufacturer recommendations. If I saw pressures below 15 to 20 psi on a cold generator engine, or a significant change in pressure that wouldn’t be explained by outside conditions, then I would be concerned. I mainly worry about the sensor and gauge, first.
Keep in mind that oil pressure is design specific. By that I mean that engine manufacturers, and intended engine use, vary. For example, Italian engines for decades tended to run very low (to Americans anyway) oil pressures, and were used to having those customers call up or show up in a panic. Additionally, race-modified engines will have oil passages enlarged and chamfered at the ends, often with bearings selected for upper limit clearances to help prevent seizures. There will be assured flow in such an engine, but less pressure unless the pump is changed or modified; Then we have oil pump types and systems (i.e., dry sump) that will change the basis as well.
My two cents, free.
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Can I order a couple of bags of those free 2 cents?
While I cannot disagree with your analysis, my concern is the fact the question was raised in the first place. I got the impression the oil pressure was never that low, and now it is. Something caused that. I cannot think of anything good that would do that. I can think of a lot of bad things however.
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Jon, I have no idea what the oil pressure has been, I just bought the bus. The genset had 23 hrs on it, as of today, it has 38.
The original owner told me he never paid attention to what the pressure was as he used the gen very little.
This bus was a show bus for Featherlite for the first 8000 miles, with very little time on genset, then was sold.
I did put a mechanical guage on it today, cold engine pressure was almost 80 psi, after 4 hours of run time, pressure was 34 psi.
I don’t see anything to worry about especially after what I was told from Powertech. -
Larry,
I take this is a new generator?
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