*100% best **Generater.Systems** I have used. A test for hurricane prep here in Louisiana: three AC units, 5000, 5000 & 8000, 3 fridges, 2 device power setups, 4 flat screens....AND I had 40% of the power meter to spare.*
I find this hard to believe. At what your amp meter is saying ~1400 watts, Just the AC compressor or refrigerator compressor kicking in would overload the Honda. Or kicking in at the same time. It may be working right then, but wattage can rise and drop. What you really need is a Honda 3000is
Nice setup. I've got a EU2000i and think I will get that transfer switch. Here's an idea to free up a few watts. Get LED's for all of the light fixtures that you have powered. Its pretty nice to go from a 60 watt bulb to a 7 watt.
should have just gone with an interlock switch and exterior inlet. buy a L5-30 to L14-30 adapter where it crosses both hots together so your (1) Honda EU2000i can provide power down BOTH legs of your panel to all circuits. of course you can't power everything at the same time so it will be up to you to decide what you want to power and what you don'.t if you are worried about various devices sucking up too much power unplug them or just flip off circuits you don't need. your choice. interlock kit = $100 inlet = $50 misc materials including adapter = $50 i have a Smarter Tools AP2000iQ using the above setup and it has worked great during the last 2 power outages.
This test was done a year ago and I had just about everything in the house connected to the transfer switch turned on. This winter we had an ice storm knock out our power for an extended period of time. I ran the main fridge, a small 850 watt space heater in my son's room, a few lights (cfl and led) and an led tv. The generator was able to handle all of that (even the start up on the fridge which surged the total load to 2200 watts) for about 11 hours with one fill up and no problems. A few observations I made about my test last year and the power outage: many modern refrigerators have multiple light bulbs. They are usually 40 watt. Mine has 3 on the fridge side and 3 on the freezer side. If you end up running your generator up to capacity, you need to be careful about the additional load from 120 watts worth of fridge bulbs. If the fridge starts up just as you're opening the door, the gen. may overload and shut down. I used a small table (2'x4')with a tarp and a few bricks to protect the gen. from the weather, leaving the ends open so it could breath. I have thought many times about a larger unit and a beefier switch, but it's so quiet and efficient, and our power is pretty reliable here so I'm happy with the set and my arrangement. I checked with an electrician friend about the 100' cord I'm using and he said it's not ideal, but should be no problem.
Have you ever seen Apollo 13? It's all about the power up sequence. A/C starts up only once and runs continuously so the load stays pretty constant. Remember, this is the max.demo. Only running the necessities in a power outage. Just one fridge, A/C led tv's and a few lights.
It is funny how many friendly neighbors you have when there is a power outage. I loan out my tools to my neighbors all of the time, but not the Honda. I was asked once to borrow my Honda for a camping trip. My response, I need a $1100 non refundable deposit. I rent and I have invested in flat power cords to be able to close my doors in the event of carbon monoxide being drawn into the house.
I should have mentioned in the video that I did balance all 4 circuits on the transfer switch with everything running. Each circuit has between 300 and 500 watts. I do have a security cable and padlock to secure the generator to the tree in the back yard. If you have a gas furnace you would really benefit from a set up similar to this one.
I do it at Home. Honda 2000i can manage safely the refrigarator, Internet and one TV with Box on. I put all light on Led so even if I turn on every light on will be less than 200w. I place my Honda 2000i in the transfer switch only in 110v mode, you cannot supply anything with 220v.
I think you did a great job. Nice choice in your Generator. Honda is the best. I went with an interlock, and an outside inlet box. With an interlock you have the option to choose which circuits you wish to energize. My house for the most part is natural gas so my Honda 6500 can run just about my whole house, all but the central A/C. I also like your idea about a window A/C for the master bedroom.
Well I have a new HV/AC unit to the tune of several thousands of dollars. We lost power as a result of high winds and a storm that blew through right after the bad ones in Moore, OK. I'll post the video soon of my generator in action. It performed as expected to keep the house up and running while power was restored.
