| N1AUP |
Rating:     |
2011-08-27 | |
| Only two things I hate about this unit. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
There are two things I hate about this unit. First, changing the engine oil requires you to pick up and tip the unit to get the oil out. There is a ramp to direct the oil into a pan, but it's almost impossible to do this without spilling oil, or drizzling it into the base of the unit.
Second, to get at the fuel filter, you have to disassemble a lot of the front panel and the case to get at the darn thing.
Otherwise, quiet, reliable and easily portable. Impressive engineering. |
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| KE5DFR |
Rating:      |
2011-04-07 | |
| Great generator |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought the EU2000i Companion, the EU2000i, parallel kit and 6 gallon extended run tank. So far, all I have run it on is the RV. Easily starts the 15000btuh A/C with no trouble.
I have about 2 hours on them so far, but they start easily and even the wife can get them running.
I look forward to running the radio from the trailer on field day.
Ken
KE5DFR |
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| W8NLZ |
Rating:     |
2010-11-30 | |
| Field Man's Dream - with RFI precautions |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| My primary use for the EU2000i is field operation. It's light enough I can even haul it up mountain trails in a wheeled cart. It's very quiet, a gas mizer, and plenty of Kw for my gear. But initially it put S7 noise on 80, 40, and 20 meters. My fix was to put multiturn suppressor cores on ALL DC leads into my Kenwood TX-480HX and the LDG autotuner as well as the DC leads out of both Samlex 1223 12VDC power supplies. Now the noise is S1. Tried aluminum foil around the spark plug, but it had no effect. The RFI seems to be coming out of the inverter and a long extension cord helps it to radiate. But, mechanically, the EU2000i is solid and a sound buy. |
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| W3PH |
Rating:      |
2010-02-15 | |
| Does the job, quietly |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've had mine for several years and keep it outside in a plastic tub along with extension cords. Got it to run the essentials when the power is off - wood pellet stove, some lights, ham gear - and I haven't had any problems. Haven't drawn enough current to challenge it so I don't know what happens under heavy load.
Starts easily as long as you exercise it now and then - like any gasoline engine, you can't put it away & forget about it for a year or two and expect it to start easily (you can guess how I know this). I put stabilizer in the gas, change the oil once a year, and run it for 20 minutes every 6-8 weeks. |
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| KB0QCL |
Rating:      |
2010-02-15 | |
| Worth every dollar |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I've owned, operated, and maintained many portable and larger stationary generators over the years, but this is by and far my favorite portable. Out of the 3KW, 6KW, and 1.25KW portables, the EU2000i is my favorite for two reasons. Light weight, and quiet operation. Due to a permanate injury, I simply no longer can lug a 3 or 6KW standard generator anymore by myself. I can't use what I can't carry! This was the primary determining factor in my purchase. As for noise, the EU2000i really is amazingly quiet enough to operate 5 feet away.
It will surge well beyond 2000 watts for motor starting, but expect deep voltage sags as it brings large motor loads up to speed. The momentum of constant speed 3600 RPM machines, in my opinion, seem to deal with large motor starting loads better. If the load is too large, and the overload lasts too long, the EU2000i just simply shuts down the output, with no apparent harm to the generator. Simply toggle the on off switch to reset. It is not the end all be all generator, however, and may not be for everyone.
The first draw back is it's limited output. Coming from my experience with larger machines that literally can power anything that you can plug in to them, I’ve become spoiled. Even though the EU2000i has two 20 amp outlets, you only get 16 amps total. I've measured 1900 continuous watts out of the Eu2000i, and at that output the engine becomes noisy. Even then, it’s still not *nearly* as loud or obnoxious as a 3600 RPM 3KW machine. Once you start flirting with 2000 watts or more continuous, it will eventually just shut down the output. It’s 1600 continuos, 2000 peak, and they mean it. I mention this because I am spoiled by a 6KW machine that could do a whole house, surging to well beyond 9KW, with no problems. (other than noise, weight, and a high fuel demand!)
Another minor drawback is that Ecco mode may not work well depending on load. If you want to run constant load such as some lights, great. Add in a high efficiency washing machine, (or CW operation perhaps) though, and Ecco mode will constantly be changing speed, and the voltage will constantly be sagging as the machine adjusts to the load. I ran in to this problem with some computers, lights, and a high efficiency washing machine, that toggled between 200-800 watts every few seconds. Just as the RPMs would drop off, the washer would turn the drum again, and bog down the generator. Turning off Ecco mode cured this.
