Ownership entails maintenance. Consider the venerable oil change. According to our Yamaha EF3000iSEB generator owner’s manual, the engine oil should be changed every 50 hours of usage.
Every 50 hours? Who owns who here? When we are fulltiming in our Airstream, this is all too frequent. Alas, our generator doesn’t have a large oil capacity (0.6L or 0.63 quarts) so the oil must be changed frequently.
As Tyler Durden said in Fight Club, “the things you own end up owning you.” You bought it, so you get to take care of it. You can either pay a little now and do the maintenance, or pay a lot later when you buy another generator. Now that we have that settled, let’s move forward…
Since our generator holds such a small amount of oil, I’m inclined to spring for the good stuff: Mobil 1 Extended Performance synthetic. You can almost (but not quite) get two changes out of a single quart. Really, any of the Mobil 1 synthetic oils are excellent products with solid reputations. I figure the top-of-the-line oil might buy us a little extra protection and/or time between oil changes.
To change the oil in our generator, we need a 12mm socket wrench, a drip pan, 0.6L of fresh 10W-30 weight oil, and about 30 minutes of time. If you also own a generator, the requirements of your unit are probably quite similar.
I’d also toss in a decent pair of workgloves (otherwise you will inevitably leave a little skin and blood inside the tight confines of your generator). You see, this is why I’m a glove fanatic. It’s always wise to have an extra pair of work gloves lying around your garage, truck, or RV. I have several.
Of course, I also use a Pampered Chef “Measure All” Cup to precisely measure the correct amount of oil. Gentlemen, if you choose to take your wife’s kitchen gear into the garage, please proceed at your own risk. I cannot be held responsible for any ensuing damage to your relationship and/or skull.
I always warm the engine first before draining out the dirty oil. Warm oil flows more freely.
The general consensus among engine experts: clean oil is essential to the life of your engine. Who am I to argue? Our generator lacks an hours meter, so its precise “mileage” is guesswork. For several years it has been like your uncle’s beloved convertible car: it sees heavy summertime use, but otherwise lives a pampered garaged existence.
My hope is that our generator will deliver reliable service for many camping seasons. I thus always change the oil before we hit the road. You should do the same.