Last engine I broke in was a suburu robin on a billygoat f601s leaf blower. Manusl stated oil change at 20hrs but I did it at 5. Put in conventional oil and the next chsnge used Mobil one synthetic. After 5 hrs the oil was black and slightly thick due to the greases and break on compounds in engine after it was assembled at factory. Plus I really varied the throttle for the first 5 hours so engine ran at differant speeds.

 

Ayuh,.... Safest bet is followin' the manufacturer's Manual,....

Instead of internet legends....

 

The Westinghouse WH5500.
The manual says change the oil after the first 20 hours of use or 1 month

These generators are made to be taken right out of the box, started up, and used to power someone's home during a power outage. Just follow the instruction manual.

I have a similar-size, similar-duty generator. I change the oil every 3 months (unless I use it more often than usual) and clean the spark plug. There are some additional maintenance procedures in my manual for adjusting the valve clearance and maybe other things, and I ask a friend to do those procedures once in the spring. Besides that, I try to run the engine for an hour or so a month if I'm not using it for a while.

I've had this generator for several years and I use it for all sorts of things. I've definitely got my money's worth out of it. You probably will too. Best thing I probably do to keep it working right is I put a piece of tape on the generator that I write when I last changed the oil so I won't forget.

 

Like Bondo said, follow the manufacturer's recommendation on oil change and break in. You also want to follow it for oil type and weight. Generators run at a constant governed RPM, so there is no varying speed during break in. The only thing you can vary is the amount of load you apply to it.

 

Follow the manual. BUT, I do like to change the oil on ANY new engine after a few heat cycles. So, I like the initial 5 hour idea, with cheap oil, then use your favorite oil and follow directions. YMMV