Picking the perfect generator?

[OHJEEZE]

Just a little fyi......

Those lil honda eu2000's cant be tied to a residential breaker box.

Years ago when I first bought my honda, I was playing around with my fluke meter and accidentially found out that they do not have a typical hot, neutral, ground!

They have a hot, hot, ground like a typical 220 circuit.

On my honda eu2000, each leg is 60vac back to the ground, but 120vac between the two legs!

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Wish it had a hour meter though!

Honda

Get your Honda generators and accessories here! We offer free shipping on a wide range of portable, inverter, commercial, & home backup generators.

www.electricgeneratordepot.com

 

[ICanFixIt]

In 2003 I bought a Honda e2000 to run an air conditioner on a sailboat. I later sold the boat but kept the generator. Over the years, I used the generator during power outages. It powered my refrigerator, TV, furnace fan, and lights with no problems. Fast forward to October 10, 2018. I lived in Panama City when hurricane Michael hit. That little Honda powered everything I needed for the next month. No, it couldn't power everything at the same time, but I had a game plan that worked out well. I had to plug in just my coffee maker when I first got up in the morning. After the coffee was ready, I switched to the electric grill or microwave to make breakfast. When that was done, I powered the refrigerator and the TV. The e2000 ran for about 8 hours on one gallon of gasoline, and was much, much quieter than any of my neighbors generators. The $1069 that I originally paid was a good bargain. Last year I gave that old generator to my son, because I had purchased a new 7.5Kw dual-fuel generator. The justification for the larger generator was it's ability to run my hot tub and keep it from a damaging freeze-up in cold weather(like last winter). Since then, I have realized that most of my emergency power requirements don't justify running the larger, noisy, gas hog. I bought a new Honda e2200i that will be my primary backup power source. As a bonus, it can power the MrCool split-system heat pump I installed in my garage. In case it isn't clear, I am a MAJOR Honda fan.
During last winter's freeze-out we used the Champion 7.5Kw generator to power everything for more than a week. All of our "sensitive" electronics like TV, surround sound system, network modems and routers, 4 computers, electronic light dimmers and other stuff somehow managed to survive the "dirty" power provided by the non-inverter generator. I am beginning to believe that the supposed problems are more marketing hype than reality.

 

[John6185]

Last winter during the big ice storm, we used a one of those small Honda 2000 EU generators to keep the gas fireplace going along with the refrigerator and freezer. However, we wanted something that would also pump a 220V well in an emergency (we have city water.). So I bought a Black Max 8500 watt generator that runs on gasoline, propane and natural gas. It uses around 5 gallons of gasoline per night which is downright terrible but as long as we have natural gas, it will run indefinitely everything in the house to include the well. I think it is overkill but it'll work for our needs.

 

[HoLeChit]

Just a little fyi......

Those lil honda eu2000's cant be tied to a residential breaker box.

Years ago when I first bought my honda, I was playing around with my fluke meter and accidentially found out that they do not have a typical hot, neutral, ground!

They have a hot, hot, ground like a typical 220 circuit.

On my honda eu2000, each leg is 60vac back to the ground, but 120vac between the two legs!

Not being able to feed into my box isn’t a big deal, I don’t need the entire house to work, just enough to get me by in emergencies. This old house we’re fixing up would need way more work than we wanna do to get the electrical system completely modernized. It’s only a temporary deal, just living here the next 2-4 years until we buy the 40 acres and the dream home. I’ll have a diesel whole home setup at that point.

 

[Shadowrider]

I like mine and am not sorry I bought it!

Gee I've had it arould 10 years now.

Wish it had a hour meter though!

Check your manual. My eu1000i has an hour meter. Of sorts...

When you start it up, the front indicator lights will flash a certain number of times to indicate total run time. You can't use it for maintenance though as it too big of an increment for each flash.

 

[OHJEEZE]

Check your manual. My eu1000i has an hour meter. Of sorts...

When you start it up, the front indicator lights will flash a certain number of times to indicate total run time. You can't use it for maintenance though as it too big of an increment for each flash.

Negative!

Did not see anything in the manual.

I bought mine in 2010

 

[MacFromOK]

Negative!

Did not see anything in the manual.

I bought mine in 2010

Did you turn the stone tablet over and look on the other side?

___

 

[cmc tom]

Bought a Honda 2000ei new in 2001. Runs quiet, still starts on first pull. Have used while living it in ND, VA and currently in CO, when power goes out. True, won't run entire home but fridge/freezer, a few lights, direct tv and small heater when my neighbors are in the dark. Lot of years lately for our long trips with our 30ft travel trailer. Spendy purchase back then ($899) but more then paid for itself when SHTF.

 

[HoLeChit]

I almost picked up a Honda, but for the price couldnt turn down the 3800w Wen. Supposedly runs around 57db, fuel,load, and hour gauge, electric and pull start, RV plug and USB in the front, carrying handles, transport handle and wheels, and it has an auto shutoff feature that drains the carb. Seems like a winner. Just got it today. Pulled it out of the box and looked at it, read the manual. I’ll get it set up in a week when I get back from a little trip to the mountains. Build quality seems pretty nice, everything fits together and feels nice, the manual is one of the better manuals I’ve received in a while, they even flush cut the zip ties, which is a big deal to me. Somebody took some time with the manual too, there’s a full wiring schematic, parts breakdown and numbers for literally everything, power charts, someone even decided to crack a joke about the in-laws!