Honda 2000i-What will it run?

[Chasnracin]

OK, I know several members have the 2000i and companion setup for boondocking. What can you expect to run in the Monty when using them? I know I could go out and add up the wattage, but I don't have the Monty home yet and just trying to get a ballpark idea of what to expect for the $2k power setup.

[twindman]

From what I have heard - some people can run the A/C and some can't.[edit - upon re-reading, I see you are looking at the companion setup which should handle almost everything] You can probably run the Microwave and one other moderate thing (like the battery converter under load) at the same time.I believe it puts out around 16 amp, and the Micro pulls about 10 I think. So everything else has to be under 5 or 6. Normal things like Tv, dvd player etc would all run at once.
On another subject, I researched things and bought a Boily 3600 generator. It actually puts out 3000 real watts continuously and peak of 3300. It weighs 73 lb with a manual start and 78 with elec. start. So it is 15 lb heavier than the Honda, I guess. But the Honda equivalent weighs 140 lb!!!!! Also, the Boily had some problems when it started 5-6 years ago, but they have listened to the users and fixed the re-ocurring things. Oh, and it costs around $999. My reasoning for this purchase is I CAN run the AC with no problems if I need to. And I can lift it in and out of the truck. Downside, the Honda and Yamaha are both VERY highly rated and a bit quieter. If you aren't running the AC, the Boily has an economy mode that is very quiet tho.
Good luck

[HamRad]

With the dual Honda set up you can run your entire trailer. I doubt you can run both ACs and everything else electrical but for normal usage you will have no problems. The Hondas are very quiet and very fuel efficient. Good luck, Dennis.

[Art-n-Marge]

If you are talking about a single companion it has a peak rating of 2000 watts but will sustain about 1650 watts. This is equivalent to about 15 amps TOTAL. This means the microwave or epending on the BTUs of your A/C a smaller unit might not run since you'll see they are typically on 20 amp circuits. If you get a 2400 or 2500 then you'll be better off.

This is why HamRad mentions a second generator that can be connected in parallel with an additional cable that ties the two together. This can't be done with all generators but a Honda Companion is one of these. This doubles the output to 4000W peak and about 33 amps which is usually enough for a 30 amp trailer.

You'll need to calculate what devices you want to run (remember the startup current/amps is higher than the runtime current/amps) and try and limit it to that. If you forget what's already on and start up too many things the circuit break on the generator should reset. The problem is that if the load is close but not enough to reset the breaker then the things that are running might experience a brownout which means they are running at a reduced rating and this could be bad for some devices.

Hopefully this helps you understand what you get with the ratings of a generator (understand the model/rating number), how much to use (calculate peak and run rates), and how to get more (getting a large generator or use cables to tie some units in parallel).

[Chasnracin]

I think we are initially going to get a single 2000i to take out and see if we use it enough to need the companion kit and 2nd gen. If we end up using it a quite a bit, then we will go ahead and add the second one. Best laid plans... Thanks for the help.

[8.1al]

One 2000i will NOT necessarily run your microwave. We have had 2 different microwaves and used 3 different Honda's and could not run the microwave with just one Honda 2000

[firetrucker]

Here's where I push the Panasonic Inverter microwave. If you select reduced power, it actually decreases the continuous current draw rather than pulsing the microwave tube at full power. We can run the microwave at 50% power without a problem with most everything else running.(of course, no air conditioner).

We really prefer the continuous cooking of the inverter microwave versus the pulsed cooking of all the others. It cooks more evenly and it's easier to estimate cooking time.

Bob

[helmick]

quote:Originally posted by helmick

Charlie
If I turn the converter off we can run our microwave with no problem.
Ron

Chasnacin
I started with one, after almost 3 years I just bought another so we can run the A/C.

[ols1932]

I'm going to disagree with Art. You can't get peak 20 amps out of the Honda 2000i. We have one and peak is about 16.5 amps and running under load it will provide right around 13 amps. It provides that output at 120 volts. If it only outputted 110 volts then you might get peak amperage of around 18 amps. Our Honda has provided us with great service except when we don't run it for a period of time. It seems to "gel" up. Putting a little Seafoam (purchased at O'Reilly's) takes care of that though. We try to run it at least once every couple weeks.

