Sears Generator Pooped Out

[CurlyDave]

When we started building our new house, our General Contractor wanted to wait until the framing was done to have power put in (1000 feet of new service, plowed in). He wanted to use a generator.

Costs were: Rent from rental yard : $80/day, Rent from contractor: $40/day, or buy one myself. I spent $1100 on a new one, figuring I would both save on costs, and have a generator at the end of the project.

I got a new Sears Craftsman 6300 continuous watt generator, with a Briggs & Stratton engine. I think 11 horsepower. I have religiously changed the oil every two weeks, which is as often as I am at the job site, and it has been in use 8 hours/day, 4-5 days/week for about 10 weeks. I make that out as 320-400 hours.

This week it started using a lot of oil, getting extension cords hot, and burning out saw motors.

I took in back to Sears, since it is still under warranty.

Two part question:

1. Any guesses on the most likely problem?

2. What do I look for when I get it back, to be certain the problem is solved? How should I test it?

Main power is being hooked up next week, so I won't have any more heavy usage, but it also means there won't be a good way to give it a rigorous test.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[MrJimi]

Sears used to have a good warranty, I don't know about these days. I bought ours at Samsclub it has a 13 HP Honda engine and has over 6,000 watts running and like 8,000 starting and its was something like $899. Ya may want to check with them if you can't get any satisfaction from sears

I check ours lots with a digital volt meter and we only use it for hurricanes, It sounds like they may replace the whole unit.
And most of these new generators are NOT putting out the correct voltage.. Its usualy higher like 130/ 135 volts
Jim

 

[ultrarunner]

I read somewhere that most portable generators powered by a non-commercially rated gas engine have an average service life of 400 hours or about 10 weeks.

Something similar happened to a friend of mine when he was building his home and Sears ended up just replacing it with another new one. He had asked for a loaner, which was not available and then said he would just buy another one and take it back when his was repaired... the department manager ended up just exchanging it.

In any event, looks like you're still ahead over the cost of renting...

 

[Egon]

Dave:

What model B&S engine was it?

Thanks.

 

[midlf]

My guess is poor output voltage, low. This causes the saws and such to run poorly and demand higher amperage to do their work. Higher amperage would make the cords hot. Higher oil consumption could be caused by a short in the winding causing the engine to have to run at full power or, and more likely, the engine is just worn out. My vote is worn out engine, and the effects of that causing low voltage or low frequency. It's kind of hard to diagnose without being able to see it and run a few tests.

Your usage would be classed as commercial which would, I suspect, void your warranty if Sears knew how it was used.

 

[Highbeam]

Two totally unrelated problems. The engine sucking oil and failing and the powerhead failing.

The engine, well, that is unfortunate. Oil being consumed and not leaking on the ground is pretty much a solid indicator that the engine must be disassembled for repair. Not sure if there is any way to have prevented it and the design life may have just been exceeded. A more expensive engine may have had better life expectancy due to things like forced lubrication and an oil filter.

The powerhead issues are odd. Burning out saws is odd. I have a hunch that they were using extension cords of too small a gauge. This does two things: it heats up the cord since the resistance to amperage generates heat and it also lowers the voltage at the saw end of the cord which can burn up saws. A circular saw pulls a lot of amps and should have had a pretty huge extension cord feeding it.

 

[MrJimi]

We, living in Florida have bought generators and the voltage on them was very high out of the box. Do yourself a favor and check your voltage with and without a load to make sure it's in tolerance. Running an electric item at 135 volts will shorten it life.
Check your voltage now and you will see what I mean
Thanks
Jim

 

[mwechtal]

When we started building our new house, our General Contractor wanted to wait until the framing was done to have power put in (1000 feet of new service, plowed in). He wanted to use a generator.

Costs were: Rent from rental yard : $80/day, Rent from contractor: $40/day, or buy one myself. I spent $1100 on a new one, figuring I would both save on costs, and have a generator at the end of the project.

I got a new Sears Craftsman 6300 continuous watt generator, with a Briggs & Stratton engine. I think 11 horsepower. I have religiously changed the oil every two weeks, which is as often as I am at the job site, and it has been in use 8 hours/day, 4-5 days/week for about 10 weeks. I make that out as 320-400 hours.

This week it started using a lot of oil, getting extension cords hot, and burning out saw motors.

I took in back to Sears, since it is still under warranty.

Two part question:

1. Any guesses on the most likely problem?

2. What do I look for when I get it back, to be certain the problem is solved? How should I test it?

Main power is being hooked up next week, so I won't have any more heavy usage, but it also means there won't be a good way to give it a rigorous test.

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,
Our last 2 Onan generators specified oil changes at 50 hours. How does that relate to a car? 3000 mi / 60mph = 50 hours. So, you've been exceeding that, but still I don't think that it should have damaged the engine this quickly. For that kind of money, I'd like to think you got a commercial engine with cylinder liners and roller bearings, but maybe not.

Mike

 

[CurlyDave]

Egon:

This was the generator:

Craftsman 030299 Briggs & Stratton Generator, Elec Start 11 HP at Sears.com

Mike:

I know I was probably over the 50 hours, but getting a contractor to change the oil in my generator was just not going to happen. I tried to compensate as best I could by using Mobil 1, extended service oil. (15,000 mile change interval)

Even if the whole thing is trash & Sears won't repair it, I am still money ahead, and have learned to buy a Honda-powered generator next time.

 

[Egon]

Thanks for the information Dave. I was interest in the type of engine as B&S has engines of different quality going for very poor to very good.

I'm thinking of my lawnmower which is now entering into it's 27 year of use.

If the generator head is okay can you replace the motor with one of better quality?