Portable generators

[Thorchini]

traildust - that seems to be a common complaint with the Hondas, and other brands too, I bet you could rig up a full shutoff in line with the fuel hose to the carb, that would probably fix your problem. Fuel quality is a problem too now days, I just had a bad tank in my wife's car, caused all kinds of hell.

[Traildust]

All I can speak for are my two Honda EU2000's and both have the same problem with fuel. I can put known good gas treated with Stabil, Seafoam or your choice of treatment in them, wait two or three weeks and they are hard to start first time around. I have rejetted mine for high altitude, didn't help with the hard to start thing but did help smooth them out a bit.
Bill

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Dtwallace

Not much help in the comparison but I haven't found a portable yet in the power range that out performs the Honda units.

They are best on fuel consumption rates and are much quieter than most of the others, not to mention the reliability.

Price wise, I wish they were less expensive, but you get what you pay for. I can't comment on the Yamaha, no experience using them.

DTW

Check out a Boliy PRO 3600SI inverter series portable generator. If you read the spec sheet you find it is quieter than a similar size Honda or Yamaha. It weighs less that either, and has more constant output than a Honda 3000 or Yamaha 2800.

[hstansel]

Use Stabil Marine fuel stabilizer and your problems are over. It's green in color. I have been using it for 2 years in my home Honda EU6500 and my fuel problems went away. My generator mechanic said to keep the fuel tank full and do not drain the carb. This keeps moisture out of the system. I run it once a month with a load on it.

[GearHd6]

Strange, I bought an EU2000 last year and its got a fuel shutoff. When I turn the switch to off, that also turns off the fuel. I then open the side cover and open the drain screw at the bottom of the carb fuel bowl. It then drains every ounce of fuel from the bowl out a nicely routed line to direct the fuel out of the generator case.

[Uncle Dave]

Originally Posted by GearHd6

Strange, I bought an EU2000 last year and its got a fuel shutoff. When I turn the switch to off, that also turns off the fuel. I then open the side cover and open the drain screw at the bottom of the carb fuel bowl. It then drains every ounce of fuel from the bowl out a nicely routed line to direct the fuel out of the generator case.

Not the same thing.

On the honda the ignition interlock and what you call a fuel shutoff are the the same switch - the yamaha they are 2 different controls an on off, and a fuel shut off.

The fuel switch on the Yammie shuts off the fuel independently of the ignition.

This way you can run the carb dry and put everything away all ready to go.

vs. open up at the unit (using one size screwdriver, then cracking the float bowl drain with another size screwdriver) and drain every ounce where ?- usually on the ground.

The yamaha presents a far more elegant solution.

UD

[Dasmoeturhead]

I've had my eu2000 for over 6 years, and I've never had fuel problem. Living in northern California we use it a lot during power outages. Must be lucky

[89sandman]

I've had a couple of eu2000's for years and never had any fuel problems. They sit for months at a time not started and always fire up with a few pulls with the same gas in them when they were stored. I always wonder do people think carbs didn't get clogged up before ethanol gas??? Must be the ethanol boogie man that causes all the problems

[marcham]

Originally Posted by Traildust

All I can speak for are my two Honda EU2000's and both have the same problem with fuel. I can put known good gas treated with Stabil, Seafoam or your choice of treatment in them, wait two or three weeks and they are hard to start first time around. I have rejetted mine for high altitude, didn't help with the hard to start thing but did help smooth them out a bit.
Bill

How many hours have they run? Have you checked valve clearance?

[frizzen]

Originally Posted by 89sandman

I've had a couple of eu2000's for years and never had any fuel problems. They sit for months at a time not started and always fire up with a few pulls with the same gas in them when they were stored. I always wonder do people think carbs didn't get clogged up before ethanol gas??? Must be the ethanol boogie man that causes all the problems

The boogie man is shellac and it's always been there. The ethanol will evaporate along with the heptane and octane and all the other stuff from the cracking towers at the refinery

[Boomster]

You might ask yourself how often you are going to be using the unit and what you are comfortable paying for the unit.
I did that and checked a lot of actual user reviews and spoke to several owners of a lot of different units. During that research I found a lot of happy campers that owned the Champion 3100 watt inverter type generator. Here is what I discovered:
The Champion 3100 was about as quiet as the Honda of similar power output.
It would run my RV's 13,500 BTU A/C (but I had to remember not to power up the microwave at the same time).
It had built in wheels and a fold away handle.
I did not have to buy two and "pair them up with a wire kit" like the 2000 series units did.
It had been designed for RV use with a 30 amp RV plug.
Two year warranty. Great instruction manual and help hot line.
Best of all....found it at Cabelas on sale for $750....I am a Happy Camper!

[Uncle Dave]

Originally Posted by Boomster

You might ask yourself how often you are going to be using the unit and what you are comfortable paying for the unit.
I did that and checked a lot of actual user reviews and spoke to several owners of a lot of different units. During that research I found a lot of happy campers that owned the Champion 3100 watt inverter type generator. Here is what I discovered:
The Champion 3100 was about as quiet as the Honda of similar power output.
It would run my RV's 13,500 BTU A/C (but I had to remember not to power up the microwave at the same time).
It had built in wheels and a fold away handle.
I did not have to buy two and "pair them up with a wire kit" like the 2000 series units did.
It had been designed for RV use with a 30 amp RV plug.
Two year warranty. Great instruction manual and help hot line.
Best of all....found it at Cabelas on sale for $750....I am a Happy Camper!

For high hour use these units don't compare to their Japanese counterparts.

at first glance these unit seem to be a real deal, look at the spec's closer....

Take a look at the valve maintenance interval on the Champion 3100 compared to the equivalent Yamaha or Honda.

The champion may be cheaper to buy- but if you actually follow the manufacturers valve lash inspection interval it will not be cheaper to run.

UD

[jondrew55]

I had a Yamaha 2200 and now I have a Honda EU 6500. Love them both. Well built and very well engineered. I've read a lot of good things about the Honda and Yamaha inverter knock offs. It's your money so the decision is entirely up to you.

I did find out that my 6500 runs best on premium. I run it at least rice a month under load. It's such a big beast I'm thinking of selling it and getting two EU 2000s that can be wired together. Much more portable and flexible.

By the way, we have a Wawa that just opened by us recently. I see they sell Ethanol Free gas for boats. I'm going to check that out on my next load of gas.

[rlwithrow]

I just bought my first of 2 Honda EU2000I generators and plan on paralleling them to run the power requirements for my 5th wheel camper this summer. I've only started it twice and played with the wife's hair dryer outside. My question is how fast will the motors run while powering the AC in the camper at night with no other appliances on except for the battery charger? Will they run at higher RPM's> On low, the hair dryer didn't idle up the single generator with the eco switch on and I'm guessing it was pulling 800 watts. If these don't run any faster than that while running the AC at night, I'll sleep much better than I have in the past with the old 3500 watt Champion running wide open.