HOT HOT HOT! running AC on Honda generator

[wsmurdoch]

It was 85.6F max today and 77.7F right now at anchor in Marsh Harbour. Come on over.

We used our Honda generator to heat the boat in New Bern, NC in January before we left for the Bahamas. (Florence destroyed out dock's electricals which we understand have not yet been repaired.) The generator will run one and a half 1600W heaters.

The fuel cap is a good thing... it and the dinghy gas tank together, actually. No getting up at night to add gas. Also, the thing-a-ma-jig from Amazon that screws into the oil drain/fill hole to let you drain the oil without spilling it over everything; it is a good thing.

Bill

[a64pilot]

Yes get the plastic funnel / tube that goes into the oil hole, also take a plastic bottle, I used an old orange juice one and drain every drop into it, and mark the level, then from now on fill that bottle to the mark with fresh oil and just pour it in, no need to dribble in and check five times until you get the level right.
Also buy an inexpensive hour meter or how else do you know when to change oil?
If you have the regular Honda you can hook that meter up to the 12VDC charge wires to run it, if you have the Companion model it doesn’t have the 12VDV charge terminals, so you will need an inductive hour meter that the wire wraps around the spark plug wire.
This is how I did mine, mounted on velcro.


You’ll rack up more hours on the thing than you might think.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You’ll rack up more hours on the thing than you might think.

I doubt that. I've had it 3 days and I think I've already run it 30 hours.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I doubt that. I've had it 3 days and I think I've already run it 30 hours.

That is my point. People run them more than they realize and without an hourmeter, your just guessing how many hours you have on it unless you write it down each day etc.
Hourmeter is just easier, I’m surprised it doesn’t come with one.

Obviously you will burn quite a bit of gas, but that’s life.
I think if the oil is changed frequently, one will last for thousands of hours, just based on how mine seems to be.

[sailorboy1]

My Honda eu2200i has a run time counter on it that marks each 100 hours

And yes, just went into the marina and got 6 gal of the best marina priced gas. Was only abou5 $1.60 a gal more that the regular gas I got a couple days ago.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My Honda eu2200i has a run time counter on it that marks each 100 hours



And yes, just went into the marina and got 6 gal of the best marina priced gas. Was only abou5 $1.60 a gal more that the regular gas I got a couple days ago.

How does the consumption compare to your Italian marvel?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

How does the consumption compare to your Italian marvel?

My finely crafted and engineered Italian marvel uses about 1/4 gph diesel, pretty much no matter the load.

The Honda manual says the RU2200i uses 1/4 gph at max load and about 1/8 gph at 1/4 load

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My finely crafted and engineered Italian marvel uses about 1/4 gph diesel, pretty much no matter the load.



The Honda manual says the RU2200i uses 1/4 gph at max load and about 1/8 gph at 1/4 load

Honda for the win!!

[sailorboy1]

Now I’m looking into soft starters for the main 16k unit. The goal is to have air conditioning, not “save” $300 to not have it after already spending $1300 to have.

[a64pilot]

Glad to see the 2200 has an hour meter, the 2000 does not.

The Diesel is more efficient, it makes almost twice the power for about the same amount of fuel.
But its expensive and is a pain to service, unless you have an engine room to put it in, if it’s in a Lazarette, it’s a pain getting in and out.
I can change the Honda’s oil in about 1 min. And don’t have to get onto my knees or squeeze into the Lazarette.

I predict you will come to like the Honda more than your finely tuned Italian marvel

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Now I’m looking into soft starters for the main 16k unit. The goal is to have air conditioning, not “save” $300 to not have it after already spending $1300 to have.

I think you can do it of course, mine pulls 12 amps running, well within the limits of a 2200 I’m sure, but of course it will run one or the other, not both.

Sailorchic I believe knows of a less expensive soft start if I’m not mistaken

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I predict you will come to like the Honda more than your finely tuned Italian marvel

But I that marvel

Lot depends on the cost of fixing the marvel’s radiator.

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

But I that marvel



Lot depends on the cost of fixing the marvel’s radiator.

What kind of generator do you have? I am trying to figure out what kind is made in Italy?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by malbert73

What kind of generator do you have? I am trying to figure out what kind is made in Italy?

it's a Lombardini LMG 4000

funny in their "sell" sheet they made a big deal of that radiator being stainless steel etc., but it only lasted about 700 hours

[RickG]

I added an EasyStart to our vintage CruiseAir 12K and it starts on the Honda EU2000i and will run in Eco mode. Our CruisAir 7K will not start on the Honda and I have not yet added the EasyStart.

Thanks for the tip on the ground terminal. We just silence the ground fault alarm. Looks like I need to research that option.

I bought the EasyStart from Coastal Climate Control. They have great support. They also have some videos featuring the EasyStart and a MarineAir 16K running on a Honda without any kind of soft start.

https://www.coastalclimatecontrol.co...egory=25823691

Cheers, RickG