Bought a Honda EU2000i inverter/generator

[Hugh R]

$999 plus tax at Camping World http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/honda-eu2000i-generator-carb-compliant/34961

I found it will run my two refrigerators plus TV/computer and a few CFL's. Good for earthquakes and camping. I put Mobil 1 in it and have 5 gallons of gas with a stabilizer in it. Should carry me through a few days if needed. The thing starts on a 1/2 pull!

[widgeon13]

Generators are great when the **** hits the fan!

[The Gaijin]

They are so much quieter than the usual briggs & stratton powered ones.

[911boost]

Nice Hugh. You can also get another one, and there is a cable you can connect them with. A lot of my friends have them, and the next size up. The next size up you can start remotely, which is nice on a cold morning.

[Hugh R]

I wanted a 6500 w sucker for my house that runs on natural gas/propane, but this is a good compromise. I can take this one with me when I haul my pop up trailer to the beach campgrounds that don't have electricity. I've etched my name on it in several places, and will be buying a stout cable lock for it. They're very desirable, and very pickupable when no one is looking.

[Seahawk]

Nice generator. I've had a similar model for almost 14 years, plus a bit bigger one (3500kw) for long term power issues.

I bought this beast last year (powered by a tractor PTO, which is nice since I have three) that plugs into it's own little grid once the main is shut off:

http://www.a-chainsaw.com/winpower-11000-watt-540-rpm-tractor-driven-portable-generator-1411ptcd-p-1076.html

A friend of mine recommended that I run each generator every two months and power an appliance for at least a half and hour. He mumbled things about generators needing "load", etc. 14 years later the two gas powered ones run and power flawlessly.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

I've etched my name on it in several places, and will be buying a stout cable lock for it. They're very desirable, and very pickupable when no one is looking.

Don't bother with that cable lock unless you're gonna wrap one end of it around your ankle or something. From the user comments:

we loved our eu2000i generator until we discovered that the handle had been busted with a blunt object and it was stolen. it was chained thru the handle the chain was untouched. i think honda needs to prevent theft on the eu2000i by inserting some kind of steel bar inside the plastic handle.

Etching your name isn't gonna do much good either. Let's say you're camping and you go on a hike. Some dude takes it, drives home... maybe in the next state. Doesn't matter if your name is on it... even if everyone camping in that area is registered by name and driver's license, nobody's going to go investigate each person who drove out of the gate while you were hiking.

You know, when using it at home, that one is small enough to put in your attic... just run your extension cord down to the fridges, etc. and you don't have to worry about someone absconding with it while you sleep. Most attics are well-ventilated enough you shouldn't have to worry about carbon monoxide.

[Hugh R]

John R

Thanks for the tip about the handle. Didn't even think of it. No attic over where my kitchen is.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

No attic over where my kitchen is.

Doesn't matter.

Does the manufacturer give you a limit on the length of drop cord and/or rating of the drop cord you can use?

If so, just follow their recommendation, stick it in the attic, and run that 75-100 ft. cord to your fridge/s.

If the wifey complains that it looks like you're living in a third world country, tell her why you're doing it.

[ben parrish]

I have had one for about five years. I chose it for the reliability and how quiet it is. It is really a great unit and can easily run a fridge and TV when the power is out. We used it as our main generator on our 41' sailboat for a year in the Bahamas and then often when we moved ashore on a small island with sketchy power reliability.
I really do not think putting it in an attic is wise. Carbon monoxide can kill easily and the gererator has the potential of starting a fire from the muffler even with the spark arresting muffler.
As far as cord length, the shorter the better. Always use an over-sized cord to be safe on high draw appliances. A good 30 amp cord with spade adapters has served me well.

Ben

[Rusty Heap]

That generator rocks, $999 price doesn't........I got mine for $799 through a local Stihl chainsaw and heavy equipment dealer........you paid standard retail.

What is nice about these generators beside the 55 dB sound, and Inverter clean AC power, is you can also parallel 2 or 3 of them to run a AC unit on an RV or bigger AC load. 12 volt output is nice for charging batteries too.

you'll never loose money on that small suitcase sized quiet generator. I have a 8500 watt to run our 5 acre ranch when power goes out........when you're on a well for water, no power = no water.

