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Old 03-24-2007, 04:13 AM   #41
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1986 34' Excella
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Generators -- in this case eu2000i's

After many months of reading everything here about generators and reading everything posted in the Yahoo group for eu2000i's I finally made a selection. I'm not saying that it's the best for anyone else, but I'd like to share my reasoning for my selection.

I love to boondock. But I live in Louisiana and Texas, and travel in the summer in the southwest in Arizona and other western states so I have! to have AC to stay in the AS in the hot summer with humidity in the high ninties. I recently upgraded my AC to a 15000 high capacity and so I needed enough power to run the AC for long periods of time in the summer. However, in the winter I don't need that much capacity.

I almost bought the new, quiet and pricey Honda eu6500is. It's very quiet and will support TWO ac's if necessary. It would be all the power I would ever need. It has the advantage of electric start and for a price one can get a remote start/stop that can be operated from inside the AS. Then I took a closer look. Gasoline consumption, as best anyone can figure, under a full AC load would be about the same as with the dual 2000's, but in the times and places where AC is not needed it is WAY overkill. Also, there is the matter of weight. Not only is the 6500 hard on the old man, it's a lot of weight on the TV.

The 3000 will not quite produce enough juice for the AC to start nor handle the other current needs so that was out.

One 2000 would adequately handle everything except AC and microwave, and the parallel system will handle it all. So I opted to buy the the two 2000's with the parallel kit. In the AC season I will use them both, and in the rest of the year I will use only one, at a considerable savings of fuel. With the small tanks the 2000's will not run the AC all night w/o refill so there is an optional auxilliary tank that can be used with both generators (summer) or one single (rest of the time). There are people who have made their own, but I decided to buy the one that was made for it. I also bought the optional 12 volt cables, and covers for them. Covers come in a light weight vinyl (useless in my opinion) and a blue or camo Sunbrella fabric. The generator that has the parallel kit attached is too large for the 2000 cover to fit, but the 3000 cover fits perfectly. I would have preferred blue, but that size is only available in camo, so that is what I got.

I looked and looked on the internet to find the best prices and narrowed it down to Hayes Equipment in Oklahoma or Wise Equipment in Illinois. Prices were very close. Wise had a better price for the "package" which included the two generators and the parallel kit (be SURE to ask for the RV parallel so you will get the RV plug and not the "home" kit that has the round twist type 30 amp plug), but Hayes had the better prices for the extras that I wanted. On price therefore, six of one and half a dozen of the other. However, Wise patiently answered all of my questions and was very! nice to me. It is a family owned business and it was a pleasure to deal with them. Hayes was not friendly. I do like to spend my money where people are nice to me, don't you?

MAKE NO MISTAKE: you can buy cheaper generators. You can buy cheaper Honda generators. But these are ideal for RVing. Very much quieter than the traditional generators (don't YOU hate to park near a loud generator?) When I boondock, I want my AS luxuries, but I don't want to ruin the peace where I am, nor make enemies of my neighbors.

Prices at Wise in case you're interested: (delivered via FedEx)

TWO generators w/ parallel kit: 1939.99
Dual feed gas can and connectors 129.99
Two covers Sunbrella 55.00
(two sizes)
DC cables 16.00


One of the considerations was that it had to be bought out of state to save the 8% sales tax, and Wise pays the shipping except for an optional $10 shipping insurance.


BTW, spec for the new Carrier 15000 high capacity:
3500 watts to start (2-5 seconds)
1632 watts to run on high

Well, undoubtedly if you are interested in a generator system you may have appreciated this, and if you not I lost you Long! ago. grin. The Honda engines have a really good reputation. I hope they deserve it!

Waynon
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Old 03-24-2007, 09:49 AM   #42
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Waynon,
It sounds like you did your homework. I'd now suggest you mount an hour meter on each generator so that you get equal work out of each.
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Old 03-24-2007, 10:09 AM   #43
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Generator Hour Meter

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidz71
Waynon,
It sounds like you did your homework. I'd now suggest you mount an hour meter on each generator so that you get equal work out of each.
Well, that's a great idea. I almost bought the hour meters, but couldn't think of any reason to other than just curiosity or re-sale, and I don't intend to do that.

I think they said they were about $50 ea. Sometimes I miss some pretty obvious things. smile

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Old 03-24-2007, 10:47 AM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Waynon
I almost bought the hour meters, but couldn't think of any reason to other than just curiosity or re-sale, and I don't intend to do that.
Waynon
There are a couple reasons, first they keep track of hours for routine manintance; second, they also have rpm gauges. Mine came with it installed as part of the propane conversion. Good idea I think.

on edit: this tacometer helds to set the fuel mixture at the optimal level.
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Old 03-24-2007, 02:16 PM   #45
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"Good idea I think"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gen Disarray
There are a couple reasons, first they keep track of hours for routine manintance; second, they also have rpm gauges. Mine came with it installed as part of the propane conversion. Good idea I think.

on edit: this tacometer helds to set the fuel mixture at the optimal level.
I'll get them ordered as soon as they open again.

