tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801217063323814316.post8166025951961966206..comments2024-03-12T18:11:24.514-04:00Comments on Meryl and Me Hit the Road : Another Generator Tale and Some Basics to Know When the Generator is Not WorkingWriterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06664259206096691320noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801217063323814316.post-59561653616996345282021-06-21T17:31:31.045-04:002021-06-21T17:31:31.045-04:00Seafoam contains an ethanol treatment along with g...Seafoam contains an ethanol treatment along with gasoline stabilizers that keep the gas fresh through the winter. One ounce for each gallon of gas. I fill the tank first - that is 31 gallons. Two cans are 32 ounces - an ounce more is fine - and I put in two cans into the van gas tank. Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06664259206096691320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801217063323814316.post-67822654858148562782021-06-21T17:25:37.992-04:002021-06-21T17:25:37.992-04:00You DO NOT have to use premium gas in the van for ...You DO NOT have to use premium gas in the van for the generator. We have used 87 octane regular gas since our Roadtrek was new from the day we took delivery. You ALSO CAN USE gas with ethanol rated for car engines. The Onan will run well on gasoline with that amount of ethanol. If you are traveling and try to only use ethanol free gas you will run out of gas before you find a gas station that has it. What you should not do is use what is called FLEX FUEL - all ethanol fuel. Even though newer Chevy Express vans can use Flex Fuel the Onan cannot. All you need to do buying regular gas with the standard amount of ethanol in it is put an ethanol treatment into the gasoline to run through the engine and the generator over the months when you are not traveling and when you exercise the generator (which is must) for at least two hours continuously once a month with either the A/C running or in the winter an electric heater plugged inside the Roadtrek - either one provides the needed half load - and the generator will be fine when you start traveling when the warm weather returns in the Spring. The generator should be exercised this way 12 months a year. It needs to be run. A generator that is not run has more problems than a generator that is run often. Sorry to hear that a Cummins shop took so many months to get a carburetor - that had to be replaced three times. Wow! If you don't use the generator often other than exercising it, change the generator oil once every year. The Onan manual shows how often to do maintenance and change the oil by the number of hours shown on the meter on the wall next to the switch - but oil is something to change annually if you don't reach the hours to change the oil in one year. There are four basic maintenance parts - oil, fuel filter, air filter, and spark plug. There is NO oil filter in the Microlite 2800. We once had an Onan shop want to charge us for changing one in a full maintenance and I had to show them the manual to show there was none to change. You always have to be prepared to know the basics even when dealing with a company authorized service shop. Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06664259206096691320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801217063323814316.post-63173242129676351222021-06-21T02:05:09.503-04:002021-06-21T02:05:09.503-04:00Loved your article. We are newbies, purchased 03C1...Loved your article. We are newbies, purchased 03C170P late June a year ago. Purchased it with the generator not working.(but it was working just a few days ago!s) Took it to a major Cummings shop, and it needed a new carburetor. They did not test under load. They did not test starting from cabin.So it made several more trips in to the shop because it wouldn't start for us. By the time we took it on its only (for us)trip longer than a few days, it worked well. One monthly start up during Covid, it did not start. Back to shop. New carburetor had to come from Texas. Three months in shop. Second carburetor was a dud. Had to order another one. We had gone across prairies on our fall trip, and did not know about Seafoam. Did not know not to use ethynol, which is about all you can find in some grain areas. Did not know always to use high test gas. So, thank you for these articles, and the files. Our restrictions are starting to be lifted, and we are looking forward to travelling again soon.nana jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01211893756052847349noreply@blogger.com