If it were me contemplating the same issue, I would run off the batteries some large proportion of the time, then run the generator for say five hours per day to recharge the batteries. Now the generator isn't running all of those extra hours, and is working a little more while it is running. It would be the same amount of wear and tear as far as start and heat cycles go, and charging still wouldn't bring it near it's maximum output (unless you upgrade the charger) so it would be negligible extra wear and tear on the generator.

 

I don't have any experience with the EU2200's specifically but I do have plenty of experience with Honda small engines. I have to assume Honda would use commercial grade engines in all if their generators since they are required to run for extended periods of time. With that said any Commercial Small engine has an expected end of life around the 2000 hr mark at WOT. Some will run longer some not as much, all depends on how well it has been maintained.

If you do a search around the web you find people using the EU2200's to charge house batteries for off grid living in Alaska. Some of those users claim to have 3000 plus hours on those units. I would say that is very possible of they are maintained properly.

Not sure how many hours you run your EU2200 over the course of a year but 2000 hrs/24 hrs = 83.3 days of continuous runtime. The cost of that unit over the course of it's 2000 hr expected life (assuming you paid the MSRP of $1200) would be $.60 per hour. If you are running it at idle or under a light load I bet you could double the amount of hours before end of life, effectively making it $.30-$.40 per running hour.

Like djousma said above...........don't worry about it just run it and replace it if and when it dies.



Edit: If you really want to geek out on some genset info have a read of post #5 here: https://www.survivalmonkey.com/threa...-cycles.38392/

 

Thanks for the info. As for the link - it was a good read. On my plate, also (had another thread about this a while back here) at a later point in time, is a 12-15kw unit. There is a lot of that thread that pertains to that discussion. So thanks a bunch!

 

Skip the gasoline and hop on your bike!

 

Just for reference - what prompted my post primarily was working out of my truck. I have a power inverter and being a diesel it has 2 batteries (yellow top optimas). I was needing to start the truck every 30 minutes or so as the voltage would sag. Then when I started the truck the voltage drop would kill the inverter. Loosing AC power is a problem - I was running an RF spectrum analyzer recording and there is no way to maintain the record over a power cycle. So by running the generator as long as I top off the fuel I can run for a long uninterrupted period.

If my **** was parked on a bike generator I wouldn't get much done... Although I do cycle long distances and the exercise is good, just not convenient when tuned in to different tasks. Going back to the boat example, also, a smaller/lighter unit is that much less in the boat also. Or back of the truck... Or...

 

I was joking with the bicycle powered generator. There may be some merit to installing a set of RV batteries and an inverter. Then add a DC to DC charger and you should be good to go for quite a few hours without the need to start the truck.

 

I have a old 650 watt Honda that use to run our trailer when we just want to run the TV, freezer, charge boat battery instead of running our 5K built in unit.

Denny

 

Interesting... always wondered what the service life was. I have an EU7000is with about 2500 hours on it and it still runs like new. Usually has around 2500-3K watts on it, but has ran for days at 6K. The person I bought it from had an EU6500 with over 6K hours on it.
Before that, I had an EM5000SX with over 4K hours that I sold to a buddy who still uses it. Both of them have Commercial Engines on them and they still don't use a drop of oil.

On the other side of the coin, I had a Champion 3500 W that had about 2K hours on it. Still ran, but used a bit of oil and was down on power from when it was new.

 

Sounds like you have taken very good care of your equipment.

If you haven't had a look yet check out post #5 at this site. https://www.survivalmonkey.com/threa...-cycles.38392/

That gentleman has a huge amount of experience with gensets. The amount of hours he claims those small engines will run is very similar to what you stated.

 

We will be in the market for a small generator for our camper here soon. That said, I've had access to some older Honda 2000i generators, they were purchased around the time they came to market. After extended periods of sitting, the carb always gummed up, which meant I became fairly proficient at taking it out/cleaning it out. We did run them dry after the 2nd or 3rd time, knowing it was a problem. Once clean and running they were great though. Is this still a problem with honda generators? Fuel was just 87 octane with 10% ethanol, and I'm sure that contributed to the problem.

 

I read through that whole post and then some when you posted that in the thread originally. Great read. I have been curious about a lot of that.

I remember on one of the alaska TV shows there was an old generator that was brought back to life - the size of a car. One of the family's neighbors, had to have been 100 years old or close to it, apparently knew about them so he was recruited to tinker with it. When they got it running the old guy made the comment something to the affect of "Theres nothing I like better than to see these old machines running again".

I can see the point that the guy in the thread made about a lot of those out-post power units being designed to run continuously. It is interesting to me to see the various grades of generators - and if you compare modern units on the current manufacturers lists and their price classes - they really do vary a lot. Though, there is a reason.