Whoops..hit enter too soon. Like I was saying, that's a good point. In an emergency I probably will only use 1 fridge and I won't have everything in the house turned on. I powered everything up in a specific order for this demo. Using the kilawatt meter I calculated the surge of each of the large appliances. Luckily they were pretty low. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the comments. Since I posted the video, our main HV/AC unit crapped the bed, so to speak. While I'm shopping for a new one, we have been operating on 2 window units and a portable cooler. These are all fed through the generator panel with power from the power com
I saw a neat video of a guy using timers to run his refrigerators for 30 min out,of every 2 hours. He was using a battery bank and used the timers to keep the drain at a minimum. This would be good to help sync up the fridges and keep,the, from starting and running at the same time. That would free up a few amps. And keep the generator from carrying the maximum load for extended periods.
Good point. Almost all of our lights are either cfl or led bulbs. I only have a few fixtures with incandescent bulbs. I really wish I had spent the extra money on a 6 circuit switch. The power is pretty well distributed throughout my house now but I could have really lit the place up with a couple of extra circuits.
This looks like a great setup. I have two EU2000i's (one is the companion model with the 30 amp plug). I also installed a 6 circuit transfer switch very similar to yours. I can run all 6 of the circuits with 1 EU2000i, or run both EU2000i's so that I don't have to worry about load management at all. With this setup I'm able to power the gas furnace, 2 refrigerators, bathroom and lights around the house (all CFL or LED) and my Internet/TV's etc. It makes things very comfortable.
I assure you what you see in the video is accurate. I will only use 1 fridge in an emergency but had both going with a/c unit and lights for the demo. Left the fridge doors open before filming to make sure the compressor was running. Those generators will surge to 2200 watts for about 10 minutes before shutting down.
Nice! thanks for the video! As far as the cable goes you can get an idea of how much you loose by getting two "killAwatt"meters and switch them to make sure they are the same. Or if you are like theories, If the 12 guage 100 feet cable resistance is 0.16 ohms and current is 12A then you are loosing 12x12x0.16 ~= 23Watts, could be fifteen percent or so - something to keep in mind but not to worry.
Yes the ups is really nice. It will power for about 3 hours without the gen. Nice to be able to surf the web for weather updates and power outage status.
First off set the generator on a non flammable solid surface such as a small build up of cinder blocks. I also suggest to anyone running a generator keep a fire extinguisher near the generator. Think about it, heat, fuel, electricity.
I just did this same installation, same generator and switch, it works great! Thank you for the demo! We can run our refrigerator, FIOS and wifi, some lights and ceiling fans and our alarm system from this setup.
I'm glad it worked for you and thanks for your comments. I got this idea from Rigskie1 and his set up to run a room in his house, heater blower, draft fan for his water heater, etc. so major props to him. You should check out his video. My next plan is to find an inexpensive pellet stove or fireplace grate heater and power it with one of the circuits on the transfer switch. You could keep your family nice and toasty with one if those in a winter power loss and they draw less than 200 watts on high setting.
What’s nice about your situation is that if in the future you’d like to add more power you can just pick up another eu2000i and you get twice the power.
Tommy TMT actually...I did! Need to upgrade my transfer switch now and add a large gauge inlet box. The old transfer switch is only good for about 1500 watts. Bad planning on my part.
Its a very nice setup. You can't go wrong with a Honda. The only thing different I would have done is went with an interlock system. I like the interlock because it powers the whole panel and you can turn on any light in the house. Also with your setup you have a great advantage it you ever choose to buy another EU2000 and run them in parallel.
I would have done an interlock but 2 things prevented it: I do not have any available blanks in my panel and there was not an interlock kit available for my panel. (GE Goldmark Plus)
I understand. I had the same problem. I Searched high and low to locate a factory interlock for my Cutler Hammer box. I didn't want to go with an aftermarket kit. Where I live interlocks are approved as long as its manufactured by the panel manufacture. I also had to make a space by using two piggy back breakers. When sandy hit us here in NJ I was very surprised how many people don't have a backup electric plan.
