Onan door modification

[alisak40]

In our new 2021 310GK we ordered the ONAN 5500 generator. Apparently they had gas model, not the propane we wanted, so they did a conversion. In order to accommodate the conversion he had to adjust some fit for the front cover to still go on. But we’re finding every time it runs or we drive the front door of the generator falls off. As a result a lot of time it runs without a door latched. We will take it back to them for service to come up with another fix for the door, but wanted opinions is it still safe to run a generator when it doesn’t have a closed door?. It is still inside the overall closed compartment.

[JBill9694]

IMHO it shouldn't matter if the door is open, closed, or removed. If fact, instead of letting the door fall off and bounce around unsecured, I would leave it off and secure it someplace/some how for travel.

[howson]

...is it still safe to run a generator when it doesn’t have a closed door?

Is there a warning or caution in the owners' manual about the door? How about a sticker on the door itself?

If no warnings, it's probably OK....but worth a call to Onan (if they have a Customer Service line). Better to know than assume.

[ThePowells]

Onan states to always have the door on and latched. The purpose is that the engine also drives a cooling fan inside the cabinet that draws fresh air in from the bottom and then back out in another spot on the bottom. Without the door the cooling ability is greatly diminished and much of the heat will be transferred into the compartment. My fan is actually louder to me than the exhaust.

[OffToHavasu]

I second what Jerry said. The system is designed to draw air from below the the unit for cooling. Any disruption to air flow can affect cooling.