| Author | Message | ||
| Douglas Tappan (Dougthebonifiedbusnut)
Registered Member Username: Dougthebonifiedbusnut Post Number: 54 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 75.69.223.64  Rating: N/A |
Hey Best and Brightest, I am going to look at a Onan model JB,tommorrow morning. It has 1300 hrs on it. Are these any good? It is a 7.5 kw running on propane which I am told prolongs the life of these quit a bit.The guy wants 350. for it.Thanks people. | ||
| Paul Lawry (Dreamscape)
Registered Member Username: Dreamscape Post Number: 307 Registered: 5-2007 Posted From: 75.93.55.100  Rating: N/A |
If you can hear it run and get any manuals you have a pretty good buy. I have an older Onan 15 kw diesel, and it runs like a top, a little loud but it came with our Eagle. | ||
| George M. Todd (George_mc6)
Registered Member Username: George_mc6 Post Number: 512 Registered: 8-2006 Posted From: 207.231.75.253 Rating: N/A |
I don't know about "Best and Brightest," old and rusty might be more apropos, but I do appreciate your humor! If it starts and runs, (and puts out electricity) for that price buy it! Anything on propane never varnishes the carb from sitting, and doesn't dilute the oil with unburned gas, which makes the engine happier! G | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Registered Member Username: Gusc Post Number: 710 Registered: 11-2005 Posted From: 4.231.130.248 Rating: N/A |
I owned one of those and the noise and vibration drove me so nuts I replaced it with a water cooled Honda. It is grossly overweight at about 500lbs and puts out huge amounts of heat from the exhaust system. There is also one thing you need to check out. Mine was rated at 7.5KW but that was only in 3 phase configuration. Mine was changed to single phase and this changed the rating to 5.5KW. If yours is the same and you can live with 5.5KW and the fact that it is really old you can hardly go wrong for $350. Parts may be a problem, I could never find points for mine. | ||
| Douglas Tappan (Dougthebonifiedbusnut)
Registered Member Username: Dougthebonifiedbusnut Post Number: 55 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 75.69.223.64 Rating: N/A |
Oh man Gus, I don't know my Colon from my Coranium about generators,but this one is a 1997 so I sure hope your wrong. There is a dealer close by so I will be paying them a visit very soon. Thanks very much all. | ||
| Bob Wies (Ncbob)
Registered Member Username: Ncbob Post Number: 267 Registered: 2-2006 Posted From: 75.202.185.227 Rating: N/A |
Doug, the JB was an OK generator for some standby applications but terribly noisy and shaky for mobile applications...mostly due to the fact that both pistons are on the same stroke counterbalanced by one bodacious counterweight on the crank. They give off tremendous heat and unless equipped with Vac-u-flow cooling (most are pressure cooled) don't do well in enclosed compartments. Parts are getting scarce and expensive. As an old Onan dealer I'd recommend against this choice. Bob | ||
| Douglas Tappan (Dougthebonifiedbusnut)
Registered Member Username: Dougthebonifiedbusnut Post Number: 56 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 75.69.223.64 Rating: N/A |
Oh Man Bob,My wife is not going to be happy. She told me not to buy it but I hoped I would get better news about the gen. The space I was going to put it in I already think is airflow defficiant.Oh well, hope I can sell it. | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Registered Member Username: Gusc Post Number: 711 Registered: 11-2005 Posted From: 208.54.200.87 Rating: N/A |
Doug, One thing I forgot to tell you is that these models are made for stationary business standby units thus all the weight, heat and noise are of little consequence because they are usually installed in a shed outside on a concrete pad. Needless to say they are not so good for RV use as I quickly found out. You should be able to sell it for more than $350 if it works. If it is truly a '97 the s/n should read something like this- H780344889 except the first two numbers should be 97. As this s/n shows mine was a '78. I had forgotten about that weird piston arrangement, there was only one lobe on the distributor cam and it had two cylinders?? Both cyls fired at the same time?? It took me a while to figure that one out. Maybe that is the reason for all the vibration. Sorry for all the bad news but these are the facts as I experienced them and I was not happy. You won't believe all the extra space I gained by removing this monster and the equally monster LP tank adjacent to it. I know, this was a dumb setup. Tell it to the PO. The LP tank got so hot from the gen once that the safety valve blew?? The Honda replacement took half the space and is the weight of the Onan engine alone without the gen. It cost a bunch but only half the cost of a diesel. No vibration, smooth running and very quiet. The boss and I are both very happy with it. (Message edited by gusc on August 04, 2008) | ||
| Bruce Henderson (Oonrahnjay)
Registered Member Username: Oonrahnjay Post Number: 258 Registered: 8-2004 Posted From: 69.143.58.154  Rating: N/A |
A different question for you knowledgeable ones: I'm going to guess that there are no issues of "sine wave" or "MSW" when using a generator - is that right? (Assuming proper setup, at the right RPM, etc.) Thanks, BH NC USA | ||
| George M. Todd (George_mc6)
Registered Member Username: George_mc6 Post Number: 515 Registered: 8-2006 Posted From: 207.231.75.253 Rating: N/A |
Afternoon Bruce, You are correct, all of these generators, (a lot of them are actually alternators) put out sine wave. In a previous post, 150V output was mentioned, which is a result of too high engine speed. The frequency would have been well above 60 Hz in that case also. George |