The piggy back breakers were my thought as well, but they are prohibited by our city code. Not worth the expense of a sub panel so I settled for the transfer switch. I have maxed the genny out with it for about 11 hours and it works great.
You can produce more power with 2 EU2000i gen. sets together than 1 EU3000. I have considered another EU2000i Companion model and a larger transfer switch. Depending on how much power you need, the 3000i can produce 2800 Watts continuously and peak at 3000watts. Peak amps are 26. These go for about $2100 online. You could get 2 EU2000i gen. sets, patched together and produce 3200 continuous watts, peaking at 4000watts for start up, still producing a max. of 26 amps. The Honda EU2000i's are listed at $999.00 each (powerequipmentdirect,com) or $1099.00 for the companion model. The parallel cables for the 2 EU2000i gens are $39.99. IMHO, the 2 EU2000i option is the better solution. Although it is a little more money, it would produce more power, and still be quiet and efficient.
I got on eu2000i and now considering the 2000 eu companion they told me having one at 30 amps would be easier to have a transfer switch. I don't understand it all does that make sense?
I mean I know this was made in 13 but damn why are people still making videos like they don't know shit about Landscape mode? I mean if you are going to make videos do them where people can see something.
*100% best **Generater.Systems** I have used. A test for hurricane prep here in Louisiana: three AC units, 5000, 5000 & 8000, 3 fridges, 2 device power setups, 4 flat screens....AND I had 40% of the power meter to spare.*
practice for grid down. smart move. oh. yea. shorten cord. lots of line. loss.
I find this hard to believe. At what your amp meter is saying ~1400 watts, Just the AC compressor or refrigerator compressor kicking in would overload the Honda. Or kicking in at the same time. It may be working right then, but wattage can rise and drop. What you really need is a Honda 3000is
Nice setup. I've got a EU2000i and think I will get that transfer switch. Here's an idea to free up a few watts. Get LED's for all of the light fixtures that you have powered. Its pretty nice to go from a 60 watt bulb to a 7 watt.
should have just gone with an interlock switch and exterior inlet. buy a L5-30 to L14-30 adapter where it crosses both hots together so your (1) Honda EU2000i can provide power down BOTH legs of your panel to all circuits. of course you can't power everything at the same time so it will be up to you to decide what you want to power and what you don'.t if you are worried about various devices sucking up too much power unplug them or just flip off circuits you don't need. your choice.
interlock kit = $100
inlet = $50
misc materials including adapter = $50
i have a Smarter Tools AP2000iQ using the above setup and it has worked great during the last 2 power outages.
This test was done a year ago and I had just about everything in the house connected to the transfer switch turned on. This winter we had an ice storm knock out our power for an extended period of time. I ran the main fridge, a small 850 watt space heater in my son's room, a few lights (cfl and led) and an led tv. The generator was able to handle all of that (even the start up on the fridge which surged the total load to 2200 watts) for about 11 hours with one fill up and no problems. A few observations I made about my test last year and the power outage: many modern refrigerators have multiple light bulbs. They are usually 40 watt. Mine has 3 on the fridge side and 3 on the freezer side. If you end up running your generator up to capacity, you need to be careful about the additional load from 120 watts worth of fridge bulbs. If the fridge starts up just as you're opening the door, the gen. may overload and shut down. I used a small table (2'x4')with a tarp and a few bricks to protect the gen. from the weather, leaving the ends open so it could breath. I have thought many times about a larger unit and a beefier switch, but it's so quiet and efficient, and our power is pretty reliable here so I'm happy with the set and my arrangement. I checked with an electrician friend about the 100' cord I'm using and he said it's not ideal, but should be no problem.
