Yamaha/Honda 1 kw generators, any owners out there

watchdog2001 · Oct 2, 2007

As an owner of a 10 year old Honda 3500 watt generator (which I have been very pleased with) for backup power for the times during power outages I decided to get me another less powerful one. Although we usually stay at campgrounds with electrical service when traveling in the travel trailer, I decided to get myself a 1 kw generator to be used when tent camping with just my sons (places where mom and sister don't want to come) away from power sources and for tailgating in remote fishing spots.
I narrowed my choices to the Yamaha and the Honda 1 kw units, and pulled the trigger on the Yamaha EF1000is model. Although my 3500 watt generator is quiet by overall standards, I was shocked on how quiet the Yamaha 1000 watt unit is.
I realize a 1 kw unit is marginal for a backup power generator, I was wondering if anyone out there did the same as me, one "higher wattage" genset and another "low wattage" genset.
Any owners of the Yamaha or the Honda 1 kw unit have any real life comments / experiences with either of them? Uses?

brent878 · Oct 2, 2007

I have a honda 2k generator and my friend has a honda 1k generator. We bought the 2k after he got his 1k and we like the 2k more. Its not that much louder and it runs more stuff on our motorhome than the 1k does. But it won't run the A/C or the microwave but just about everything else. That's what we use it for. We just put a long extension cord on it and drag it far away from the RV and chain it to a tree and let it run. We can't even hear it from camp unlike the loud diesal generator that is on our RV.

Hope this helps, they are very useful, small, light, and quiet. My friend used to have a honda 2 stroke one before and it was good except you had to premix the gas.

Scott Packard · Oct 2, 2007

I started with the Honda 1KW (900 watt continuous) quiet generator as a backup in case of a power outage. It couldn't start my refrigerator so I bought another and ganged them together.
We had a 72 hour outage last summer, and several 24 hour outages before that so I got fed up and bought a 6KW (5.5KW continuous) quiet generator this summer, a Chinese generator by Kipor. Half the cost of a Honda but came DOA and I had quite a time getting them to send me a new inverter unit.
The Kipor can't start my air compressor but works fine on the clothes washer and dryer.

The Honda's would only run for 8 hours before they needed refueling. So, it was splash them full with fuel just before I fell asleep for the night, then refuel them in the morning. Another hour or two of fuel would have been better. There are auxiliary tanks for them, but then you're getting into money that's probably better spent on a larger generator.

Can't beat the Honda's portability! Carry with one hand. Throw into the trunk and drive it and a battery charger to rescue somebody with a dead battery.

The Kipor's shipping weight was 260lbs, which made the logistics of getting it back to the dealer for warranty repair too costly and involved. That's why I troubleshot it to the inverter unit and kept talking them until they finally just sent me the (24 lb) inverter unit.

watchdog2001 · Oct 2, 2007

brent878 said:
I have a honda 2k generator and my friend has a honda 1k generator. We bought the 2k after he got his 1k and we like the 2k more. Its not that much louder and it runs more stuff on our motorhome than the 1k does. But it won't run the A/C or the microwave but just about everything else. That's what we use it for. We just put a long extension cord on it and drag it far away from the RV and chain it to a tree and let it run. We can't even hear it from camp unlike the loud diesal generator that is on our RV.

Hope this helps, they are very useful, small, light, and quiet. My friend used to have a honda 2 stroke one before and it was good except you had to premix the gas.

If I had to have one small genset, yes, I would have gotten the Honda 2 kw eu200i, much better capacity to run more/bigger amperage stuff. My main concern was portability (27 lbs vs 46 lbs) in addition to quietness. I tested my Yamaha with a fan/blower, a 100 watt light and a small George Foreman grill and it worked like a champ.
Those Honda eu2000i 2 kw gensets are one sweet generator, I've seen many in use.

John

Scott Packard · Oct 3, 2007

Another (maybe minor) thing: the valve adjustments on my Honda EU1000i is a pain. I have to disassemble so much of it to get the valve cover off. The Kipor's valve cover is accessible once I turn a knob and swing a hinged door open. One Honda I bought new, the other I bought used. I've only had to adjust the valves on the used one so far.

jayb79 · Oct 3, 2007

Scott Packard said:
Another (maybe minor) thing: the valve adjustments on my Honda EU1000i is a pain. I have to disassemble so much of it to get the valve cover off. The Kipor's valve cover is accessible once I turn a knob and swing a hinged door open. One Honda I bought new, the other I bought used. I've only had to adjust the valves on the used one so far.

How do you know when you need to adjust the valves? Does it get hard to start or lose power?

Scott Packard · Oct 3, 2007

jayb79 said:
How do you know when you need to adjust the valves? Does it get hard to start or lose power?

It becomes hard to start (several pulls necessary and I play with the choke setting as it warms up), the exhaust note sounds a bit louder (the exhaust valve opens sooner so more pressure is released into the muffler rather than being converted into mechanical work), and when on Eco-Throttle it hunts or stumbles a little. If you hook a high load to it it'll hesitate more as it reacts to it. The "mileage", or how many hours you get from a tank of gas will go down a little too.
Once I adjusted the valves the thing started on the first pull, like the new one did when it was new. I didn't have to play with the choke to get it to run. Instead I give it full choke to start then within a few seconds I move the lever to the no-choke position.

