Honda 2k and rain

[towpro]

Figured I would ask here since more Tc owner have them, but is my Honda 2k made to get wet in rain storms?

[Buzzcut1]

bighatnohorse wrote:

Buzzcut1 wrote:
naw never ever use mine in the snow or rain...right

Was that photo taken pre-solar or do you still carry the Honda?

I still carry the Honda even though I have solar. Solar will not run the AC or my air compressor for my tires and sometimes you may find you need that generator in really bad conditions. Better to have and not need than to not have and really need it.

[Grit_dog]

jake2250 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
So the original question was " are Hondas made to get wet in the rain?"
I would have never guessed the instructions say that. Never seen a set of instructions for any of the hundreds of portable generators I've used over the last 25 years.
The answer is a resounding yes and the instructions must be intended as some sort of electrical safety precaution for liability sake.
Problem is, the folks that said yes it's fine, been doing it for xxx amount of time were staring from experience. Those that cover them said , no you can't because I cover mine. Read the instructions, treat it like a classic car, etc. no one said, from experience that it was detrimental to the equipment and then are defensive that someone would go against the instructions!

All I can say is d mn near every one of you is old enough to remember when your entire life didn't come with instructions, so feel free to lay off those of us that make decisions with respect to intuition or experience.

Yeah what ever,, I paid almost a grand for my Honda,, I will hold it in my lap and sing to it if I have to,, It Will last me a long time,, I don't have that kind of cash to let it wallow in the mud,, I will take care of it!

I see this gem of a thread made it back to the top! Happy thanksgiving!
Just a little tidbit to add to this. I never said let it wallow in the mud, although I've used a lot of them that were literally wallowing in mud.
I totally agree you got out what you put in to something and treating an expensive purchase with care will generally have the best results.
BUT a generator is a piece of OUTDOOR power equipment. Yes when I'm done with it, it's stored in the shop, well maintained, etc.
FWIW, I just noticed a 2k at work when I started it up. Had 700+hrs on it based on the monitor light blinky. This thing looks like it got chained to the back of the truck and dragged down a gravel road. And it's one of the ones I had on a job last year routinely pumping out small excavations in marsh land, it lived in rain and mud on that job.

If it makes you feel better, I have a 6kw John Deere generator at home for power outages. Got it fired up for the first time this year and moved it into the attached garage for easy access when we lose power. The feel better part is I actually waxed the painted surfaces to shine it up and keep it nice when it's sitting out in the rain during a power outage.
Do I get some generator OCD points back??

[bwc]

jake2250 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
So the original question was " are Hondas made to get wet in the rain?"
I would have never guessed the instructions say that. Never seen a set of instructions for any of the hundreds of portable generators I've used over the last 25 years.
The answer is a resounding yes and the instructions must be intended as some sort of electrical safety precaution for liability sake.
Problem is, the folks that said yes it's fine, been doing it for xxx amount of time were staring from experience. Those that cover them said , no you can't because I cover mine. Read the instructions, treat it like a classic car, etc. no one said, from experience that it was detrimental to the equipment and then are defensive that someone would go against the instructions!

All I can say is d mn near every one of you is old enough to remember when your entire life didn't come with instructions, so feel free to lay off those of us that make decisions with respect to intuition or experience.

Yeah what ever,, I paid almost a grand for my Honda,, I will hold it in my lap and sing to it if I have to,, It Will last me a long time,, I don't have that kind of cash to let it wallow in the mud,, I will take care of it!

Agree 100%. Mine has never seen mud either. Takes a second to cover it. Mine is 10 years old, looks like new and runs like new.

[bighatnohorse]

Buzzcut1 wrote:
naw never ever use mine in the snow or rain...right

Was that photo taken pre-solar or do you still carry the Honda?

[Crabbypatty]

Our 3000i is cable locked to the rear when parked and sitting atop a plastic milk crate, so its off the ground. I carry beach umbrellas and bungy cord it to the carry handles and keep the umbrella about a foot above the generator. It gets lots of air and the rain unless blowing real hard, stays off the generator as the umbrella is 4-5 feet in diameter. Been doing that for years camping totally exposed on the outer beaches. We also have a screw base for hard soils. Turns the holder into the ground and place umbrella pole into that.

That said i have seen small tents made for generators as well.