Have you ever seen Apollo 13? It's all about the power up sequence. A/C starts up only once and runs continuously so the load stays pretty constant. Remember, this is the max.demo. Only running the necessities in a power outage. Just one fridge, A/C led tv's and a few lights.
Also, look into the propane conversion. You can make that generator trif-fuel quite easily, it's nice to have more than one choice for fuel.
It is funny how many friendly neighbors you have when there is a power outage. I loan out my tools to my neighbors all of the time, but not the Honda. I was asked once to borrow my Honda for a camping trip. My response, I need a $1100 non refundable deposit. I rent and I have invested in flat power cords to be able to close my doors in the event of carbon monoxide being drawn into the house.
don't lend it out.
Looks fine to me. You are not going to loose enough voltage with 100ft. Nice job
I should have mentioned in the video that I did balance all 4 circuits on the transfer switch with everything running. Each circuit has between 300 and 500 watts. I do have a security cable and padlock to secure the generator to the tree in the back yard. If you have a gas furnace you would really benefit from a set up similar to this one.
I do it at Home. Honda 2000i can manage safely the refrigarator, Internet and one TV with Box on. I put all light on Led so even if I turn on every light on will be less than 200w. I place my Honda 2000i in the transfer switch only in 110v mode, you cannot supply anything with 220v.
I think you did a great job. Nice choice in your Generator. Honda is the best. I went with an interlock, and an outside inlet box. With an interlock you have the option to choose which circuits you wish to energize. My house for the most part is natural gas so my Honda 6500 can run just about my whole house, all but the central A/C. I also like your idea about a window A/C for the master bedroom.
Well I have a new HV/AC unit to the tune of several thousands of dollars. We lost power as a result of high winds and a storm that blew through right after the bad ones in Moore, OK. I'll post the video soon of my generator in action. It performed as expected to keep the house up and running while power was restored.
Whoops..hit enter too soon. Like I was saying, that's a good point. In an emergency I probably will only use 1 fridge and I won't have everything in the house turned on. I powered everything up in a specific order for this demo. Using the kilawatt meter I calculated the surge of each of the large appliances. Luckily they were pretty low. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the comments. Since I posted the video, our main HV/AC unit crapped the bed, so to speak. While I'm shopping for a new one, we have been operating on 2 window units and a portable cooler. These are all fed through the generator panel with power from the power com
I saw a neat video of a guy using timers to run his refrigerators for 30 min out,of every 2 hours. He was using a battery bank and used the timers to keep the drain at a minimum. This would be good to help sync up the fridges and keep,the, from starting and running at the same time. That would free up a few amps. And keep the generator from carrying the maximum load for extended periods.
Good point. Almost all of our lights are either cfl or led bulbs. I only have a few fixtures with incandescent bulbs. I really wish I had spent the extra money on a 6 circuit switch. The power is pretty well distributed throughout my house now but I could have really lit the place up with a couple of extra circuits.
This looks like a great setup. I have two EU2000i's (one is the companion model with the 30 amp plug). I also installed a 6 circuit transfer switch very similar to yours. I can run all 6 of the circuits with 1 EU2000i, or run both EU2000i's so that I don't have to worry about load management at all. With this setup I'm able to power the gas furnace, 2 refrigerators, bathroom and lights around the house (all CFL or LED) and my Internet/TV's etc. It makes things very comfortable.
I assure you what you see in the video is accurate. I will only use 1 fridge in an emergency but had both going with a/c unit and lights for the demo. Left the fridge doors open before filming to make sure the compressor was running. Those generators will surge to 2200 watts for about 10 minutes before shutting down.
Nice setup. The only thing I would watch is surge watts, I.e. when the a/c cycles ans the fridge cycles.
Nice! thanks for the video!
As far as the cable goes you can get an idea of how much you loose by getting two "killAwatt"meters and switch them to make sure they are the same. Or if you are like theories, If the 12 guage 100 feet cable resistance is 0.16 ohms and current is 12A then you are loosing 12x12x0.16 ~= 23Watts, could be fifteen percent or so - something to keep in mind but not to worry.
