I recently got finished talking with a fellow Honda generator owner. He lives in upstate New York and lives off the grid. He claims to have the record for most hours on a Honda generator (to his knowledge).
The owner retired one of his two Honda EU6500is inverter generators with 39,000 hours! The other just short of that figure, before retirement. He has replaced this discontinued model, with two of the current fuel injected, Honda EU7000is models. One of them, now has 22,000 hours on it.
Interesting conversation I had. He always has at least one generator running 24/7. When I asked to compare the fuel consumption difference fuel injection makes, he told me:
He averages 10-12 hours run time @ 1/2 load on the EU6500is (with a carb). However, the fuel injected EU7000is averaged up to 19 hours @ 1/2 load. As good as those figures are, the back of my mind said, "he is using a ton of gasoline" to keep his place going.
He went on to say how finicky the fuel injected, 7000is was (like a Ferrari). They both tended to bog down and stall on a regular basis. This was until he found out that the fine filter at fuel pump was getting plugged up. Upon taking them out and cleaning them in a solvent, the 7000is would run like new again. His retired 6500is were described as "bulletproof," and he never had these issues.
Before I ended the conversation, I had to ask what motor oil he had been using. He said, just Castrol Syntec 5W30. I wanted to tell him that there are better motor oils than that. However, that would be like telling a 90 year old man what foods he should be eating. As an owner of an EU6500is, I was looking for tips to extend generator longevity. My unit, which I bought used and abused (and cheap), at 3800 hours needed rebuilding when I got it. For the record, I'm using Delo Severe Duty 15W30 after my rebuild.
The owner retired one of his two Honda EU6500is inverter generators with 39,000 hours! The other just short of that figure, before retirement. He has replaced this discontinued model, with two of the current fuel injected, Honda EU7000is models. One of them, now has 22,000 hours on it.
Interesting conversation I had. He always has at least one generator running 24/7. When I asked to compare the fuel consumption difference fuel injection makes, he told me:
He averages 10-12 hours run time @ 1/2 load on the EU6500is (with a carb). However, the fuel injected EU7000is averaged up to 19 hours @ 1/2 load. As good as those figures are, the back of my mind said, "he is using a ton of gasoline" to keep his place going.
He went on to say how finicky the fuel injected, 7000is was (like a Ferrari). They both tended to bog down and stall on a regular basis. This was until he found out that the fine filter at fuel pump was getting plugged up. Upon taking them out and cleaning them in a solvent, the 7000is would run like new again. His retired 6500is were described as "bulletproof," and he never had these issues.
Before I ended the conversation, I had to ask what motor oil he had been using. He said, just Castrol Syntec 5W30. I wanted to tell him that there are better motor oils than that. However, that would be like telling a 90 year old man what foods he should be eating. As an owner of an EU6500is, I was looking for tips to extend generator longevity. My unit, which I bought used and abused (and cheap), at 3800 hours needed rebuilding when I got it. For the record, I'm using Delo Severe Duty 15W30 after my rebuild.
