2000 Adventurer 35U Generator Question

Jiml1000 · 11-09-2022, 06:48 PM

Trying to get answers on generator, I get a different answer from everyone. I am full time in my 2000 adventurer 35u and I start my generator every month for 30 minutes, but I shut everything off and unhook from shore power every time. I run it. Is that the only way to do it or is there away I don’t have to all that ?
Also 2 switches on side of my generator what are they for ? Thanks

powercat_ras · 11-09-2022, 07:13 PM

It is a very good idea to not have hot shore power when you exercise the generator it will make contacts inside the transfer switch last longer. You can just flip off the breakers in the pedestal you are plugged and flip them back on when you are done.

The "switches" on the generator are circuit breakers and will trip if the load exceeds what the generator is designed to deliver. For example 4000 Watt Single Output Generators have a single 30 amp breaker. Bigger generators (7500 or 10,000) will have 2 outputs and 2 breakers.

The breakers Onan uses don't actually handle the full load long term, at least on my 4,000 Watt Onan. Only about 90%, in my case about 27 amps.

**creativepart** · 11-09-2022, 09:19 PM

Some may feel differently, but to me it’s not a worry I’d have. Since your transfer switch is generator preferred, I see no problem running the gen while on shore power. The transfer switch changes over to the generator as soon as power is sensed from the generator and switches back again as soon as that power stops.

Jiml1000 · 11-09-2022, 11:26 PM

Thank you guys ????

Morich · 11-10-2022, 09:46 AM

Sometimes the best way to go on generators takes some experience with that situation.
How to start the genset is often best to have any load taken off as it makes it crank better.
But the load we have on RV is often so small that the cranking is not a problem whether the load is removed first or not.
So I might look at reducing the labor involved by trying starting with any small load and see if there is anything obvious between starting with or without load.

One point to mention is that we often like to do a generator run with some load like the AC, if it is practical. Part of the idea of the routine run is to let all the parts warm to normal temp and having a load is actually good for the genset run time! If it's 30 degrees, don't worry the load for AC but if it's 80 and the AC will run easy to do, then use it as a load.
Industry often have artificial loads that are switched in when they don't want to actually put the load that it would have in real emergency use.

Thinking BEFORE we need the genset is critical and it really bothered me that a place as large as Austin lost their water supply because they simply missed having folks trained on how to throw the transfer switch on the emergency generator!
Pflugerville lost water due to not having generators and apparently nobody got their end kicked for being dumb!
As far as I know the whole thing was easy to see coming and should have been avoided but there seems to be a serious lack of thinking in lots of ways.

We all try to do better on our RV!

**creativepart** · 11-10-2022, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

How to start the genset is often best to have any load taken off as it makes it crank better.

I think most, if not all, RV generators have a built in delay protocol that doesn't connect power to the RV until some :30 secs or more after the generator is started. So, I don't see how any possible load could be present at startup to interfere with cranking.

I'm I missing something or did I misunderstand the comment?

Morich · 11-10-2022, 01:25 PM

I think we are both saying the same thing but I have no idea if most Rv have a delay or not, Seems possible but never checked.
If we had a big load it would be better to add it later but maybe Rv have done that thinking for us.

**creativepart** · 11-10-2022, 02:32 PM

I was told all Onan's have a built in delay of 30 to 60 seconds before power is connected. But in researching that I see that some older units have no built in delay and have a separate delay module added to the ATS. I know my Adventurer certainly has a delay before the microwave lights up and the one place monitor shows power.

It is good to let the generator warm up a minute or two before adding big loads certainly. But my comment was about loads effecting the cranking at starting.