Power Tech vs Onan generators ?

[jmblake]

 If you seen my other thread about generator placement you know I'm going to be putting my generator up front where the spare tire was on my MCI9 so with that being said I like the power tech CD8000si compact generator, it would fit in my space perfectly without much modification. the only thing is when I talked to power tech about the decibel rating and all he said is its not the quietest generator they sell that its in the middle the Onan QD8.0 is 66db. The PT is a 1800 constant rpm and the Onan is a variable 3600 rpm and I would also have to do a little more fabrication to make it fit. The price's are pretty close with the PT being a little higher. So my questions are your experience with either one of these generators + and -, quietness?, troubles, service. I just don't know witch way to go, leaning towards the Onan though. I want something quiet with a enclosure already on it.
Thanks Jason

[Utahclaimjumper]

 The beauty of the Onan QD is its inverter controlled and only runs at an RPM that matches the demand for power,,most of the time mine is at or near idle and only sip's fuel.>>>Dan

[luvrbus]

Check out the EPS generator those are good generators and advertise here on BCM

[jmblake]

Dan: is it fairly quiet? what size do you have?

Cliff: I just looked at them and unless they make one not shown on there site it is a little to big to fit in my space, they look to be about the same size as Power Techs regular model that is quieter than the compact one.
Thanks Jason

[Scott & Heather]

Oman doesn't have an 1800rpm variable speed unit?


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[jmblake]

Not that I have seen, Some of the older used ones I have seen were 1800 constant but not variable.
Jason

[RJ]

Jason -

We have a PowerTech CD8000, a predecessor to the CD8000si.  It's mounted in the LR bay on our MC-5C, too big to fit in the old A/C condenser compartment, unfortunately.  I carry a spare tire, so I'm not going to move the genset up front, either.

When we first got the coach, it had less than 100 hrs on it, and would idle for hours, but within 5-10 minutes of putting a load on it, the darned thing would shut down.  Extremely frustrating, because basically it was a boat anchor at that point.

However, last winter, on our way to the Arcadia Rally, we camped at a park just 10 minutes from PT's factory in FL.  After explaining our problem to Jeff in their service support center, he was gracious enough to come by to see what the problem was after work. 30 minutes later, the genset was running perfectly, and hasn't missed a beat yet.  We're currently at 550+ hrs, and it just hums along.  Jeff said that with routine maintenance, he's seen 20K > 30K hours out of this model.

To answer your next question, it turns out the issue was the original overheat and low oil sensors manufactured by Nason that were installed in the Kubota engine .  Apparently these had a really high failure rate which cost PT a lot of warranty claims - which they promptly charged back to Kubota.  It didn't take Kubota long to come up with their own sensors, which are the ones Jeff installed in my genset.  He said the Kubota sensors have been completely trouble-free and rarely fail.  All of their current gensets with Kubota engines now use Kubota sensors, he shared with me.

Mine is an 1800 rpm unit that burns about 1/2 gallon per hour under load.  It runs everything in our all-electric coach without a hiccup.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[jmblake]

Thanks RJ: How is the noise level?  Does PT have any service centers other than Florida? That's the nice thing about onan that you can find one at least in all major areas.
Thanks Jason

[chessie4905]

Good to know about sensors. Mine probably has old ones. I wouldn't have an Onan engine anymore. They are great, but now that they are owned by Cummins?, the price of rebuild parts are insane, just like Kohler. Might as well go with the Kubota or Yanmar diesels. Long life and more economical with fuel, plus not having to fool with gasoline makes them a top choice. Of course, some may only use a generator less than 50 hours a year and don't have a large budget to work with.

[Utahclaimjumper]

  I am an avid boondocker and use my 7500 extensivily,, at 2650hrs. and super quiet,, have never had a hiccup. I change oil and filter at 100 hrs. and the fuel filter at 2500 hrs. It is a variable speed Kabota engine Onan. QD.>>>Dan
    Chessie,, Onan has been owned by Cummins for over ten years and works great,, most parts are available from NAPA and between the two that's a lot of coverage.>>>D

[buswarrior]

Get the sound ratings, in equivalent units and distances.

The game that gets played is changing the distance the sound measurement is taken, and that has a dramatic fudging effect on the look of the number.

You don't want a noisy generator, and neither does anyone parked within the sound of it.

I didn't come out here to the wilderness to listen to someone else's generator run...

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Utahclaimjumper]

 Thats also why I have 300 watts of solar on the roof and a Zantrex 3500 PS inverter to offset genny use.>>>Dan

[luvrbus]

Jason, between the 2 I would go with the Onan just for service,Cummins has that down pat across the US.I had a 10kw PT it ate the rear head bearing so did Sonnie Grays PT 10kw.
They probably have that problem solved by now but they still say check the bearing at 2000 hrs so maybe not.
PT is a popular generator in the Prevost @ the 19-21 Kw range some give a lot of trouble some give none ,Onan only goes up to 12kw for Rv's so they are not in that range to compare the 2.Cummins generator shops are always spotless clean and I like that.
I was in Cummins 2 weeks ago with problems on the 3800 propane unit in the Trek they worked on it for 15 minutes and found the vent hose was plugged the young man unplugged the line and never charged me a dime just thanked me for using Cummins and Onan         

[TomC]

I have a friend that had a CD8000si in his big rig truck. When he sold the truck, it had 23,000hrs on it. Granted he had to get one alternator head, but then the new one was brushless.
My PT10 has been flawless for 1200hrs. Good Luck, TomC

[jmblake]

Thanks for all the replies, As it is now if I put 50 Hrs a year on my current gas generator I'm lucky. But hopefully in the near future we will doing a lot more traveling and I plan on doing a lot of walmart / truckstop overnighting and will be putting a lot more Hrs on one. That's why I'm leaning more towards the Onan just for the service facility's all over the country. If I could find a good deal on a used one I would snatch it up.
Jason