Honda EU2000i Generator

[scubastevee]

Hi,

while on my vacation, I passed a construction crew working on a viewing platform for a series of waterfalls. They were using a Honda 3000iks and I couldn't believe how quiet it was. They had set it up right beside the trail, out in the open.

During the trip I experienced some hot weather where I had to stop in at an RV park to run my A/C to help save my fridge from getting too warm and spoiling the food. But I really wanted to boondock, not go to an RV park or even a Provincial Park with electricity!

Upon my return, I watched many You Tube videos and was looking at all manufacturers and good/bad reviews. Then I started looking for dealers. Yamaha didn't seem to have dealers near where I live so crossed them off the list ... same with Generac. So focused back on Honda and visited a dealer today.

The Honda dealer had all of the models I was interested in. First choice was the 3000 model I had seen and, barely heard, at the park. Issue with this specific model is the dry weight is 130 lbs - definitely too much for me, alone, to handle. The other 3000 model is manageable for one person but is louder ... 5 dB louder than the 2000i.

End result is that the dealer had the EU2000i, companion model and wiring kit in stock. I purchased one EU2000i with the hopes that it may possibly be able to run my A/C in the RV ... and, if not, than I could purchase the companion too.

Well, extremely happy to report that the single EU2000i not only can handle the startup of my A/C, but when I placed it into ECO mode, the RPMs dropped noticeably (which means it is not only running quieter but I'm not pushing the generator at its limit constantly).

Even in ECO mode, I can run the A/C at High fan speed without the RPMs increasing. What it can't do, is run in ECO mode, have the A/C turn off the compressor and back on without the "overload" tripping. I'll just have to keep that in mind when running in ECO mode.

I have an older Dometic Penguin 11,500 A/C. No soft start capacitor was necessary either.

One Happy Camper here, for sure!

for those that are interested, here's the link to the 4K video of my trip:

https://youtu.be/mM3AcT2x_RI

Cheers,

Steve

[Nana25K]

Use 2 of those together and you'll be a very happy camper. Look on line for best prices

[TomBr]

It sounds like you have what you need. The big question about the EU2000i seems to be whether it can handle the starting of a 13500 btu A/C, but it seems to work for your smaller unit. You may find it not able to handle starting it if you go to higher altitudes, like in the mountains, if you plan to do that.

[scubastevee]

@Nana ... I only need the one generator, not 2, so am very happy about the cost savings.

@TomBR ... I definitely don't need to run the A/C in the mountains (Canadian Rockies) but possibly to charge my batteries if the weather is bad. I do have solar panels which are used for battery charging but understand it not being able to handle starting at high altitudes.

The dealer gave me a good chart showing peak and running watts for typical appliances including A/C units. The 2000i is max 2000 watts but a typical starting watt is 2200 for a 13500 A/C - you would need either a 2400 Yamaha, two of the 2000i models or one of the 3000 series. Generac may also have suitable models that can run a 13500 A/C with reasonable dB noise levels.

I used to have a no-name 1000 watt generator that was used for battery charging - it was just way to noisy so only used it once for that purpose but it did help during a major power outage lasting 5 days/nights to at least run some lights/heaters and electronics.



Cheers,

Steve

[1bigmess]

CHECK YOUR VOLTAGE AT AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR STARTUP!!

Why is that in all caps like I'm shouting? Because too many low voltage drops at startup will cause your air conditioning unit to fail. Then it will *not* work until you get the compressor motor, and maybe other components, replaced.

What is a safe voltage drop? about 12% or less of the mains voltage. Mains voltage is/should be about 120v, so the max drop should be somewhere near 12v, or a drop down to about 108v give or take.

I have the two Honda EU2000 gennies and the parallel wiring kit. With both gennies running at full roar and the AC kicks in, the voltage drops from 120v to 107v for less than a second, and then rises back to 120v. On "Eco Mode", the voltage drops to 96v, which is unacceptable.

With one gennie, the voltage drops on startup to lower than 90 volts, and the mains voltage barely keeps up with 120v. Yes, the AC needs less energy to run than it takes to get started, so if you insist on using just the one 2K watt gennie, you need to invest in a soft start system, or at least a piggybacked start cap or two.

The one 2K watt gennie is possibly able to start and run the AC now because it takes a few seconds to trip in an overload condition, and starting a 13.5K BTU AC is overloading a 2K watt gennie *on startup*. I have no idea if this will reduce the reliability of the gennie, or if it might void your warranty. The ability to do this might become harder and harder for the gennie to do as you continue to ask it to run for a couple of seconds in overload despite not tripping the overload protection circuit.

I use about five gallons of gas with the two gennies running together for my AC on a hot day recently of about ninety five degrees F outside, and 76 inside the trailer.

Best of luck with the new set up!

[scubastevee]

@1bigmess ... I am NOT running a 13500 A/C.

I know you think you are helping but when someone else reads this thread they will probably think I'm referring to a larger A/C than what I use. In full throttle mode, the EU2000i can start up my specific 11500 A/C without any problems.

Many other people have been doing this for years without issue. The whole purpose of a start up capacitor is to prevent a spike in wattage (voltage x current) that the generator itself, may not be able to handle. A smaller A/C also has a smaller compressor, a smaller motor and a smaller voltage drop than what you describe in your post. ECO mode can't be used for start up, ECO mode can't be used if the compressor will be cycling often, ECO mode can be used to run the compressor constantly and save fuel and extend the run time. On my specific 11500 A/C.

Still a happy camper!

Steve

[1bigmess]

OK, you're probably mostly right, time will tell. And I am still being helpful. 11,500BTU is more than 3K watts. A start cap is about $10. Cheap insurance for all.

So do you know what your voltage drop is? It's your stuff, you're free to do as you like. There might be others that don't know what the BTU rating of their AC unit is, read your story, and start down the road to ruin. Back when I started RVing, I almost did.

Have fun!

[scubastevee]

Hi 1Bigmess,

again, a partial answer which is misleading. Yes, 11500 BTU is over 3000 Watts ... but that's a per hour calculation. If going by your statement, my 2000 Watt maximum generator would not have a chance of running the 11500 BTU A/C ... yet it does. Why? B/C the generator doesn't need to output 3000 Watts.

Oh, just so you know, that $10.00 capacitor, converted to $ Canadian ... let's see ... exchange rate, duty, shipping, etc. works out to $1,000.00 and will take 5 years for me to receive it!

Cheers,

Steve

[1bigmess]

Only $1K? I'd order now, you can get it in time for christmas 2022!

[scubastevee]

It's on my wish list!