[vash]

that is a great generator. i feel that LOUD units are stupid. when the electricity goes out, it would be dumb to advertise you are prepared. i want the 3000. but one 2000 now, and another 2000 later would probably be smarter. i have a honda guy, i can get it for around 800

[Hugh R]

I planned on buying one eventually. Last weekend I got kind of pushed into it. For those of you who remember my "I hate my Sister in Law" thread, I hate my Sister-in-Law (Rant) I have an equally inconsiderate brother in law who has been living at my mother in laws condo for the last few months, paying rent to the MIL (he's between houses that he bought and sold and has been living there for a few months). I see him last Friday and I ask him how the house hunting is going and the dumbfu(k (who has an MBA from Stanford) says "Oh, I bought another house and I'm moving this weekend" He's been in escrow for 30 days and he never bothered to mention that he's bought a house and maybe, just maybe he could have told me/the MIL that he was moving out a month ago, so that we could advertise it for rent. Anyway, I go to paint the place so that we can rent it and I find the dumbass BIL shut off the electricity and Edison can't turn it on until the middle of this week. So I decided to buy the generator, since I wanted one anyway. I needed light to paint the place NONE of the wifeys siblings offered to help with the painting, including the BIL who lived there for the last couple of months.

[fingpilot]

Hugh;

Have had one of these myself for years. Couple of things. They do not like being run lightly loaded, meaning 100W or less. Gas useage goes up as you do load it, so don't believe the saleman's figures about how many GPH. I put one of those inductive hour meters on mine, small hole for the wire that spirals around the spark lead, and then double stick taped the meter close by. Hint, put it at the opposite end from the gas fill. Put Armor-All or your choice of snake oil on any fuel spill, it will keep the case really red. The Mobil 1..... Think I would have run it several oil changes on dino oil prior to going to M1. The smaller stuff just won't seat the rings and valves with oil that good. Mine has almost 7K hours on it and has never let me down. Changed the rope pull once last winter, but did it before it broke. Wasn't tough at all.

[Rusty Heap]

Wow, we go from "what an awesome generator to "I hate all my in-laws and the sheet heads won't help me smear paint on a wall........quite a tangent there. I suggest therapy or start to drink more?

[Hugh R]

Yeah, sorry, Dave, but it just pisses me off. Are you suggesting therapy for me or the inlaws? I don't think I need therapy, I've just written them off. Don't mean to unload (actually I do) but if I can't do it here, where can I? I'm going to have the Special Effects guys on one of my shows make me up a tight fitting cable with loops and Nikopress sleeves to fit really tight around the generator so that someone can't just smash the handle and grab it.

[Dueller]

The PO of the house we just bought installed a monster generator three months before we moved in. Its about the size of a lawn tractor, runs off of nat gas thast is piped in from the gas company. Everything is automated/computerized. It comes on once a week to test itself. When ever we have a power outage it comes on automatically and waits about 90 seconds before switching over to power the house. It will run everything, including both a/c's, oven, fridge, etc. Its the shiznit.

We're real popular during tornado/hurricane season...but we do feel a bit guilty when all our neighbors are without power and we're making boat drinks in the blender

[Evans, Marv]

I'm putting my 10K generator on a pad next to my garage in a shed I'm building for it. My house is in a fire area and many there have generators. I also bought a transfer box that will handle 7.2K of power which I'm hooking up directly to the main power panel. That way I can at least power lights, refrigerator, and freezer if necessary.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Dueller

The PO of the house we just bought installed a monster generator three months before we moved in. Its about the size of a lawn tractor, runs off of nat gas thast is piped in from the gas company. Everything is automated/computerized. It comes on once a week to test itself. When ever we have a power outage it comes on automatically and waits about 90 seconds before switching over to power the house. It will run everything, including both a/c's, oven, fridge, etc. Its the shiznit.

Saw an installation of one of those on Ask This Old House.

Those things are... truly... the shiznit of all generator shiznits.

[Danimal16]

Guys,

What did the installation of a transfer switch cost?