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Raptorrider2001 · 03-14-2003, 08:18 PM

These are not very good pics. but thought I would post them and see what happens. I will post the others in my photo album.

RoadKingMoe · 03-14-2003, 09:56 PM

Sweet! Pictures are clear enough to show what's needed.

Thanks for taking and posting them!

Pick · 03-15-2003, 06:27 AM

Was the original fuel tank cap modified, or was a different one purchased?
I was seriously considering going the propane conversion route, but this is starting to make more sense.

Les Gilliam · 03-15-2003, 07:00 AM

This is great information! Thanks for the post.

BobbyW · 03-15-2003, 07:05 AM

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More photos of Raptorrider2001's Tank modifications.<< Here

Good tip. I like your fuel tank expansion tip. I think I will do this to my emergency Honda generator that I have hooked up to my house. After having 3 steel tanks rust out on the inside tops and leaving a big rust ring on the floor of my boat, I have gone to the plasic tanks. They also let you visually see how much fuel remains in the tank.

-BobbyWright

Raptorrider2001 · 03-15-2003, 07:47 AM

I bought a second cap so I could use the original unless I needed the extra fuel. It was around $14 at a Honda dealer. Honda mowers and power washers have a gas cap that looks very similar and I bought one of these to give it a try but the threads are a little different and it didn't fit quite right. (I did use it on the plastic jug though) Would have been about $10 less. I think the valve stem I used was 3/8" od and the steel line was 1/4". I used O-rings to seal the top and bottom of the cap to get a good seal.
The outboard plastic can is a good idea also and I may end up going to it. I just had this outboard can sitting around. I also felt it might take a little more rough treatment in the back of my pickup and wouldn't have to worry about knocking a hole in it. Also, when you use the plastic 5 gallon jugs, and go to a higher altitude, the fumes expand and leak out of it. I learned that the hard way by carrying one inside my van one time. It will run you out. However, I don't think a plastic outboard can would vent like that.
I think this is a much better route than the Propane. I can use the Honda any where I want without having to carry propane.

Silvertwinkie · 03-15-2003, 07:50 AM

Whoa! That looks great. That is the smallest generator I have ever seen?

What do they cost?

How did you get the sucktion to work. If it wasn't 2 cycle, I might just get a long hose and shove it in my gas tank for the car.

I gotta look into this....

Eric

Update....as found on ebay:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...t&query=EU1000

Raptorrider2001 · 03-15-2003, 08:01 AM

Silvertwinkie- I purchased mine from Mayberrys.com. They advertise them for about $859 but they matched Alamia's price of $845 and free shipping. Around xmas time they had a 6 month same as cash deal going. Check with them. Very nice people to work with. This is a 2000 watt gen. I am not sure if it will run my 11,000btu a/c when it gets hot or not so I may add another one. They can be parrelled to get 4000 watts. Do a search on the Trailer Life forum and find Bob Howe's instructions on making your own cables for around $30 instead of paying Honda $225. It is a 4 cycle engine. If you get a good seal on the cap, after about 45 minutes, it will begin to slowly draw fuel from the other can just using suction. I tried a primer bulb like on the outboard can but it worked better without it. Hope this helps. Let me know if I can give you more info on my set up.

Silvertwinkie · 03-15-2003, 08:05 AM

Way, way cool!

Thanks for the info. Just found a new thing I have to add to the
"gotta have" list.

I would be interested in finding out if 2 would power the A/C unit on top. I've heard nasty things about going with less than the 30a connection.

John HD where are you?

Eric

RoadKingMoe · 03-15-2003, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Silvertwinkie
I would be interested in finding out if 2 would power the A/C unit on top. I've heard nasty things about going with less than the 30a connection.

LOTS of folks use them for that and other things simultaneously. Keep in mind the two together can provide 33.3A surge... more than your main breaker... and 26.6A continuous... more than the 20A breaker that feeds your AC.

Silvertwinkie · 03-15-2003, 09:41 AM

Yes, but wouldn't the 15a "cheater" plug cause problems?

If not, great, I'm sold!

Eric

RoadKingMoe · 03-15-2003, 10:11 AM

I run my AC and refrigerator in the driveway with a cheater plug in a 20A outlet in the garage with no problems.

But you aren't going to do that with two EU2000's paralleled.

You're gonna have to buy about $250 worth of cables or build your own for less than $50, that has a 30A RV outlet from Lowe's Building Supply.

Someone's mentioned Bob Howe's paralleling setup. I know it's not likely to come out, but if one plug gets knocked out of the generator, the prongs will be hot from the other generator and could electrocute someone or something.

That's why I'm trying to use shrouded banana plugs like the expensive cables do.

Silvertwinkie · 03-15-2003, 10:23 AM

Maurice,

I agree with what you say about the dual gens and the custom hookup. However, folks on this forum specifically posted that using the A/C on a 20a circuit, using a "cheater" could eventually burn out the compressor, the fan motor or both on the A/C unit.

