I finally killed my Honda EU2000i

[shibumiseeker]

Average of about 6 hours a day averaging about 3/4 load for 20 months. Maybe 10 oil changes (synthetic). Stock spark plug. Stock air filter. It died when the inverter faulted. $600 for a new module, I said it was just time for a new generator. I figured the engine had maybe a thousand or so hours left on it before it would have needed a rebuild.

I am now on day 2 of my second one

 

[patton487]

That's some serious hours you got out of that little guy. Do you think that is typical for a honda? And was it on gas or propane?

 

[Tactical Dave]

Im sure that filter and plug don't look well!

 

[Dr Falken]

Oh, the years and the generators!

 

[shibumiseeker]

That's some serious hours you got out of that little guy. Do you think that is typical for a honda? And was it on gas or propane?

Gasoline.

That's pretty typical for the Hondas I've owned. About double what the gennies with B&S engines get. The engine is loose but still starts reliably. If I get lucky then this new one will have an engine failure while the inverter module is still good, after 4-5K hours of course...

Im sure that filter and plug don't look well!

I never look. If I did then I'd be tempted to change them

Oh, the years and the generators!

You know it! The time interval between generator replacements should get longer now that I've got more panels. More this summer as I get more cash.

 

[irishfan]

the eu2000i is a nice little generator. I finally got to hear one when I was in Detroit and it is extremely quiet.

 

[Woodsman]

Thanks for the info. I have been looking at that exact generator for emergency use. If you put those kind of hours on that little guy it should last for a long time with my expected usage.

That was a timely report... thanks.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I love the net.

Someone on arfcom responded to my post saying that the warranty was 3 years on the generators! I'm used to 30-90 day warranties on things like generators, so it never occurred to me to check, especially since I feel like I got my money's worth out of it. Luckily I still have the box and invoice!

I'll be calling the local authorized service dealer tomorrow, I'll report back.

 

[Tactical Dave]

I love the net.

Someone on arfcom responded to my post saying that the warranty was 3 years on the generators! I'm used to 30-90 day warranties on things like generators, so it never occurred to me to check, especially since I feel like I got my money's worth out of it. Luckily I still have the box and invoice!

I'll be calling the local authorized service dealer tomorrow, I'll report back.

I was going to say that changing the spark plug and filter might make it last a bit longer but then it might make it last past the warrenty haha.

 

[longbow]

was it covered?

and pic's of the worn out unit!

 

[shibumiseeker]

I was going to say that changing the spark plug and filter might make it last a bit longer but then it might make it last past the warrenty haha.

Nah, that'd just make it a little more fuel efficient

was it covered?

and pic's of the worn out unit!

It's in the hands of the local Honda motorsports dealer now, so we'll see what they say. If it comes back working I'll give it a new plug and clean the air filter When I talked to Honda they were typically non-commital regarding whether it was covered or not, but since it's the inverter unit and not the engine that is bad my guess is that they'll cover it.

 

[dr632]

Sounds like you need a good diesel, commercial type genset with that kind of use.

Honda makes good stuff.

Have you investigated Photovoltaic arrays?

Sounds like you are some distance from the grid.

 

[GSquared]

Remember, cost, size and noise could be a factor in his decision. Having a very quiet, portable, relatively inexpensive generator is handy as all get out. Diesel gen-sets are not normally as quiet or portable and definitely not as affordable (ones with a reputation like Honda) as what he has.

I would like to understand Shibumiseeker's decision making process with respect to his power situation.

Thanks for a great thread!!

 

[dr632]

Check out the quiet diesel, variable speed gensets they put in RV's. You might be impressed with the low noise profile - Onan QD (quiet diesels).

Under a survival situation, one does not want to draw attention to themselves with genset noise .OR. lights when everyone else is in the dark. Being discrete if important.

Nothing beats the inverter/quiet Honda. I have two of the Robin-Subaru models.

Agreed on portability ... if you take it with you everywhere, good selection. The "heavy", bolted/mounted to concrete pad option for continuous/prime power on the get away place can help insure the probability the power source does not walk away from you when you are around. It also helps with enclosures (weather and sound attenuation) and safe connection to one's service panel for distribution via a transfer switch.

Personally, I've chosen to have several power sources in addition to the utility tie. Odds are too high for weather and other factors that I'd be w/o the grid for extended periods of time occasionally throughout the calendar year.

Gensets are a necessary evil ... costly until you need one. Then price is not on the top of the list. They are really an insurance policy premium ... that require a few hours of your time on occasion for maintenance.

My gensets have already paid for themselves with saving my freezer contents and keeping the house warm during one ice storm that knocked out the grid here.

 

[longbow]

I was told yesterday this generator will be the "Honda killer" They claim it will be very low priced and have durablity of the Honda. I will have to test it in a few months. No price point, but it will be under $400.

Champion Power Equipment - Coming Soon

 

[Griffeycom]

We run 1-2 of these EU2000i's for our auction trailer. Quiet as can be and start right up. Good to hear you got several thousand hours out of it that should put ours lasting quite some time longer!

 

[kadetklapp]

I was told yesterday this generator will be the "Honda killer" They claim it will be very low priced and have durablity of the Honda. I will have to test it in a few months. No price point, but it will be under $400.

Champion Power Equipment - Coming Soon

Interesting. I'd definitely be down for one. My big lots genset is still ticking away! Starts after a couple of pulls (I neglect to fire it up but once every four months or so). But I'm sure it's time is limited.

 

[shibumiseeker]

update

Hey all, just back from a week of training rescuers.

They say that it failed due to abuse so no warranty coverage. The cooling air is drawn in from the bottom and the fact that it was blocked with sand caused the overheat which caused the failure. Which is fair enough, I'd been sitting it on the sand behind the house and I can see that happening, when before I'd been having it on the ground by the shop which is firmer ground. In the winter it was cool enough but I can see the failure mode now that warmer weather is here. So it's a not thinking issue on my part.

Nothing ventured nothing gained though, and as I said I can't complain about the service life I'd gotten, though if I'd known I'd have cleaned the sand out of the bottom before taking it in...

And to those who are interested in buying it, I'm going to hang on to it so if the motor on the new one goes first I may be able to swap parts. I plan on sticking with these for a while so having a train of parts isn't a bad thing.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Have you investigated Photovoltaic arrays?

Sounds like you are some distance from the grid.

I would like to understand Shibumiseeker's decision making process with respect to his power situation.

I'm already hooked up with PV. The Ranch has never been on the grid.

Do a search (yeah, I'm being lazy, I've got a buttload of stuff to catch up on now that I'm back home...), I've posted in several threads descriptions of my system in this forum.

I went with the smaller gensets in part due to cost, but also in part because I use a small enough amount of power that having a larger generator running just to draw a few hundred watts is not efficient at all.

Someone on arfcom has designed a system to allow unlimited EU2000i to be hooked in parallel. I'm not familiar with his system since I only have the one, but it's a possibility if there's a need for portability for larger power needs. I never could figure if it would dynamically manage generators dropping out and coming online or if they all needed to be running at once, but it's a neat concept.

 

[Bull]

What is "arfcom" ? I would be interested in reading about this system.
Thanks