Honda 2000: surprisingly poor oil fill tube design
Honda prides itself on being environmentally friendly. So it is odd (to say the least) that the oil fill tube on the Honda 2000 is so tricky – some spillage is almost guaranteed.
Look at this diagram, which is a screen shot taken from the owner’s manual:
Click For Full-Size Image.
On the right side, note that you have to fill the reservoir just to the upper limit of the threads in the tube. But the tube is essentially horizontal – see the left side of the diagram. So in order to fill the tube, you have to tilt the generator back with one hand, carefully pour in just enough oil (and not a drop more) with the other hand, and then slowly bring the generator back to a level position, hoping that you haven't overfilled the reservoir.
So far, I have managed to do all of this without spilling, but it was very demanding. It is a certainty that other folks (especially non-experts like me) have experienced oil spills due to this poor design.
I know that there are after-market toys that can mitigate this design flaw – things that screw into the oil tube. But this glitch was entirely foreseeable. Why didn’t they design an upright tube with a translucent fill window, for example? Didn’t they realize that the hassle factor would discourage owners from performing routine oil changes? Are other generators just as poorly designed?
(Head-shake and grumble.)
Look at this diagram, which is a screen shot taken from the owner’s manual:
Click For Full-Size Image.On the right side, note that you have to fill the reservoir just to the upper limit of the threads in the tube. But the tube is essentially horizontal – see the left side of the diagram. So in order to fill the tube, you have to tilt the generator back with one hand, carefully pour in just enough oil (and not a drop more) with the other hand, and then slowly bring the generator back to a level position, hoping that you haven't overfilled the reservoir.
So far, I have managed to do all of this without spilling, but it was very demanding. It is a certainty that other folks (especially non-experts like me) have experienced oil spills due to this poor design.
I know that there are after-market toys that can mitigate this design flaw – things that screw into the oil tube. But this glitch was entirely foreseeable. Why didn’t they design an upright tube with a translucent fill window, for example? Didn’t they realize that the hassle factor would discourage owners from performing routine oil changes? Are other generators just as poorly designed?
(Head-shake and grumble.)
