I am considering buying a generator.

Can anyone with experience tell me what they think of the 6.5kw Onan Genset, 115 and 220v in mint condition?

-- Rick#7 (rick7@postmark.net), August 06, 2001

Answers

Hi Rick, the Onan 6.5KW is a solid, heavy-duty piece of equipment that should give you reliable service for a long time. If I have my info right, that's a 2 cylinder, air-cooled, 1800 RPM generator. I'm guessing electric start and a gasoline carburetor cause that was the most common setup. Make sure that 6.5KW will turn over your heaviest load. If you get the opportunity, listen to it run with various loads hooked up to it.

-- Frank (fhill@absolute-net.com), August 06, 2001.

i used to have two. i am a former snapon tools dealer and my tool truck had the onan 6.5 genset. i even had another truck with the honda genset.

the onan is a workhorse. very reliable. but i about ruined one before i learned how to operate it. keep it well maintained. never let it idle for more than a few minutes without a load applied. they will carbon up badly if allowed to run without a load. start it up, let warm up about 3-5 minutes, then put a good load on it. my load was always the 2 rooftop air conditioners. before shutting it down, turn off all accessories being powered by it, let it idle for 3-5 minutes to cool down, then shut it off. if running but not being used, shut it off. they will carbon up and thats a pain and expense.

keep it tuned, oil changed, air filter, etc. and never trust and assume the automatic oil lowlevel shutoff switch will work. check your oil level daily. i locked one up by neglecting to physically check the oil level. unfortunately the auto shutoff didn't work when it ran low on oil. cost me a bunch of money.

they are excellent units, just learn them, pay attention to them, understand them, and don't try to get it to do more than it's designed to do. there are zillions of them running around in motor homes and tool trucks, etc. simple, reliable, easy to maintain, parts easy to get.

i've been looking for a used one. i had a gaspowered generator from one of the major chain home improvement stores and it was junk. when i locate a good used onan, i will snap it up and haul it home. rv salvage yards are great places for these. and sometimes motor home owners want a large unit and will trade in a 6.5 for maybe a 8kw model, for example.

good luck, let me know how it turns out.

gene

-- gene ward (gward34847@aol.com), August 07, 2001.

Thanks for your input on the Onan genset. One thing I didn't mention in my post was price.

What do you think of a 6.5kw Onan Genset, with low hours, used only for a down-hole well pump, a little refurbishing done on it, for $1200?

-- Rick#7 (rick7@postmark.net), August 07, 2001.