Another bit of research I have been doing is in to sailboats. One of these days I plan to get one - not in the cards now though. There are a lot of boats that have inboard motors. In fact, I would say most sail boats over 25' do. Some in that range, and I'd say the majority under about 20', do not - people run outboard kicker motors. Those bigger boat inboard motors are all diesel - from about 8hp on up. The inboard motors aren't just for propulsion (in/out of harbor, when the wind dies, etc) - they also provide a means of charging house batteries, and in some cases you may even be able to get AC power from them (generator heads). The good thing about that type of set up is you have 1 fuel power source burning 1 type of fuel. Though, it is also common for running separate generators so as to have 2 motor sources (redundancy). Then when you look at taking a dinghy along - what do you power the dinghy with? Speaking of fuel and engines that burn it - diesel is by far the most efficient, however aside from a below deck power plant on a boat - none of the other motors (generator, generally speaking, or outboard for the dinghy) burn it = you are forced to carry 2 types of fuel. Not only that, gasoline is much more volatile than diesel = higher fire risk.

Bringing the idea back to generators here - in the case of the sailboat use, specifically, but this goes for any generator use as well - if diesel engines can be so much more efficient, and quieter (lower RPM's than the "screamer" 3600rpm generators, for example) - why are there not more options available? With the sailboat idea in mind - if you are already carrying 100 gallons of diesel why would adding another, say, 20 gallons of gasoline for generator and dinghy fuel make sense? If you had an extra 20 gallons of diesel it could be used for everything - including the boat powerplant if you needed it.

Back in the day (I'm going back about 15-20 years ago now) - when it comes to small engines and repower - Robin an Hatz made diesel equivalents of your usual Techumseh, Briggs, Kohler, and Honda engines - mostly of the horizontal shaft variety. Now days you never see small diesels. In the generator world - there are some like Winco (W6010DE - 5.1kw running) and Generac (XD5000E - same 5kw running class), but until you get to Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Islands - diesel outboard motors don't exist. You would think - especially with all the construction sites, construction companies, and farms in the US that exist on red diesel - there would be more of a demand for a wider range of diesel engines!

On the subject of red diesel - I don't have a place easy to get to that I've found around here to get it. I've filled up jerry cans on my way to my buddy's boat with road diesel. I hate doing it, but it is what it is. I filled up in International Falls, MN one year on my way up North. They have a Holiday station there on rt 53 that has "ethanol free" premium. I was filling up my boat tanks (about 40-50 gallons) and noticed there was a diesel pump there too. I thought I'd fill up the truck at the same time. Nope. Red diesel. First time I've seen that at the pump like that.

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with EPA regulations. However, it's still a PITA.

I've often wondered if it would be within the realm of reason to get a diesel engine from another purpose (tractor, chipper/shreader trailer, etc) and a generator head to make a bigger generator powerplant on a budget. With the same theory - what about those smaller single cylinder Robin and Hatz units - something like that with a generator head in the 4-6kw range might be possible. Though, I don't know that those types of "small" diesel engines are going to have the lifespan of bigger powered equipment motors like off a tractor, etc.

 

Good post and good question!

My buddy I sail with has 2 of those same units. That's what got me on to them - we ran them for a ham radio event called Field Day a number of years ago. We sailed up to an island on Lake Erie and set up there. His units are that "original" vintage.

They do not have fuel shut offs. When you turn the dial to shut down the generator the dial cuts the fuel and the spark at the same time.

The one I bought (new in 2019) has a 3 position dial now. Run/fuel on, Fuel Off, and Ignition Off. When you shut it down you turn it to the Fuel Off position - NOT the Ignition Off. This cuts the fuel supply and allows it to "run dry" without running fuel out of the tank, just what is in the carb and what comes out of the short piece of tube from the shut off point to the carb.

 

Ethanol is very bad in the small engine world. I used it for several years in my lawn service equipment with the idea that each piece of equipment would burn through it fast enough to not have any issues. Only took a few years to figure out it didn't matter, ethanol still caused issues. Ethanol attracts moisture and in less than 30 days it's full of water. It will cause corrosion on the inside of the carb bowl and eat away at rubber hoses and primer bulbs from the inside out.

Use only 100% gasoline whenever you can. If you run the unit out of fuel just prior to storage and use ethanol free fuel you will not have fuel issues.

I try not to store ethanol free fuel longer than a year. I do have a Honda EMS4500 generator that's 30+ years old that only gets started once or twice a year. Fuel sits in that tank for several years without issues.

 

Back to the original question I posed - this unit was made in the early 2000's, but production stopped around the mid-2000's. 300-350 watts and a 2 stroke motor:
http://www.universalweb.com/food/Pony1.jpg

It looks like even the 500w class of generator is hard to come by (the one in the first link I posted in post #6 is discontinued as well).

 

The primary reason that you don't find small diesel generators is it's to hard on the engine when you operate for extended periods at less than 50% load, it just is no healthy. Add to this that when you are under 50% load the machine does not respond well to high load starting inrush and then add that California Air Resource and EPA regulations have started to impact these areas also. For optimum performance and longevity try to size you generator so you are operating just above 50% of capacity. Key is also to be able to handle inrush on starts like for the AC unit. That's the industry standard, and we operate machines that are up to 50 years old. Most of the older ones are gone due to EPA restrictions. For small portable generators Inverter types have a more stable sine wave so better for the electronics.