I should have adjusted them earlier than I did; I waited until I had to do several pulls and had to hunt with the choke lever for that perfect position to get it to start.

watchdog2001 · Oct 4, 2007

Scott,
Just curious, about how many hours do you have on your little 1 kw Honda? Do you run conventional oil or synthetic? If synthetic, when did you switch over?

John

Scott Packard said:
I started with the Honda 1KW (900 watt continuous) quiet generator as a backup in case of a power outage. It couldn't start my refrigerator so I bought another and ganged them together.
We had a 72 hour outage last summer, and several 24 hour outages before that so I got fed up and bought a 6KW (5.5KW continuous) quiet generator this summer, a Chinese generator by Kipor. Half the cost of a Honda but came DOA and I had quite a time getting them to send me a new inverter unit.
The Kipor can't start my air compressor but works fine on the clothes washer and dryer.

The Honda's would only run for 8 hours before they needed refueling. So, it was splash them full with fuel just before I fell asleep for the night, then refuel them in the morning. Another hour or two of fuel would have been better. There are auxiliary tanks for them, but then you're getting into money that's probably better spent on a larger generator.

Can't beat the Honda's portability! Carry with one hand. Throw into the trunk and drive it and a battery charger to rescue somebody with a dead battery.

The Kipor's shipping weight was 260lbs, which made the logistics of getting it back to the dealer for warranty repair too costly and involved. That's why I troubleshot it to the inverter unit and kept talking them until they finally just sent me the (24 lb) inverter unit.

Scott Packard · Oct 4, 2007

watchdog2001 said:
Scott,
Just curious, about how many hours do you have on your little 1 kw Honda? Do you run conventional oil or synthetic? If synthetic, when did you switch over?

John

I have two Honda EU1000i's. The one that I bought new has probably 75 hours on it. On the used one the previous owner claimed only a few weekends of use with it but I think it had over 100 hours when I got it and I put another 75 hours on it. The manual says adjust valves every 100 hours, from what I remember.

I run synthetic. I think I remember breaking in the new generator by running it through 1 tank of gas (around 8 hours) then changed the oil while warm to synthetic. I think I used a straight 30 weight oil for the break-in.

The Kipor I started with synthetic and I've only run around 2 hours. I hung an hours meter on it after I got the inverter unit mess sorted out.

jezzyp · Oct 4, 2007

I have the UK version of the eu2000i the eu20i at 230v. I have fitted a tiny tach hour meter to it. I've had it converted so it can run off propane (no storage problems) or petrol. In a power outage you can't get petrol but would be able to buy/exchange a propane cylinder
I too would be interested in the oil debate.

I didn't bother with the 1kw, better to have a more powerful unit running at a lower rate and you never know when you might need the extra power.

watchdog2001 · Oct 4, 2007

Scott Packard said:
I have two Honda EU1000i's. The one that I bought new has probably 75 hours on it. On the used one the previous owner claimed only a few weekends of use with it but I think it had over 100 hours when I got it and I put another 75 hours on it. The manual says adjust valves every 100 hours, from what I remember.

I run synthetic. I think I remember breaking in the new generator by running it through 1 tank of gas (around 8 hours) then changed the oil while warm to synthetic. I think I used a straight 30 weight oil for the break-in.

The Kipor I started with synthetic and I've only run around 2 hours. I hung an hours meter on it after I got the inverter unit mess sorted out.

Sounds good. The reason I asked about the synthetic oil is that I run Mobil 1 synthetic oil in every engine I own, lawn mower, air compressor, pressure washer and needless to say, the car / truck. I like having just one oil type / weight for everything, it just makes life easier. With all these items, I usually run the motor 5 to 10 hours and just make the switch.
I tried my Yamaha 1 kw today on the refrigerator and it worked like a champ. I'm trying to see if I could make do with the 1 kw unit as a minimal
backup generator in the months when a 6000 btu air conditioner unit wouldn't be needed.

Thanks again for the feedback,
John

Diesel_Bomber · Oct 4, 2007

I run Mobil Delvac 1 in every 4 cycle engine I have. I ran about two hours on the factory Honda oil that came with my EU2000i, then switched over to D-1. No problems at all. Running 25 hours or whatever on the break-in oil seems like sheer idiocy to me, regardless of whether it's dino or synthetic.

:buddies:

watchdog2001 · Oct 4, 2007

Diesel_Bomber said:
I run Mobil Delvac 1 in every 4 cycle engine I have. I ran about two hours on the factory Honda oil that came with my EU2000i, then switched over to D-1. No problems at all. Running 25 hours or whatever on the break-in oil seems like sheer idiocy to me, regardless of whether it's dino or synthetic.

:buddies:

Diesel,
Amen on the break-in oil. On all my 4 cycle engines (including cars/trucks) I go a minimum amount of time on the first oil (5 to 10 hours or 1000 or so miles). On my larger Honda genset, I too went about 2 or 3 hours and dropped it, although I went to back to dino on the first oil change then Mobil 1 there after. My thought is that the first oil change gets the machining debris out of the engine, then I run it with dino to let things set in, then on to full synthetic.
Thanks for sharing your experience,
John

Yamaha/Honda 1 kw generators, any owners out there

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