Orv

[mhs4771]

Yep, a single Honda 2000 will run all your normal stuff, fridge, converter, lights, TV, fan, etc., but will not run a 15K AC, might be able to run a 13.5K AC, if you disconnect everything else. The same it true for the Microwave, might run it if you disconnect all other items. With dual Hondas, you can run the big AC and still have enough left over for other medium size loads, but probably not the AC and Micro at the same time (would probably be OK until the AC compressor kicked on)

[DQDick]

quote:Originally posted by mhs4771

Yep, a single Honda 2000 will run all your normal stuff, fridge, converter, lights, TV, fan, etc., but will not run a 15K AC, might be able to run a 13.5K AC, if you disconnect everything else. The same it true for the Microwave, might run it if you disconnect all other items. With dual Hondas, you can run the big AC and still have enough left over for other medium size loads, but probably not the AC and Micro at the same time (would probably be OK until the AC compressor kicked on)

X2. That's how it works for us.

[snfexpress]

We boondock a lot. We like National Parks and those state parks that we think we can fit in. We also like to Wal-dock when we are just burning fuel to get from point A to point B.

Here is our setup and we are Wal-docking right now:



Currently (no pun, okay maybe it is...), we have the following devices powered:

Converter in charge mode (know this because we have a Voltminder 12 volt meter)
Refrigerator on AC
Ceiling Fan in living room
32" LCD TV
Satellite box (minimal in standby)
DISH DVR
Network Attached Storage, Router and 2 laptops (not much)
Microwave clock
Portable ice maker (a few amps, but I want my evening cocktail!)

Instead of guessing, we decided to install meters that can actively monitor our amperage use:



For our rig, we detailed the amperage usage for each of our major appliances (A/C's, microwave, water heater, refrigerator, etc.). We also looked at our amperage usage in various typical setups, like when it is cold and we want to run the fireplace or it is hot and we want to run the air, all the while knowing what we always have on, like our entertainment equipment, our laptops, our ice maker (no comments!)...

Our Honda 2000i generators are rated at 13.3 amps continuous usage. They will surge, but I am not real comfortable letting either one surge for our major (read --- expensive appliances). For a table lamp light, sure. For our $700 microwave? No way.

Our Honda 2000i generators also have an eco-mode that allows the generator to ramp up or down (mostly down) depending on the amperage requested. When running major appliances that can come on and off, like an air conditioner, fireplace, and microwave, we run them at full blast - both of them so that they are putting out 26.6 amps continuous.

Some may ask why we rated the hot water heater (on electric). We have had occasion, like others on the forum, where one or more of our propane solenoids have failed requiring us to use electric to heat our water if we want a shower that doesn't freeze us out!

Just like when we are on 30 or 20 amp use, we turn our electric hot water heater off and turn it on with propane. We also switch back and forth as needed our refrigerator depending on how many amps we need.

I would like to back up a bit and talk about appliances that autonomously turn on and off. We are concerned about when they turn on. So, when we are using an air conditioner, we expect that it will cycle to on. When we are using the microwave, we expect that it will turn on. What we don't know will turn on (actually it is more when it will turn on) is the converter. After a day of running (meaning our TV is helping to charge our house batteries from a typical low of about 12.3 volts), our house batteries are usually charged to about 12.8 volts, meaning that when we start a generator I can assume that the converter will go into charge mode. Knowing this, we make sure that everything else is off except the microwave clock.

We turn one generator on at full blast (no eco-mode) so that the generator doesn't strain and so that there isn't a voltage fluctuation for our rig (read --- converter). If we want another major appliance, we turn the refrigerator to propane and start the other generator on full blast.

Once we have the rig cooled down, we check to see if the house batteries are close to being charged meaning the converter will shut down (we have all LED lighting in our rig so don't have a large 12 volt draw). Once the house batteries are charged, we mentally tick off one major appliance but know that it may kick in again later. Based on experience, we typically know that our converter, once satisfied that the house batteries are charged, won't come on by the time we turn off our generator(s) for the evening.

Finally, we decided a long time ago that our expensive generators are as important as our expensive appliances. Another reason we run them full blast or on eco-mode, depending on load. Also, we only use premium unleaded in our generators. Based on a lot of reading we believe that it helps the generators in their longevity and power output.

I hope this post helps you to determine your usage in the way that you want to run the stuff in your rig.

Good luck and have fun in your new rig!

[alandaudrey]

One thing I didn't see mentioned on this subject was that rated wattage/current output for any generator is rated at sea level.

You have a 3% loss of output for each 1000 feet above sea level you are. So an AC that operates at sea level may not operate at 10,000 feet.

[snfexpress]

Allan,

Good point! While we know this (because we read this forum and become educated in this and other topics), it is another reason why we want to know how many amps we are using all the while listening to our generator(s). While we have no quantitative devices on our gennys, we anecdotally know how hard they are running so we adjust accordingly. Again, good point to add to this discussion!