Company. The transfer switch is performing great. I expected it to trip with the load it's carrying right now but it's doing great.
Yes the ups is really nice. It will power for about 3 hours without the gen. Nice to be able to surf the web for weather updates and power outage status.
First off set the generator on a non flammable solid surface such as a small build up of cinder blocks. I also suggest to anyone running a generator keep a fire extinguisher near the generator. Think about it, heat, fuel, electricity.
Cant beleive I never thought of using a UPS on my modem/router, gonna do that. Nice to see that these can handle 2 fridges.
5000 BTU air conditioner running on a 1000 watt generator
I just did this same installation, same generator and switch, it works great! Thank you for the demo! We can run our refrigerator, FIOS and wifi, some lights and ceiling fans and our alarm system from this setup.
I'm glad it worked for you and thanks for your comments. I got this idea from Rigskie1 and his set up to run a room in his house, heater blower, draft fan for his water heater, etc. so major props to him. You should check out his video. My next plan is to find an inexpensive pellet stove or fireplace grate heater and power it with one of the circuits on the transfer switch. You could keep your family nice and toasty with one if those in a winter power loss and they draw less than 200 watts on high setting.
Good job, thanks for sharing.
What’s nice about your situation is that if in the future you’d like to add more power you can just pick up another eu2000i and you get twice the power.
Tommy TMT actually...I did! Need to upgrade my transfer switch now and add a large gauge inlet box. The old transfer switch is only good for about 1500 watts. Bad planning on my part.
Its a very nice setup. You can't go wrong with a Honda. The only thing different I would have done is went with an interlock system. I like the interlock because it powers the whole panel and you can turn on any light in the house. Also with your setup you have a great advantage it you ever choose to buy another EU2000 and run them in parallel.
I would have done an interlock but 2 things prevented it: I do not have any available blanks in my panel and there was not an interlock kit available for my panel. (GE Goldmark Plus)
I understand. I had the same problem. I Searched high and low to locate a factory interlock for my Cutler Hammer box. I didn't want to go with an aftermarket kit. Where I live interlocks are approved as long as its manufactured by the panel manufacture. I also had to make a space by using two piggy back breakers. When sandy hit us here in NJ I was very surprised how many people don't have a backup electric plan.
The piggy back breakers were my thought as well, but they are prohibited by our city code. Not worth the expense of a sub panel so I settled for the transfer switch. I have maxed the genny out with it for about 11 hours and it works great.
Are two EU2000's better than one EU3000? If you wanted to have a bit more power . . .
You can produce more power with 2 EU2000i gen. sets together than 1 EU3000. I have considered another EU2000i Companion model and a larger transfer switch. Depending on how much power you need, the 3000i can produce 2800 Watts continuously and peak at 3000watts. Peak amps are 26. These go for about $2100 online. You could get 2 EU2000i gen. sets, patched together and produce 3200 continuous watts, peaking at 4000watts for start up, still producing a max. of 26 amps. The Honda EU2000i's are listed at $999.00 each (powerequipmentdirect,com) or $1099.00 for the companion model. The parallel cables for the 2 EU2000i gens are $39.99. IMHO, the 2 EU2000i option is the better solution. Although it is a little more money, it would produce more power, and still be quiet and efficient.
I got on eu2000i and now considering the 2000 eu companion they told me having one at 30 amps would be easier to have a transfer switch. I don't understand it all does that make sense?
I think he's talking about the 30amp receptacle on the companion model. It uses a 30amp twist lock cable that most of the transfer switches come with.
So I should get that version for my second honda eu 2000?
Yes I think the companion model would be the best choice for your second generator.
I mean I know this was made in 13 but damn why are people still making videos like they don't know shit about Landscape mode? I mean if you are going to make videos do them where people can see something.
Let me get in my time machine and go back and update my iPhone 4 and redo it. Thanks for the comments.
I am dizzy!!!