My favorite Generator

[mtnman1989]

I have four generators, a 5000 watt Generac home backup system, a 4000 watt Onan on my motorhome and a Kawasaki 1400 watt I use with my travel trailer. I also have an old 1985 or 86 model 600 watt Nissan, my favorite. This little tiny 600 watt generator is an awesome little generator. I learned that it is actually a Honda generator made for Nissan. I use it with my motorhome when we are boondocking and just need to charge the batteries or play the TV etc. It only holds about a pint of fuel and will run about 5 hours before it needs refueling. It is very quiet, light weight, sips fuel and easy to start.
mtnman

[road-runner]

Range Maggot Bob wrote:

Man, I don't know where you been camping! If you think the Honda EU2000i is loud, apparently you haven't heard any other brands on the market run...

Have you heard an ex650 running? Possibly not, because even if you're fairly close to one you might not hear it. I have an eu2000i, and compared to the ex650 it is indeed loud. It makes sense too. The two generators have about the same mass to absorb the sound and vibration, but the eu2000i has to run the engine hard enough to produce 3x the power.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When I went camping the only noise I heard at coffee was an offended blue-jay and an echoing rattle of a woodpecker. The stamping of hooves impatient for oats, and the not so distant splash of a trout over-eager to sip a bug.

Hard-core fishing for goldens and cutthroat and brookies. I was so pooped after a hot shower after dinner that I didn't even miss having a book to read. Out like a light until I smelled coffee and the memory of a dream faded. The day before something huge had yanked the tip of my rod into the water and pulled it still deeper before thrashing off the hook.

Technically I was already "away from it all" even before turning the key and heading for the corral. The pack boxes had already been loaded and weighed.

Then my health hit an uncovered manhole... 😞

[Range_Maggot_Bo]

pnichols wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:
51 pounds is 3 pounds more than a Honda Eu2000i. For 1/3 the wattage.

The EX650 may be "more reliable" too - many running EX650s are going on 25 years old. How many EU2000is are that old yet? Maybe an EU2000i will go that long and maybe it won't .... unknown as of right now.

A running EX650 can be bought for $200-$350 ... a bit less than any runnning used EU2000i can be bought for.

Also, an EX650 putting out it's maximum constant power of 550 watts is still only 54 dB in loudness. I wonder how loud an EU2000i is when it's rev'd up so as to be above it's idle RPM enough to output 550 watts?

Remember that to use an EU2000i's power range you have to put up with a loudness range of 53 dB up to 59 dB. Regarding the EU2000i when outputting it's maximum power (which, granted, is way higher than an EX650's maximum power): I've heard EU2000i generators running at full speed and it isn't pleasant ... not only are they at 59 dB, but it isn't the mild humming sound that the EX650 puts out no matter how much of the EX650's total power is being called for.

I'm not saying that the EX650 can "replace" an EU1000i or EU2000i for all RV uses. I'm saying that the EX650 is almost the quietest non-solar way to dump up to 30 amps into RV batteries during recharging. (For what it's worth, the quietest non-solar way to charge RV batteries anytime anywhere is with an automatic fuel cell system in the RV.)

Man, I don't know where you been camping! If you think the Honda EU2000i is loud, apparently you haven't heard any other brands on the market run...

[TomG2]

"Favorite generator?" A couple of 100 watt solar panels. Only truly "quiet" generator out there.

[jjrbus]

My favorite generator was a Honda EV4010 and I have kicked myself many times for selling it with a RV!

I have found a Honda 2000 with an 8K window unit is the perfect setup for me. Running out of gas in the middle of the night was a real pain but have added an extended run fuel tank, so now life is good.

[lane_hog]

I had to do a double take when I saw the original dates of the posts... but...

My Honda 2000's are now 13 years old, and doing just fine with regular exercise. The choke on one is a little rough for starting, but they still sync just fine. I have no doubt it will last another 10 years. 😉

[time2roll]

My new favorite is the propane only Ryobi 700w for emergency recharge of the RV battery.

[whjco]

I've had a Yamaha 3000 Watt EF3000iS inverter generator for 6 years and it's been bulletproof. It's quiet and its 3.4 gallon fuel tank will run our 15,000 BTU AC unit all night long with enough fuel left in the tank the next morning to run it to mid-day or more. It always starts on the first pull. I run it in econ-mode and it still effortlessly starts the AC unit.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

And I had to settle for a Harbor Freight TOO-cycle to get the same performance and weight.

Sigh

[bikendan]

Limelight wrote:

mtnman1989 wrote:
I have four generators, a 5000 watt Generac home backup system, a 4000 watt Onan on my motorhome and a Kawasaki 1400 watt I use with my travel trailer. I also have an old 1985 or 86 model 600 watt Nissan, my favorite. This little tiny 600 watt generator is an awesome little generator. I learned that it is actually a Honda generator made for Nissan. I use it with my motorhome when we are boondocking and just need to charge the batteries or play the TV etc. It only holds about a pint of fuel and will run about 5 hours before it needs refueling. It is very quiet, light weight, sips fuel and easy to start.
mtnman

I have recently acquired a Nissan GL600 generator, what type of oil does it take?

Holy Thread Resurrection, Batman!:E
A 6 year old thread brought back to life.

[Limelight]

What type of oil does a Nissan gl600 use?

[Limelight]

mtnman1989 wrote:
I have four generators, a 5000 watt Generac home backup system, a 4000 watt Onan on my motorhome and a Kawasaki 1400 watt I use with my travel trailer. I also have an old 1985 or 86 model 600 watt Nissan, my favorite. This little tiny 600 watt generator is an awesome little generator. I learned that it is actually a Honda generator made for Nissan. I use it with my motorhome when we are boondocking and just need to charge the batteries or play the TV etc. It only holds about a pint of fuel and will run about 5 hours before it needs refueling. It is very quiet, light weight, sips fuel and easy to start.
mtnman

I have recently acquired a Nissan GL600 generator, what type of oil does it take?

[pnichols]

mlts22 wrote:
Onan or another company would make a killing in the RV genset market by making an inverter generator that is coupled with a decent sized battery, and having the generator run on something similar to eco-throttle. If a large load hits, the battery would carry it (like the Yamaha 3000iSEB's mechanism) for a short time until the generator is up to speed. The result would be a nice, quiet, economical genset.

.... or how about one of these built-in automatic start/stop generator setups that are only 54 dB loud (quieter inside an RV's cabinet) and skip the 120V AC step completely. Just run your entire RV off 12V DC from your battery bank and 120V AC from an inverter off your battery bank (including the air conditioner) while this great piece of engineering takes care of the batteries quietly anywhere, anytime, any weather:

http://fischerpanda.com/marine-pdf/AGT4000-DC.pdf

[mlts22]

Pressurized oil systems always win in my book compared to splash lubricated systems. The oil has to "do" less work. With splash lubricant, that little amount of oil that is thrown out of the pan has to perform a lot of work, while the rest of the oil in the pan does nothing. A system pushing oil around means that more oil is seeing duty to carry heat off and limiting wear.

Onan or another company would make a killing in the RV genset market by making an inverter generator that is coupled with a decent sized battery, and having the generator run on something similar to eco-throttle. If a large load hits, the battery would carry it (like the Yamaha 3000iSEB's mechanism) for a short time until the generator is up to speed. The result would be a nice, quiet, economical genset.