Thanks,
Waynon
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Old 03-30-2007, 08:05 AM   #46
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Hour meter resource

Any suggestions on where to purchase a pair of hour meters? Thanks
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Old 03-30-2007, 09:28 AM   #47
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Is the extended run gas tank a Honda accessory? When I bought my pair of Hondas I don't recall anything like that being available. Same for the hour meters.
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Old 03-30-2007, 11:37 AM   #48
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FWIW, I bought a Yamaha 1000 propane generator for the basics and couldn't be happier with it.
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Old 03-30-2007, 04:58 PM   #49
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US Carb

Quote:
Originally Posted by Swanny
Any suggestions on where to purchase a pair of hour meters? Thanks
Try engine meter and tachometer
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Old 03-30-2007, 06:57 PM   #50
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Hour meter and gas tank

I bought all my "stuff" from Wise Equipment (they are in Schaumburg, IL). The hour meters are available from them and I can't say enough good things about them. (I am difficult to please) My only problem with them is that they only ship FedEx and I had unpleasant experiences with them the previous week in getting my new AC delivered. However, this went very smoothly, guess it was just one of those once-in-a-while things.

The gas tank is not a Honda branded item. But it is well made and works fine. I didn't want to get up in the middle of the night to play with re-filling the gen tanks.

I was very well pleased with this whole transaction. If you're going the Honda route I think you'd be happy with this family owned business. Owner's name is Ed. Daughter answers the phone and does the paperwork end. Very nice people.

Waynon
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Old 04-03-2007, 09:53 PM   #51
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Look up Sendec hour meter on google or on ebay. I bought my Sendec, which looks like the Yamaha one on the earlier post, off ebay last year.
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Old 04-04-2007, 06:05 AM   #52
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I bought from Wise also and it was a great experience!
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Old 04-05-2007, 04:56 PM   #53
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I am also, looking at the Honda EU 2000ia for my 2007 AS Safari 28'. I want to be to charge the batteries and dry camp when needed. If I am reading this correctly I should be able to run everything but the A/C? Also, if I get the battery connection kit, will it charge both batteries? I think I just need to get the 15amp male to 30amp female connection to connect to the AS? I am very new at this and need a little help and wisdom.
Thanks!
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Old 04-11-2007, 08:52 PM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by safarijim
I am also, looking at the Honda EU 2000ia for my 2007 AS Safari 28'. I want to be to charge the batteries and dry camp when needed. If I am reading this correctly I should be able to run everything but the A/C? Also, if I get the battery connection kit, will it charge both batteries? I think I just need to get the 15amp male to 30amp female connection to connect to the AS? I am very new at this and need a little help and wisdom.
Thanks!
Jim, the 15 amp male to 30 amp female dogleg connector is all you need to run your converter/charger and everything but the A/C.
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AIR #0078
'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
3.73 rear end
Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
265 watt AM Solar, Inc. system
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Old 04-15-2007, 07:09 AM   #55
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You can always install a pair of 6 volt golf cart batteries in series to extend your battery life. I have gone a whole weekend on a pair running the furnace and other 12 volt stuff. They bounce back very well after a deep discharge. Sams has some by Interstate battery and Gander Mountain and Bass Pro sells some by Trojan. the Trojans would be my choice if you can find them. These batteries have a much higher amperage rating (not cca). Look them up on the web for the exact figures.
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Old 04-15-2007, 09:40 AM   #56
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I bought my 2000i from Mayberry...good folks and competitive on price. Also got an hour meter. Good investment. Plan on another 2000i soon and will then get the parallel kit and a second hour meter. Need to keep 'em even. Hour meter is also good to plan maintenance.
Rgds
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Old 04-15-2007, 10:18 AM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Krazyjohnny
You can always install a pair of 6 volt golf cart batteries in series to extend your battery life. I have gone a whole weekend on a pair running the furnace and other 12 volt stuff. They bounce back very well after a deep discharge. Sams has some by Interstate battery and Gander Mountain and Bass Pro sells some by Trojan. the Trojans would be my choice if you can find them. These batteries have a much higher amperage rating (not cca). Look them up on the web for the exact figures.
I'll be ordering my solar 2 panel system in a couple weeks. I have one 115 amp hour battery and plan on fabricating a cradle between the trailer tongue for fitting a composite battery box capable of holding two 6 v. Trojan batteries. The 200 watts of solar with a Yamaha EF300iSEB gen should handle my needs. My biggest amp draw comes from the 2 Fantastic Vent fans during warm weather and the furnace motor during cold weather when boondocking.
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'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
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Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
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