Honda Generator

Old Crofter · Senior Member

Honda Generator

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Does anyone out there have or know anything about the Honda EU20i Generator. I was looking into Solar Power but now I'm starting think generator. I would only use it for about 3 hours early evening and about 2 hours during the day. I can use the things I already have in the Avan with a Genie but I would have to do and get things if I go Solar.

Your comments as usual are very welcome and encouraged please.

KFT · Guru

Hi Doug,
first thing we need to know is what do you want to run/power up with it. This info will help determine the size of genset you need.

frank

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Yes I have researched heaps so far, I need min 1500 watts so the 10i is too small and the 20i is a bit bigger so that wins the race. I had a look at one today and they quoted $1750.00 new but he also indicated the boss might come down a bit more if I did a bit of push and shove. He started it up for me as well and not too noisy, I thought I could make up a insulated box to cover it but leave the back open for ventilation. I checked a couple of other places as well and they were $1899.00 and were not as helpful.

My thought is have it on from about 6pm till 8.30-9.00pm then off it goes and sometime during the day for about 2 hours, this way I think it might keep my one battery charged up for lights and sink tap. During the time it is on I can use My lap Top and TV if I want too. I would run my fridge on gas. I am solo and there might not always be people around.

I have had a look at Yamaha as well but the equivalent is 4 stroke and the Honda is 2 stroke.

I was thinking of waiting for the CV show at Sandown Vic but I really don't think I would get one much cheaper there.

All above is only for when I do "Independent Camping".

Old Crofter · Senior Member

The Honda is 4stroke Doug,$1750 is good price,
Bob

Dougwe · Chief one feather

G'day Bob, I think I need a Generator to charge my brain, I am out of power after all the running around today. I stand corrected about the 2 stroke, I did know it was 4 stroke, just getting all mixed up.

Thanks for you help, I did a bit of looking up and ringing around about the Genquip and no one reasonably close by has one in stock and have to get from Sydney and been having trouble getting in.

I will wait and see if anyone else pops up with helpful info and might get the Honda on Friday.

PeterInSa · Guru

Doug,
We have a 20i and Sola, we only use the Honda if we have 4 or 5 days of overcast/rainy weather, so its rarely, to me I would go sola if you have the cash and intend to stay with your existing van. Have seen 80 watt Sola panels for less than $200 ea ( to me you need at least 2)and a controller should be around that also. Would also look at a 2nd deep cycle battery.

The only items our sola will not run is the microwave and the a/c. Rarely use the MW and A/c.

Sola is not hard to DIY.

gst · Senior Member

Doug Ive had a Honda 20i for 10 years and it got me through the cyclone and it;s never missed a beat

BobnBev · Senior Member

Hi Doug,
We have a add on the GN site for Honda, I just picked up one from them when we were in WA . $1699 posted.. Carnt beat that price ....
And it came with a few extras..
Its a 1800 # so wont cost you much for a call.....
Bob....

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Hi BobnBev, that was the first port of call a few days ago. I have spoken to the people again I spoke with today and mentioned the add and they said they will match the price as it is an advertised price.

I am in the area again in the morning so might go armed with some $$$$ in case.

03_troopy · Guru

I can vouch for the Honda EU20i also. We used 2 of them on fortnightly rotation for over 8 months to power 2 avg sized fridges, a small freezer, a 68cm colour TV, an Xbox and a couple of lights. While one was in use, the other was being serviced. The only problem we had was when all 3 firdges/freezer tried to cut in at the same time. This would usually overload the generator and shut it down. Also when refuelling and switching the lot back on, you had to do it in stages to spread the load. This is a bit of an extreme situation for a generator of that size though, but I know for a fact it can do it. With one fridge and all the other stuff, we would get about 12hrs out of the small tank of fuel, obviously depending on ambient temperature and how often the fridge was opened. I was so impressed with the ones we used in this way that I ended up buying one for myself, mainly for emergency situations (power outages at home). From time to time we also tried a microwave on it as well. We used a 600W microwave and it was fine being used at full power. When you switched to a lower power setting however, the constant loading and unloading of the generator (old style microwaves just switched the maggy on and off at different rates to set the power level), combined with the heavy load of a fridge compressor would also sometimes trip the generator out.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Wow Bob, that's great, I think I will take some $$$$$ for sure. If I understand the literature properly and I'm a bit thick, you can join two together via a link cable, something like that anyway.

I have just done the math and at $35 per night in a CV park it will start paying for it self after 48 nights of "Independent Camping". Not including fuel. Now I am impressed. Looks like it is well worth the $$$$.

