winona said:I've been told to run my generator under load and I do. But why under load? What makes the difference if i just let it run versus turning on the a/c or heat too? And run it monthly?
jdonhowe said:BTW, I respectfully disagree about idling being hard on a car engine. It's not great for the environment, but it the cooling system is able to keep up fine with an idling engine. If idling were hard on an engine, I doubt that truckers would keep theirs running all night at truck stops.
most people wouldn't start their car and just let it idle and never drive it.
Welcome to the forum.jdonhowe said:I've heard that if it isn't run for a long time, a generator will loos its residual magnetism, and won't produce any voltage. The way to maintain magnetism is to put a load on the generator.
I don't know how long it takes for a generator to lose its magnetism, but I had a cheap 3000 watt generator that I used only for rare home power outages. I'd occasionally (every 3 years or so) remember that I hadn't run it. It always started right up and generated fine every time.
I wouldn't worry about having a load on the entire time you have your generator running. I assume that you'd be putting a load on it sometime while it's running, or you wouldn't have turned it on!
BTW, I respectfully disagree about idling being hard on a car engine. It's not great for the environment, but it the cooling system is able to keep up fine with an idling engine. If idling were hard on an engine, I doubt that truckers would keep theirs running all night at truck stops.
WILDEBILL308 said:As far as truckers idling engines all night that is a buy gone thing. Now they have strict time limits on idling in rest areas and fuel stops.
Bill
Regular ?exercise? is
an important part of keeping your generator healthy. Lack of exercise can cause
moisture build-up and fuel system degradation that make it run poorly. In fact,
in as little as 30 days, the fuel in gasoline-powered generators can begin to gum
and varnish the fuel system. Fuel varnishing results in hard starting and surging. (A
surging generator never settles at a stable operating speed
RedandSilver said:Well I guess no one told the truckers because I was in a rest stop in September for the night and both truckers on either side of me
were idling all night long and I assume most of the other truckers were idling too. I had to start my generator to muffle some of the
sound coming from their engines.
So if it's "buy gone" it's not enforced that I can tell.
Yes the diesel generator is more forgiving but they still need to be run under load to warm the windings.malexander said:I just wish I could remember to run my genny once in a while. The MH sits on my driveway, I walk past it ATLEAST 5 times a day, and I never can remember "oh, I ought to run the generator". But, it hasn't failed me yet.
Gary RV_Wizard said:I suggest reading the Onan RV Generator Handbook - lots of solid advice there for RV owners.
https://power.cummins.com/sites/default/files/literature/rv/F-1123-EN.pdf
With respect to exercise, Onan says:
Gary RV_Wizard said:I suggest reading the Onan RV Generator Handbook - lots of solid advice there for RV owners.
https://power.cummins.com/sites/default/files/literature/rv/F-1123-EN.pdf
With respect to exercise, Onan says:
Heli_av8tor said:I run electric space heaters to load the genny when too cold for the A/C.