Hi everyone another question i have for you. i've searched all up and down the internets and got a few answers but those answers have given more questions that i cannot find for my application.

I am wanting to build a full time generator for my house, what i was thinking on the engine was a 350 because they are a dime a dozen and stock parts are cheap. now the question that i have is that i have found several oils that that claim and do run for around the 25,000 mile mark, they are Amsoil, NEO, and Red Line.

Now that 25K mile mark is under normal driving conditions. the generator is going to be sitting mainly between 10%-25% and it might hit 40% at times but then climb back down. the generator head that i'm using requires a 60HP motor so that's less than half of the engine. I'll be getting the percentages more precise here in a few.

Now the Question. if i use something like Amsoil who says that their oil can last for up to 25K miles could that be streched a bit sense i'm not putting much of a load on the engine. because right now if i use the Amsoil i'm looking at a oil change a month and that'll run about $40 and that's not much of a offset of the power bill. what do you guys/gals think??

 

100% Power:26%
75% Power:19.5%
50% Power:13%
25% Power:6.5%

(used generator power)$ Power: (engine power)%

Oh and i also forgot to mention that i am going to have a governor on the engine to keep it around 1800-2000RPM and the Generator doesn't need 60HP it only needs 40. knowing that i'm also looking at smaller engines like 4cycl even though they are more expensive and parts are more.

 

Oh and i just seen in my searching what is called the microgreen Filter they claim can go up to 30K miles. what would you think with the amsoil at 25K miles with the microgreen filter that can go up to 30K miles and the small load on the engine something feasible to stretch between oil changes say for up to 40K?

 

Seems like no one may know, any other forums i could goto to ask this question??

 

i dnt think anyone has realy done it to tell you i would think you could run the 25k miles but i would spin a new filter like half way through the month

 

lol yea that was the hint i was getting from the silence. i guess it's one of those things that i might have to play with and test and hope i don't burn on a motor in the process.

 

An engine driving a generator producing AC power needs to run at constant speed at all times. The running speed depends on the particular generator you are using. The 1800 to 2000 RPM range is too large, you need a governor that keeps the engine running +- 2% of the desired range. That being said, and considering the engine will be running full time at a steady speed with a varying load, IMO the best oil would be a straight 30 or 40 weight; oil contamination will be minimal as the engine will not have to deal with cold starts. You could also fit the engine with dual oil filters. For best economy the engine should be built so it produces peak torque near to the desired RPM range. You may also consider that a diesel engine is a better choice for a constantly running engine, especially considering fuel economy. How many KW do you need to produce?

 

Yea i have discussed i was going to use a governor to keep it between 1800-2000RPM, just might have been something you skipped, sorry there was alot there. but tuning it to produce torque at low RPMs and using straight 30 to 40 weight i haven't thought of yet. the generator head is a 20KW.

 

I realize you are using a governor, but the governor for this application has to be very accurate. For 20 KW a 350 is overkill, a small 6 like a 2.8 would be plenty. What is the design RPM for the generator head?

 

Yea I know the 350 would be overkill but you can't beat $150 on craigs list lol. The RPM for the generator is 1800 and max is 3800