If you've been doing it an it works, that's cool, I just have been getting mixed feedback. Yours being the only one that suggests and/or does it.

Regards,

Eric

Raptorrider2001 · 03-15-2003, 10:38 AM

RoadKingMoe- Itake a look at this link and see if this is the banana plugs you ordered if you don't mind. I posted the above about Bob because I don't know Pulltoy's name. These plugs seemed to be what Bob had in mind when he mentioned looking for some. This is the way I will probably go if I have to buy another 2000. Thanks for your time.
http://www.rselectronics.com/Beta/de...=34&mfg_id=MUE

RoadKingMoe · 03-15-2003, 10:49 AM

Eric, the 20A outlet in the garage is a real 20A outlet... not a 15A... it has the sideways key in the left slot and is fed by 12 AWG house wiring to a dedicated, non-GFCI breaker in the main house panel. Lots of folks confuse 15A outlets with 20A outlets because a 20A will accept a 15A plug with a vertical left prong, like the cheater plugs.

I've kept an eye on the voltage and it runs 118VAC when the AC is running, and I don't recall it slipping below 112VAC when the compressor was starting.

RoadKingMoe · 03-15-2003, 11:12 AM

Yes, Dick, those are the Mueller banana plugs that look like this.

MCM electronics is local to us, and I don't have to have a minimum order at will-call, so I bought the black ones (yeah I know the picture is red on the black part number page) and red ones.

Note in the picture how the tip of the plug is plastic, like the shroud, so there's no way one could get shocked on a hot one.

Another guy on RV.net tried using shrouded bananas from Pamona and said they were really hard to extract once plugged in. When I get the generators, I'm going to hose the plug parts down with WD40 and insert the center plug and outer shroud separately to see if it binds and if so, which part is causing the problem.

Everyone over on RV.net was talkin' about the Mueller plugs but no one was trying them, so I figured it had to be me. Too bad I had to order a pair of EU2000s to do that

Pulltoy went a different route. He bought the much cheaper cable for paralleling two EU1000s, cut it in half, and spliced the ends to heavier 10 AWG cable. I'm not sure what AWG the 1000 cables are, but 12 AWG is more than enough for a short run of 20A and the EU2000s put out less than that even in surge. FWIW, I've already tried 10AWG in the Muellers and it doesn't fit. 12 probably will but I haven't tried it yet.

Will keep ya'll posted on how the Mueller plugs work out.

wayner1239 · 03-15-2003, 12:43 PM

I'm amazed at the talent and ingenuity of members of this forum, and I just love seeing alternatives to buying expensive cables to run two honda's parallel. I have one question and I am sure that someone can give me an answer. If I go to bed with the air conditioner runnning off two generators set up parallel, and one of the generators runs out of gas or quits running before the other one, will it harm the air conditioner if just one generator is left running with the a/c turned on?

Wayne

wayner1239 · 03-15-2003, 12:49 PM

I'm amazed at the talent and ingenuity of members of this forum, and I just love seeing alternatives to buying expensive cables to run two honda's parallel. I have one question and I am sure that someone can give me an answer. If I go to bed with the air conditioner runnning off two generators set up parallel, and one of the generators runs out of gas or quits running before the other one, will it harm the air conditioner if just one generator is left running with the a/c turned on?

Wayne

RoadKingMoe · 03-15-2003, 12:58 PM

The other generator isn't going to be far behind when it comes to running out of gas and a few single generator start cycles shouldn't hurt the AC. If it gets bad the remaining generator would probably go into overload and shutdown.

I'm not familiar with many places that are going to let you run generators all night anyway. For those that do, or when all day AC is required, that's why I'm interested in the external fuel setup.

RoadKingMoe · 03-17-2003, 04:18 PM

The EU2000s arrived today FedEx. The first thing I did after unpacking them was try the Mueller shrouded banana plugs. Tried both black and red, center pins and shrouds separately, then assembled one of each color and tried them assembled. The Mueller plugs fit PERFECTLY and take exactly the amount of effort to insert and remove that they should (someone here tried another brand unsuccessfully). Not too hard to pull out, but in firmly enough not to accidentally come out.

I'm really impressed with the EU2000s. I wouldn't want to heft anything heavier up on the 4WD Superduty tailgate! They're as quiet as a Honda Gold Wing ;-) especially on Eco-Throttle, and both running with it off weren't bad.

Each had no problem running the Sharp 1000W cooking power (1500W rating) microwave oven with the gas refrigerator set on electric and both Fantastic Vents running on Low (the batteries were 100% charged). They revved up to a pretty high rpm, but the overload light didn't come on.

Lowes has the RV outlet, but I haven't found a box there or at HD I like, so I may stop by an electrical supply company and go through the catalogs.

Life is good!