Proof There ARE Stupid Questions
 

From me.

LSS, I bought a small Honda Generator EU2000i to power the well at the stable last year. Very portable for my wife.

My company was also going to be involved in two site flight test and I bought a second EU2000i to power ground control station, etc. at the same time. Also, I bought a new electric start generator for the house since my wife has a hard time pull starting the larger generator. So I have spare capacity.

We have not needed either one of the Honda's and they are still NIB, unopened.

My question: They have not been gassed or oil put in. Any idea how long they can be stored NIB?

I am assuming years. I have done a bit of poking around on the interwebs and can find nothing.

I'll call Honda after you guys stop making fun of me:cool:

Good question.

Seals dry out. Condensation happens. Rust never sleeps.

I think it's a very apt question.

I am waiting for the other shoe to drop:D

Well.....engines parts can be protectively coated and I suppose the coatings can be effective and last a "long" time ("long" being undefined here). But then there are the electrical parts and the generator/alternator windings are going to be exposed. We know these manufacturing preparations can protect for a time, but we also know that time is not forever. A question of when, I suppose. Worst case scenario....you run them every six months for several minutes or so. Or perhaps once per year, and fog the engine before storage.

I run my honda every 6 months in the hope that doing so will keep bad things from happening.

Would the other shoe be you selling one?

I'd open the boxes and stuff abuncha those little desiccant packets in there (don't eat any) then wrap the entire box in a plastic garbage bag (don't put the gag over your head) seal them up with tape, put the whole shebang in the attic or dry basement or wherever. Then, a few years later when you stumble upon the bags and say, 'What's in these?' you can reopen them.

I run the larger ones once a month, use ethanol free gas, etc. Load test as well.

I also do what Sup recommends.

I just don't want to pull the two out of the box until I have to because routine maintenance often isn't:)

I plan on keeping them. They will be perfect for South Carolina and the small camping trailers I am looking at.

Excellent.

Thanks!

I have a Honda powered mower. My son put the Honda engine on a Snapper chassis for me when he was in high school. That mower sat, unused for over a year and a half while I had my heart issues. When I went to start it up again, all I did was prime it with a couple of pulls to get the oil (old Bradd Penn oil from my SC) circulated, sprayed some starting fluid in the air cleaner (the throttle cable handle is broken off so it's always on the rabbit setting ie FULL Throttle) and gave it a pull. Fired right up no problem. And on year and a half old gas too.
Since your's haven't been run I don't think you'll have a problem if the tanks aren't rusty inside.

The thread title reminds me of a great quote (no reflection on the post creator)
"There are no stupid questions but there are some amazingly inquisitive idiots"

I think I would fog the cylinders

Why not sell one or both and re-acquire when needed? You'll probably have your Lightning by then, anyway...

They might already be coated with the cylinder wall equivalent of "assembly lube."

There's assembly lube in the engines so I wouldn't get too worried. Are you storing them in a climate controlled building that doesn't see a lot of temperature swing?

Exactly what I was thinking. The cylinder walls would typically have some sort of lubricant applied prior to the pistons being installed. I don't know if Honda test fires their small engines or not though. If test fired even for a short period of time, the assembly lube on the cylinder walls would be gone.

What about some rust inhibitor in the empty gas tank?

Honda guarantees the first start regardless.

Ethanol will probably do more harm than the year of storage most likely ever would.

If it doesn't have oil, it was never started, so the assembly lube is probably still there. I see 40+ year old garden tractor engines NOS go up for sale all the time. Any rust on the inside of a new tank is less than the rust on a used older tank. Most older used tanks look like the hold of a sunken ship, if not pin hole rusted through. Yours will be fine.

edit- another clue... yours are in a box. Is the cardboard rotted away? If not, the engine has been exposed to less moisture than the amount needed to mess up cardboard. The NOS kohlers I see are unpainted raw, never came in a box, and have sat on a shelf since Carter was president, perhaps even Nixon. Light surface rust if anything.

My thought was "new in a box, should be fine," but I didn't comment because I don't know enough to comment.

A car I have listed for sale, stating that it is basically , a barely street legal track car, with pictures.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1645317631.jpg
See any wipers??
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1645317716.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1645317716.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1645317817.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1645317960.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1645317960.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1645318200.jpg
I got an email asking if it had AC:eek:
Lexan windows and does it have AC, lol.

Unless he's been storing them down by his shoreline under the retaining wall, I think he's fine. :D

God Byron, that's the cleanest newestest? 944 engine I've ever seen. But I don't see a turbo in the second pic, or a steering wheel, are they included?

How bout wipers? Power windows? Door panels?

As Steve and I would say "If it's a Honda it will be fine."

Don't most generators have plastic tanks? Mine does.

roflmao!

My favorite dumb question:

Is Neil Armstrong related to Louis Armstrong.

Number two dumb question needss a bit of setup. I was using a long telephoto lens to project an image onto a piece of paper to safely show the partial solar eclipse. A large hunk of the sun was hidden. The question:

What is blocking the sun?

This is the most important thing.

Absolutely, positively, do not store them in the basement.

I would find a location in the main house, that doesn’t piss off the wife, and also never sees any serious temperature or humidity swings.

The biggest factor in storage is keeping it moisture free. There are ways you might prep it for storage, if you really wanted to.

I would make sure to run it before the warranty runs out.

My dad got me a new generator about 5 years ago. Can’t recall make/model. It’s a small one. Anyway, every time he comes over he asks me if I tried it to test that it works ok just in case….I never tried it

Last month we lost power in a wind storms for 28 hours.

I have 9 fish tanks. I waited as long as I could and finally tried the generator.. put some 10:1 mix in it and it fired right up. Didn’t lose a fish

Generator had sat out of box, never fueled on a shelf in the garage all that time

Retired Honda Power Equipment Guy Here:

All Honda generators are test-fired/run at the factory. For the EU2 series, this is Honda's giant plant in Thailand. They check engine operation and electrical output. It is possible a small bit of fuel remains in the carburetor bowl, so drain it for sure.

Next, Honda recommends a couple of squirts of oil into the cylinder (via spark plug hole). Then, slowly pull the recoil a few times, then stop at TDC when the valves close. If you have already put oil in the engine, it can stay; no need to drain it.

The last time I opened a new one, an EU2 was in a large plastic bag, so use that if you have one or get a suitable one.

Are these the older, EU2000i models, are the newer EU2200i models? Both have a 3-year warranty from the date-of-purchase. It is a good idea to get them both registered with Honda, as this will make any future warranty claim go through smoother, and also provide Honda with a way to contact you in the unlikely event there's ever a product safety recall. Here's a link to register online:

https://powerequipment.honda.com/registration

Finally, when you have the serial numbers for both units handy, check this link for current safety recalls; there have been two for the EU2200i models, one for water intrusion/short circuit and the other for fuel leaking. Use this link to see if you have a unit subject to the recall; if you do, arrange to have it repaired by an authorized Honda dealer at no charge.

https://powerequipment.honda.com/support/recalls-and-updates

Find a Honda Dealer Near You:

https://powerequipment.honda.com/dealer-locator