Honda EU2000i Generator

[DirtyLittleSecret]

After some searching I figured its time to have a dedicated thread on this little beastie.  Have spoken with numerous owners, and perused dozens of raving reviews.  I've already got a new 6.5 k+ watt Robin powered sound generator, but figured that a fuel sipping/silent generator would be a great companion for sanity sake (as well as environment).  Will likely go with a PV system (already studying up on the Renewable Energy Handbook), but also wanted portability.  Dont need much power as I'm a rustic/frugal consumer, and am happy with my outdoor LED track lighting, toast, and a laptop.

Best deal I've found on the Honda EU2000i(and could not pass up) was $850 shipped (w/insurance) plus the Honda RV charger cables, and a basic service kit.  Figure my Battery Tender Jr. will do a better job charging, but I'm not one to say no to freebies!

Anyhow, does anyone have anything to make me regret my purchase?

[MaineRhino]

My generator is very similar, it's the Yamaha version. It has been a great generator for the camp, but not made for heavy duty power tools. My only complaint is that is uses quite a bit of oil. I have to top off the oil every 2-3 tanks of fuel. It shuts off automatically when the oil is low. It was a toss up for me when choosing between the Yamaha and Honda... Price was slightly more than the Honda...

[Minicup28]

I have one.  The low noise was my reason for selecting it. We are very happy with it. We usually arrive Friday night after dark and I light it off first thing to get enough light to start the fire and get settled.  We probably only use it 3-4 hours a weekend, 30+ weekends a year. Our loads are light, two ceiling fans/ light fixtures and one outlet for the vacuum, coffee maker, or tool battery chargers.

It will handle my 15A compound mitre saw, shop vac or Skil saw. We snowshowed in this winter to check on things and dragged it in on a sled for the weekend. I heartily endorse it.

[muldoon]

I also have the EU2000i, which in my opinion is a fantastic generator for what it is.  It got heavily used during hurricane Ike last year.  It's quiet.  At one point after the 5th or 6th day without power I was laying in bed around 4am and heard the generator kick off.  I got up out of bed to look at it only to see that the generator I heard kicking off was half a block away and the eu2000i was purring along happily. 

Oil is easy to change, and during 24 hour use I did it once a day instead of the 8 hour mark.  ran clean and strong without a doubt even with some abuse.  I used premium gas in it when I could because the detergents in premium gas help those little engines run better. 

It has quite a few after market adapters and kits for it, one I have been considering is the tri fuel adapter to run it from natural gas or propane.  It also can be ran in tandem with another EU2000i to provide a 4000  watt generator.  it scales. 

Also it's easy to work on, carb replacement kits are 70 bucks if you want to sit on a spare carb.  I did.  850 is a decent price, retail is 1400, I got it for 900 so you beat me.  Sound like a good score. 

[rdzone]

I have one and love it.  We have used it to supply power for our whole cabin build.  It runs all of my tools except my compressor, however I have two cordless framers and so I have only used my compressor a few times.  I love how light weight it is.

I also use it for camping, since it is very low noise.  Ours honda must have hundreds of hours with no problems.  The only things I have done maintance wise is change the oil to synthetic and change the plug.      

[Minicup28]

Muldoon, can you post a link for the propane adapter? I would be interested in that.

[muldoon]

Muldoon, can you post a link for the propane adapter? I would be interested in that.

The adapter kit is at:
http://www.generatorsales.com/order/Honda-EU2000i-Tri-Fuel-Kit.asp?page=Honda_EU2000i_Tri_Fuel_Kit
and this page sells the generator with the kit installed:
http://www.generatorsales.com/order/Honda-EU2000i-Tri-fuel.asp?page=EU2000i_Tri_Fuel
The second link has a video of the 3-fuel system working. 


I don't have one so I cannot say how well they work or if they are prone to problems.  If you do buy one post back any thoughts on it, I would appreciate it. 

[MountainDon]

One thing to check out before laying down the cash for the tri-fuel adapter is how much the use of either alternate fuel derates the output. I didn't see any data listed on either or those sites for this.

A tri-fuel generator (Honda powered by Northern Tools) my neighbor has is rated 6600 watts on gasoline, 6200 on propane and 5200 on natural gas. (-6% and -20%)

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_419355_419355


Many folks don't realize the difference, same as many don't think of the altitude loss.

[Minicup28]

Thanks, the other  thing I was thinking about was if the ECO setting controlled the engine speed on LP just as if it was on gasoline. I usually only run the generator on minimum output unless I run the saw or vacuum, in which case I can't hear it.