Generator install - you'll be able to hear this one

[bobofthenorth]

I put up with a lot of grief from our orange disaster (G6500S Kubota) but last fall I finally lost it completely.  After yet another trip where once again it failed in some manner when we got back to Buchanan I simply ripped everything out and threw it in the shed.  I figured that with or without it I wouldn't have a generator but without it we could use the storage space.  And that's what we did for a whole year without too much impact on our lives I might add.

Last fall when we bought the boat we were nervous about the genset because of all the grief the orange monster caused us over the years.  The boat came with a huge old Onan - MDJE model - and it has performed flawlessly.  The only little hiccup it has ever had is a sticky drive on the starter.  I've added a monthly dose of weasel piss on the drive cone to my maintenance schedule and that problem has gone away.  So when we got back on the prairies I started looking for a cheap Onan to put in the bus.  I soon learned that "cheap" and "Onan" don't really belong in the same sentence but last week I tracked one down in Manitoba.  There's a 74 year old Onan dealer in Selkirk (Lockport actually) who is trying to retire.  As I told him when I picked up the generator the amount of stock in his shop suggests that he isn't trying all that hard on his retirement plans.

We made a weekend trip to Winnipeg, picked the generator up and stopped for a visit with Mark & Donna (Stormcloud) on the way home.  The generator we ended up with is a model ODJC which is a 6.5kw air cooled monster.  This thing is BIG and heavy.  Its also LOUD with a capital "L".  But so far I've only run it without any muffler whatsoever and I am telling myself that a lot of what I hear is exhaust noise.  Time will tell. Yesterday was consumed with getting it ready to install and organizing the relays to run the remote start & panel.  Once the rain blows over this morning I'll get it finished up and stuffed into its hole.  Then I'll have to cobble up some kind of a muffler but I'm betting you'll still be able to tell where we are from a long distance away.

The ex-dealer's name is Walter.  If someone is looking for Onan parts send me a PM and I will give you his coordinates.  He's still got a lot of parts that he claims he is trying to dispose of.  Like I said though, it looks like he is having too much fun to quit.  I did score a pretty decent deal on a gear drive starter that will fit both my Onan gensets.

[Just Dallas]

Hey Bob, I have an MDJC 3CR 12.5?KW you could have for $500 USD. It ran great the last time I fired it up. That sucker is heavy though... It might make Frenchy bus list to one side! LOL

[bobofthenorth]

If I understand the Onan model numbering system that is the same generator as mine but a marine version.  I haven't figured out how to tell if they are air or water cooled but I assume the marine version is water cooled.  According to my geriatric Onan dealer most of the parts on my two gensets are interchangeable.  Gotta love that old heavy slow turning iron.  And there's none of that spiderweb of electronic crap that plagued the Kubota.

[TomC]

I have an Onan 6.0kw Air Cooled Diesel 2 cylinder DJB that uses vacu-flo cooling so you can install it in a sound proof cabinet.  I have it at the house in a 3/4" plywood box with 1" lead foam insulation, a long 14" duct for the hot air exhaust, and a large muffler.  The noise coming out of the hot air exhaust is minimal, the exhaust you can't even hear, but the combustion and engine noise reminds me of a Cummins truck engine running.  Needless to say you can still hear the genset running 100ft away.  And even with the rubber isolators, vibrates the concrete pad it sits on and transmits that vibration into the house.  My opinion-WAY to loud and vibrates too much for bus use.  Look for a nice 3 cylinder water cooled. MUCH quieter.  Good Luck, TomC

[gus]

Good luck with that Onan. I had a  gas air cooled one that was so noisy, heavy, hot and shaky that I gave it away. That thing drove me nuts. It was 1800 rpm too, so much for that myth!

Replaced it with a sweet little 3600 rpm liquid cooled Honda that was almost invisible. Best investment I ever made.

[Lin]

I had a 4kw Onan gas generator in the last bus.  It seemed most of the noise came from the exhaust.  If I piped that away, it wasn't loud at all.

[gus]

Lin,

That was probably because it has two cylinders that travel together, really weird! That surely accounts for the shake.

[Singing Land Cruiser]

Ask Van who's is loader. M&C

[bobofthenorth]

I've been 8 years with no generator all the while pissing money into that miserable Kubota so I really don't care how loud it ends up being.  We've got so used to getting along without a generator that the most we'll ever run it in a day is an hour or so anyway.  And despite all the dire warnings, this one doesn't vibrate.  I've had it running several times sitting on a plywood bench up against the side of the bus.  At first I was worried it would walk off the bench but it just sits there and happily runs.  And like Gus pointed out the crank only has one throw with both pistons on that throw so they travel together all the time.  I just got back from a hardware run with a bag full of goodies but its raining now so the trial run with the muffler will have to wait until tomorrow. 

[Van]

Good for you Bob, good luck with the new one, if the old one is lacking a new home as well as tacking up space, I have a place for it
Micheal, Lol yeah nothing better in this world than waking up to a back flip off the double air mattress  when your genny starts up   I'm currently contemplating some fish tale tips for my exhaust, to spread the noise around it should sound cool when it idle's down BWAAAAAAAAAAAAP! 

[luvrbus]

Bob I have a 4905 here with that generator in the front bay and his not that loud and smooth as silk running under a load it sure looks simple to work on,those were built when a Onan was a Onan  lol


good luck

[artvonne]

  A twin cylinder opposed, like the older BMW Motorcycles, really dont shake bad. Ive had a few Onan Gennies with the twin cylinder air cooled 1800 rpm, and most were okay. The exhaust is loud, and noise does come from the thin alloy engine. Make sure the rubber mounts arent old and solid and all the sheet metal is secure.

  I have two 3 banger liquid cooled 1800 rpm diesel gennies now, both quite quiet, desision time, which one for Da Bus....

[wal1809]

Bobo we had an old Onan from the oil field that we used in deer camp.  It was so loud we just shut it off when we went to bed.  It was terrible to say the least.  My brother and I decided to biuld a muffler for it.  We used two pieces of pipe, one slipped inot the other.  THe internal pipe had several slots cut for exhaust movement.  the exterior pipe was an old drill collar from the oilfield.  We just cut a series of holes on the opposite end of the slots cut in the interior pipe.  It is amazing how quiet that Onan was after the homemade muffler.  We were able to run it all night after that.  I believe if you get a good muffler nad then build a gen box in your bay you will too be shocked at how you can shut that thing up.

[robertglines1]

I  Really LIKE your title.   While everyone else is bragging how quiet.!!!Loudest thing on my old Onan was the fan noise.  tuff old gen sets!..   Enjoy   Bob

[bobofthenorth]

I got everything buttoned up today and its still loud.  It settles down some once it warms up and loses the cold knock but there's no mistaking that there is a generator running somewhere in town.  The muffler didn't make as much difference as I thought it would so I might look around for a better muffler.  Or I might not.  We were parked next to a black Eagle at Quartzsite a couple of years ago and my gennie won't be any worse than that one.  It also ran pretty well non-stop which absolutely won't be the case with ours.  If for no other reason, I'm too cheap to buy that much fuel.