Onan 15 kW generator

[Diver Down]

In mid-March we will have a ‘running takeout’ 1977 Onan MDJF 15 kW generator available for sale. We are replacing this with a smaller unit before we start cruising.

The hour meter for this genset was not working when we purchased the boat but it probably has at least a couple thousand hours of use. We have logged about 750 hours since 2006. Depending upon the season, it smokes a bit for 5-10 minutes at start up but has used less than one quart of oil total over this period of time. It has been well maintained and we have replaced or rebuilt several parts in the past 3 years (e.g. fuel pump, raw water pump, stop solenoid, heat exchanger). We replaced the main electrical board 3 years ago and it has produced perfect power since. I had the 24V starter rebuilt last week, including a new solenoid and end plate. Two years ago we installed new insulation in the sound enclosure, which is in reasonably good condition.

We had originally planned to exchange this Onan for labor and materials in installing our new generator but I have pulled the plug on that deal. Now asking $2,000 OBO for the generator, sound enclosure and muffler. If there is no interest we’ll start selling parts. The boat is in Portsmouth, VA and I’d be willing to transport up to 200 miles if the buyer has the means to offload the unit from a pickup truck.

 

[rjackson]

i have one too... 1979 model out of my 46C. replaced with 9kW Kohler. Just sharing in case you have more interest. I am on west coast, Portland, OR. Have taken some of these in trade on new machines over the years and have sold them on E-bay quickly. They make great prime power units for fishing lodges etc. up in Alaska and Canada.
RJ

 

[jim rosenthal]

RJ, how do you set them up as power units for shore use? I am close to Mike and Cindy and I have been thinking about a diesel standby for my house, to replace my gasoline Generac 5500 watt banger which is noisy as hell and has pull start. In our area, we frequently need standby power for days at a time.

Mike, what does this set weigh, do you think? Probably at least 500 lbs, I would think.

 

[Diver Down]

Jim, according to the manual the generator weighs 865 lbs, which probably does not include the sound shield (100-150 lbs).

 

[jim rosenthal]

Ok, that's the end of that idea. Refit for land use with a radiator and enclosure it would be a thousand pounds. I don't have anywhere to put that.

Besides, the lights just came back on about an hour or so ago......... this actually coincided with yet another power outage (we have about six a year up here)...although this time I did not need to fire up the old genset. That's coming, though, during hurricane season....

 

[jimbo46]

Jim,

If you really want to know how it is done, you could ask the guy who bought my 15KW Onan two years ago. He took it back to Ohio and used it as a storm generator at his home. He taught diesel in a vocational program in southern Ohio. so I am guessing he knows what he is doing. Let me know if you want his name and email address. Nice fellow!

Jimbo46
Jim Laudermilch
48 MY "Snail's Pace"

 

[Canuck Dennis]

If you got a source of cooling water, salt or fresh, that's all you need for shoreside use...

 

[jim rosenthal]

Actually I would like to know how to do this. I have wanted a bigger genset at home here for a while- a 15kW set would run most of the essentials including the AC which when we get summer storms would be nice. We have a lot of outages here as our power lines are still up on poles. the problem is that we don't have piped in natural gas here, and I am limited to gasoline or diesel. I am not inclined to buy a gas bottle and bury it etc just to have a natural gas standby set. If you can send me the information, I will call or write to him.

 

[TopHattandTails]

A buddy of mine is looking for parts for a Onan 15kw, MDJF. Need either a source (which I am having trouble locating) or parts for P/N 191-0554 (controller assembly start/stop disconnect switch) and P/N 815-0201 (plunger). Anyone have any sources they can share, or have some of these parts sitting around?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

A buddy of mine is looking for parts for a Onan 15kw, MDJF. Need either a source (which I am having trouble locating) or parts for P/N 191-0554 (controller assembly start/stop disconnect switch) and P/N 815-0201 (plunger). Anyone have any sources they can share, or have some of these parts sitting around?

Brian,

If those parts are the same as on my 20KW, I've got em.

 

[captddis]

A buddy of mine is looking for parts for a Onan 15kw, MDJF. Need either a source (which I am having trouble locating) or parts for P/N 191-0554 (controller assembly start/stop disconnect switch) and P/N 815-0201 (plunger). Anyone have any sources they can share, or have some of these parts sitting around?

I have a new 12 volt plunger .

 

[jnuttall]

I'm having issues with my starter on my 1978 15kw onan mdjf so I removed it to have it looked at. Now that I've removed the starter I can see the teeth are extremely worn down on the two areas the flywheel always starts from. Called cummins and they tell me I can no longer get a replacement flywheel. The easy fix, if it's possible, would be to remove the flywheel and rotate it a 1/4 of a turn so my bendix has good teeth to grab on ring gear/flywheel. Does anyone know if this is possible before I start tearing this apart? Or, where I can get a ring gear/flywheel?Thanks

 

[whoover]

Hello, what you can do is remove the fly wheel, ring gear and all and tap the ring gear off of it. If the teeth are better on the inside edge just flip it over. Put the ring gear in the oven to heat it up and it will slide right back on. I do not know if just moving it a quarter turn will solve your problem.

Walt Hoover