If you want to run your whole house, furnace, all lights, fridge, freezers, sump and well pumps, microwave, etc, all at once, the Eu2000i is not for you. Get a bigger machine. If you want to run a few lights, and one major appliance at a time, (fridge, OR freezer, OR furnace, OR window AC unit) and want a machine that you can carry, the Eu2000i is a smart choice. |
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| NL7Y |
Rating:      |
2009-07-17 | |
| Much better! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is an update of my earlier reviews of this product 8/03 and 8/07. I recently purchased a second EU2000i S/N 1883369 to power the HF gear and run the small accessories in my motor home. There's little to no appreciable RF emitted now from the Inverter Unit via the power cord, as Honda now incorporates an AC noise filter of some on current production units. My earlier genset from '03 lacked that addition, but I added a similar filter unit from the EU1000i available at that time to help suppress inverter noise carried down the powerline.
The ignition wire and plug assembly, despite incorporating a resistor cap and plug, still radiate ignition pulse noise either directly or via the power cord. Just grounding the generator frame only made it worse.
The fix is simple - put some some double-layer aluminum foil over the short high-tension ignition wire and plug cap under the small red spark plug inspection cover. Use enough to cover all the components and coil well, plus enough extra to compress the foil against the cooling frame when the cover is closed.
Result=no more ignition pulse noise. None. Cheap Faraday shield. The foil doesn't cause any heat issues as the cooling air flows inside the engine metal cover. The coil, plug cap, and shield are external to that. If the noise eventually returns due to the foil compressing and maybe loosing good contact with the metal cooling shroud/frame, just add enough foil to re-establish that contact when the cover is closed.
It's a very good unit despite one easily fixed issue.
73 Gary NL7Y |
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| W7GMC |
Rating:      |
2009-04-09 | |
| MUST HAVE! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Background on my generator experience. Started with an old, I mean old onan 1.8k gen. I started every time with one pull, but man was it load and heavy. Moved up to a Generac 4k contractor gen. Wow, lots of power, heavy and LOUD! I had to leave the gen in the bed of my truck and move the truck at least 20 feet from the camper to make it bearable to listen to. Then I saw a demo of the EU2000i. It was a hard purchase to spend $999 locally, but WOW! This baby purrs. I can run two campers, both occupants use CPAP, furnace and DTV with a 13in standard TV and 19" lcd. Now remember, the gen has a 1.1 gallon tank. I usually boondock camp at an altitude of 3,700 feet. This gen will run for nearly 10 hrs! The thing gets a little bit more noise when ya fire up the microwave. I've had this gen now for about 3 yrs now and no problems. I would recommend a thinner oil when in colder environment (below 30f) as it takes several pull/stall cycles until the oil freely starts moving and the gen oil sensor stops killing the gen. It will not run a AC, but paired up, should do it fine. I'm going to do a Extended run fuel tank to allow the thing to run like 70hrs without a refuel. Mayberrys sells these babies online as an ARRL Special for $879 shipped to the door.
I NEVER REGRETTED THE PURCHASE! Can't complain for a 48lb gen thats easy to move and store in the camper! |
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| KF6HQC |
Rating:      |
2008-07-01 | |
| Not one problem, ever |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have owned my eu2Ki for four years now and I have never had a problem with it ever. It has been to four field days now with me and provided RFI quiet perfect power each time. I have noticed a birdie or two on a couple of bands like 17 meters but it has never been a problem for me as the birdies are quite narrow. I have used it on dozens of camping trips to the mountains @ 8000 feet to the beach at sea level and it has always started on the first or second easy pull. And because it uses a fuel pump rather than gravity feed, it has run for days on my 6 gallon plastic boat tank and a modified honda gas cap (purchased seperatly then modified). I'll never be without it. It even runs my 4500 BTU mini air conditioner in my Chalet trailer flawlessly. It has never failed me yet. One of the best investments I have made. |
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| K2GW |
Rating:      |
2008-02-26 | |
| 170,000 QSO's ! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
As an FYI, the two week VP6DX dxpedition to Ducie Island made over 170,000 contacts using the 240 VAC big brother inverter of the EU2000i. They had no RF noise on their deserted island from them as they grounded the generators. Here's a quote from the VP6DX website:
Honda EM65is and EM30is inverter supply, gasoline generators. The operators report that the generators offer "100 percent reliability to date. The inverter system has been very tolerant of the widely varying loads presented to the generators as multiple operating positions switch between transmit (high power consumption) and receive (low power consumption), a vast improvement over previous gasoline generator designs."
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| W6LAR |
Rating:   |
2007-08-13 | |
| Going back to dealer. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Took my new eu2000 out camping this past weekend. I ran my IC718 while powering the travel trailer with the Honda. The 718 on battery power. I was disappointed to find a noise floor of S5 - S9 while the Honda was hooked up. As a test I ran the Honda alone, no noise. I plugged in a 25 ft power cord and laid it on the ground going nowhere. Noise at S5 - S9. Seems my "new" genny is a trash transmitter. I tried numerous grounding but no change. Got home tonight and backed up my findings. Will put a scope on it tomorrow night. I will take a picture and let the dealer hash it out. I am really bummed on this one. I expected better from Honda. |
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