Rebuild gene or replace. Need opinions.

[Shayne]

Hi Everyone. I have my boat in key largo and one of my two genes is seized. Mechanic tells me its approximately 14k on a rebuild and 21k to replace. Its an onan 20kw and I do plan on keeping the boat for a long time.

I was leaning to replace it since i plan to keep the boat long term. I figure I would have one new and one old gene.

Thoughts?

Thanks

[Cricket]

Not even a close call, go new. I'm not a big Onan fan so you may want to look at some alternatives like Phasor, Northern Lights, etc.

[SEVEN]

Go new. Years of service, better on fuel, quiet, sound shield, etc. etc. etc.

[Pascal]

How old is the generator? If over 10/15 years it s probably worth replacing. That said $14k to rebuild just the motor seems reallly high.

[Shayne]

Thanks everyone!

[doc g]

yes the entire long block can be replaced for less than 14K......Pat

[jim rosenthal]

I don't think anyone here is crazy about Onans; this question has come up from time to time and everyone always advises getting a Northern Lights, a Westerbeke, a Kohler, a Phasor. All are fine. I would also look at Bollard generators, which seem to be very well made also.

Whether to rebuild your old Onan depends on how old it is and what shape the rest of it is in. And what kind of warranty you'd have on the rebuilt engine end. I thin I'd want a new one, but it isn't my money. You might look in Boats and Harbors and see if you can find a low-hours Northern Lights takeout- they are popular sets and they do come up fairly often.

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

I don't think anyone here is crazy about Onans; this question has come up from time to time and everyone always advises getting a Northern Lights, a Westerbeke, a Kohler, a Phasor. All are fine. I would also look at Bollard generators, which seem to be very well made also.

Whether to rebuild your old Onan depends on how old it is and what shape the rest of it is in. And what kind of warranty you'd have on the rebuilt engine end. I thin I'd want a new one, but it isn't my money. You might look in Boats and Harbors and see if you can find a low-hours Northern Lights takeout- they are popular sets and they do come up fairly often.

Good points. I might take a look at whether I really needed a 20KW replacement. Are you really loading up the 20KW now? Does your other unit work? Can it carry some load those times it might be needed? My 55C left the factory with two 20KW's. One was designated as back-up and later removed. I've never been able to get my NL to trip. I can trip shore power breakers, but the generator just takes it in stride.

If you determine you can do as well with a smaller unit, save the weight and save the dough.

[oceanjake]

If one of my gens ever dies, I will replace it with a 12-15kw generator. Are you using only one 50amp shore power plug? a 10kw generator puts out as much power. In your shoes I would look at the quietest 12-15kw model that I could find and drop that in. As mentioned above, you can supplement with your other unit when needed.

[kflod]

Hi Everyone. I have my boat in key largo and one of my two genes is seized. Mechanic tells me its approximately 14k on a rebuild and 21k to replace. Its an onan 20kw and I do plan on keeping the boat for a long time.

I was leaning to replace it since i plan to keep the boat long term. I figure I would have one new and one old gene.

Thoughts?

Thanks

If it is the MDL 4, and you decide to buy a new one, I might be interested in buying some parts off of your old one :-)

Kristian