generators, altitude and power loss

[Carla_M]

Anyone have some insight of this? My truck is noticably less powerful at higher elevations. Does this happen with portable generators like the Honda EU2000i as well? Is there a standard test condition for generators? Any ideas how to estimate best generator size for use with an RV A/C unit at 9 to 10,000 feet?

thanks.

[Redoverfarm]

Carla search (adjacent to the profile icon) in the home line of the CP forum for "altitude".  There are several post surrounding problems with combustion of both vehicles, generators, gas appliances and etc......

[hpinson]

Carla, yes, altitude will affect an eu2000i, or any combustion engine, and some percentage of power will be lost. Percentage of power lost can be significant --  10-20%, and the higher the elevation, the more power is lost. 

eu2000i carbs can be jetted to compensate to some extent for higher altitudes. I believe there is some reference to that in the manual.  Your Honda service dealership should be able to advise and re-jet if need be. 

Use the the highest octane gas available and some sort of fuel conditioner to preserve the rubber O rings from the ethanol gas.

That said, at 8000 feet I have no problem running up to 13 amp power tools including mitre saws, and it has been one of the best investments I have made on my build.  This might be about the altitude where power starts to suffer though. I seem to remember a thread about this somewhere here by some of the people here who have places even higher up.

There are some internet threads about running air conditioning units of various sizes from the eu2000i.  Search:

eu2000i btu air conditioning

AC startup (surge) is the big problem, and the eu2000i can't handle starting anything much over 7500 BTU as I understand.  The AC startup surge uses something like 5 times the amperage that the AC uses once running. Anything bigger is a good way to fry the generator and AC as I understand.

Maybe an eu3000iS if you can afford it? Even that may not be enough for a big 18,000 BTU RV air conditioner. Otherwise you are into the noisy generators, which are just awful, unless you go with a big diesel.

Not sure that you would need much in the way of AC at 10K though.

[DaveOrr]

You could always go with a second 2000 and the bridging kit to give you 4000 watts. 

[flyingvan]

There are some real advantages to a bridged system Dave's suggesting.  The smaller the generator, the less fuel it uses when idling or low draw---at night you can shut one down.  You can safely fuel each while shut off, and continue some power uninterrupted.  You have some redundancy in your system if one fails.  Big difference between having 'some' power and 'no' power

[Carla_M]

thanks all.

hpinson, you might be surprised at the heat build up in a closed RV at 9000+ feet on a sunny day. Makes it difficult to catch a comfy nap after coming off a CO 14'er on a sunny afternoon. No problem later in the day as the sun wanes or the rain clouds roll in. I know, I should not be a sissy, but I like to nap in comfort    And have a shower in the camper before the nap. 

I like the idea of twin 2000's with the parallel kit, but I also like the idea of electric start that only comes on the larger units.   

Thanks again.