[Oil in Your Generator's Air Filter?] 5 Easy Things to Check

This video discusses the top 5 reasons why you might be finding oil in your generator's air filter.

00:00 Intro
00:16 How oil physically gets into your air filter from the crankcase
02:09 Reason 1: Too Much Oil
04:09 Reason 2: Generator running on a hard angle
04:27 Reason 3: Generator got tipped on its side during maintenance or transport
05:24 Reason 4: Engine blow-by on worn or damaged engines
06:45 How to tell if you have engine blow-by
07:27 Reason 5: Pre-filter was soaked with oil during maintenance

As a general rule, a generator will have oil in the air filter if the oil level in the crankcase is too high, the generator is being run on an uneven surface, it has been tipped while moving it, or blow-by mist from a worn engine.

[daves]

Thanks! Licensed (retired) Airframe and Power Mechanic... Worked on Jets, etc. Learned some stuff.

[movementmthombeni]

I was just 2 min into the video and I knew what was wrong with mine... You're such a life saver

[clawzish]

Short as possible and to the point. I've seen other videos 15-20 minutes long that may cover one of two of the reasons he gave. Keep up the good work brother. Thanks

[bruceradway]

Excellent video! I live off grid, in the interior of Alaska and we've got some pretty extreme temperature changes from summer - winter. (-40⁰F in the winter to +80⁰F in the summer) the winters of '21 & '22 we had ducks, which required a generator running 24/7 to keep them warm, as our solar wasn't outfit to run two heat lamps. I found at about -20⁰F or colder, any generator I would use, would ice the crank vent and completely block it off. When that happened it would either kill the motor, or spit every last drop of oil out of any hole it could find. Long story short, I cut the rubber vent hose in half, capped the air box side and she purrs like an angry kitten, even at -40⁰F!

[hendrigeldenhuys]

Nice to have a person that knows what he is talking about! Thanks it helped me.

[USL.Website]

Thank you so much, the generator's wheels went flat and it ran on an angle and oil did come out of the air filter, I now levelled it again and all is fine, thank you for your video really helped me out.

[MonsurBakare]

Number one happened to me. Thanks a lot for this well-laid-out video. It’s really helpful

[tln]

Thanks for this video. I have a standby Generac, 2008, 15kw, oil sitting in crevices in the carburator housing, oil level good, never over filled, no angle issues, clean air filter and pre-filter.

[GeneBWasson]

A great explanation and diagrams thank you! I was having oil in the filter and now understand I had too much oil in the crank case. So, replacing the filter I noticed an additional filter that I can’t find a part # for and am sure you’re the guy to help. It is a small filter on the back of the air filter case itself…doesn’t seem to connect to anything but there was a small filter under the snap of cover. I can send photos...

[froglobster]

This is a great explanation and diagrams thank you!

[VerySadBatman]

You're an excelent teacher! Thanks for video.

[drivinglessons]

Fantastic description and to the point. Very useful Info. Thanks.

[MuraupLucas]

I love this explained with your teachings

[michaelrosko]

You nailed it....tilted to the side to change battery. Now I have to get a new filter....it was brand new. Cheap fix...priceless info! Thank you....

[dydxgarage]

Thank you so much for this education.. excellent video. Please don't stop

[joshuagivens]

Very detailed and simply explained. Thank you.

[farotimiolufemi]

Thank you for this detailed explanation. I encountered the first point and your explanations helped.

[bradblack]

Great video! Very informative, however it doesn't address the issues that I am having with oil in my air breather. I would say this is reason No. 6. I have a Generac 22 kW and after a storm, we noticed oil and some water in the bottom of the air filter compartment. My service company said, and they service a boatload of these units, that during a storm the breather starts sucking water in and it momentarily causes a vacuum in the breather which sucks some oil up, and then consequently ends up with some water there too. It's not a lot, but it is definitely measurable. If you go online with this question, apparently a boat load of people are experiencing the same issue but no one can knows the reason. One guy had 3 new generacs, all with the same problem that he experienced after a storm. Can we get Generac to investigate this as a design flaw?

[larrycampeau]

Can you show the one way check valve? I think that may be the issue on my unit...thanks!

[williamrice]

I learned my lesson about motor oil and air-cooled engines the hard way. My B & S engine locked up on me using straight 30w in 90+ temp. one day. It was Wal-mart lawn mower oil rated API SJ. I managed to break it loose and it smoked for 30 minutes before thankfully running normally again. I was lucky. 10W 30 is fine for below freezing and 5w 30 for below zero. I no longer trust the Manf. specs. because of this. I used 30w between 40 and 70 degrees. 40w up to 100 and 50w past 100. Never had another issue. I changed to using Valvoline VR1 racing oil. I also add 1 oz. per 5 gals. of gas a TC W3 2 cycle oil. It cleans and lubes the upper cylinder and fuel system. Overkill I know but I don't want any issues when I need to run it.