Generator question

[BadgeBunny]

I'm so glad GC started this thread. I was getting tired of him asking me what I thought. I know olive oil, canola oil and Crisco ... I do NOT know motor oils ... That's why I got married ... Lol

 

[Shadowrider]

Had a pair of 6.5KW generators on a bus. One started having serious frequency stability problems just after it was serviced (only the one serviced - they were always serviced alternately). As part of eliminating every possible cause we could think of we drained the oil and changed the filter for analysis. When we replaced them with our usual oil (we used Delo 400 in them) the problems went away. It was subsequently discovered that a synthetic oil had been used in the change prior to the start of the problems, and while there's no guarantee that was the problem since we never tried it again the evidence sure pointed that way. It's also something that may very well not apply to the OP's Honda since these particular generators were Wankel powered and used oil-circuit speed regulators for stability, which is why I didn't mention it initially. I bring it up now only because of the statement "There is no difference" because - well - there may be, depending on the application, whether or not there's any difference in the specifications.

And I read the second sentence, and third. One says "synthetic oils may be used", and the other says "recommended oil change intervals must be followed" which rather nullifies the extended oil change interval benefit claimed by synthetics. If "There is no difference" otherwise it would seem there's little advantage to be gained by paying the extra cost of synthetics.

It's one of those discussions that fits right up there with what the best cleaning regimen or lube is for guns; everyone has their own preference, for their own reasons.

See bolded part of your post. Now that is a game changer right there. Those systems are very sensitive and you do have to use oils with the exact properties that they are calibrated for. I don't know if this applies the current offerings, but just a few years ago the 5.7 Hemi from Dodge required 5W20 oil. If you used say 5W30 the MDS system didn't work right. The valve train part of that MDS was hydraulically operated from the engine's oil system.

I suspect that the servicer used an oil of the wrong viscosity when you had it serviced. Heck even a defective or out of spec pressure bypass valve in the oil filter could mess with that. I can pretty much guarantee that it wasn't solely because the oil was synthetic. I say this because perhaps one of the best things about synthetic oil is that it's an "engineered" product. Meaning that the molecules in the base stocks are very uniform and reproducible. What they make this week is for all practical purposes identical to what they produce next month, next year or 5 years from now. That's not the case with petroleum.

On another note, Honda has a generator with a Wankel engine? I've never heard of such a thing and it's kind of surprising that they would use one since the downfall of the Wankel is emissions compliance. But if anyone can figure that out, it's probably Honda.

 

[Sanford]

See bolded part of your post. Now that is a game changer right there. Those systems are very sensitive and you do have to use oils with the exact properties that they are calibrated for. I don't know if this applies the current offerings, but just a few years ago the 5.7 Hemi from Dodge required 5W20 oil. If you used say 5W30 the MDS system didn't work right. The valve train part of that MDS was hydraulically operated from the engine's oil system.
(...)
On another note, Honda has a generator with a Wankel engine? I've never heard of such a thing and it's kind of surprising that they would use one since the downfall of the Wankel is emissions compliance. But if anyone can figure that out, it's probably Honda.

No Wankel Hondas to my knowledge - the point was that it's not "all the same" after all; if one lubricant were truly a direct, completely compatible substitute for the other there wouldn't be any difference regardless of application - and that's just not true with today's lubes.