i have two honda's both have dependability issues they usually start with ether when cold but not always both need to run at partial choke

 

Then you need to fix them so you never have that problem again. The 2000/2200i's need to have a kill switch put on them and the wire remove from the existing on/off fuel petcock combo switch. Once this is done you use the kill switch while they are in use to turn them off and when going into storage turn the fuel off and let them run the carb dry. Less work to do the mod than take the carb off and clean it.

I am on day 6 of no power and rotating my (2) 2000i's and have had zero problems with them. Pay the extra and get a Honda. I am in the market for a 7000 series Honda but will never sell my small ones.

 

I got the predator 9000 from Harbor freight last year and it seems to be running fine at my sons house right now, he put one of the big plugs in for it straight into his breaker panel and it’s running everything but his heat pump, it’s running his well and hot water heater also

 

I have the Yamaha 2000i. Other than having to clean the carb a few years ago, runs well. Starts fairly easy. Turn on fuel and let it set a few minutes to fill carb. .Run fuel out of carb now and no more problems. Got from Buddy’s wife. He bought two with the combining kit. Tested fine, but West Nile got him before needing it for his trailer.

I think there are two different Yamaha generators. Different motor in the ones Costco sold.

 

If I was looking for another one I think I would go with dual fuel and use propane to avoid all the old bad gas / carb issues

 

I have read that the dual fuel (propane) isn't as efficient as when running on gas.

 

I bought a smaller 2500 starting watt generator during the ice storm in 2021. I used it for 2-3 days to run our sump pumps to keep our finished basement dry during the power outages that year.
Last year I gassed it up and it was on standby but it was not needed. It was winterized properly and stored until this year. I gassed it with fresh fuel before the ice storm hit this year and it started 1st pull. This generator has met all my expectations and I would not hesitate to purchase another Champion product.

 

I had a Honda 2000 for about ten years and upgraded to a Honda eu3000is. I think they may have a 3200 now? I’m able to run my furness, refrig, 3 lights and my coffee maker, toaster and microwave without having to do the generator/extension cord dance. its nearly as quiet as the 2200 or 2000, but what I really like about it is the run time. It will run for about 20 hours on about 3.4 gallons of gas. My neighbor has a 12,000 watt beast that keeps the whole neighborhood up all night and it drinks about 20-25 gallons a day.Both Hondas have been fantastic but highly recommend the 3000is.

 

You can run a furnace off of a 3000is? I thought the 3000is was 120 volt only?

 

I have a champion 3500watt generator that I use on my trailer when needed (trailer has solar and 4 6v's) and for backup use at home. It wont run a lot of things all at one due to its size but will run the furnace which is the largest power user in my home (gas dryer, be jealous). Its pretty easy to load for me but its stil 80 or so pounds. It has bene flawless, has 30/50amp connectors and outlets. It runs pretty quiet as well if it doesnt have a max load on it. I picked it up at costco a few years ago for less than 500.00.

I wouldnt bother with dual fuel unless you have a large propane tank at home. My brother has an onboard generator on his trailer that runs off the propane and it will pound down propane like a V10 pulling a load up a hill.

 

We have had our Honda EU2000i for 23 years. Other than changing the oil and spark plug no other maintenance has been required. Unless it has been sitting unused for several months it still starts on the first or second pull. Honda quality may have changed since we acquired ours, but if I have to replace the one we bought, it will be another Honda.

 

Jengrg3
165 posts · Joined 2019

#5 · 22h ago
If I was looking for another one I think I would go with dual fuel and use propane to avoid all the old bad gas / carb issues

> For what it's worth. I thought / think the same way and have only run my champion 4650 on propane. I always figured I could use gas in an emergency. Tripped across 1 video online (will see if I can find a link) where the guy had a champion always run on propane and got stuck having to use gas for an emergency and it would not start / stay running. When he tore down the carb it had moisture and rust. He figured the burning of the propane was causing moisture creation that was funneling to the bowl. I only have a couple of run time hours on mine but I will be watching for that.

Rhomer
553 posts · Joined 2005

I have read that the dual fuel (propane) isn't as efficient as when running on gas.

