Where I am hosting and working this summer there is a guy that has a snack boat out at a barrier island. He has cold drinks, snacks, and ice cream. There is zero electricity out at the island and also no electricity where he keeps the boat at night so......He has a Honda EU2000i that he uses to keep his residential size freezer working. This generator runs continuously and only stops when it runs out of gas and only then long enough for him to refuel it. When he docks for the night he fills the generator with fuel and goes home which is approx 6:00pm each evening. It is usually still running at 7:30am the next morning, but runs out of fuel by 8:00am. It literally runs 23+ hours/day. So far this summer it has been running for the past 6 weeks and he plans to use it all summer or until it dies completely when he will get another one. He does change the oil pretty regularly since it is operating almost 700 hours/month.I'll try to keep this thread updated as the summer progresses, but so far it is working good for him.

The 1800rpm small gas gensets can last 15,000 hrs on continuous duty. I am curious how long the Honda will go...

It will be interesting to know just how long these things will run. I had a Honda lawn mower that I used for 21 years but I doubt that it had 700 hours on it. It still ran good but smoked when I first started it up. I sold it and bought another Honda.

15,000 hrs expected life running 24 hrs/day = 625 days. Labor day is 77 days away...assuming the little Honda is new he'll likely be OK. If he bought it new and runs 120 days in a season that still 5 years of use.If he paid $2000 and it lasts 15,000 hrs, that means his amortized ownership cost is $0.13/hr. If gas is $4/gal and a gal lasts 24 hrs, his operating cost is $0.16/hr, for a total cost of $0.29/hr. He probably sells a bottle of water for $3, so I would say his overhead is in line with a solid profit margin as long as sales are there.

Ya know what I agree that these little Hondas will run a long time, even at high rpms. Nothing lasts forever and if properly maintained they should give plenty of service. The last thread I posted about running my 13.5 dometic air with my 2000i, I was getting killed that it was too much on that little genset. I like to hear about who has been there and done that, rather than you can't, shouldn't or I wouldn't.Oh and Im sure he paid closer to a thousand for that genny, so u can cut those numbers in half!!

the Honda would run longer than I could stand the noise 24 hours a day.

Honda EU2000i Usage - Extreme | Good Sam Community

JiminDenver
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2014
The diversion here is mild compared to other threads, so I'd say more like a pony ride. ;)
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Sep 03, 2014
Ninerbikes!

Ya lifts yer foot inta the sturrup (John Wayne voice)

Then ya swing yer right leg over the saddle...

And hopefully dig your toe into the other sturrup

Cause whether ya know it or not yer going for one hell of a ride...
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 03, 2014
Here is the fuel tank he needs. No more stopping except for oil changes or other maintenance.

http://www.wisesales.com/generators-1/generator-accessories/generator-extended-run-fuel-tanks.html
BurbMan
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2014
mlts22 wrote:
....but I wonder about a propane freezer, and if that would be a better solution.

It was/is, we took a slight detour after this post, since the generator/freezer combo is installed on a boat.
NinerBikes
Explorer
Sep 03, 2014
I thought this thread was about extreme usage of a Honda Eu2000I, not about propane on a boat.
BurbMan
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2014
My mistake, I thought CG didn't allow it. Boats *can* use propane if they are outfitted with a properly vented sealed locker for the gas bottle and have the required safety equipment.

Like many things, just because it's legal doesn't mean it's a good idea....
edatlanta
Explorer
Sep 03, 2014
Boats use propane all the time.
RJsfishin
Explorer
Sep 02, 2014
Quote:
propane is never allowed on a boat
---------------------------------------
Don't bet all your money on that !
Last I knew there is/was a whole fleet of rental houseboats at a Resort in the CA Delta that all have/had propane fridges in them.
jmcgsd
Explorer
Sep 02, 2014
This thread makes me feel good. I ran my eu2000i all summer about 1-2 hrs per day and I thought I used it a lot!
BurbMan
Explorer II
Sep 02, 2014
mlts22 wrote:
This is a working setup, but I wonder about a propane freezer, and if that would be a better solution.

OP mentioned that the freezer runs on a "snack boat"...propane is never allowed on a boat since it's heavier than air and a leak will fill the hold with gas...

Thanks Mex, math was always my strong suit.