We just completed our first dry camping trip of the year. I was very pleased that I did not need to run the generator at all with the two 6 volt batteries we put on the new trailer. Unfortunately on the last day we just wanted to microwave our breakfast from the morning before and found our 1000 watt Honda generator would go to overload protection if we used the microwave. I tried turning a few things off on the breakers including the converter. Are the new microwaves using that much juice? I'm now thinking of getting a bigger generator but am not sure of what size to get. Any thoughts on how to determine what size is best? This trailer has an outdoor kitchen and the outdoor fridge is connected to the GFI plug so it turns on when pluged in and has no off switch. I would like to just be able to plug the generator in and not have to flip a bunch of breakers off to use the microwave. Thanks for any help!

I can't remember exactly but I think my microwave is 1200W. With my Honda 2000i it's fine as long as I remember to turn off my water heater. 800W leftover is more than enough for lights and refrigerator (although I always set mine to "gas only" when dry camping - you don't have that?).The microwave was the main thing that made me buy the 2000 over the 1000.

Hi,The outside refrigerator is probably going to use about 200 watts, and the microwave about 1,250 input watts. COnverter is probably running full bore after a few days not being on, and that can be 45 amps output at 15 volts or well over 700 watts input.A 2000 watt Honda is in your future. . . Mayberrys.com Call and ask the price. They are not allowed by Honda to publish a price on the internet. Good luck!Fred.

Air conditioner? Budget? We ended up buying a Honda EU3000IS. Will do everything we need including air, TV, Microwave, etc. gets excellent use out of tank, very quiet and has a remote start. Depends on what you need.

As stated by Fred, the microwave probably has an input of about 1,300 watts. I have a Champion 2000 generator and it can handle the microwave in our TT.

I think the 2000w may do the job then . We dry camp only a few times a year. I do enjoy it though and around here it's almost always at the coast so it's cool enough that we don't need the A/C. But if we ever decided to do a NASCAR race or something like that we would need the a/c. I was also looking at The pricing and saw you could buy two 2000w for a few hundred more than a 3000. Seems like pairing those together is the big thing. Is there a benefit to having the "companion" model that has the 30 amp plug so you don't have to use an adapter?

Generator selection | Good Sam Community

RooDude09
Explorer
Apr 19, 2015
I saw a Smarter Tools 2000 out at camp this weekend. I was very impressed. Just a little hung up on Honda being such s great generator and one of the best in the market. Just have to weigh out the price to how much we'll use it factor and I think the Costco gendearing may be a good choice. The people we talked to love theirs
BubbaChris
Explorer
Apr 16, 2015
SkiMore wrote:
BubbaChris wrote:
SkiMore wrote:

How hard is it to change it out?

I've done it twice now, once to prep for some high-altitude trips and again to put the regular jet back in. I printed out the instructions I found elsewhere here and got things organized in advance. Went smoothly and obviously better the 2nd time.

I did play a little with carbs on lawnmowers and minibikes as a kid, so I was anticipating I could do it.

I watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNy2lfJCEE ) on cleaning the EU2000 carb. It shows how to get to the jet. I guess if you were going to do it fairly often it might make sense to get a second carb (one for each jet) and just swap the entire carb.

This is the thread I used for my instructions:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22602186.cfm

Since my focus was on the jets, I left the throttle unit attached to the carb and just did my work from the bowl end of things. And I'm pretty sure I left most of the hoses attached to the carb and just pulled them out of the bottom of the case.
SkiMore
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
BubbaChris wrote:
SkiMore wrote:

How hard is it to change it out?

I've done it twice now, once to prep for some high-altitude trips and again to put the regular jet back in. I printed out the instructions I found elsewhere here and got things organized in advance. Went smoothly and obviously better the 2nd time.

I did play a little with carbs on lawnmowers and minibikes as a kid, so I was anticipating I could do it.

I watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNy2lfJCEE ) on cleaning the EU2000 carb. It shows how to get to the jet. I guess if you were going to do it fairly often it might make sense to get a second carb (one for each jet) and just swap the entire carb.
BubbaChris
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
SkiMore wrote:

How hard is it to change it out?

I've done it twice now, once to prep for some high-altitude trips and again to put the regular jet back in. I printed out the instructions I found elsewhere here and got things organized in advance. Went smoothly and obviously better the 2nd time.

I did play a little with carbs on lawnmowers and minibikes as a kid, so I was anticipating I could do it.
Scooter86
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
If it runs to lean, to hard, to long you could seize the engine. If it is jetted as stock, it will actually be to rich at elevation which can cause power loss and plug fouling. Less oxygen available, you need to put in a smaller jet to administer less fuel. Changing jets is something anyone with moderate mechanical skills and a cool head should be able to reasonably do.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
SkiMore wrote:
I know running lean means you have too much air/not enough gas. What are the ramifications of that? Is it just loss of power?

And the engine will run hotter. Whether that's enough under normal circumstances to seriously damage an engine would depend on a number of factors but since Honda offers three different jets for their EU2000i to best match air density at various elevations it would seem to only make sense to take advantage of that and install the recommended jet based on elevation where you expect to use the genset. I'm near sea level and wouldn't normally camp above 5000' so this isn't an issue for me but for those who expect to use their genset at much higher elevations changing the jet seems to me to be worth the effort.
SkiMore
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
SoundGuy wrote:
SkiMore wrote:
What happens when you use #60 or #58 at lower altitudes?

The engine will run lean.

How hard is it to change it out?

Depends on your skills ... you gotta pull the carb.

Thanks. I know running lean means you have too much air/not enough gas. What are the ramifications of that? Is it just loss of power?

I found a youtube video that showed how to clean an EU2000 carb. It gave me an idea of what was involved in changing the jet.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
SkiMore wrote:
What happens when you use #60 or #58 at lower altitudes?

The engine will run lean.

How hard is it to change it out?

Depends on your skills ... you gotta pull the carb.
PAThwacker
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
I have a 2000w yamaha. I erroneously tried to run the fridge, convertor, and microwave at the same time. Woops, no damage, but I need to remember to put the fridge on gas to run the Microwave or 1500w heater. My water heater is gas only.
SkiMore
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
SoundGuy wrote:
marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:
Last year camping at 7800 ft my eu2000i would barely power just the microwave (1300) watts. It was dim and the voltage was down to 104.

If you've not rejetted your EU2000i to run at elevation (which you haven't indicated you did) - then no wonder. :R The stock jet is a #62 but Honda offers #60 and #58 jets as well. Even rejetted, Honda says you should expect to lose ~ 3% power for every 1000' above sea level.

-Sea Level to 4,500' is a jet size 62(Honda #99101-ZG0-0620)
-4,500'-7,500' is a jet size 60(Honda# 99101-ZG0-0600)
-7,500' and up is a jet size 58(Honda #99101-ZG0-0580)

JMO but Honda's EU2000i is the obvious choice for anyone wanting a general purpose genset for camping that's relatively lightweight, therefore easy to handle and to store, relatively quiet as far as gensets are concerned, dead reliable, and capable of running most any appliance RV owners would have except for A/C, along with being able to re-charge the typical deep cycle battery (or batteries). Having sold my first EU2000i a couple of years ago I decided recently to get another genset and after exhaustively looking at all the alternatives I ended up right back where I started - with another EU2000i, as there's just too many advantages to this generator which over the years has gained an almost cult like status, for so many reasons. It's also the reason I see so many 1000 watt units for sale on the used market from those who like the OP discovered a 1K just isn't enough.

What happens when you use #60 or #58 at lower altitudes?

How hard is it to change it out?

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