How To Break in Your Generator

[@charlieharper2880]

I bought a new Craftsman Generator Model 580.327360 in 2007. The 1st oil change was last year after running it numerous times. Its maiden run was for 8-9 day after high winds knocked out power. After that a day or so every other year during short power outages along with running it monthly under load. The only thing extra I’ve done is to turn off the gas and let it run itself out of gas use a fuel stabilizer when filling it up. It has started on the first pull every time. In fact other than a scratch here and there it looks in excellent condition for its age. I recently purchased a Generac GP8000E and will definitely do a break in and oil changes only due to the fact that the level of quality across all brands tells me to do so. Amazing the quality information we have today. Thanks for the video.

[@GOLTURBO555]

Magnetic dipstick, 1st start remove spark plug, a couple drips of lucas oil there, use mineral oil, let it run on eco mode (lower rpm) 5 minutes... drain the oil, add more mineral oil, marvel m. oil, 2nd start no eco mode, half hour full rpm with no load. Drain the oil. Now fully synthetic oil and the oil changes ll depend on how severe is the usage of the unit. Close to maximum output power, every 8 hours otherwise every 10. Aways let it warm up a bit before put load, and aways when you ll turn it off... turn of the load on it... 2 to 5min to cool down, close the gas tank valve, choke on (he ll use all gas on the line, and inside the carb), add a bit of use a fuel stabilizer (NEVER use gas with ethanol) and he ll be ready for storage. Long therm storage, drain all the gas from the tank, and from the carb (screw in the bottom) mine predator 5000 and westinghouse 28000, running flawlessly for more than 250 hours (BOTH) Westinghouse a bit differnt, it got oil filter, oil cooler... more realiable... but, kepp all this thing in mind, you ll have a unit, lasting WAY longer than "usual".

[@jvazquez53]

Couple simple things you can do: replace the drain plug and the filler plug with magnetic ones. If it has a battery and dont use it often get a battery tender. Once you finish the break in, use synthetic oil, mine is almost 21 years old and ran after hurricane Maria for 4 months straight. Forgot to mention, I do have 4 generators, yes we do have power issues in our country.

[@justincase1575]

I have a troybilt 5500 that is twenty three years old and has around 750 hours on it. I never broke it in just change oil every 20 hours. Still starts first pull and runs fine. Bought a bigger one cuz gotta respect its age and I can’t afford for my house to flood not if but when power goes out.

[@timothyreed7241]

This is the procedure I followed for my break in. I used regular oil for all break in steps the switched to full synthetic for running. I used Lucas Heavy Oil Stabilizer instead of the Mystery stuff. 5 minutes running, no load, then changed the oil. After only 5 minutes there were so many metal shavings I could have made my wife a Disney princess dress with them. 15 minutes more with no load then another change and it was just as bad as the first one. I did it again after 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 1 hour. By this time most of the shavings were gone. Now with a load. 1 hour running with a hair dryer set up in a vice then an oil change. 2 hours same thing. Then 6 hours with about 1500w worth of lights and Generator Break-In oil. I didn't want to use the hair dryer this time because 6 hours would have killed it and lights provide a steady load instead of the on-off switching of the hair dryer heating coils. After the 6 hours I ran it for 30 minutes with regular oil and I did this twice to get the break-in oil out. After those two runs I put the synthetic in and ran it for 30 minutes did the last oil change then put more synthetic in. My generator recommended changing the oil every 20 hours of run time but I change it every 15 hours and I keep a log of every oil change because if you don't the two year warranty is useless without it.

[@davidjanuszewski5020]

Break-in is best when using NON-Synthetic-oil, the use of regular-oil allows parts to seat themselves,

[@MirandaDetailing]

Good to know!

[@hamsack981]

My generator actually says to use synthetic to break in.

[@scotcoon1186]

It's ok, he made up for the extra slickness of the synthetic by adding MMO.

[@ronnierocha9894]

look into magnet drain plug and dip stick. I am thinking of investing on buying them for mine

[@MirandaDetailing]

Interesting!

[@johnretallack3629]

Very good youtube sight re why not to buy/use after market magnetic dip stick please watch it

[@nathanheeren560]

I appreciate the video. I plan on buying a generator brand new soon and I'm going to take care of it very well now. It makes you think about the maintenance you can perform on all sorts of appliances around the house too. Thanks for the tip.

[@AJ-qn6gd]

Residue in first oil change is from assembly grease used in the factory during assembly, first oil change after 1hour oil will be dark and some swarf is normal next oil change at 5 hours oil will be clean and very little swarf, threreafter change oil as per the manual this is important as the oil is not filtered and any contamination will keep circulating in your engine.

