Repair Rant

[just_sawing]

Just had a generator repaired. For a RV Gen it is costing $1050.00 dollars. RV Generators are expensive but the repair was a coil assy on the motor and put it under Load. $265.00 for parts and the rest Labor at $125 per hour. They got me this time but not again.

[plowjockey]

Didn't they give you an estimate up front? They should know about how long it takes.

[Old Vet]

They saw you coming. $125 per hour is steep. I can get mine done for $60 per hour. Did you make them mad?

[just_sawing]

The estiment when they first got done was 548.00
I ask them to check L1. They did alright they was happy to charge for 6 hours of watching it run. This is a major company.

[ronbre]

we have been looking for a generator to use when our power goes out..to keep our wood boiler from boiling over..we want propane but they are well over $1`,000 each

[Alice In TX/MO]

Sears?

[just_sawing]

RV types start at $2000.00

[Sawmill Jim]

I didn't know there were different types .Isn't a generator a generator ??? Got one down stairs electric start and all . Cousin has a old moter home he once offered to sell for 1,200

[artificer]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

I didn't know there were different types .Isn't a generator a generator ??? Got one down stairs electric start and all . Cousin has a old moter home he once offered to sell for 1,200

Generators are the example that proves the saying "you get what you pay for."

Cheapest is the contractor generators that you get at the hardware/big box stores. Loud, cheap, will last for a while. (hundreds of hours) Use it to build your house, then throw it away. Good for a short power outage. 3600rpm

Everything else gets more expensive. Honda inverter generators are VERY quiet, and very fuel efficient, but they cost 3-5 times as much for the same power. Its better power quality, and the engine will last thousands of hours. (heard people talk about at least 2000 hours, then rebuild/replace) variable speed with the economy mode

Home standby generators are even more expensive, but they tend to be larger. 7500 watts as a minimum, but 10k-20k more typical. Automatic start capabilities, auto testing, run on propane, reliable, longish life. Rebuildable for more life Typically 1800rpm

RV generators like the Onan's are very good quality, somewhat quiet, long lasting, but not cheap. Less cost than home standby, but more than portables. 1800rpm

For really dependability and long life there are diesel generators. NOT the cheap chinese "quiet diesel" line. (the "quiet diesel" type are the contractor grade of the diesel engines, in my opinion) Should run at least 5000 hours. If you do proper warmup/cooldown and have decent run times, they can easily go over 10,000hours. 1800rpm for decent ones, but some of the cheaper aircooled units run 3600

The slower the generator runs, the longer it will last in most cases.

So... lots of differences in generators.

Michael

[fordy]

........Honda , Yamaha , and Robin-Subaru make the Highest Quality Inverter gensets available for general Use ! Kubota makes small diesel gensets in (3) levels of choices . The most desirable Kubota available is one that has a 4 point generator head which runs at 1800 RPM and will have the longest service life if basic maintenance is kept up . They are available from 11kw up to 30kw .
........My guess is your RV model was an ONAN , which I would Neither own or buy ! 90% of the "Broke" generator threads on RV.Net are ONAN's ; I realize that Some units are OK but They are very over rated in my opinion . , fordy

[painless]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

I didn't know there were different types .Isn't a generator a generator ??? Got one down stairs electric start and all . Cousin has a old moter home he once offered to sell for 1,200

I have an 8000 watt model that runs off the PTO of my tractor.

[artificer]

Originally Posted by fordy

........Honda , Yamaha , and Robin-Subaru make the Highest Quality Inverter gensets available for general Use ! Kubota makes small diesel gensets in (3) levels of choices . The most desirable Kubota available is one that has a 4 point generator head which runs at 1800 RPM and will have the longest service life if basic maintenance is kept up . They are available from 11kw up to 30kw .
........My guess is your RV model was an ONAN , which I would Neither own or buy ! 90% of the "Broke" generator threads on RV.Net are ONAN's ; I realize that Some units are OK but They are very over rated in my opinion . , fordy

I'm interested in what percentage of RV come with Onan generators? I thought most of them did, which would account for the "90% of the "Broke" generator threads" on the other forum.

Don't know about the newer Onans, but the older ones deserve all of the good ratings they get.

Michael