Honda generators

[Ulysses]

I'm leaning towards the Yamaha 2400i. 25% more capacity than the Honda,
and a lot quieter than the Yamaha 2800i (the 2800i seems like the best
deal if you don't mind the extra 10dB noise, which is still relatively
quiet for a small genset.) I like that the Yamahas have a petcock on
the fuel line, and they are convertible to NP, and while they are a lot
heavier than the Honda they are still luggable by one person (the extra
weight might be a *good* thing -- means a preteen girl is not likely to
steal it ;-) )

I'm the original titewad, but this should be one of those lifetime
purchases.

I can't find a dealer locally (maybe Cabela's, 40 miles away, I haven't
called them) so I guess I'll have to order one online.

That was one of the reasons I bought my second Honda eu2000--there are three
authorized Honda dealers/repair centers within about 15 miles and no Yamaha
dealers.

But, after Honda admitted that the failure of the oil splasher could/would
cause severe engine damage due to lack of lubrication and they refused to
repair the engine I decided to try something else. Actually, there are many
features about my cheap Chinese generator that I like better than the eu2000
such as it will run stuff the Honda won't. I also like the fact that it
will never cost more than $200 to repair it ;-D It's really not very loud
either--louder than the Honda but much quieter than many open-frame gennys.

 

[Ulysses]

Per Ulysses:

Is that to say that the Honda will protect itself by shutting
down before continuous 2kw even begins to damage it?

I believe it is trying to protect the electronics. If you were to slightly
overload most conventional generators it would either bog down and/or trip
the circuit breaker but it's unlikely anything would be damaged.

 

[Ulysses]

I think that it would be more accurate to say that the EUs are overprice
dilettantes what when faced with the least bit of serious work, toss their
delicate arms in the air and quit.

Well put.

Meanwhile, less expensive constant speed generators just hunker down and "git
'er done". The engine may slow a little, dropping the frequency a bit and the
voltage may sag but it continues to run the load. I've yet to see a generator
where the alternator overloaded before the engine so there's little concept of
"protecting itself." I'd LOTS rather my hedge clippers or electric chain saw
or even my refrigerator run a little slower because it overloaded a
conventional generator than I would for it to not run at all because the
inverter quit.

EUs are mostly for people who don't REALLY need a generator but want one
anyway. Honda uses their cheapest throw-away engines on the things.

Yea, but that's not what Honda *says* is in there. They call it a GX100
but, as far as I can determine by definition it is a GC engine. It even
says GC on it. I suspect the parts such as the timing cam gear and belt are
interchangeable with a comparable sized GC.


They

 

[Ulysses]

I can't seem to post a reply.... time for a new server..

You posted this one OK.

Beats the hell out of my why that one posted. It seems my ISP no longer
thought my six-letter password was adequate and changed it to eight letters.
I forgot the change the password on my NG reader. It seems to be working
now.

 

[Ulysses]

Thats like 7,500 hours before the first problem? Is that right?!

Well, aside from changing the oil religiously another problem they have is
with the starting rope. It is routed around some stuff and it can wear out
after a few thousand hours. I coated the wear point with a little 5-Minute
Epoxy and that seemed to help it last longer. In order to replace the pull
rope you have to remove all of the red plastic and that can be
difficult--one of the top (handle) screws on mine was so stuck I had to
drill it out and one of the bottom bolts stripped.

Actually 7500 hours was the *last* problem. It barely runs now since the
oil splasher gear broke and was replaced. I just dragged it out of it's
tomb and tried using it with my electric chain saw because it is still the
most easily portable genny I have that can run the saw. It shuts down the
inverter when on Eco Throttle but seems OK when Eco is off. It burns oil
and the oil turns black after only an hour or two. I used to change the oil
about every 60 hours (I think) and it was still transparent.

 

[Ulysses]

I've read many times about people using water in both fuel injected and
carburated engines. I finally tried it on my old '78 F350 (carburated, of
course) before I took it for it's last smog test. I did some other things
too but the emissions were significantly lower. I just dribbled some water
into the carb while it was running and the engine barely noticed it. It
seemed like a dumb idea to put water in the engine but it seems to have
helped. I also put some water in my new *free* Mitsubishi Mighty Max. It
also has a carburator. Is this case I had nothing to lose as it was an
abandoned vehicle and I have not yet spent one cent on it. When I got it
the engine was froze and the throttle was so frozen that I could not move it
with a hammer! I ended up using hydrochloric acid to losen up the butterfly
valves. In any case I did a compression test and one of the cylinders has
low compression with slow build-up so I guess the water didn't help. Even
so It'll make it up my 4WD ONLY hill on 3 1/2 cylinders ;-D

I don't know about that, but I follow the owner's manual to the letter. That
includes getting every drop of fuel out the tank and carb (it has a special
valve for that) and coating the inside of the cylinder with a bit of oil before
storage. This is also a good time to change the oil. Since mine is used only
for hurricane season, this engine "pickling" becomes an annual event celebrating
the end of hurricane season.

I've had very good results on several engines by adding some Sta-Bil to the
last little bit of gas and then running it out of gas and then draining the
carb and spraying with carb cleaner. I too completely empty the tank. And
the other thing I always forget to mention is to pull the starter rope until
you get resistance so the valves are closed while in storage.

 

[James Sweet]

Forger had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/maintenance/Re-Honda-generators-348022-.htm
:

Wow thanks for the service pages
Yeah I am now wondering if I got it 180 off, I know I did have to push
that cam down under the spring pressure now that I think about it to get
the belt on. It never smoked or used oil before this, and tonight I had to
add oil again, and no its not leaking but I see the muffler is actually
wet with oil.
I am really at a loss here, seems like it has to be the valves or piston
involved in burning oil. Unless it has something to do with oil sucking
through the vent hose? I wonder if being 180 off would cause suction or
something there?

What sort of crankcase ventilation does it use? In my car that hose got
kinked and it went through several quarts of oil before I figured out
what was going on.