I have a Onan 5.0 kW BGA GenSet with 630 Hours. It has been the most unreliable generator I've ever owned. I will be having local Cummings remove it tomorrow. Anyone have any suggestions regarding replacements? Thanks

I replaced the Kohler Klunker in mine with a Honda EV-4010 4KW. I've been very pleased. I did all the work myself, so "installation" was cheap.

I looked into the Onan 4KW, but the local dealer wanted >$4K in the crate, and I got the Honda used for $950. Street price on a new EV-4010 is about $2,700.

That sounds like a great project. The local dealer keeps talking me into repairing the GenSet despite my begging them to replace it. I will be installing the GenSet behind my house for use during power outages. That is, of course, if it will stay running! I was looking at the Honda EV6010 for my application. I was going to place another generator on the top of the coach to serve as a backup. My wife has lost all faith in the RV due to the generator quiting at the worst possible times.

I'm with Rusty on the Honda EV. In my case, I bought an EV 6010, since our Barth has 2 air conditioners and is a 50-amper. The two gens are almost identical, with, I believe only a field coil or stator being different.

My contacts in the movie crafts swear by the Hondas. They are quiet and reliable. There is a bit of fan whine that requires a little cleverness, but nothing insurmountable.

However, an Onan is like a Kohler. Some of it depends on the mechanic. Is your mechanic well-recommended? Previous owner of my coach had a lot of gen trouble, with several mechs, and warned me. So, when a good deal on a Honda came up, I bought it, but didn't rush to install it, as we are solar. In the meantime, I did a lot of studying, a good carb clean and a little governor fiddling and relay cleaning and got the Kohler to start and run reliably. It took me quite a while, and a few blind alleys, but an experienced Kohler mech should have been able to do it quickly. It has been doing pretty well for years, now, but when I get the time, energy and space, I will put in the Honda, for noise reasons if nothing else. The Kohler sometimes vexes me, but I always fake something until it runs again. A decent Kohler mech would make short work of my problems, but I don't have confidence in any of the ones I know of.

So, ask around and try to find a good mechanic before you go Honda. If you have done this, to no avail, then Honda is a good way to go. Just remember that the EV Hondas are not common, so experienced mechs will also not be common. The Honda also needs some soundproofing to be as quiet as the more modern Onan Microquiets, for example.

Larry,

Before you select the EV-6010, note that it's a 240VAC genset; unless you already have 50A service on your coach, major rewiring would be necessary. The EV-4010 is 120VAC, and I load-tested mine at 125% load for several hours before installing, and it did fine at 95°F ambient.

Thanks for the great advice! I've had several mechanics look at my generator over the last year. They are all certified, etc. They have rebuilt the carb once, changed fuel pumps twice, changed the fuel line hoses twice, fuel tank once, plugs, points and condenser at least six times, plug wires once, harness once, solenoid twice, overcurrent protection fuse once, other fuses twice, remote start once, etc. It never ends. I think I have a lemon, I'm sure they were reliable in 1986, but not for me.

I've often said, "If your mechanic (and if he's called a 'tech', bets are off) doesn't have a nametag saying, 'Bud' or 'Mac', find another".

The True Problem is that "mechanics" or "techs" raised in the "Days of Electronics" really haven't a clue as to what makes an engine work.

This is similar to the rationale I frequently offer regarding the difference between an engineer and a technician: "An engineer can tell you how something works. However, he can't tell you why something doesn't work."

To be honest, I've not been impressed by Kohler's design, engineering, or QC (which is why I replaced myKlunker with a Honda). There's definitely an element of alchemy in its approach to design.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
I've not been impressed by Kohler's design, engineering, There's definitely an element of alchemy in its approach to design.

Yup. Particularly how they run things back and forth from one relay to the next. Da hip bone connected to da leg bone, etc.

If I were going to keep mine, I would either make a breakout box for the panel (for troubleshooting) or completely redesign it with simple single-purpose Bosch relays.

And the muffler sticks down too much for boondocking.

I've used three different "techs" or "mechanics" at the local Cummings Service Center. Sometimes these things just don't work well. They all have attended "generator school." Whatever, I went to a local RV dealer that has been good to me over the years and they are going to make the swap. Believe me, I have spent hours working on the thing myself. The last two failures have occurred in Tupelo MS and Logan NM. Always fun to be kneeling on the pavement in the blazing hot sun.

There is another way to go:

Consider one Honda EU3000 on a slide-out tray. Or a pair of EU2000s. I like the pair of 2000s because you need only run one unless you need air conditioning. And, one failure still lets you charge the batts.

A possible drawback to this idea is that, unless you get clever with air intake and exhaust outflow, driving with the gen on is a bit dodgy.

I have the EV-6010 ...I also own a 1977 GMC Palm Beach with an ONAN sumpthin'-or-another. It has never run good and smells of "old vehicle exhaust".

My EV-6010 is Propane Fired and fairly quiet with minimal to no exhaust smell.

Worked a 3-day Hippie Concert [Paramedic] last summer, where there was a minimal of electrical potential at the venue.

Ran-on gen-set most of the day with both roof-tops going in 95 degree heat [12-14 hours] then switched to battery during the early night hours [couldn't use AC power as the vendors needed all they could get] and back to AC from 0200-0800. A great exercise utilizing all the power systems in the coach.

I really love this gen-set!

Clean, quiet, reliable ...no problems in 3 years.