Chinook RV

I've had Onan's in a few RV's now and they've always been loud and had starting/carb issues. I've had limited success having Onan work on generators and its always about $500. For the current one in my Chinook I bought a carb on Amazon and replaced it myself. My wife now has a post-it note in her day timer she moves from month to month reminding me to run it under load which is the key to avoiding the carb issues. That said I rarely use it but when needed it is nice to have. If Honda made a 2000W replacement that would permanently install I would buy it. The EU6500i I have for my home always starts easily and maybe produces a third of the noise (and produces clean power). If the Onan ever dies I will probably go Scott's route.

BTW I'm not a curmudgeon but still yell at people to get off my lawn.

There are fuel caps available that allow a portable generator to draw from the chassis fuel tank like the Oanans do. Something would need to be done exhaust-wise, but a permanent installation would be doable. I use my Honda in other situations, so the portability is nice. I don't want to badmouth the Onans, it's just that 4KW was way more than I needed, and it was huge dimensionally, and heavy, and I found a buyer immediately, and it took forever to start, and it rattled the whole rig. It's convenient that they don't need a separate fuel supply, but it would be better if they could be dried out when not in use which would help the ethanol/carburetor issues.

I recall a recent discussion here about setting up a fuel injection scheme on an Onan. It would be possible with a stand alone ECU and a high pressure fuel pump, but it would be pretty complicated and wouldn't gain much. Carburetors aren't sinister, E10 is. Not at all being political; it's just chemistry.

Well, I have my entire roof covered in solar panels but I still occasionally need the generator to run the A/C or use the microwave when dry-camping. I agree with Scott that ethanol is evil - its ridiculous to be using corn that can be used for food to make fuel but the bigger issue is its effect on engines. Reduces power and gas mileage and gums up carburetors. To combat its effects on my Chinook I use a stabilizer every time I fill up and know that I won't be traveling again for even a few weeks. I'm fortunate that my Onan seems to be mostly trouble-free so far but I run it monthly and as well as right after I treat my fuel with stabilizer so the fuel that sits in the carburetor gets treated as well.

I hear you on the ethanol! Back in the old days I used to just run the outboard dry once at the end of the summer season (no problems). Now I drain the carbs (one step further than just running outboard dry) each and every time I put it away. (I do try to only use pure gas, but it's not always possible to get.)