I already know that I have a 8kw diesel generator on board but for a lot of reasons I am thinking of purchasing 2 Yamaha 2000W inverter generators and paralleling them together for 4000w of power. When I don't need 2 running I will shut one down and only run one. Question is has anyone fabricated their own paralleling cable set? Is there anything special about them other than their price? Could a person purchase two 120 volt male plugs and one female 30 amp RV receptacle and wire your own?Blessings kdk

Won't work. With AC current, two generators, running at two different speeds will not be able to sync with each other to give you a cumulative total of voltage/power. If you were talking DC, yes, but with 60 cycle AC, nope.

With apologies to our Florida friend, that's not correct at all with our modern technology (research "inverter generators").Yes, you can parallel them because they were designed to be used that way.But PLEASE DON'T make the dead-man cable you describe. It's just way too dangerous and is very amateurish in that it shows one doesn't know what they're doing (no offense intended).Either buy the correct connectors from an electronics supply place (called "insulated banana plugs") or buy the ready made cable for that purpose. Good luck,Scott

rgatijnet1 wrote:Won't work. With AC current, two generators, running at two different speeds will not be able to sync with each other to give you a cumulative total of voltage/power. If you were talking DC, yes, but with 60 cycle AC, nope.To the OP: Yes, it has been done and with great success.. I can not help you with the job though since I have not done it. Of course they must be INVERTER generators and they must be the ones that are capable of parallelling. To Rgatijnet1For many years Honda was the only company that made an Inverter generator that was advertised as being able to work in tandem with another (in parallel) This is because of the inverter technology.However in recent times Yamaha has now started marketing parallel kits for some of their inverter generators as have some of the Chinese knock off imitation jobs as well.. I do not recommend those.I am assuming the O/P was planing on using the "i" series of inverter generators.. (And as you see I included that as a provision of the advice I gave him).

wa8yxm wrote:rgatijnet1 wrote:Won't work. With AC current, two generators, running at two different speeds will not be able to sync with each other to give you a cumulative total of voltage/power. If you were talking DC, yes, but with 60 cycle AC, nope.To the OP: Yes, it has been done and with great success.. I can not help you with the job though since I have not done it. Of course they must be INVERTER generators and they must be the ones that are capable of parallelling. To Rgatijnet1For many years Honda was the only company that made an Inverter generator that was advertised as being able to work in tandem with another (in parallel) This is because of the inverter technology.However in recent times Yamaha has now started marketing parallel kits for some of their inverter generators as have some of the Chinese knock off imitation jobs as well.. I do not recommend those.I am assuming the O/P was planing on using the "i" series of inverter generators.. (And as you see I included that as a provision of the advice I gave him).You are right and as with a lot of things, technology has improved. I did do a search of the Yamaha website to educate myself and they did state that yes you can connect the two 2000 watt units together for 4000 watts but you cannot leave them connected and shut one down. They both must remain running when connected.

ScottG wrote:With apologies to our Florida friend, that's not correct at all with our modern technology (research "inverter generators").Yes, you can parallel them because they were designed to be used that way.But PLEASE DON'T make the dead-man cable you describe. It's just way too dangerous and is very amateurish in that it shows one doesn't know what they're doing (no offense intended).Either buy the correct connectors from an electronics supply place (called "insulated banana plugs") or buy the ready made cable for that purpose. Good luck,ScottScott, No apologies necessary. The technology was above my pay grade. :oHere is what I found in the Q&A for the units. Q: Will the dual Yamaha EF2000iS/Twin-Tech setup provide power if only 1 of the generators is running? I'm looking at this for RV use and wondering if during those times when I need only the power of one generator I can use without having to unplug from the parallel outlet and re-plug with an adapter into an outlet on one of the generators. A: You cannot use the parallel kit when operating only one generator. The kit is for use when both generators are operating at the same time in conjunction with one another.

Generator parallel cables | Good Sam Community

allbrandauto
Explorer
Feb 14, 2014
I to have a Honda 2000 I do a lot of dry camping at racetracks I use it more than my onan 5.5 gas generator because of less noise and vibration in coach also better on fuel
msmith1199
Explorer II
Feb 14, 2014
Unrelated to the question but related to the issue, why buy two Yamaha's if you already have an onboard generator? I used to own one Honda 2000 watt model that I carried on board. It would charge the batteries and run everything that I needed to run except the AC's. So I would use the Honda most of the time and on the rare occasion when I needed the AC's and didn't have hookups, then that is what the bigger generator was for.

Now if I had a trailer without a generator then yes, I'd get the two Hondas or the two Yamahas any day over one bigger generator.
2oldman
Explorer II
Feb 14, 2014
kdk wrote:
Could a person purchase two 120 volt male plugs and one female 30 amp RV receptacle and wire your own?
That is exactly what I did, at a cost of around $24. I haven't killed anyone yet.

Just use some safety common sense by plugging them both in before starting either generator. If running just one, leave them both plugged in.
ryanallie1
Explorer
Feb 14, 2014
H345 wrote:
.

I have a Honda 2000 that I use with a long cord that I keep in the tow , but I would never think
about plugging it into the coach . Am I missing something ?

