Question on Honda EU2000i with propane.....

[Joe & Cherie]

I was just told by a dealer that if you convert a EU2000i to propane that the rpm's of the unit will not automatically increase and decrease with loads. He said you can run it low, med, hi, whatever you want - but it wont do it automatically.

Can anybody here confirm this? Thanks in advance!

[rbryan]

The kits I have seen aren't really conversions - they're adaptations. What I mean is they are adding propane to the airstream "pre-carburetor", meaning the gasoline fuel system remains untouched. The engine doesn't care whether the fuel is propane or gas - it runs the same. And the generator goes up and down in rpm's depending on electrical demand because the electronic throttle control tells it to. The throttle isn't affected by this adaptation, so I think the dealer you mentioned is mistaken. Link to one of the adaptation kits below.

As for running it on "high, medium, low" etc, I don't know how you would do that with an eu2000i. It has a regular mode and an eco mode.

https://www.amazon.com/Generator-Con.../dp/B00U9RTZZ0

[Joe & Cherie]

Hi Robert,

Id have to agree with you. I called Mayberry's - I have heard they had good prices. They guy I talked to said they have tried every propane adapter on the market - and that the automatic RPM's or whatever it is called doesn't work, and that they kit companies don't tell you that.

I have to agree he must be mistaken tho, I just read thru TONS of posts of people using the kits and its all thumbs up results. Not one person said this was an issue.

Thanks!

[SilverGhost]

Hmm, we had dual fuel Clark forklifts that ran through the same carb. That kit on Amazon looks like it's missing a few parts to fully integrate with the generator.

The trick here to retain the throttle control from "ECO" mode is being able to control the gas control valve (on the propane kit) from the same mechanism that controls the gasoline carb. Anyone have some install instructions? I'd like to did into those and see if it's practical.

Jason

EDIT: I watch a video on one of the kits. It looks like unless you can get a carb, made for this generator, that also is designed to regulate propane flow, there will be no throttle control from the "ECO" switch.

You manually set up the propane gas flow and just leave it. No way to adjust on the fly (unless you stand there with a screw driver).

[Joe & Cherie]

Hi Jason. The one I am looking into is a bit different.

http://www.genconnexdirect.net/honda...opane_kits.htm

But I assume it works the same way. I'm not sure if this is a big negative to the propane conversion. Will the generator rpm's change with loads? If not, will propane be used at a rapid rate?

Thanks so much for the advise - its a huge investment!

[redbarron55]

I believe that you will find that the throttle plate in carb controls the speed of the engine when either on gasoline or LP by controlling the airflow.

The LP adapter just provides the propane in relation to the demand of the airflow from the carb. The carb does the same thing on gasoline.

The generator will not produce as much power on LP but should work OK.
As a full disclosure, I don't have one of these units on LP or not. I have a Harbor Freight on gasoline.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by JWScarab

I was just told by a dealer that if you convert a EU2000i to propane that the rpm's of the unit will not automatically increase and decrease with loads. He said you can run it low, med, hi, whatever you want - but it wont do it automatically.

Can anybody here confirm this? Thanks in advance!

Why mess up your Honda with propane. They don't use that much gasoline. We have one and it works great on gas. I can't see any real reason to use propane except you could maybe tap into you tanks on your trailer. Just carry a 2 gallon can and use gasoline.

[Michael Pupeza]

The Honda runs fine on Propane. My US Carburetion kit from 8 years ago required drilling a hole in the carburetor, thus making it a single fuel unit but was installed totally inside the cover. Only the feed hose comes out the old gas filler hole with a small regulator at the tank with a quick connect hose coupling.
The unit is a bit tricky to start as the fuel/air ratio with propane is narrower than with gasolene and almost always takes 3 pulls after purging. The generator does change revs as required by the electrical load and provides almost as much power as with gasolene. There is a small loss with propane. My A/C will start and run after I installed a MicroAir kit into it - it would not with the original 13.5KBTU A/C on propane.
A 20lb BBQ Propane Tank doesn't stink, doesn't leak, is easy to store even if knocked over and will run the Honda at 1/2 power for almost 20+ hours.
I'm a convinced converter.
Mike .....>

[Steve Hammel]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

I believe that you will find that the throttle plate in carb controls the speed of the engine when either on gasoline or LP by controlling the airflow.