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

we have solar & honda 20i, do not use the honda very much, you will need somewhere to carry fuel for the gennie and you have to keep paying for fuel, I would go solar if I were you, once installed no more on going cost and fuel is not going down over the next few years.

-- Edited by _wombat_ on Thursday 27th of September 2012 08:25:29 AM

freefish1 · Member

H, At the risk of getting shot dowm. Why not look at some of the chinese imports? The one I landed here (Cent Q'ld) from Sydney for $499 has all the features of a Honda plus electric/remote start & is 4.4 kva. About the same weight as a Honda. Use it for cutting firewood & during the last power failure ran 2 fridges,3 freezers, lights, hot water, microwave & stove. Not all at once. Could tell when each cut in but did not falter. So far more than happy. It might not last as long as a Honda but at the price can afford to replace it if/when it fails. Bill

BobnBev · Senior Member

Good one Dougwe, You wont be sorry , I got the cable that connects 2 to make 4KVa .? dont know why but maybe one day I may want to run a welder? A friend of ours has one that has done 9 years plus and is still going...And he camps out all the time over winter.. They do make a good bit of gear. We also have the 1KVa.Honda ????...
Bob....

-- Edited by BobnBev on Thursday 27th of September 2012 07:38:26 PM

ken thomas · Guru

I was about to say the same as Bill as I have a 1.5 which was $299 on ebay and has done all I require
Check out the others on ebay as they have warranty and do the job
Ken

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I bit the bullet and went for the Honda EU20i, ended up with a good deal and I am a happy camper. I don't think I will upset any other campers, well much anyway as I will not have it on after 9pm at the latest. If I am the only one around at any time that could be different.

I am now ready to give "Independent Camping" a go.

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Dougwe wrote:
I bit the bullet and went for the Honda EU20i, ended up with a good deal and I am a happy camper. I don't think I will upset any other campers, well much anyway as I will not have it on after 9pm at the latest. If I am the only one around at any time that could be different.
I am now ready to give "Independent Camping" a go.

a good make and very quiet compared to some others, I don't have the cable but it would be handy if you were away with somebody else who also had a Honda 20i and you wanted to run an air con.

Turtle Trekers · Veteran Member

Good morning Doug

After making your very wise decision regarding the purchase of your generator, spend a few more dollars and buy a chain and padlock. There have been several tales over the years of generators growing legs and going for bush walks if the owners are not sight!! Also comes in handy if you have a long lead and can chain the generator up to a tree a reasonable distance from your campsite and those of fellow campers.

Enjoy!!

Louise and Alan

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Hi Louise and Alan,

Firstly, I don't think I have seen you here before even though I notice you have 14 posts listed on your AV, so if I havn't already, WELCOME from me, enjoy here and out in the playground.

Thanks for you comment, I got a long cable thrown in with the deal and I have a big padlock already, they also gave a bottle of oil, and a full tank of fuel. As I said, I reckon I got a good deal all round, $1700.00. I am going to fire it up and plug My Avan in today to try it out.

Just a side comment, I was told by a mate of mine who has a similar Generator that he digs a open hole and puts the generator in that, he reckons it is safer and keeps the noise out of the camp. confuse He also said he has actually faced the exhaust into a wombat hole or rabbit hole etc. I don't mind the rabbit bit but I would gas out my mate wombat the other way. biggrin

I noticed in the distruction manual to ground the Generator when in use. confuse

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Dougwe wrote:
Hi Louise and Alan,

Firstly, I don't think I have seen you here before even though I notice you have 14 posts listed on your AV, so if I havn't already, WELCOME from me, enjoy here and out in the playground.

Thanks for you comment, I got a long cable thrown in with the deal and I have a big padlock already, they also gave a bottle of oil, and a full tank of fuel. As I said, I reckon I got a good deal all round, $1700.00. I am going to fire it up and plug My Avan in today to try it out.

Just a side comment, I was told by a mate of mine who has a similar Generator that he digs a open hole and puts the generator in that, he reckons it is safer and keeps the noise out of the camp. He also said he has actually faced the exhaust into a wombat hole or rabbit hole etc. I don't mind the rabbit bit but I would gas out my mate wombat the other way.
I noticed in the distruction manual to ground the Generator when in use.

Not a good idea to dig a hole, (unless you cannot find a toilet) it will clog up the filter in no time, we always put our gennie on a piece of wood, something like the ones you would use in a shower, the noise from a 20i is not that much, in fact we have ours chained to the A frame, but our van is well insulated.

We have never grounded ours.

