Honda EU2000i

[Pick]

T&G, sounds like the high speed jet is clogged. If so inclined you could remove the fuel bowl on the carb, clean it, the high speed jet unscrews and you can clean it. Also clean the float valve.

In the picture you can see where I screwed the new propane jet into the fuel bowl, it's the brass thingee at the end of the orange hose.

I am still on my original spark plug. I probably have around 350-400 hours on my unit.

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by moosetags

I have been planning to buy two of the EU2000i's and convert them to run on LP. Has anyone out there done this LP conversion, and with what results?

My on-paper research indicates that I should be able to run my air conditioning (2005 25' Safari) with a single EU2000i. I want to use the air conditioning to sleep overnight at a rest area or truck stop. I figure that if I turn off the converter, put refer over to LP, and don't use any other 120 volt, it should work. I'm looking for feedback on this theory.

Depending on what BTU of the A/C, I'd say maybe on one.

Two for sure, nearly any rooftop A/C unit size.

The difference, if any on LP, vs gas is not an issue as far as I've been able to tell. I get 1000 watts out of my 1000 watt unit on LP and a 20lb tank lasts me forever. Of course 2 2000s on LP, your fuel economy will vary.

You can read about LP vs Gasoline, the heated debate here (info also cut and pasted below link):

Yamaha Propane and Natural Gas Generators

Click on the FAQ link....

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the fuel consumption of the generators on propane or natural gas?

This is the top question. The simplest answer is that the generators typically use about the same amount of propane(92,000) as they do gasoline; gallon to gallon. For natural gas one therm (100,000 btu) is about one gallon of gasoline (110,000 btu). The biggest mistake most "experts" make in opinionating that a propane or natural gas generator will lose power is based solely on these figures and not on any data they personally have. When figuring power output of any fuel the size of the engine has to be a significant factor of the equation. For instance, comparing a vehicle with a V8 engine to a generator with an 11hp generator attached can not be calculated the same. This topic is covered in detail on the Fuel Consumption page. Use the link on the left side of the page to access this further information.


Is there any power loss when operating on alternate fuel?

No, we have never had a single unit show a loss of power on alternate fuel. Though lower gallon-to-gallon in BTU content, sometimes they perform even better than running on gasoline (see also fuel consumption). The engine regulator we install has an external fuel mixture adjuster that can be turned with your fingers and can be fine-tuned to your elevation and to the fuel supply connected. That's why we include the Engine Hour/Tachometer Meter with every generator. You can watch the engines rpm output while turning the mixture adjuster for peak performance and high efficiency. This allows full control over the fuel mixture no matter what elevation. This is a big advantage that allows the engine to be reset at anytime. Engine do not use nearly the same fuel mixture in say Florida as they would in Colorado. Unlike operating on gasoline where the carburetor is a fixed jet and it can not be adjusted only replaced. Lean on alternative fuel is cool running, clean burning and efficient.

[flitzwhopper]

For what it's worth - A 1976 Argosy with whatever AC unit they came with - an EU200i will start and run the AC - but that is all. We ran the AC for several hours over a few days during the summer in Phoenix.
If these AC units are anuthing like home units... they draw all of their current on start - twice as much on sume units. Amp draw goes down over the first minute of operations.
mike

[bhayden]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

are u using oxygenated gas (ethanal/methanol), this is a problem sometimes...
the spark arrester needs to be cleaned periodically. mine was very sluggish and stopped under load until i cleaned this....big difference afterward....now i do it every 6 months....
when was the last oil change?...
i usually run a cleaner/solvent in the gas, for a few hours just before the oil changes....
inspect the spark plug/adjust gap or replace it....2air'

Ethanol is one common additive used in oxygenated gas. 10% ethanol decrease fuel economy in our van by just about 10%; not sure how that effects generators but another thing to think about in the debate over propane vs. gasoline. Ethanol also has the somewhat nasty property of absorbing water. If theres a small amount in the tank it can be used to "dry" the gas. Of course the performance my suffer until this tank is run through. It's also been know to be hard on fuel lines and seals but I'd hope any engine sold in the last 5-10 years would be equiped to handle this.