The LP adapter just provides the propane in relation to the demand of the airflow from the carb. The carb does the same thing on gasoline.

The generator will not produce as much power on LP but should work OK.
As a full disclosure, I don't have one of these units on LP or not. I have a Harbor Freight on gasoline.

How do you like your little Harbor freight unit?

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

Why mess up your Honda with propane. They don't use that much gasoline. We have one and it works great on gas. I can't see any real reason to use propane except you could maybe tap into you tanks on your trailer. Just carry a 2 gallon can and use gasoline.

Why mess up your Honda with gasoline. Gasoline will gum up its carburetor and and any small engine that isn't run daily is better off using not always easy to obtain non-ethanol fuel. If you can't see any real reason to use propane rather than gasoline then it is most likely because you haven't tried it. And yet you already pointed out one reason, specifically, being able (not maybe) to tap into your onboard propane tank(s). Any the generator will run a lot longer connected to a propane tank than on its minuscule gas tank. Furthermore, the odor of gasoline and potential of spills when fueling is eliminated. As far as the Honda generator, my experience has been that "converting" it to run on propane is the best thing I ever did to it. And my meter tests have shown that there is no measurable difference in power output when running on propane vs. gasoline.

[Joe & Cherie]

I think the mod will go forward! I want to thank everybody for their advise and knowledge! As mentioned, I want propane so I dont have to carry gas around. And with (2) 20 lb tanks - should be a nice setup not running out of fuel in the middle of the night! Looking forward to see how this little thing does! Thanks again!

[redbarron55]

Originally Posted by Steve Hammel

How do you like your little Harbor freight unit?

I don't have the new "little" harbor Freight Honda clone, but rather the older 2500/2200 bigger inverter generator.
I have had it for a couple of years and it works great.
I paid either 300 or 400 for it and I forget which.
I also modified the intake air box to quiet the noise from the carb which was the noisiest part
I haven't tried the new little inverter genny, but it is probably OK as well.
They also have anew 3500 watt unit.
Personally I think that the break in and fresh synthetic oil is the answer for all of these units.

[SilverGhost]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

I believe that you will find that the throttle plate in carb controls the speed of the engine when either on gasoline or LP by controlling the airflow.

The LP adapter just provides the propane in relation to the demand of the airflow from the carb. The carb does the same thing on gasoline.

The generator will not produce as much power on LP but should work OK.
As a full disclosure, I don't have one of these units on LP or not. I have a Harbor Freight on gasoline.

Hmm, a little fuel basics.

The stepper motor on the carb for the Honda generator moves the throttle plate. But in a gasoline carb when you move the throttle plate it uncovers bleed holes(off idle) and changes air flow through the venturi, which affects the amount of gasoline pulled through the jets inside the carb.

For propane, in these kits, the fuel adjustment for RPM/load is all done external to the carb. If I remember correctly from the forklifts that second, larger, regulator is responsible for that. On one kit I watched the video for there is a simple set screw and lock nut that you adjust based on rated horsepower of engine. The adapter plate or port drilled in gas carb just provides a place for propane to safely enter the engine.

Now if they built a vacuum controlled regulator, you could run a vacuum hose to the engine. When the throttle plate opened the drop in vacuum would open up propane flow.

Jason

[Rog Mich]

Originally Posted by JWScarab

I was just told by a dealer that if you convert a EU2000i to propane that the rpm's of the unit will not automatically increase and decrease with loads. He said you can run it low, med, hi, whatever you want - but it wont do it automatically.

Can anybody here confirm this? Thanks in advance!

Champion makes a duel fuel inverter generator in 2800w/3100w or 3100w/3400w. Anyone tried one of these? Looks like a good option for those of us wanting to use propane rather than hauling gas in our enclosed TT's and TV's.

[SilverGhost]

Have a gas Champion and have been looking at those dual fuel models. But the budget won't allow for a >$1k purchase to replace a working device. I would like to see the carb on one of those to see if it could be retrofitted to an older gas generator.

Jason