Oh and we ALWAYS point the exhaust AWAY from wombat holes, the same as my mate dougwe.

rockylizard · Guru

Turtle Trekers wrote:
Good morning Doug

After making your very wise decision regarding the purchase of your generator, spend a few more dollars and buy a chain and padlock. There have been several tales over the years of generators growing legs and going for bush walks if the owners are not sight!! Also comes in handy if you have a long lead and can chain the generator up to a tree a reasonable distance from your campsite and those of fellow campers.

Enjoy!!

Louise and Alan

Gday...

I always chain mine to the van chassis (or somewhere equally strong). If I feel a little dubious about my location, I often let it cool down after turning it off at night and then pack it away - locked in the vehicle.

As a bit of further information, I have been in camps where people's generators have been nicked - even when chained to trees etc. The handle of the Honda gennies are just hollow plastic. It doesn't take muck with a hacksaw blade to quickly cut through it, negating the chain/cable. I guess the old adage - "if they really wanna steal it - they will". Like me ole man used to say "locks only keep out honest people".

cheers - and happy, safe and uninterrupted camping biggrin

Cheers - John

03_troopy · Guru

We used a couple of old blankets suspended between a couple of star pickets as a sound barrier between the genny and our 'camp' to dull the noise even more. Worked pretty well too. The earthing situation is a good question. I think there has been a thread on here before about it.

valnrob · Guru

Personally I would go solar.Too many people get upset with generators running to power up batteries etc. Especially when the gennie is used as an only source of power. We have solar and batteries and have not had to generate power in the two months we have been away.All our stuff runs 12v We do have a 1kva Honda.

Cupie · Guru

Dougwe wrote:

Just a side comment, I was told by a mate of mine who has a similar Generator that he digs a open hole and puts the generator in that, he reckons it is safer and keeps the noise out of the camp.

Way back in the olden days, half a century ago, when I was a CMF member of a Field Artillery Battery, we used to run those rotten army Generator Sets at night.

Standard practice was to dig a bloody great hole & put them in there with a roof of timber, tarps & sandbags. The exhaust was vented to the outside.

Still bloody noisy & hard to start. Starting them was an art form. They were the bain of the life of the night piquet.

I don't bush camp (the army cured me of that) , so have neither a gene or solar. My house battery is almost never used, with the exception of pumpimg water to the toilet or tap at meal breaks when on the road.

neilnruth · Guru

Honda genies are not very noisy. We were camped at a rest area last night and we couldn't hear the genie over the traffic noise. We always turn ours off by 8.30pm and use the LED lights or sit out under the stars and enjoy them. Go with your choice Doug. I'm sure you will get lots of use. What you can afford is what you can afford. We can't afford solar at this stage.

briggspc · Senior Member

well what can I add, Honda are very good but if I had my time over again I would not get anything under 3KW, most people forget the Microwave and air con.

03_troopy · Guru

briggspc wrote:
well what can I add, Honda are very good but if I had my time over again I would not get anything under 3KW, most people forget the Microwave and air con.

Yep, I'd forget about them too.

Pinto · Veteran Member

I looked at the Honda gennie but at 4 times the cost and half the power of the 4.4kva gennie I thought I'll give the Ebay one a go with 12 month warranty. So far so good . Starts first pull and runs a/c and stove at the same time . Time will tell how long it lasts confuse Picked up 200 watt solar panel off Ebay with 25 year warranty for $265 , mount kit $130 , regulator $18 and wire for $50. VERY easy to fit. Charges my two 97 amp batteries no worries . I checked the charge on a cloudy day and it was still charging at 14 volts...Also a 1200 watt inverter from Aldi for $60. Charges computer , phones, jump pack and runs most electrical appliances in the van. We use the gennie to run the washing machine, micro wave or power tools but mainly it is for back up if the sun don't shine for a few days. So far we are happy with the mods to our van biggrin

jimricho · Guru

My thoughts are to still purchase a folding solar panel as well as the Honda you've already purchased. A folding 80 watt panel would be more than adequate given you have the genny for a backup for when you run into a patch of cloudy weather. This would mean you are less reliant on the generator, especially when you're in places where its use is either forbidden or inappropriate. This battery/solar combo will be fine to run a small 12v TV as well as your lights etc.

I assume you have a three way fridge and not reliant on battery or genny for refrigeration. I also assume you have a normal 240v charger built into the van so that the battery will recharge whenever you're on mains or generator power.

Jim

PS: I found a 40 watt panel was more than adequate for my needs when recently camped for an extended period on an unpowered site. I did have 4-5 hours of good solar conditions most days.