[@2010stoof]

Squirt either oil or oil stabilizer like Lucas into bore after removing plug. With plug out slowly pull the cord to distribute oil/stabilizer. Want to go extra mile, tilt generator to go to opposite side of cylinder while pulling slowly on cord. 1. Dino oil. Run at lowest rpm your generator allows for one hour. 2. Dino oil change run at normal operating rpm (if you don't have an eco switch this is #1) 3. Dino oil change. Run for 10 min. Formal to warm back up. Then connect what would be 25 and 50% load. Change load every 10-15 min to exercise the coils in the generator and heat cycle for 1 hour. Oil change to whatever oil you plan on using I E. Full synthetic or blend or whatever. First oil change after this is 25 hours . After that 50 hours or whatever your engine manufacturer redommends

[@williamrice4608]

Due to the crappy nature of E10 gas I add 1 oz. per 5 gals. TC-W3 2 cycle marine oil. It cleans and lubes the upper cylinder area and valves. Also it keeps the carb. clean and helps prevent ethanol damage there.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Thanks for sharing! 😎👍🏼

[@JohnHenry2420]

Actually they put oil in it and run it at the factory so you start with a second oil change.The piston and cylinder have already been lubricated.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Cool. Good to know!

[@cmf9984]

I just bought a predator 4375 and it looked like it had oil already run through it.

[@ATHiker52]

In addition to the dirty oil at breakin regimen, the oil drain plug is the same as a car's drain plug. He suggested that you buy a magnetic drain plug. Definitely do so; the shavings from the crankcase eere visible in the oil! I'll be at AutoZone to remedy this tomorrow AM

[@daiskebrandan8327]

Hey boss hope your doing good love the content! I've been needing to ask about a specific question, I purchased the powerhouse 3500 it's the same unit. Haven't tested it yet on my air compressor but. I have a 20 gall stealth (Amazon) from the specs I got online it's roughly 1400 watts to power it up 12amps(120v) I hear air compressor need more to start up, j want to atleast use my air and vacuum at the same time in order to go do a pre vaccum stage fast in my interiors , I'd like a good vaccum to pair with it maybe a rigid, but I keep getting different Answers , how many running amps is between the both 120v receptacle I'm all new to this id hate to ship it back because I'd have to pay shipping so trying to figure it out

[@MirandaDetailing]

Good question! I’m not sure about the amperage but I do know that my smaller 8 gal compressor does take a lot to run and when I have my ridged 5hp 4gal vac running and my VX 5000 steamer it tends to bog down and sometimes kicks the breaker. And my generator is 5000 watt

[@scott1395]

I purchased a replacement carb for my predator generator just to have on hand in case of issues down the road with generator not cranking due to such needles and all cost be $34

[@timmckusker]

Make sure you leave the spark plug out after adding the MMO and pull the starter cable a few times, then put the spark plug back in.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Good tip. I did that also. It blew out some smoke which I guess was the MMO burning off.

[@timmckusker]

@@MirandaDetailing Yes just burning off the excess MMO.

[@bettiesuereil7885]

Don't mean to sound dumb but what is mmo? I'm new at this generator stuff

[@MirandaDetailing]

Its an oil that can be added to fuel or engine oil that helps lubricate i among other things. check it out . amzn.to/2MVGaa9

[@slevinkelevra5901]

@@bettiesuereil7885 it is an acronym for marvel mystery oil. Mmo

[@MrMillrightman]

It is not recommended by the manufacturer to use synthetic oil during the break in period. You can use it after 25 hrs of run time.

[@earlgallup5223]

I don't even change or check the oil to at least 600 hours runtime. And I've had my Champion 5500 watt generator for 10 years. With over 7,000 hours on it. Built like an M1 Abrams tank

[@reneebellotte8536]

Very helpful video. Thanks. I kept seeing your expressions at 7:06 minutes. Why does this guy seem so familiar? Buzz Lightyear!

[@MirandaDetailing]

Thanks! “To infinity and beyond!” 🚀

[@ernestwalden3894]

Hey thanks man. I just baught a brand new duel fuel generator and I didn't even think about putting oil on the spark plug. I only ran it for 1 hour tho. Still have in it the same oil that came with it. I need to go get a couple more qrts of oil and start over. Man I hope I didn't hurt it. Took me a while to pay for it.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Hi. You’re welcome I’m sure it’s fine. I have done that to plenty of generators, running it long periods of time with lout changing oil or anything. They are tough and resilient machines. I think people over think it also and do things that are complete unnecessary when it comes to breaking in a machine like this.

[@ernestwalden3894]

@@MirandaDetailing I appreciate that. I was nervous I might have messed it up.