Clean the spark arrester? That's arresting news Just what I wanted to hear, yet more maintenance to keep on top of. Isn't the spark arrester part of the muffler? How do you clean it? Also, what cleaner/solvent brew do you run through the gas tank? I'm going to guess that if you switch to propane there'd be no reason to run on gas just to do this, right?

Oill change: I'm way over the initial oil change interval on my generator since in it's first duty it was pressed into service running the house for a week following a damaging windstorm. I was thinking of using synthetic oil when changing. Any thoughts? My concern is that a synthetic like Mobil One may not come in a weight as thick as specified for the engine. My reason for going synthetic is that it's reported to provide better metal to metal wear protection than regular oil but primarily because it stands up better to breakdown over time from just sitting.

Spark plugs: I'm guessing Honda and Yamaha use or spec something like NGK plugs? My experience with Honda motorcycles years ago taught me to avoid Champion plugs. Champion uses a spark gap in the electrode. This acts like a capacitor to up the firing voltage. Works great, DOES NOT last a long time. Eventually that gaps gets bigger causing misfires and the engine to quit. This happened last week on a neighbors generator with a Champion plug.

-Bernie

[2airishuman]

hii bernie...

working backwards...

spark plugs...
yep the unit came with a ngk plug. apparently these are coated so cleaning them may not help.

oil change...
i use mobile one syn 10w30....works great. with so little oil in the gensets, syn is cheap protection.
if i lived in a sub zero area i'd use 0w30. honda specs 30 weight so these both are fine 2 use.

spark arrester...
yep it is under the muffler. remove the muff cover and the muffler. the arrester is a thimble sized sieve...
i clean it with a rag and a brush and what ever solvent is handy...

the 'how to for all of this is in the owners manual...how about a pdf version on the computer?

Owner's Manuals

honda suggests at least 86 octane,
but many of the vendors advise 89 octane to avoid pinging, so thats what i use.

i'm sure the rubber/butyl seals are ethanol tolerant,
but ethanol does absorb water from the tank and from the AIR....so gasohol gets wetter over time.
only way to avoid ethanol in fuel now is buy 91-93 octane, but 89 has less etoh in it...

water can/will plug the jets/float valves and the only sure way to remove this is 2 take it appart, clean and reassemble.

i use techron or bg44k when i've got a can.
techron works fine but bg44k is a much better cleaning solvent.
i've seen badly carbon'd onan gensets given new life after cleaning with this stuff.
and many car dealers/most german brands use it for heavy duty cleaning of injectors, valves and so on....
it IS the next best thing to disassembly/cleaning.
if used in gensets or autos, it is always wise to change the oil afterward...

BG Company

if using the techron, auto supply stores carry two versions. i use the more concentrated version.

Chevron Products - Techron Concentrate Plus


many of these issues would be eliminated or delayed with a lpg unit...but i'm happy with the gasser for now....

cheers
2air'

[skyvalley]

Originally Posted by moosetags

I have been planning to buy two of the EU2000i's and convert them to run on LP. Has anyone out there done this LP conversion, and with what results?

My on-paper research indicates that I should be able to run my air conditioning (2005 25' Safari) with a single EU2000i. I want to use the air conditioning to sleep overnight at a rest area or truck stop. I figure that if I turn off the converter, put refer over to LP, and don't use any other 120 volt, it should work. I'm looking for feedback on this theory.

Moosetags, My 06 25' Safari was factory updated to LS so it went from 11,000 to 13000 btu on the AC. Needs two EU2000i now.
I just bought a Honda EU2000i from Sampson Equipment in Murray, Utah, 1-877-483-3071, for $865 delivered, by Fedex.
Good luck on the LP project.
John

[moosetags]

Reading the responses on this string, I can see that two EU2000i's will be necessary to run my air conditioner (13,500 btu unit). What I am now concerned about is running them on LP (my plan). Will LP fueled units be sufficient to run my airconditioning and other stuff.?