> This is true and reflected on most dual fuel rigs when you look at specs and paperwork. They give you the outputs based on fuel type used and you get a little less wattage running propane or natural gas (tri fuel) so plan accordingly.

Captain Kirk
1547 posts · Joined 2004

You can run a furnace off of a 3000is? I thought the 3000is was 120 volt only?

> Probably depends on the furnace but I don't know how many (if any) use 240V blower motor. Mine is just a single 120V dedicated breaker for the furnace blower so assuming I have enough amp output it should be able to fire it assuming gas is still on. The only loads I can't run are my 240V loads (AC, Stove, and dryer) Since I only have around 3500 running watts I'll probably have to selectively pick what breakers and stuff I have on at any given time. I added an outlet outside the garage and a dedicated breaker / interlock setup so I can just plug the main gen output into the panel and that lets me select what 120V loads I want on.

I can't speak much to the original questions on running smaller parallel setup but I would agree that Hondas are the standard. For my budget the best I could do was the Champion 4650 dual fuel for now.
For sure the inverter generators seem more efficient and cleaner power.
I like the breaker and interlock setup because it means I am not pulling cords all over the place and wedging them through window cracks or doors and it also allows me to pick and choose what 120V breakers I want on at any given time. I added a plug adapter from Power Watchdog that hooks to a phone or tablet app so I can watch actual amp draw without having to be outside looking at the LED gauge. The one thing I missed out on was remote start that seems more common now.

 

I have a Honda EU2200 that’s been very reliable. The only time I’ve heard of people having issues with them is when they’ve brought the problems on themselves. I’d buy another Honda if I were looking for a generator again.

 

I have the Honda 2200 and the companion along with parallel kit. They are good. If I had it to do over again, Id get two predator 3500s for less money, same noise, more output and just a better platform. I bought a couple for work awhile ago. Predator hands down a better dollar for dollar choice in my opinion.

 

Our main generator at the house is a Honda EU7000IS. We bought it about 5 years ago and it’s been 100% flawless. Put about 250 hours on it during the Holiday Farm fire in 2020, with it running nonstop for, well, 10 days or so. It was only running the freezers, so just off idle. It burned right at 5 gallons per day at that rate. Was nice, because I’d stop by every evening to make sure it was still running. Most days, I’d get there about the time it was on fumes…

This week, it got started on Sunday morning when we lost power in the ice storm. It’s warmed up a bit, so we finally shut it off last night for 8 hours. Back on this morning. It’ll run the water heater, well pump, stove, pellet stove, pretty much everything but the heat pump. Can’t run it all at the same time, but load management is very simple. Really, we just shut off the water heater if we want to cook…. Fuel burn rate this week has worked out to be 1/3 of a gallon per hour. So, I get 15 hours from a 5-gallon fill. Not bad for four of us living on it in freezing temps. Showers, Etc…. I cannot say enough good about this generator, it’s been an absolute tank. Sound level is rated at 58db, which is one decibel more than a EU2200I. I believe it’s got about 450 hours on it now. Dunno for sure, and it’s raining out there!

Small generator is a Generac GP3300 inverter. It’s a little bit bigger than a Honda 2,200, and about 10# heavier. But, it’s also 50% more power. Sound level just about the same as the Hondas. We typically use this with our RV, as it’ll run the single A/C easily. I had concerns about a 2,200 managing that, and didn’t want to carry or maintain two. So far, the Generac has been fantastic. Fires right up and just works. Time will tell if it will be as reliable, as it’s only two years old and might have 50 hours on it…. So far, I think it was a solid buy, and I prefer the simplistic controls over the Honda 2,200. Picked it up on sale for a little under $800. Can also be paralleled if you have a pair of them.

 

Thank you for the review on the 7000is Chad, That is going to be my next generator. Don't have any plans on getting rid of my 2000's they will be backups.

 

you can also build a box to dampen the noise the generator makes (several youtube videos out there). I used to have one for my generator but a branch destroyed it during the last ice event in 21. It definitely made it very quiet without affecting the operation. built one for my mom at their place in Welches, they love it as they run the generator frequently during the winter.

