Honda generator engine

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Hard to beat a good synthetic 10W30. Cant for the life of me think of a good reason why folks in the lower 48 are running 0W30 in a generator.

Rotella syn blend 10W30 also a most excellent choice. And Rotella or Delo SAE30 if you can find it.
 
Originally Posted By: Cujet
I use m1 10W-30 in my EU2000. Works perfectly. I change it regularly, as oil changes are the only way to remove contaminates.

These engines have a timing belt and a lubrication non critical plastic cam lobe. The cylinder, rings and crank do not have demanding requirements. Use sufficient viscosity and change regularly


Really?

I thought that you were a big proponent of M1 15w-50 in small air/oil cooled engines.
 
Originally Posted By: Ausfahrt
Really? I thought that you were a big proponent of M1 15w-50 in small air/oil cooled engines.


I cant speak for him, but maybe its the usage cycle? Ive used one of those small gens for only a few hours at a time. Its too small to power but a few things in my house. A 5000-8000 watt generator will be used until the power comes back on, which could be weeks depending on how much infrastructure is damaged.

I'm in SW Florida and am 100% certain I will lose power. Even worse, there are hundreds and hundreds of homes upstream from me. I am the LAST house on the power pole, so I will likely get power restored dead last. Its plausible that my generator could be used for weeks, until the power comes back on or the generator breaks. No 30 weight oils will enter my 5000 watt generator sump.
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Ausfahrt
Really? I thought that you were a big proponent of M1 15w-50 in small air/oil cooled engines.


I cant speak for him, but maybe its the usage cycle? Ive used one of those small gens for only a few hours at a time. Its too small to power but a few things in my house. A 5000-8000 watt generator will be used until the power comes back on, which could be weeks depending on how much infrastructure is damaged.

I'm in SW Florida and am 100% certain I will lose power. Even worse, there are hundreds and hundreds of homes upstream from me. I am the LAST house on the power pole, so I will likely get power restored dead last. Its plausible that my generator could be used for weeks, until the power comes back on or the generator breaks. No 30 weight oils will enter my 5000 watt generator sump.


Use it sparingly and don't try tp run it near it's capacity. Wish you well.

Gerald
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Ausfahrt
Really? I thought that you were a big proponent of M1 15w-50 in small air/oil cooled engines.


I cant speak for him, but maybe its the usage cycle? Ive used one of those small gens for only a few hours at a time. Its too small to power but a few things in my house. A 5000-8000 watt generator will be used until the power comes back on, which could be weeks depending on how much infrastructure is damaged.

I'm in SW Florida and am 100% certain I will lose power. Even worse, there are hundreds and hundreds of homes upstream from me. I am the LAST house on the power pole, so I will likely get power restored dead last. Its plausible that my generator could be used for weeks, until the power comes back on or the generator breaks. No 30 weight oils will enter my 5000 watt generator sump.


Use it sparingly and don't try tp run it near it's capacity. Change the oil every 50-60 running hrs. Almost all small engines fail because of poor maintenance. Wish you well.

Gerald
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Ausfahrt
Really? I thought that you were a big proponent of M1 15w-50 in small air/oil cooled engines.


I cant speak for him, but maybe its the usage cycle? Ive used one of those small gens for only a few hours at a time. Its too small to power but a few things in my house. A 5000-8000 watt generator will be used until the power comes back on, which could be weeks depending on how much infrastructure is damaged.

I'm in SW Florida and am 100% certain I will lose power. Even worse, there are hundreds and hundreds of homes upstream from me. I am the LAST house on the power pole, so I will likely get power restored dead last. Its plausible that my generator could be used for weeks, until the power comes back on or the generator breaks. No 30 weight oils will enter my 5000 watt generator sump.


I hear ya. I use M1 15w-50 in my BMW motorcycle and in some of my OPE engines so I always have a supply on hand.

I am in Sarasota and live on a grid with 27 homes and we are also among the last to get power back. I am relying solely on my Honda EU2000i to get us through this.

Good luck.
 
