Honda Inverter Generator
- Thread starter Paul and Judy
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There is a 12-volt outlet off the 2000 generator to charge batteries- do NOT use it as a 12-volt power source. Forget the "inverter " tag. It will only confuse people. It is a "generator" we are talking about.
Red, not shure I understand the q, but here goes...
There are 2 versions of the 2000i;
One version is the companion. It has a 30 amp twistlock like boat 30 amp systems. It also has the ability to mate to a second 2000i companion to provide double the output.
The other version has a 20 amp style connector. In addition, this version also has a 12 volt output.
Both versions can ONLY put out a total of 13.3 amps under continious load. The surge load is 16 amps for a short time.
The 12 volt output is not very hi capacity, I don't see much utility in it. It will take forever to charge a house bank.
So the real decision is whether you want to pay $100 extra for the 30 amp connector. If you get the 20 amp connector, you will need an adaptor to plug into your shore power input.
I found an inexpensive 12' 30 amp cable at defender. Makes a nice semi-permanent connection from gen to boat.
I get 13.5 amps and I am able to power my 2 xantrex 40 amp truecharge chargers. I see 70 to 80+ amps on my victron for hours at a time. Or we run one charger plus other loads. If we are heating water in the water heater, that's about all that the 2000 can handle.
There are 2 versions of the 2000i;
One version is the companion. It has a 30 amp twistlock like boat 30 amp systems. It also has the ability to mate to a second 2000i companion to provide double the output.
The other version has a 20 amp style connector. In addition, this version also has a 12 volt output.
Both versions can ONLY put out a total of 13.3 amps under continious load. The surge load is 16 amps for a short time.
The 12 volt output is not very hi capacity, I don't see much utility in it. It will take forever to charge a house bank.
So the real decision is whether you want to pay $100 extra for the 30 amp connector. If you get the 20 amp connector, you will need an adaptor to plug into your shore power input.
I found an inexpensive 12' 30 amp cable at defender. Makes a nice semi-permanent connection from gen to boat.
I get 13.5 amps and I am able to power my 2 xantrex 40 amp truecharge chargers. I see 70 to 80+ amps on my victron for hours at a time. Or we run one charger plus other loads. If we are heating water in the water heater, that's about all that the 2000 can handle.
1. That's AC output.
2. I hear this all the time when people ask about Honda generators. Fact is that a full battery is 12.7 or 12.8V and the ONLY way I know of to get to that voltage is to charge the bank at OVER 12.8V!!! Really. So "it will take forever" is true. In fact, it will not even charge your bank.
If I was buying one, I'd buy the one with the twist lock 30A connector, if I could find an equal price to the other model. Why? 'Cuz it's easier to use an existing shorepower cord, that's all. If you use the 20A connector model, just make sure, as has been noted, that you get a locking 20A plug so it doesn't fall out of the vibrating machinery.
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4861.0.html
Your boat, your generator, your choice.
You can connect your computer or other sensitive device right into this model - it's Inverter equipped for Super Clean Power
With the inverter generators, one of the cool things is that they can vary the speed of the motor with respect to the load placed on them. So at low load, the motor runs slower which reduces noise and conserves fuel. They are also generally cheaper to build, requiring fewer parts than the "standard" generator.
The downside is, that to have a proper sinewave, the frequency and voltages must be consistent. You simply can't do that while you are varying the speed of the motor to match the draw. So what they do is to take this varying AC coming out of the generator, rectify it to DC, feed that into an inverter and then use that as the output.
Good generators (like Honda) will use good pure-sine wave inverters. It's cheaper to put a modified sinewave inverter in to the unit. That reduces overall cost to build. If you see one of those $150 knockoff generators out there, you can pretty much bet it's output will be a modified sinewave inverter.
With the inverter generators, one of the cool things is that they can vary the speed of the motor with respect to the load placed on them. So at low load, the motor runs slower which reduces noise and conserves fuel. They are also generally cheaper to build, requiring fewer parts than the "standard" generator.
The downside is, that to have a proper sinewave, the frequency and voltages must be consistent. You simply can't do that while you are varying the speed of the motor to match the draw. So what they do is to take this varying AC coming out of the generator, rectify it to DC, feed that into an inverter and then use that as the output.
Good generators (like Honda) will use good pure-sine wave inverters. It's cheaper to put a modified sinewave inverter in to the unit. That reduces overall cost to build. If you see one of those $150 knockoff generators out there, you can pretty much bet it's output will be a modified sinewave inverter.
I don't think it is misleading to describe the outlets that come with a generator as 20A or 30A so the buyer knows what type of plugs he can utilize. The out put power of the generator is well advertised and they even provide a warning that to get more than continuous output of 1600 watts you must run a second generator in parallel. I use a 15A to 30A pigtail to connect the generator to the boat's 120V input and it works fine. Have had no problems with rain shorting out the 15A connectors.
You do not need to run a second generator to get >1600Watts, you can peak at 2000 watts for up to 30 minutes without damage to the unit. It is rated 1600 watts operational and 2000 watts peak (for no longer than 30 minutes)
We use these all the time when we have a club outting on a guest dock where there are only a few outlets. Plug from one boat to another.
Mine will not run at more than about 13.2 -13.4A for very long, maybe 3-4 minutes before shutting down.... I've never been able to get mine to do 2000W for more than a couple minutes.....
Maine, We have had ours running for long periods of time with 13.5 amps or more. Many mornings the 40 amp battery charger, the toaster, coffee pot, TV and a few other appliances are all running at the same time and the generator hums along. At times we have even added the microwave for short periods of time to the mix. We can turn on our 3 gallon hot water heater, alone, and run it for 15 minutes and get hot water for showers and washing dishes. We have worked the unit very hard at times. It is the newest unit with the 30 amp outlet. Chuck
longterm
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- Feb 5, 2012
- 183
I have a Kipor 1200w, works great, powers my A/C on my boat. I use cables to suspend my swim ladder horizontally, then strap the generator to a padded wooden platform on the ladder. I have a 15' shore cable with a pigtail, plug the gen into the boat.MrBill_FLL said:
Cost me about $600.
Bob
Chuck,
I've heard that before so maybe the later models do a better job. Mine is pretty old and perhaps they've changed things in the inverter..?
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