 

I know the Honda EU 2200i is the gold standard for small units. I am considering getting two small units with a parallel kit. I have use for one on job sites and misc. needs and having the second will assist with powering things around the house if we loose power. My question is: Does anyone have long term experience with any of the other brands? There are predators (Harbor Freight), Wen, Generac, Firman and Champion. I looked at the Champion 2500. Some of the other brands also do dual fuel.

Is it better to spend nearly double for the Honda's. Is this like good binoculars, buy one cry once or?

Opinions appreciated.

Plenty of real world and professional testing of the power and engine performance, regarding the cheap knock offs if you search youtube. The youtube channel called " Project Farm " testing 2000i and the cheap knock offs ranging from $370 dollar units compared to the the harbor freight generators which have serious engine oil consumption issues are tested.

If you watch his video called " Cheap Generator better than the Honda? Predator vs Honda " He will go and test and show the issue with the pure sine wave power on cheaper units. He will show how the cheaper units appear to be pretty good until they are at the load they are rated for. The voltage drop and recovery time is excessive, and that is a problem. The Honda's don't have this issue.

Buy Honda and you'll never need to purchase other. After watching this, I knew it was not worth the risk.

 

Ok, friends. We got power back today. Out of the 126 hours since we went dark, the EU7000i ran up 110 more on the clock.
Not a single hiccup.

We lived very comfortably for the last 5 days, and burned a whopping 36 gallons of basic-ass regular ol’ 87 octane.

Just ordered a 2-pack of spark plugs, two air filters, two fuel filters, and a pack of oil drain plug crush washers. I’ve got plenty of synthetic 10w-30 around for years…. It’s time for a quick service now, and I’m ready for another one after the next 100 hour stint. Costs about $40 in parts for a full service, and takes about an hour with beer breaks. I’ll also pull the spark arrestor and clean it since I’ve never done that on this machine.

I’ll pull the cheap gas out and run it in the car, then cycle some clear into the genny for storage in hopes that it’ll be several months…

 

Should mention, I keep a small, 0.75A size Battery Tender Jr. plugged into the wall in my pumphouse all the time. Generator is plugged in at all times, and the battery is still going strong after 5 years. Might be a good idea to replace that when I do the service, simply due to age.

 

Sorry but im not paying $5000 for a Honda 7000 when my predator 9000 at $669 last year just ran flawless for 5 days straight but it did burn more Fuel than the honda!! For a generator that’s only used for 5-10 days a year i will stick to the predator!!!

 

How many years do you think that predator will run flawlessly? During a 5 day power outage would be a heck of a time to realize your generator isn’t as reliable as you thought

 

Not to hijack this post , but relevant.
What brand and type of fuel stabilizer is everyone using? I think this new fuel is part of people’s problem. Hard and a hassle to always get E0 fuel.

 

Not to hijack this post , but relevant.
What brand and type of fuel stabilizer is everyone using? I think this new fuel is part of people’s problem. Hard and a hassle to always get E0 fuel.

Good hijack, and totally relevant. I’m probably not as hot on the “I only burn clear gas in everything” as some folks, but I do transition to it in the off season when fuel sits. I have a lot of grass to mow, so I burn a lot of gasoline during the growing season. My big ZT mower doesn’t care about blended fuel, so I use it. My generator is fuel injected, so same deal.

But, once things settle down, I burn out or drain the E10 and replace with clear. Regular ol’ Sta-Bil gets put in the clear gas and all of the blended fuel I drained goes in the cars.

The only engines that I keep with E0 is the little ones. Weed eaters, chainsaws, etc. Sorry if I’m not as critical on my fuel as some, I’ve just never had E10 trouble other than in my old T8 kicker. Never seen a motor more picky on gas!

 

I always use clear fuel and add recommend amount of Sta-bil in my generator. So far so good.

 

I really don’t think there is a right or wrong way to do it. Just do what works for you. I do burn regular unleaded in my lawn mower also during the season as it gets burned pretty quickly.
My chainsaw and generator I prefer to use clear, just for the added comfort that it might help keep them running well.

 

I use clear in my generator, only because it doesn't see a lot of use most of the time (maybe 8 hours a year). The times when I am running it for extended use ill use regular gas and run the carb out of fuel before adding treatment to the remining fuel and storing it.