A-ipower SC2300i from Costco

@Dakota Cruiser posted:

Update on using the Costco Yamaha 2300 generator. I purchased this generator in March of 2021, and so far it has given me trouble free power while camping, and at home. In that time frame we have traveled with our 1997 Lance camper over 14000 miles from Colorado to Quebec Canada twice, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakotas. Lots of dry camping and power outages at home, and that little Yamaha has never failed to provide power for us. It does not run the air conditioner in our Lance, but does run everything else including microwave, hair dryer, furnace using our 30amp cord. Could not be happier with this purchase.

Keep on camping....it's what we do!

This yamaha has a 79cc engine. It may claim 2300 watts but that is not achievable from 79cc. The old Honda 2000 had a 100cc engine and the newer Honda 2200 has a 121cc engine. There is a reason the Honda costs more and in hard use outperforms its specs.

From my perspective, which may be different from yours, if the genny won't run the AC I don't see the point in carrying it.

The 79cc Yamaha generator that I have is a 1800 watt output, and with the addition of a soft start, it runs the AC just fine, thank you Costco.

I have a Generac GP3000i, which I've owned for about three years that cost at the time about a grand and wouldn't buy it again (it hasn't been a total failure when needed).  If it sets with gas in it for too long it wont run.  If its at altitude above 5k feet, nope!

Whatever you are thinking about getting, try hard to get one with fuel injection.  I understand Honda has a kit for changing the jet on the carb, but who wants to do that?

@Dakota Cruiser posted:

The 79cc Yamaha generator that I have is a 1800 watt output, and with the addition of a soft start, it runs the AC just fine, thank you Costco.

You did not mention which AC unit you have. But I do note that you have a TC and the AC is most likely on the small side. My local lance dealer is also Yamaha generator dealer and he cannot get 13.5's or 15k's to run on any Yamaha 79cc machine he sells.

@Ivins posted:

I have a Generac GP3000i, which I've owned for about three years that cost at the time about a grand and wouldn't buy it again (it hasn't been a total failure when needed).  If it sets with gas in it for too long it wont run.  If its at altitude above 5k feet, nope!

Whatever you are thinking about getting, try hard to get one with fuel injection.  I understand Honda has a kit for changing the jet on the carb, but who wants to do that?

The new Honda EU 3200 has been tempting me. It does have fuel injection.

Currently I have two Honda's; a 2200 and 2000. The 2000 is in the serial number range which will pair with the 2200 (early 2000's will not). While I sometimes bring the 2200 when camping my main use of them is to pair them and power the house in a power outage. For that reason I have both of them set up with Hutch Mountain tri-fuel conversions. They can run on gasoline, natural gas and propane. It takes less than a minute to swap out the jet to convert from NG to propane or the other way. I leave them set up for NG at home and have a QD connection on the natural gas line to the house. If we were to loose NG I have them set up to suck from 5 gallon NATO gas cans. This setup works pretty slick as the Honda have a fuel pump and keep the gas tanks on the gennies full so it is easy to swap 5 gallon cans and keep running.

A friend who suffered a 6 month electric outage ran his 2200 Honda for 16 hours a day for the six months. He shut down every Saturday and changed the oil. When the power came back the unit was still putting out its rated power.

Both Hutch Mountain units are set up to let the carb run dry when running on gasoline. This eliminates the problem you mentioned. Hutch is coming out with a kit for the EU 3200 too.

Yes the AC that came with my Lance is a 11k, at the time Lance only offered a 11k or 13.5k as options, so adding a soft start to the 11k it runs fine. The AC has 3 settings, lo, med and hi, have never used anything but the lo setting.

I'm stuck with my GP3000i.  I live at 3k altitude, so if needed it
should work.  I say should work because as you mention I too run the
thing until it stops, but that doesn't really mean it's dry, at least
not for me.

Take care!

@Ivins posted:

I'm stuck with my GP3000i.  I live at 3k altitude, so if needed it
should work.  I say should work because as you mention I too run the
thing until it stops, but that doesn't really mean it's dry, at least
not for me.

Take care!

Is there a chance that it has an accessible screw on the bottom of the bowl that will let you drain the remaining fuel? The Honda has one.

One other thing to do is to store it with gasoline in it and not run it dry. I do that with my riding mower and pressure washer. I just run a heavy concentration of SeaFoam in the gas tanks (about 2 oz per gallon) and make sure it has run long enough with the SeaFoam that the carb is left with SeaFoam treated gas. Both start up immediately come spring time. My last John Deere riding mower was 13 years old when I traded it in and I had no carb problems for the first 12 years. My neighbor had the exact same machine and he drained the tank and carb at the end of mowing season. His machine was the same age as mine and he installed three new carbs.

@Ivins posted:

I have a Generac GP3000i, which I've owned for about three years that cost at the time about a grand and wouldn't buy it again (it hasn't been a total failure when needed).  If it sets with gas in it for too long it wont run.  If its at altitude above 5k feet, nope!

Whatever you are thinking about getting, try hard to get one with fuel injection.  I understand Honda has a kit for changing the jet on the carb, but who wants to do that?

Gasoline apparently degrades to a varnish-like substance that eventually will clog carburetor if left in the carb, tank or fuel lines for an extended time. I’ve found that using Stabil fuel stabilizer extends the life of the stored fuel.

Even when stabilized gas can still attack seals and fuel lines if left for long periods.

With a generator (or any small gas engine), when done using the device, disconnect the load and turn off the fuel valve until the engine runs the fuel line and carb dry.

As mentioned, Sea Foam in the fuel has helped preventing and clearing clogged carb jets when fuel was left untreated.