[djg]

All that said I was wondering about using it on the back of my TC and running it while driving, saw this thread and read at least I know that alot of you use it in the rain, I'm not worried now about running it while driving now (by the way I got mine for free my buddy was going to throw it away told him I would take it 20 min fix) got to love it.


Dave

[Buzzcut1]

Do what ever floats your boat in taking care of your own gear you paid good hard earned cash for it.

That said in my many years as a firefighter at the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains we used the Honda 2000s to power our portable Halogen Scene lights in everything from driving rain and wind to baking heat to snow. They sat on the side of the road running for 5-6 hours at a time with zero protection and when we were done using them they got put back in their compartment. Back at the station they got refueld and put back in the comparment after a quick exterior wipe down and the engine hours were logged for oil changes. We never had one break down, fail to start, or shock any of us.

[jake2250]

Grit dog wrote:
So the original question was " are Hondas made to get wet in the rain?"
I would have never guessed the instructions say that. Never seen a set of instructions for any of the hundreds of portable generators I've used over the last 25 years.
The answer is a resounding yes and the instructions must be intended as some sort of electrical safety precaution for liability sake.
Problem is, the folks that said yes it's fine, been doing it for xxx amount of time were staring from experience. Those that cover them said , no you can't because I cover mine. Read the instructions, treat it like a classic car, etc. no one said, from experience that it was detrimental to the equipment and then are defensive that someone would go against the instructions!

All I can say is d mn near every one of you is old enough to remember when your entire life didn't come with instructions, so feel free to lay off those of us that make decisions with respect to intuition or experience.

Yeah what ever,, I paid almost a grand for my Honda,, I will hold it in my lap and sing to it if I have to,, It Will last me a long time,, I don't have that kind of cash to let it wallow in the mud,, I will take care of it!

[Grit_dog]

So the original question was " are Hondas made to get wet in the rain?"
I would have never guessed the instructions say that. Never seen a set of instructions for any of the hundreds of portable generators I've used over the last 25 years.
The answer is a resounding yes and the instructions must be intended as some sort of electrical safety precaution for liability sake.
Problem is, the folks that said yes it's fine, been doing it for xxx amount of time were staring from experience. Those that cover them said , no you can't because I cover mine. Read the instructions, treat it like a classic car, etc. no one said, from experience that it was detrimental to the equipment and then are defensive that someone would go against the instructions!

All I can say is d mn near every one of you is old enough to remember when your entire life didn't come with instructions, so feel free to lay off those of us that make decisions with respect to intuition or experience.

[profdant139]

In the rain, I use a heavy tarp, folded, open on each end. It forms an "A frame" tent over the generator. I secure it with rocks. The air intake and exhaust are open to the air but protected from the rain. The tarp is easy to deploy and to put away.

I am probably being too cautious, but why not? It is so easy to protect the generator with a tarp, as long as it gets enough air at both ends.

[Reddog1]

Folks please think about your wording before you post. I see no need to be rude or harsh to have a different opinion.

Wayne
Moderator

[mkirsch]

jimh425 wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Don't deride the people that choose to protect their investment.

Kind of harsh ... I think the point was whether it was reasonably possible to do it or not. BTW, I don't have a portable. My built in will definitely run in the rain. 🙂

What's harsh are comments like:

"Those of you that cover them in the rain aren't serious, right?"

YES, we are serious. Just because you've been lucky with your generator doesn't mean everyone will always be lucky. Again, the instructions say "don't run them in the rain." Maybe it's CYA. You got $1000 you can throw my way so I can test the theory? Didn't think so.

[whizbang]

Hmmmmmmmmmm. I did stick it under the nearest, densest, driest tree. The Honda was not directly exposed to the rain. Perhaps that made the difference. I can assure you that I wont test it out in a driving rain to find out.

I agree that tenting in with something like plywood is a good idea.

[jake2250]

I carry a short piece of ply wood, probably 3x3, when it rains I push the Honda under the truck or trailer and use the plywood on the windward side as a precaution. Most of the time at the Coast, because of fog and mist I will just set it in the back of the pick up with topper and let it run in there.
Mine cost me close to a grand so I will take top care of it.
If it was considered a disposable generator i might care allot less because it wouldn't hurt that much to replace it!