.

Hi All.

Why in the world, wouldn't you plug a EU Honda 2000i, into your Motorhome. I have done it so many times I couldn't even begen to cout the times I have done it.
I also have Paralled then and have run everything in our Motorhome, it handles everything except the Microwave/Convection Onen at the same time. My Twin Honda EU2000I's will handle both A/C's and the 60 amp Converter with no problems. As we already had our Honda's.

I guess I don't understand your reasoning. I guess.

Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill & two Small "Yorkie Kids who love to RV and espically going Boon-Docking as much as we do.
H345
Explorer
Feb 13, 2014
.

I have a Honda 2000 that I use with a long cord that I keep in the tow , but I would never think
about plugging it into the coach . Am I missing something ?

.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Feb 13, 2014
The OP was talking about buying two YAMAHA inverter generators and the total cost for the pair, plus the parallel cables is about $2200. He asked if things would still work fine if one was shut down. The answer was NO from the Yamaha website.
Lantley
Nomad
Feb 13, 2014
wa8yxm wrote:
Lantley wrote:
racerguy wrote:
kdk, just have to ask this. WHY??? Lots of money and you already have a very quiet, inexpensive to operate, built in unit.

I'm thinking the same thing? What is your motivation to go to the Honda's? Twin Honda 2000's have a stellar reputation nevertheless, why start carrying gas can etc.
I have heard of some buying 1 Honda for the quiet efficiency but 2 Hondas and a 8K diesel seems like overkill?

The "NO LOAD" fuel consumption for an Onan 7KW gasoline generator is 0.43 GPH.. The 1/4 load the Yahama EF-2000i will burn 1.1 gallons in 10.5 hours.

Is that reason enough to go with the smaller portables, I can come up with additional reasons.

I would like something like a true 1,000 watt Inverter generator, or failing that a fully enclosed genny like the Genrac 1000 I actually own (And if I ever find it somebody is going to jail). WHY, Well, see above. 1,000 is just enough to keep my PDI 9180 happy.

I get it. In certain scenarios. Especially if you already own the Hondas. However if the OP is going to buy 2 new Hondas I don't think it's practical.
Even a single Honda 2000 is a $1000.00 investment just to save on genset fuel?
The OP has a diesel RV and diesel genset why introduce gas and gas cans into the equation?
How long will it take to recover the cost of the new equipment via reduced gas consumption. The cost of 2 new Honda 2000's buys a lot of diesel.
I don't mean to 2nd guess the OP, I imagine there is more to the story
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Feb 13, 2014
Lantley wrote:
racerguy wrote:
kdk, just have to ask this. WHY??? Lots of money and you already have a very quiet, inexpensive to operate, built in unit.

I'm thinking the same thing? What is your motivation to go to the Honda's? Twin Honda 2000's have a stellar reputation nevertheless, why start carrying gas can etc.
I have heard of some buying 1 Honda for the quiet efficiency but 2 Hondas and a 8K diesel seems like overkill?

The "NO LOAD" fuel consumption for an Onan 7KW gasoline generator is 0.43 GPH.. The 1/4 load the Yahama EF-2000i will burn 1.1 gallons in 10.5 hours.

Is that reason enough to go with the smaller portables, I can come up with additional reasons.

I would like something like a true 1,000 watt Inverter generator, or failing that a fully enclosed genny like the Genrac 1000 I actually own (And if I ever find it somebody is going to jail). WHY, Well, see above. 1,000 is just enough to keep my PDI 9180 happy.
ryanallie1
Explorer
Feb 13, 2014
Hi All.

Hey, check out our Signature. Have a Pair of smaller Generators is the only way to go. Our Motorhome only has a 5.5 G Generator.

But havig a Pair of Honda EU2000i's, Paralla Kit and Extended Run Tank is the only way to go. We can exceed our Motorhomes 30 AMP Limit anytime we feel like it. For just Baqttery charging one Honda will take care of that. Plus the Hondas are so much cheaper to run than a big built in Generator is.

We already had our Twin Honda's and stuff, a very long time ago, when we had a TT and then a 5th Wheel Trailer. So once you have them, why on earth would you ever want to sell them. As far as Electricity goes , we sure are not hurting. Nor are we ever hurting for Heat, and thats not counting the Motorhomes Furance, as we never use it. But I do keep it always ready for in case of an Emergency. We already have 46+ years as "Travelers, RV'er's and especially Boon_Dockers. We enjoy the "Winter Time" the most of all, hardly anyone else around, so it always nice and quite.

Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill & our two Small "Yorkie Kis" who love to travel & Boon_Dock as much as we do.
Lantley
Nomad
Feb 13, 2014
racerguy wrote:
kdk, just have to ask this. WHY??? Lots of money and you already have a very quiet, inexpensive to operate, built in unit.

I'm thinking the same thing? What is your motivation to go to the Honda's? Twin Honda 2000's have a stellar reputation nevertheless, why start carrying gas can etc.
I have heard of some buying 1 Honda for the quiet efficiency but 2 Hondas and a 8K diesel seems like overkill?

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