[@eseeae701]

Using an engine break-in oil, such as Royal Purple or Amsoil, during the first one and two hour oil changes may help prolong the life of your engine.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Thanks for the tip!! 😎👍🏼

[@codyschwoch5451]

And less breaking in periods have changed on generators last I knew you’re supposed to run it for more than an hour each time because you’re not just worrying about lubricating everything. You’re also worrying about warming up the copper coils slowly so that they adjust properly just an FYI.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Good to know! Thanks

[@bettiesuereil7885]

What would make ur generator run and with in about 20-30 mins it just shuts down. I have a craftsman 7000 watts generator

[@MirandaDetailing]

ummmmmm. 🤔 good question....Im not a small engine repair guy but i would say maybe low oil sensor might do that.

[@jonwikstrom5564]

More information please

[@Educationsupport]

Change the oil, make sure it's the right kind.

[@TheJosephayal]

How good is your generator? still working?

[@MirandaDetailing]

Hi. Yeah it is. I recently upgraded to a new Westinghouse inverter generator. But the old one is still running strong. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXjWpnaQocSefsk

[@ricomckennie1757]

Thanks for the video and making it clear to me

[@grantfolds3261]

When you receive a new generator it has not oil in it and can take up to two minutes after running for the oil to flow throughout the engine so it is best to also pull on the engine for a while to get all the oil worked around before you add fuel and start it for the first time.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Yup. I pulled it a few times slowly to work the oils around. Good tips! Thanks.

[@anthonymarino4260]

just did mine

[@arkansasgreg]

Use the Marvel Mystery Oil in the same way. :)

[@jeffersonsmith6109]

I don't think a million dollar McClaren or Farrari would come close to the meticulous break in procedures people seem to think a Briggs and Stratton engine warrants here. Very strange...

[@MirandaDetailing]

🤣🤣. I agree! Even what I did was a little overkill. But I’m sure you read some of the crazy steps some people think they need to go through to break it n a little generator! 🤣🤣. What a waste of oil and time!

[@The_Happy_Aviation_Enthusiast]

I prefer predator or Westinghouse generators better than I-power

[@MirandaDetailing]

Yeah I upgrade later kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXjWpnaQocSefsk

[@shelbyburgey884]

Predator 3500 recommends every 100 hrs. for oil change.

[@johnboucher9892]

get a magnetic dip stick cheap insurance

[@MirandaDetailing]

Cool idea!!

[@robertallen3133]

It's supposed to be a 30-hour break-in period

[@imthedude5678]

Awesome tutorial...just made the purchase of a gen. hesitant to give it a whirl until all these steps you mentioned have been completed. I knew about the marvel product and to add to the spark plug opening and crankcase oil. . Heard of also dry pull the rope to lube the cylinder walls prior to really starting it. My dilemma is when I give it a five hour break in with half load and then under no load (manual recommend ) my gen is a dual fuel unit and I'm trying to not put petroleum (no ethenol) in the tank to gum up the guts until absolutely necessary. some vids on you tube mention to use petroleum to break in instead of LPG gas because the rings and piston wear in better. Also heard to use a full synthetic oil to fill after all initial break-in has been done . any gear heads out there with advice would be sweet.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Thanks! Those are really good tips! I should use used synthetic oil to start with....but I needed to use it right away so I didn’t have time and money to put that much into it. But what you mentioned are the best methods to break it in and make it last the longest! Thanks for watching!

[@robertallen3133]

My friend there is something called a breaking oil that you should have used.

[@The_Happy_Aviation_Enthusiast]

I wouldn’t recommend my i-power ap4000 generator anymore. I find predator generators better.

[@aandj.detailing81jeeplife42]

It was the 215detaling guy 😂👌🏻

[@DETAILINGDETAILING-hb7bj]

Thanks

[@callisautodetailing]

My owners manual on my generator days first 8 hours change oil.

[@MirandaDetailing]

The Manual and even the video for this model said nothing about breaking it in 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@callisautodetailing]

@@MirandaDetailing better to be safe than sorry

[@robertvines4504]

Never hurts to read the manual.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Yup. That’s where I got most of the info 😎👍🏼

[@pjbridges1]

Interesting that you spend $$ on MMO rather just use a higher Q oil. Breaking with a cheap oil has no advantage.

[@MirandaDetailing]

Well MMO has multiple uses, not just for breaking in the generator. I use it for other automotive needs also. So Since I have it, I use. Honestly though, I have used generators without breaking them in before and had them last forever. I am just showing one way to do it. I don't break in generators anymore in this way. It doesn't make a difference I have found.

[@BOB12349307]

old one is probably just a dirty carb

[@MirandaDetailing]

Nope. I have it to my neighbor, he had to rebuild it.