Cummins Onan generator maintenance

What do people do to maintain their Cummins Onan propane generator? Thank you

I found a local "generator whisperer guru" who changed the oil, and tuned it up. It didn't run well before and has run well in the two years since. It is important to run it every few weeks or so under load.

Regards,

Mark

marklg said:

It is important to run it every few weeks or so under load.

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Periodically running the genset under load is good advice. However, "every few weeks" is a bit of an exaggeration. This is especially true with the propane version of the genset, for which this is much less important than with gasoline units. In my experience (14 years and two rigs) a few times/season is adequate to keep the commutator surfaces clean. If I had gas, I would do it more often, to avoid carburetor issues. Generally speaking, the propane units are less trouble-prone than gas.

I change the oil once a year and run it about every three months or so. It's the propane version. I did have to drop it from under the van, which was a major pain in the butt, when it quit running. Mud daubers had plugged the breather tube, so now there is a screen over it. I also adjusted the valves while it was out.

muddysprinter said:

I change the oil once a year and run it about every three months or so. It's the propane version. I did have to drop it from under the van, which was a major pain in the butt, when it quit running. Mud daubers had plugged the breather tube, so now there is a screen over it. I also adjusted the valves while it was out.

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How many hours were on it when you adjusted the valves? Were then tight?

Change the oil once a year, there is no oil filter but there is an air filter that should also be checked at least once a year.

Annual oil changes might be needed in dump climate.
Living in semi-dry San Francisco area I had oils in my motorhome, pressure washer and other machinery for 6 years.
They did not run many hr, when dry climate was not accumulation water in crankcase.
Propane is cleaner burning than gasoline, so oil changes are less frequent anyway. Is the generator having oil filter?
If in doubt - send the sample to lab. Might sounds expensive for low amount of oil in generator, but will give you personal educated experience how the oils last.
I had oil classes in my younger years, but technology changed a lot since then. Seeing how oil suppliers are trying to turn your brain into scramble eggs, I start sending samples from my truck, who was putting lot of miles for tests.
That not only proved that factory recommended 5000 intervals are bogus, but also proved that Ford oil (Motorcraft) is a garbage.