Otis Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I would like to hear from anyone who has a generator installed in a generator-ready Toyota motorhome of ca. 1991-94 vintage. Specifically, I would like to know how you get fuel from the gas tank to the generator. Toyotas in this vintage have their fuel pump in the fuel tank: does that fuel pump have a generator port, or is the fuel tank tapped in some other way to run a fuel line to the generator? I'm having innumerable problems with the Onan generator that was installed in my NOT-GENERATOR-READY used Toyota Seabreeze by the original owner. The generator runs rough if its fuel line is T'ed into the engine's fuel line or into the engine's return fuel line. I'm told I need to draw the fuel directly from the tank, not from an engine fuel line, and that the best way to do this is from the engine's fuel pump that has a generator port. I have not been able to find such a fuel pump and would like to know how other generators get their fuel from the tank. (Don't confuse the engine's fuel pump with the generator's; I'm talking about the engine's fuel pump.) I've spent seventeen hundred useless dollars trying to solve this problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoyhomme Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 It seems to me that if you tied into your vehicle's fuel line or return line you could only get fuel when power was applied to the pump, which would only allow fuel to the generator with the truck ignition on. Also it could be trying to draw fuel through a non-powered fuel pump which could decrease the fuel flow and starve the generator. The Onan should have it's own fuel pump so that all it needs is a supply line from a tank. The tanks that I've seen have their own pipe coming out of the top of the tank separate from the pressurized feed and return lines. This generator feed pipe goes down into the tank but does not reach as far as the inlet for the in-tank fuel pump for the truck engine. This is designed this way so the generator cannot suck the tank dry especially if you're out in the boondocks. You may have a replacement tank that does not have the separate generator feed and was tied into the main line somehow. Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Any fuel from the truck engine will be in the range of about 35psi. little too much for the gen set by about 30 psi. The truck engine has to be running to continue to pump fuel it will only pump for a few sec. if you just turn the key on. The return line is just a dump back into the tank most do not even touch the fuel level. Motoyhomme is right it is a fuel line all to it's self just for the gen set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I have a 92 itasca spirit (same as winnie warrior) with a 2.5cmz kohler. In my installation manual they discuss a tee fitting (not recommended because running both engines simultaneously is not feasible due to fuel starvation on one of the engines) or 2 dip tubes. The dip tube for the genset is shorter so that the generator will not burn all your gasoline leaving you stranded. They also talk about using a low pressure fuel pump,under 1.75psi (the kohler has one). I would go outside & look at mine right now - but it is raining. I am fairly sure I have 2 dip tubes. I am also fairly sure that the generator fuel dip tube has no connection to the drive engine's fuel pump. THe little electric pump on the genset sucks it up and pressurizes the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John A Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Good morning: I am familar with an Onan genset, but have not ever owned any other. An Onan has its own fuel pump and it is low pressure. It is not feasable to tie into the fuel supply to the engine for several reasons. If you have a motor home that was generator ready, I would bet somewhere on your existing tank there exists an outlet that is deadended. You might have to remove the tank to find out. Someone who owns the same toy that you do should be able to take a look at their tank and tell you where the fuel line for the genset comes out. Mine is a Dolphin.......Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Posted May 31, 2008 Author Share Posted May 31, 2008 (edited) Thanks to you all for responses to my generator fuel line question. Apparently there isn't such a thing as an in-tank fuel pump with two ports--at least, not for a Toyota--but I looked under a friend's RV, and her generator fuel line is tapped into the fuel tank's drainage plug, then runs up over the tank to the generator. Not as ideal as tapping directly into the top of the tank, but it'll do, and that's what I'll have done. The hose will run up into the tank a ways so the generator won't empty my gas tank. . . . Muchas gracias. Edited May 31, 2008 by Otis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.