Re: Any experience with Yamaha/Honda Generators?
Guys (and I'm pretty sure there aren't any girls on this forum. Just us geeks!),
Just bought a Honda EU2000i and thought I'd contribute my $.02, particularly with regard to the propane/natural gas conversions that nobody's touched on yet. I've owned a Honda EN2500 and a Yamaha EF1000iS, and currently own a Honda engined NorthStar/ Northern Tool 5.5 kW (one of the better non-Honda branded gensets) and the aformentioned EU2000i.
Cue003, I've got one of those tri-fuel conversions from U.S. Carburetion (the same outfit you linked to -- they've got a couple of different URLs. See
http://propane-generators.com ) on my NorthStar. The dual-fuel conversion requires drilling out your carb jet, so probably better left to the experts. However, the tri-fuel unit just bolts in between the air intake and the carb barrel/venturi. Installation was trivial. You could save a bit by doing it yourself. My recommendation is the tri-fuel. Honda engines are incredible, such that my NorthStar commonly starts while I'm slowly pulling the starter rope to prime the engine. However, I just couldn't get it started on natural gas (I've not tried propane). I start mine on gasoline, shut off the fuel, then when the engine hiccups, turn on the natural gas. Works every time. I think if I had someone actuating the primer on the nat gas / propane regulator while I was pulling the starter rope, it'd probably work fine, but these things can be a bear to start on nat gas / propane by yourself. Note that using your home's natural gas connection requires the volume delivered by 3/4" pipe if you're running a 6 hp or larger engine. The 3 kW or under gensets we're talking about here work fine on 1/2" pipe.
Having owned the Yamaha 1kW and now the Honda 2kW, I've been mildly obsessed with these ultra-quiet gensets for years. I considered the 3 kW models but like the portability of the smaller models. Would have made a big difference if you could get 220v out of the 3 kW, but it's strictly 110v just like the smaller ones. Note, however, that the Honda 3 kW uses Honda's commercial grade GX series engines. Don't know what's in the smaller units, but I've always been a bit leery of wearing them out. Good to hear from Chris that he's gotten so much use out of his EU1000i.
I used my generator for more than a week when we had a huge ice storm a couple of years ago that knocked power out to 800k households in the Carolinas. I wholeheartedly agree with your intention to buy something quiet. I only had my EN2500 at the time and while it was great to have power, the noise nearly drove me crazy! Note also that I ran my entire house on "just" a 2.5 kW generator. That house had gas heat, hot water, and stove, and I use flourescent lighting exclusively. However, realize that the generator sizing tables are always super conservative. I was able to run the upstairs heat (the downstairs blower was admittedly too much for my little generator), refrigerator, lights, and even cable TV / modem / laptop all at the same time (gas hot water heaters require no electricity). I had 2 other families staying with me and ran it 24 hrs/day for nearly the entire outage (yes, I was stupid and replenished the tank with the engine running) and the thing never hiccuped. And even though it's only 110v, you can light up both legs of your electrical panel pretty easily. You're not supposed to, but you can if you're careful. I did.
Final piece of advice. Buy the absolute smallest generator that'll power what you need and I highly recommend doing the natural gas / propane conversion. Biggest pain in the a** during my weeks long outage was finding gasoline. The lines at the few open gas stations were blocks long and if you're thinking you can easily siphon gas out of that late model car in your driveway, think again. Also, stick with a Honda, Yamaha, or Generac engine (I've heard Kohler is good too). Briggs engines are temperamental and suck gas! I know that Briggs now owns Generac, but they've kept the Generac engine design (and quality, I hope).
Awright, truly the final piece of advice. If you decide to buy Honda, I doubt you'll get a better price than Mayberry's in New Jersey. Honda doesn't let their dealers advertise prices on the Web, but if you call 'em they'll tell you over the phone. My EU2000i was $878.00 delivered. Cheaper than eBay!
Good luck.
