In the interests of full disclosure, this update is provided.
With 12,100 hours on our Onan Quiet Diesel 7500 generator, we had an expensive and unscheduled repair done yesterday. The cost was $900 and two days out of service to get it done. One day was to have it diagnosed. the other day was to wait for parts and complete the repair.
The issue was an oil leak. The offending component was the governor actuator which had to be replaced. Two seasoned mechanics at the Onan dealer in Connecticut both said they had never seen such a leak before but, clearly, that was the issue in this case. An Onan mechanic reading this will say, "But there is no oil in the governor actuator, there is no way that could leak." That's what our mechanics said, but the oil was clearly coming from there ... drip, drip, drip. When the component was removed, oil was found inside the housing. Replacing it resolved the issue.
Labor rates are more expensive on the East Coast but we had no choice. The leak developed suddenly. We were going through a quart of oil in 12 hours of operation. We have put the generator through its paces since the repair and it is back to its normal self.
In this post and a couple before and after it, I described how ARI removed the generator, cleaned it up, did some PM, and replaced a leaking water pump in August, when the generator had been in service for six years and two months. The intermittent electrical problem that prompted us to go in then never happened again after that visit.
The bill for that visit was $1,327 plus deadhead and down time. Most of that was for the time it took to remove the generator from the truck and put it back after the work was done. So, while an unscheduled repair prompted the visit, a lot of good PM work was done at the same time.
To honestly calculate the cost of a generator, the purchase price, maintenance costs and repair costs must be totaled. For those of you contemplating the purchase of an Onan generator, the purchase price can be known and the scheduled maintenance costs can be accurately projected. The unknowns include unscheduled repairs. To help shed some light on that, the above info is provided.
Our confidence in our Onan remains as high as ever. The word from ARI mechanics is that these things can easily last 20,000 hours or more. They have seen it. We believe it.
In the 6.5 years we have been running this generator, there have been almost zero days when it has failed. That's partly because we took it in almost immediately after an issue developed. It's partly because we faithfully perform the scheduled maintenance. And it's partly because Onan makes a really good generator (quiet too!).
If we had it to do over again, there would be no question. It's Onan. There are less expensive generators that can be used on expediter trucks, but we're sold on Onan because of its quiet operation, wonderful reliability and abundant power output. This thing has kept our batteries charged, food cooked (two-burner electric stove, convection microwave oven) and large sleeper comfortable almost every day we have used it. That includes the coldest winter and hottest summer days that can be found in North America.
It's Onan for us, no question.
With 12,100 hours on our Onan Quiet Diesel 7500 generator, we had an expensive and unscheduled repair done yesterday. The cost was $900 and two days out of service to get it done. One day was to have it diagnosed. the other day was to wait for parts and complete the repair.
The issue was an oil leak. The offending component was the governor actuator which had to be replaced. Two seasoned mechanics at the Onan dealer in Connecticut both said they had never seen such a leak before but, clearly, that was the issue in this case. An Onan mechanic reading this will say, "But there is no oil in the governor actuator, there is no way that could leak." That's what our mechanics said, but the oil was clearly coming from there ... drip, drip, drip. When the component was removed, oil was found inside the housing. Replacing it resolved the issue.
Labor rates are more expensive on the East Coast but we had no choice. The leak developed suddenly. We were going through a quart of oil in 12 hours of operation. We have put the generator through its paces since the repair and it is back to its normal self.
In this post and a couple before and after it, I described how ARI removed the generator, cleaned it up, did some PM, and replaced a leaking water pump in August, when the generator had been in service for six years and two months. The intermittent electrical problem that prompted us to go in then never happened again after that visit.
The bill for that visit was $1,327 plus deadhead and down time. Most of that was for the time it took to remove the generator from the truck and put it back after the work was done. So, while an unscheduled repair prompted the visit, a lot of good PM work was done at the same time.
To honestly calculate the cost of a generator, the purchase price, maintenance costs and repair costs must be totaled. For those of you contemplating the purchase of an Onan generator, the purchase price can be known and the scheduled maintenance costs can be accurately projected. The unknowns include unscheduled repairs. To help shed some light on that, the above info is provided.
Our confidence in our Onan remains as high as ever. The word from ARI mechanics is that these things can easily last 20,000 hours or more. They have seen it. We believe it.
In the 6.5 years we have been running this generator, there have been almost zero days when it has failed. That's partly because we took it in almost immediately after an issue developed. It's partly because we faithfully perform the scheduled maintenance. And it's partly because Onan makes a really good generator (quiet too!).
If we had it to do over again, there would be no question. It's Onan. There are less expensive generators that can be used on expediter trucks, but we're sold on Onan because of its quiet operation, wonderful reliability and abundant power output. This thing has kept our batteries charged, food cooked (two-burner electric stove, convection microwave oven) and large sleeper comfortable almost every day we have used it. That includes the coldest winter and hottest summer days that can be found in North America.
It's Onan for us, no question.
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