[Silvertwinkie]

I can't say for sure, but as I said earlier, I have a 1000 watt gen on LP and appear to be getting 1000 watts out of it on LP, not the 900 watts some suggest is the case when running on LP.

Your results may vary, but those are mine and I'm stickin' to it.

As for 2 running an AC and other stuff, I suspect that would really depend on what the "other" stuff is.

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Reading the responses on this string, I can see that two EU2000i's will be necessary to run my air conditioner (13,500 btu unit). What I am now concerned about is running them on LP (my plan). Will LP fueled units be sufficient to run my airconditioning and other stuff.?

A strong 'yes' in response to your question, then I'll mosey around ... I put up links with some useful information here. Though the energy content of LP is less and there is a small loss of power, you should have plenty with parallelled eu2000i's. The consequence of not using the combined amperage of two eu2000i's will be strain and burning out of the compressor. I looked at a very bad Overlander once where the PO just used a 30A-15A adapter and burned out two A/Cs without knowing why -- assured me I could have an RV tech fix it, but the A/C was new... The highest demand is at compressor startup, then draw drops off a bit -- others have posted with some authority on this and I don't have the exact #s. One of the threads in my link above seems to give definite time limits before you'll exhaust your LP tanks though.

[thecatsandi]

Actually It might power the AC if it can get past the startup current. I have a Kill-A-watt meter hooked up to my trailer cord. I am currently plugged into my sisters garage. Batteries fully charged backgroud current about 3 amps.
Current draw with the AC running. about 12.5-12.7 Amps, new airconditioner.
The unit should be able to put out 16+ amps of power. 2000/120=16.66666

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

Actually It might power the AC if it can get past the startup current. I have a Kill-A-watt meter hooked up to my trailer cord. I am currently plugged into my sisters garage. Batteries fully charged backgroud current about 3 amps.
Current draw with the AC running. about 12.5-12.7 Amps, new airconditioner.
The unit should be able to put out 16+ amps of power. 2000/120=16.66666

It's just that 20+ amp startup surge that would be the problem. I have a 13K Coleman, and IF I turn off the eco-throttle, and IF absolutely nothing else is on in the trailer, then I can get the A/C to start on the generator. And it isn't happy doing it, either. I have a 3600 watt generator that powers the A/C, and everything else I can turn on, in the Airstream, but it is noisy, and a gas hog (Briggs & Stratton, not Honda). Fuel consumption is .5 gal/hour, with a 1.1 gal tank.

[tslanier]

We need to purchase a generator this model seems very popular. Someone on here previously mentioned the Yamaha EF1000i which runs on propane. I would appreciate some guidance on how to make the decision of which one would be the better purchase as the cost is similar.

[hookedonclassic]

Just purchased a Honda Eu2000i locally. They had them on sale for $900 plus tax as part a sale promotion during the EAA (Experimental Aircraft) show in Oshkosh which starts on Friday for 10 days.

[schwabsters]

Do any of you have ideas for using the Honda 2000's in bad weather?
I don't want to expose ours to rain etc., and figure it will happen sooner or later....Some sort of mini-tent/cover etc.?
Regarding purchase, last December we were going to buy (2) EU2000I units and the parallel kit online, and were surprised that Camping World beat the best pricing I could find at that time. The Hondas were on sale for $950 each, and they threw in the 30A parallel kit (with built in ampmeter) and a DC
battery charge cable for free (total of $1993 including tax).

[sommay]

Hi There, I'm fix Honda EU2000i for a friend. The story I was told the unit ran out of gas and never start up again. Had good fuel and carburetor is clean and new spark plug was replaced.
I have NO spark. Anyone have service manual share

Thank you in advance

Sommay

[Gator113]

Originally Posted by sommay

Hi There, I'm fix Honda EU2000i for a friend. The story I was told the unit ran out of gas and never start up again. Had good fuel and carburetor is clean and new spark plug was replaced.
I have NO spark. Anyone have service manual share

Thank you in advance

Sommay

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