dedmiston
Coast to Coast
Administrator
Joined: 01/26/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
What's the consensus on the cheap knockoff carbs for Onan 5500 generators? They run in the $45 - $70 range, which is a lot less than $400 for the OEM.
AMAZON LINK
My gen has been giving me a little trouble and I'm thinking about ordering one to keep as a spare in case I need to fix it while we're boondocking.
Yesterday I removed the solenoid jet and cleaned it up because our gen wouldn't start (no fuel). It's purring great now, but I'm a little nervous that my fix might not last forever.
Anybody here have any experience with the knockoff carbs?
2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. AISIN trans & 4.10 rear. B&W RVK3600 hitch • 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") • Hooligan #3
Toys:
- 18 Can Am Maverick x3
- 05 Yamaha WR450
- 07 Honda CRF250X
- 05 Honda CRF230
- 06 Honda CRF230
|
2112
Texas
Senior Member
Joined: 07/16/2011
View Profile
 Offline
|
I don't know anything about an Onan knockoff but I've been using a cheap $12 Champion knockoff carb I got from Amazon on my generator for about 4 years now. I tested it yesterday preparing for the Texas grid to collapse tonight. My cheap carb is still working.
2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost SuperCab Max Tow, 2084# Payload, 11,300# Tow,
Timbrens, PullRite SuperGlide 2700 15K
2013 KZ Durango 2857
|
Cummins12V98
on the road
Senior Member
Joined: 06/03/2012
View Profile
Offline
|
Buck up and buy the real deal.
2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
37,800# GCVWR "Towing Beast"
"HeavyWeight" B&W RVK3600
2016 MobileSuites 39TKSB3 highly "Elited" In the stable
2007.5 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 29,000# Combined SOLD
|
dedmiston
Coast to Coast
Administrator
Joined: 01/26/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Cummins12V98 wrote:Buck up and buy the real deal.
I just need that three digit code from the back of your card and I’ll be good to go. ![[emoticon]](http://www.rv.net/sharedcontent/cfb/images/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
|
Gooma
Iowa
Full Member
Joined: 12/26/2020
View Profile
Offline
|
How old is your generator? The original carb lasted this long.
Will a new OEM cadb last that long? Maybe.
Will a cheap replacement carb lasr that long? Maybe.
Buy one and report back.
|
|
|
ronharmless
The far side
Senior Member
Joined: 12/15/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
So you can buy 8 knockoff carbs for the price of 1 OEM. How long did the original carb last? If the knockoff lasts 1 year; after 8 years are you ahead or behind? If it lasts 2 years? Etc..? A $400 carb that only lasts 4 years certainly wouldn’t be a good value; if it lasted 10 years (without problems) then yes.
Those are questions only you know the answer to.
|
JaxDad
Greater Toronto Area
Senior Member
Joined: 08/02/2011
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
dedmiston wrote:What's the consensus on the cheap knockoff carbs for Onan 5500 generators? They run in the $45 - $70 range, which is a lot less than $400 for the OEM.
Anybody here have any experience with the knockoff carbs?
A neighbour is a retired mechanic, an old school ‘rebuild not replace’ kinda guy. He was an auto mechanic who gave up on stealerships and their ‘throw parts at it’ mentality as he got on in years and went to work for the local rent-all shop that was a huge small engine / chainsaw retail & repair facility. Honda & Stihl dealers.
I took my small snowblower to him earlier this fall because it wouldn’t idle properly. I was very surprised when he suggested a replacement ’knock-off’ carb for the Kohler engine in it.
His comment was the carb is $30, a rebuild kit is $50 and there’s $0 labour in rebuild time.
I asked about quality, his opinion (based on the ones he used) was that they seemed every bit as good as the ‘factory’ items.
That was good enough for me.
|
jkwilson
Indiana
Senior Member
Joined: 06/14/2010
View Profile
Offline
|
I gave in several years ago and went with the cheap carbs. I’ve been amazed. Had a saw that had been serviced at a dealer three times that just wouldn’t run right. 5 years running great with a $15 carb. I’ve replaced one on a tiller and one on a big water pump with no problems.
John & Kathy
2014 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS
2014 F250 SBCC 6.2L 3.73
|
Cummins12V98
on the road
Senior Member
Joined: 06/03/2012
View Profile
Offline
|
This is why a certain Country owns us, people are happy to buy the CHEAP option over and over again.
I am sure you have looked into re building the carb?
|
wnjj
Cornelius, Oregon
Senior Member
Joined: 01/11/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
I looked online for a cheap carb for my Stihl chainsaw once. After reading how the mixture screws don’t line up correctly with the case I abandoned that and instead cleaned my stock one. It turned out to be a cinch and now runs great.
The point is that it’s not just about whether they function but also about fit.
Also, most of the time a carb doesn’t need any parts (even gaskets) and can just be cleaned.
|
|
|
