Parallel Hondas

[Cracker]

I just purchased my second Honda 2000i and the paralleling cables to hook them up. I was surprised that the present cables offered for the 1000 and 2000 generators are nothing more than a bundle of three wires (including the ground) with niether of the power cables being marked as to polarity. They were cheaper than I expected them to be - but for three simple wires they were still expensive ($29.) Honda still shows the setup in the Owner's manual with the auxillary 30 amp plug attached to the paralleling cables - but it is apparently no longer required. As for the grounding issue, Honda points out in their manual that the neutral plug is not grounded - therefore it makes no difference as to polarity when you plug in the paralleling cables. Apparently the internal circuitry takes care of things. I'm no expert when it comes to electricity so if anybody wants to comment please be my guest! Right now, I'm just assuming that I can plug in to any one of the four outlets on the generators and get the full 4 KW maximum output I'm looking for to run the A/C.

Cracker

[RoadKingMoe]

If all you have is a bundle of three wires with banana plugs on each end (and spade lugs on the ground wires), you have the Honda EU1000 parallel cables.

The MOST you can get out of the 120VAC generator outlets is:

120VAC X 20A (circuit breaker) = 2400 watts. PERIOD.

Read THIS.

You CANNOT get 4,000 watts without tying the generator outputs together in an electrical box with 30A Travel Trailer outlet.

[Cracker]

Maurice:
I had looked at your setup once before and that's what I thought I was getting from Honda - however - the only setup Honda now offers for paralleling the generators is the cord set I just purchased. Honda advertises the output of the two generators when in parallel as being 4 KW for up to 30 minutes and 3.4 (?) KW continuous. The cord set is definitely marked for use with either the 1000 or 2000 watt generator. I'm not questioning your setup but I would love to have Honda's input on this since they no longer offer the cables with the auxillary outlet.

[RoadKingMoe]

Each generator can be operated at 1600W continously, so two can go 3200W continuously, and up to 4,000W for up to 30 minutes.

The outlets on the generator are 120VAC 20A duplex outlets. The wire that feeds them is only rated for 20A, so it and the outlet are protected by a 20A circuit breaker. The most you can get out of one of these outlets is 20A X 120VAC = 2400W and beyond that the circuit breaker will trip. At that point, each generator is only outputting 10A or 1200W. I am concerned that the cables you got are only rated for 10A.

I will tell you this much. One of the guys on RV.net took a set of the cables like you have, cut them in the middle, stripped the insulation off the ends, and joined them in a box with a 30A TT outlet AND a 30A fuse (he could've also used a breaker). He has used this setup for a couple of years now with no problems.

With 30A or less (15A per generator), paralleling them with 14AWG cable should be okay. Given that I don't have a 30A fuse or breaker, I used 12AWG (20A rated).

[Cracker]

Maurice:
To update my latest findings: I was able to get in touch with a real live person from Honda. Your hookup procedure is 100% correct and it is the only hookup that will provide the desired output. What I find strange is that a company as big as Honda does not have the proper cabling system available - even though they are the only company that produces a generator that has this unique ability to be paralleled. The representative with Honda that I spoke to gave me the name of a company in Georgia that produces the proper wiring harness. Further, he appeared to fully endorse their product. That company is Gen-Tran. They have a website using that exact name. Although I would like the challenge of putting a harness together myself, I went ahead and told Gen-Tran to send me one. As for the cables the dealer sold me, I'll be taking them back and attempting to educate the dealer on his product. Gen-Tran did say that Yamaha is coming out towards the end of the year with a similar generator to Honda that will have the paralleling capability.

I wonder just how difficult it would be to build everything right in to the generator - rather than having to use all of the external wiring.

Thanks for your very timely and helpful information!