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I have a North Star 10,500w generator with a Honda GX620 and it has an oil pump (for who ever said they don't). I ran it 20 hrs and changed the oil like it said and I am using NAPA Universal Fleet 15-40 with no problems. The second time I tried to start id it wouldn't fire, Disconnected the oil switch and ran fine. The Honda guy said these have this trouble a lot. It was used for about 40 hrs during Irma. I wired it direct to the panel just 2 days before the storm, it runs everything except the stove and water heater. I leave the breakers off for those. I will disconnect one leg on the water heater element next time, then it only uses 110V but draws less amps and takes longer to heat but not loading the generator.
 
Originally Posted By: rokwldr
I have a North Star 10,500w generator with a Honda GX620 and it has an oil pump (for who ever said they don't). I ran it 20 hrs and changed the oil like it said and I am using NAPA Universal Fleet 15-40 with no problems. The second time I tried to start id it wouldn't fire, Disconnected the oil switch and ran fine. The Honda guy said these have this trouble a lot. It was used for about 40 hrs during Irma. I wired it direct to the panel just 2 days before the storm, it runs everything except the stove and water heater. I leave the breakers off for those. I will disconnect one leg on the water heater element next time, then it only uses 110V but draws less amps and takes longer to heat but not loading the generator.


I may be wrong, but in many OPE engines that have a pump, only pumps the oil through the oil filter, but the engine is still splash lubed.
 
As stated above, engine oil service is far more important that engine oil brand. Change oil at manufacturer's recommended interval and use any quality oil of recommended viscosity. Keep an eye on your oil level. With a new engine, there's a chance of higher than normal oil consumption. The EU2000 has a low oil shut off switch but don't let that be your guide just in case it malfunctions. Watch your oil level. I recommend checking it every 25 hours or so to see if there's an oil consumption trend. If not, check it every 50 hours or so. If you plan on using it a lot, buy a cheap analog 12 volt hour meter and plug it into the 12 volt outlet on the generator. It will take the guessing out of oil change intervals.

My preference for oil is a blend of Rotella 15W40 and 5 or 10W30 mixed 50-50. If operating in warm/hot temps, just go with the 15W40. Up here it gets cold so I like to lighten the oil a bit but still want the qualities of a heavy HD engine oil. I use the same oil in my Kubota diesel and Yamaha inverter generators. Kubota has over 6000 hours on it and the Yamaha has just turned over 1400 hours.
 
Originally Posted By: rokwldr
I will disconnect one leg on the water heater element next time, then it only uses 110V but draws less amps and takes longer to heat but not loading the generator.


If you don't mind, describe some details on how you plan this ? Remove service panel and literally remove element wire(s) ? Or move wires in panel to a 120v Single Pole breaker from a 240v DPDT breaker ?
 
Remove one leg at the element or at the 220V breaker. 220V to a water heater is two 110V legs to the neutral through the element. Remove one leg and it works on 110V with 1/2 the voltage and amperage (watts) less load on the generator. It just takes longer to heat.
 
Originally Posted By: rokwldr
Remove one leg at the element or at the 220V breaker. 220V to a water heater is two 110V legs to the neutral through the element. Remove one leg and it works on 110V with 1/2 the voltage and amperage (watts) less load on the generator. It just takes longer to heat.

Negative. This will not work.
Standard 220v electric water heaters use two 220v elements, an upper and a lower element. Each element has only two connections (not 3 connections signifying two 110v legs) and each is connected across the 220v supply. It will not heat up AT ALL using the neutral (ground) and only one side of the 220v connected to 110v.
You can test this yourself if you don't believe me. Disconnect one of the two 220v power wires, leave the other power wire and neutral (ground) connected, you will get NO hot water.
 
Originally Posted By: rokwldr
Remove one leg and it works on 110V with 1/2 the voltage and amperage (watts) less load on the generator. It just takes longer to heat.


Here is the correct math

Element rated for 4500 watts @ 240Volt, will consume 25% or 1125 watts @ 120Volt

This switch allows toggle between 120 and 240 volts

https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-3033-2W-Toggle-Switch-Grounding/dp/B003ATV07A
 
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A 220v water heater CAN be wired up to run from 110v, but it must be wired such that the 110v power is supplied through the water heater's two 220v "hot" leads not using it's neutral (ground) lead. A 220v water heater won't work very well like this. It would be better to purchase a small 110v (RV type) water heater.
 
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