MaineDad 87 #1 Posted February 26, 2009 Hi guys, I need to upgrade my 3200 watt Craftsman generator. When I bought the generator back in 1998 during the ice storm, I had a small cape with a monitor heater. I turned that cape into a colonial with a breezeway and garage with a new boiler/furnace and the old generator cannot handle the larger load. I am looking at the Onan 6500. It is a 13 HP 5500 watt generator. Does anyone have any experience with this model? I want it to run my furnace, fridge, well pump and just a few lights. Thanks, Micah Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
73-18 automatic 8 #2 Posted February 26, 2009 :thumbs: If you want to know how many amps it is you divide 6500 watts by 120volts which is around 50 amps and for your 240 volt loads divide 6500 by 240 which is around 25 amps but only if that rating is constant and yes onan is a great engine hope this helps DOug Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorseFixer 2,013 #3 Posted February 26, 2009 Micah I have a Onan in my motor home ie: The Dukes Stabbin Cabin It only had 25 hrs on it when I purchased last year. Since the Gen did not get run that much. Last spring before I purchased, the guy had a new carb installed. I never really got it running as smooth as I wanted prolly will go to the shop this spring. One thing about these Onans from what I hear they need to be run throughout the winter every so often and need fresh gas or maybe a good stabalizer in the tank. Onan makes a good product from what I hear but the Carbs are not very forgiving and Onans parts are a little pricey. :thumbs: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 23,274 #4 Posted February 26, 2009 had an Onan on my bucket truck at work...truck is a 1992...still runs great. This one runs on propane...might be worth looking into...no bad or old gas. Plenty of power...we ran pumps, compressor...lights and blower for manholes. plus the bucket. :thumbs: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,262 #5 Posted February 26, 2009 I don't know this for a fact, but I think I recall the Onan rep at the IN state fair a few years back telling me that the engines used on the newest Onan products are NOT Onan engines. Instead they used Hondas on the single cylinder models and Robin-Subaru-Fuji on the twins. I don't think Onan/Linamar any longer makes the Onans we are all familiar with. So perhaps the fear of "high priced parts" no longer applies??? As I recall, the Onan prices (at the fair at least) were very competative with the brands they sold at Lowes/Depot/Sears. If they are using real-deal Hondas then they are a pretty good value. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick 13 #6 Posted February 27, 2009 The Onan website does not mention the engine brand being used. Cant even get a good look at it for a guess. Onan generator link Generator sales site link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,262 #7 Posted February 27, 2009 I thought about this a little more and did some checking... We buy huge (120 kW) diesel generators for work and sent our Onan rep an email about what engines go on the small ones. Here's his reply: "Steve The Homesite engine and generator is manufactured by Loncin in China to Cummins/Onan specifications and is warranted and serviced by the Cummins/Onan distributor/dealer network. Regards Mike " Sounds like Honda clones to me. BUT, if Onan will sell/service/stand behind them then there is little risk here and they are probably not average clone engines... Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaineDad 87 #8 Posted February 27, 2009 Thanks for the effort Steve. Much appreciated. Have not pulled the trigger yet. Still doing some research. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites