Your last generator Maintenance Run

[3930dave]

I really appreciate my EU3000is or whatever the name is... after killing one battery for the electric key start, I treated it to a battery tender. I may be mentioned this before in this thread and apologies if I did, but I think this was the best thing I could do. Now I don't have to worry so much when I am away traveling, as my better half can easily start it during power outages.

My real-world friends are used to hearing me (not totally) joking about buying a Model T next...... but I have to admit - most people find electric start really convenient. With many people today you'd have to put some time into explaining just how/when to properly use the choke - some people have physical limitations that preclude pull-starting, or just struggle with it too much to volunteer to start something manually. Electric start solves a lot of problems, and modern batteries don't need much for maintenance, mostly just a maintenance charger like you used....... easy-peasey to do.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Does pairing up two 2000 watt generators give 4000 watts? I mistakenly was hoping that using the parallel connection would give me 240V for my water pumps. Bonk! Yeah, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to electricity...

Some manuf. will start to offer 240vac output (single generator) at somewhere around 3kw - Generac for example. Once you get up to something like 5kw today, I'd be inclined to expect 240vac output available on a single unit.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

My real-world friends are used to hearing me (not totally) joking about buying a Model T next...... but I have to admit - most people find electric start really convenient. With many people today you'd have to put some time into explaining just how/when to properly use the choke - some people have physical limitations that preclude pull-starting, or just struggle with it too much to volunteer to start something manually. Electric start solves a lot of problems, and modern batteries don't need much for maintenance, mostly just a maintenance charger like you used....... easy-peasey to do.

Rgds, D.

The nice thing about a Model T is you can have both... an electric start and an attached crank!

Of course you can forgo the battery all together and run off the mag and have gas and oil to power the lamps...

 

[3930dave]

The nice thing about a Model T is you can have both... an electric start and an attached crank!

Of course you can forgo the battery all together and run off the mag and have gas and oil to power the lamps...

A buddy of mine back in the 80's showed me a trick with his Dad's T. You could play with the manual spark advance (on steering column) so that you could sometimes get the engine to start on it's own - at least with a minimal amount of heat in the block.

Today that "feature" would be making lawyers rich. Back when, it was just a trick to save time/effort and might have been commonly known/practiced.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

If you charge the cylinders just right by slowly turning the engine with the crank and a little choke and then turn on the spark coil... the engine should start... it's all about knowing how to get piston number 1 just past top dead center and igniting the mixture...

 

[kevinwak]

Power was out when I got home from work tonight. DW said it went out when our boys (2 & 4) were in the bath tub. Needless to say the boys were scared. I hooked up the Honda EU 2000 and got a few lights on. Everybody calmed down and fell asleep. About 1.5 hours on the generator when the dog started barking at the lights on the pole shed when they came on. This reminds me that I need to bump up wiring a proper generator transfer switch higher up the to do list.

 

[90cummins]

About 2 weeks ago we lost power for 4+ hours around 5pm so I started up my EU2000 that supplies power thru a 6 circuit transfer switch for essentials.
This was the perfect opportunity for me to show my wife what to do if I'm not home. The EU starts very easy and the system is installed per code.
She had no problems getting the power on and I plan on going thru the process several more times with her documenting the steps and also posting instructions so she can feel confident if alone.
The power was still out when we needed to take showers so I started my 3.7kw Yanmar that supports my 24v 4kw whole house battery backup inverter.
The inverter has a Gen support feature that will assist any loads above 3kw (adjustable) to prevent overloading the generator.
This will support the deep well pump starting surge and all necessary circuits with proper management.
I'm very happy with my system because it allows the use of a small fuel efficient generator that can run over 4 hours/gallon.
The only problem I encountered was a dead battery on the Yanmar, fortunately it starts very easy (for me) using the recoil.
I found a small parasitic load on the battery with the key off so I need to trouble shoot that, but for the time being a trickle charger is keeping the battery up.
Being prepared is no Accident!

90cummins

 

[3930dave]

Power was out when I got home from work tonight. DW said it went out when our boys (2 & 4) were in the bath tub. Needless to say the boys were scared. I hooked up the Honda EU 2000 and got a few lights on. Everybody calmed down and fell asleep. About 1.5 hours on the generator when the dog started barking at the lights on the pole shed when they came on. This reminds me that I need to bump up wiring a proper generator transfer switch higher up the to do list.

Things keep bumping "stuff" down on my RoundTuIt list ..... events like you had yesterday remind us to shuffle things a bit.... :thumbsup:

Long nights this time of year, and (normally) cold temps..... sure nice to have a backup that you can count on.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

.
I'm very happy with my system because it allows the use of a small fuel efficient generator that can run over 4 hours/gallon.
The only problem I encountered was a dead battery on the Yanmar, fortunately it starts very easy (for me) using the recoil.
I found a small parasitic load on the battery with the key off so I need to trouble shoot that, but for the time being a trickle charger is keeping the battery up.
Being prepared is no Accident!

90cummins

Nice setup 90. Inverters are now low cost, powerful and pretty reliable, so I find them to be useful in a home system - esp. in an extended outage.

Good to identify the battery issue, before somebody who has to rely on it needs it to fire. :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.

 

[buickanddeere]

Power was out when I got home from work tonight. DW said it went out when our boys (2 & 4) were in the bath tub. Needless to say the boys were scared. I hooked up the Honda EU 2000 and got a few lights on. Everybody calmed down and fell asleep. About 1.5 hours on the generator when the dog started barking at the lights on the pole shed when they came on. This reminds me that I need to bump up wiring a proper generator transfer switch higher up the to do list.

Best transfer switch I have found to date for a 7500W and smaller generator is the "Generlink" unit. It plugs in between the meter base and the utility meter. Safe, simple and cost effective. Portable if you move.