[Chasnracin]

Michael, Thanks for the great informational post. That is exactly what I was looking for and some. I like your amp meters you installed. How are they wired into your system?

[Art-n-Marge]

Orv, you are disagreeing with something I didn't say!

"If you are talking about a single companion it has a peak rating of 2000 watts but will sustain about 1650 watts. This is equivalent to about 15 amps TOTAL. This means the microwave or epending on the BTUs of your A/C a smaller unit might not run since you'll see they are typically on 20 amp circuits. If you get a 2400 or 2500 then you'll be better off."

Looking at my paragraph above I confirm that the generator can only support about 15 amps (not 20) and from snf's post it's only 13.3 (ugh). I also state that the microwave and A/C requires 20 amps (which the 2000i generator cannot support). Hence the recommendation that a 2400 or 2500 generator be used (and this would probably only provide 20 amps or even less). In any case the 2000i is the minimal for power supply and that even then there's a chance of brownout.

Orv, sorry about any confusion. (I did spell "depending" as "epending") but the rest agrees with what you added. I'm thinking the confusion occurs a lot when thinking that 2000w = 20amps. NOT true. 2000w = about 1.8watts at 110v to 1.65 watts at 120v. So I was safe with the 15 amps since the next important amperage is 20 amps.

snfexpress - I like the Wal-dock sniglet. I guess others should follow like Pilot-Dock Love-Dock, TA-dock, Petro-dock and the list goes on. I get it; it means you boondock at the abbreviated business name preceding "dock".

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

Orv, you are disagreeing with something I didn't say!

"If you are talking about a single companion it has a peak rating of 2000 watts but will sustain about 1650 watts. This is equivalent to about 15 amps TOTAL. This means the microwave or epending on the BTUs of your A/C a smaller unit might not run since you'll see they are typically on 20 amp circuits. If you get a 2400 or 2500 then you'll be better off."

Looking at my paragraph above I confirm that the generator can only support about 15 amps (not 20) and from snf's post it's only 13.3 (ugh). I also state that the microwave and A/C requires 20 amps (which the 2000i generator cannot support). Hence the recommendation that a 2400 or 2500 generator be used (and this would probably only provide 20 amps or even less). In any case the 2000i is the minimal for power supply and that even then there's a chance of brownout.

Orv, sorry about any confusion. (I did spell "depending" as "epending") but the rest agrees with what you added. I'm thinking the confusion occurs a lot when thinking that 2000w = 20amps. NOT true. 2000w = about 1.8watts at 110v to 1.65 watts at 120v. So I was safe with the 15 amps since the next important amperage is 20 amps.

snfexpress - I like the Wal-dock sniglet. I guess others should follow like Pilot-Dock Love-Dock, TA-dock, Petro-dock and the list goes on. I get it; it means you boondock at the abbreviated business name preceding "dock".

Art -- mea culpa. I misread your post. Somehow I read that you said the 2000i would put out a peak 20 amps. Sorry. Guess I need to watch what I post more closely. Didn't mean to harm anything.

Orv

[Yamaha_Mama]

So Michael and Kat, are you going to be adding that generator rack to the lightbulb list??? If so.....we want one!!! Great set up. Thanks for the info.

[snfexpress]

Chasnracin,

We purchased the meters from Datel. We purchased the ACM20-4-AC1-R-F-C 100 amp ones. You will have to go to products -> Multi-Function Meters -> AC Power Meters. I cannot provide a direct link due to their web site setup.

The wiring was easy - just followed the directions.

Yamaha Mama,

I'll ask Kat!

Since we left Louisiana (New Orleans) last Friday, we have Wal-docked every night, using about a gallon and a half each time. We'll probably use a few gallons tonight because we are running the air here in Green Valley, Utah where the temp is about 90 degrees (we are running both gennys full bore).

[snfexpress]

Art,

If my recall is correct (and we all know I suffer from CRS), Walmart figures that they add about $32 to their gross revenues when an RVer spends the night in their parking lot. If they are including us in their averages, they should up it to about $75 because we are always buying things that we know we need and also think we need when we spend the night in their lot.

We just think that a company that is so RV-friendly should get an atta'boy. We have found that those Walmarts (or Sam's Clubs) that prohibit overnight parking are in communities that have passed ordinances to prohibit all overnight parking regardless of whose lot you may find yourself in. The reason? Room tax!

We have a POI for our Garmin that lists all Walmarts and indicates if NOP, or No Overnight Parking, is in effect.

While we know that not all will agree with our position, we just feel that if we are movin' and scootin' then why find an RV park whose only services we may use is their electric?