Honda EU Series Inverter Generator

[germanic333]

So this is along the lines of my boondocking question but specifically, about this generator. the question is I am looking into buying this generator> Honda EU Series Inverter Generator — 2000 Surge Watts, 1600 Rated Watts, it says Inverter Generator, so then can I bypass the purchase of an Inverter? will this generator work in the same way? ie ( change my 12 volt bat to 120 at the plug in on the genny? so the question is do I need both and if so why, or can I just use this genny? thanks all, getting closer to boondocking..

[RoyB]

For us the generator is the way we charge our up our battery bank.

Here on the East side of the US most all of the public campgrounds including the Natl Forest areas all seem to have generator run time restrictions in place. Even those places without power pedestals will still have limitation on when you can run your generator. The NALT FOREST areas are just now starting to allow from 8Am to 8PM is some places for using your generator. Never after 8PM anywhere we have found for public areas. Dispersed type camping and private areas are about the only places you can run your generator anytime you want to. The rules sometimes gets relaxed if you are in a high $$ motorhome for some some reason... Money talks I guess...

With all of this in mind I went the route of upgrading my trailer CONVERTER/CHARGER to a smart mode charging system, increased my battery cable sizes (4AWG), Installed more batteries, and added an PSW INVERTER. My battery bank was a 340AH setup but I lost one batteries to boiling out battery fluids before I got the smart mode CONVERTER/CHARGER unit. Now I am at 255AHs which has served us well camping off the power grids for the past 5 years... My batteries are just now loosing performance...

The trick was to have all the 120VAC items you want to have running from the INVERTER and all the 12VDC Items you want directly connected to the battery bank. Then you play the game watching the DC MONITOR PANEL that has DC VOLTMETER reading on it and hopefully you have planned to have your power drains to make it until 8AM the next morning when allowed to run your generator. For us this is when we read 12.0VDC (roughly 50% charge state) on our DC Monitor Panel.

Now we can connect our 30AMP trailer shore power cable directly to the 2KW Honda Generator 120VAC Receptacle using a RV30A-15A long dogbone type Adapter (WALMART) which will fire up the trailer on-board smart mode CONVERTER/CHARGER to re-charge out battery bank up to its 90% charge state in a three hour time period using smart mode charging.

We can do these 50% to 90% charge cycles for 12-14 times but after that we have to do a full 100% charge of our battery bank or otherwise we will start doing internal damage to the batteries. This will take a FULL 12 hours of running the Generator using smart mode technology which is not normally allowed to do with generator run time restrictions in place. This is usually our time to head for the house after 12-14 days camping back off the trails.

This is what we have done now for the past five years and are very successful camping back off the power grid here on the East side of the US.




Works well for us... Next PLAN for us is to add solar panels to help reduce the generator run times during the day.


Roy Ken

[PAThwacker]

Where are you planning to go boondocking in New England?

[tatest]

If you need to use a 12 V DC to 120 V AC inverter, you need to buy one, sized to your need.

"Inverter Generator" describes the technology used by the Honda EU series to provide clean, regulated AC power, but it is not necessarily 12V input from the mechanical generator side, nor is the inverter accessible to you.

FWIW all those generators you see in the wind farms are inverter generators, the inverter technology enables slaving the output power to the grid. Same way solar cell farms are slaved to the grid.

[germanic333]

thanks all, that answers my question, I will need both..

[jauguston]

Another plus for the EU series Honda portable generators is they are the only one with a fuel pump. Why does that matter? You can connect a auxilary fuel tank to them (I use a 3 gallon outboard tank on my EU1000) that the others cannot do. Small thing but nice to not have to worry about adding fuel for a week of boondocking while the 1000 charges my batteries.

[Crabbypatty]

The eu series is very quiet and dependable. We dry camp a lot and I watch rivers who dropped 5 figures on a nice tv and a nice TT or fiver only to spend a few hundred for the loudest generators that you get from the home center. The ranger was telling my neighbor to turn off his gene while mine was still running and they never knew it. I have the eu 3000i. This is large enough torun the a/c with a hard start kit. To answer your q, you need the Ginny for 120. You need to buy a separate inverter to get 120 when genny is off. Don't forget to add another battery or go to two large 6volts.

Happy trails

[jauguston]

The short answer to have AC power when you want it you need both.

Jim

[opnspaces]

The eu series will power your 120v appliances while it's running. The inverter is a pure sine wave inverter. So yes it will power your cell phone charger and such. Just start it up and plug your trailer shore power into the generator and it will be almost like plugging into an outlet in the campground. Yes all your 120v outlets will work when it is running.

I say almost like plugging in because you cannot run multiple high wattage devices at the same time. It will power your microwave, it might power your air conditioner. But it will not power them both at the same time.

The downside to a generator is that it makes noise. Also when it runs out of gas, or campground rules prohibit it running, you will have to turn it off and all the 120v outlets will go dead again.

[Sandia_Man]

Whether it's an inverter generator or regular generator, they need to be running to power your rig. When the generator is not running you will need an inverter to convert your rig's 12 volt DC battery power to 120 volts AC for items that require AC voltage to operate.

[RimCountry]

Thanks, GordonThree... I was trying to figure out how that could possibly work, unless it was hooked up to the 12V system at all times. Good idea though... in theory... one less thing to worry about. Maybe some day...

[GordonThree]

The internal "inverter" is just a fancy voltage regulator on the generator head, that allows the motor to run at different RPM for light loads, saving fuel. It's not an inverter like you would have in an RV or truck, and cannot be used separately from the generator.