I have a couple of Honda EU2200i generators, which I used to power lights, refrigerator, and IT gear during an outage a couple of years ago. They are set up with a dual fuel kit so they can run on gasoline, propane or natural gas. Later Honda generators have a fuel-off position on the control knob, which allows the generator to consume all the gasoline in the carburetor before shutting down. I use this feature to prevent the carburetor from fouling by never leaving gas in it.

Honda generators are pricey, but I've found them to be utterly reliable and worth their extra cost.

I did the exact same thing. Bought a new Honda EU2200i and put it in my boiler room in the box. Bought 4 cans of TruFuel 4 cycle gas from Lowe’s as TrueFuel lasts 5+ years unopened and 2 years after opening. Get the 2.1 gallon cans as they are sealed best. Get some Honda oil, air filter kit and starter fluid spray to keep on hand. I had an electrician put in a 110v transfer switch with 4 circuits. It powers fridge, freezer, oil boiler for heat and hot water, living room and bathroom lights. I rotate the true fuel once in a while in my lawn mower.

Bought a new EU2200i about a month ago.  Put a Hutch Mountain propane conversion kit on it.  Only plan to run it on propane.  Broke it in by running it for an hour at no load, an hour at 40% load and an hour at 80% load.  Changed the oil after each hour.  It’s in my garage under a cover with 5 20lb propane bottles and 20 gallons of gasoline.  Only plan to use it to recharge my 7kw of solar generators when there is not enough solar from my 800 watts of portable solar panels.  

I had considered a 3500 watts HF Predator but no propane conversion kits and their Chinesium reliability is questionable at best.  Can’t beat Honda reliability!

I had a Honda 2L generator and for many years I used it in Townsville, Australia during cyclone blackouts for running my fridge and freezer and charge iPads and the router plus the Tv. I used to start one item at a time and let it settle down then start the next item. It worked flawlessly for 15 years with only yearly preseason maintenance and oil changes.

I had one of those little generators. Worked well but didn't last long. One day it just wouldn't start. I think the magneto died, there was no spark.

Replaced it with the predator 3500 which is awesome. Very quiet, easy to start, and ran our entire house with visitors at Christmas 2022 when the power was out for 2 days. Couldn't run the heat pump or electric stove but we had our propane fireplace running full blast and made Christmas dinner on the camp stove. We were the only house on the block occupied. Surreal. Fun time.

I love this.  It's just simple and honest.   And it works. I now have two Honda's.  Purchased an EU2000 more than 10 years ago for RV bookdocking, and an EU2200 5 years ago when we experienced a massage power outage due to a derecho windstorm.  I can parallel them together to provide more power.  But one EU2000 works if you are carefull when you run things as OutboardDad suggested.  If you pay for the good generator, I would encourage folks to consider the few hundred extra dollars to install (or have an electrician) install a small transfer panel. I have a 6 circuilt 30 amp panel that powers a few critical circuits in my house:  furnace, kitchen, refrigerator/freezer, family room lights & outlets.  The generator panel feed come through a 30 amp connector on the outside of the house.  Other than the 30 amp power cable from the generators, no messing around with extension cords through windows or doors and througout the house.  That is a small price to pay for safe and simple when you need it.  One more big advantage for a well designed, smaller, inverter generator:  Fuel consumption. These EU2200's are incredibly fuel efficient, especially in ECO mode.  I ran my full setup (both generators) with normal evening usage in the middle of cold Iowa night for over 10 hours on a single tank of gas for each generator.  One 5-gal container of gas is more than enough for a day's worth of 30 amp backup power. One last point - IF you cycle gas in your generator (run a tank once a year) then refill with fresh treated gas (I use sea-foam), you shouldn't have to mess with the carburater jets.  Just a bit more work annually - but you know you are ready. Nice video. Others will benefit from this way more than most of the stuff on electrical backup out there! Thank you!

Great video. I bought a couple of EU2000i's about 15 years ago (one was the model where you can connect them to each other if you want...) and they're bulletproof. They weren't cheap -- about $1k each back then, but even though I don't need them often I like knowing that they're available in a power outage. Sometimes I've gone a couple of years without touching them (I'd forget to periodically start them up every few months) but they always crank up. I use Tru Fuel (ethanol free fuel) and run a little through the Honda until it runs dry, then store it. I haven't had a problem (knock on wood) with any gummed up carbs yet. Cheers from Texas!

Very good & informative video!! Thank you ! New subscriber!

I’ve got like eight of them,they’re priceless.
Started picking them up used from people who clogged up the carb.
Very smart to know how to clean and service the carb.
They run forever if maintained,the hot dog carts in NYC are proof of that!
I have larger ones but if fuel is tight these are a godsend.

Honda EU powered my off grid cabin for 6 years,it has OVER 18 K hours on it,NO issues!!!

I have a little Firman 1600 watt inverter generator that will run my furnace, fridge, cable modem, router, laptop and a few kitchen LED lights and outlets in the house.  I wired in a Reliance cut over switch at my electrical panel that I can use to manage power to 6 different circuits in the house.  Works great and doesn't use a lot of fuel.  I liked mine so well I bought one for my son and he's used it several times to kept the heat, fridge and a few lights on in an outage.  He recently had an outage for over 14 hours and it ran like a champ all night.  I run mine on non-ethanol gas with stabilizer and I run it once a month to make sure it works.  It's easy to start and I showed my wife how to plug it in, start it and switch it over.

Really are the best little generators. Always start, nice and quiet.
I have one for emergencies as well. Haven't had to use it yet, almost hoping for a power outage so I can use it lol.

I use a combination of an Ecoflow Delta 2 Max and Honda EU2000i. A transfer switch switches key circuits to the Ecoflow (furnace, few lights, FiOS/network, sump pump, fridge) which lasts 4 hours or more. I then use the Honda for about 1 1/2 hours to recharge the Ecoflow at 1.5kw and repeat.

I only use non-ethanol fuel in all my two stroke equipment and the Honda generator.  I have an outside outlet that goes to an indoor panel with a power transfer switch.  There’s a double duplex box that allows me to power my pellet stove, some lights, and anything that an extension cord can reach.  It will run my furnace as long as the natural gas pressure is there.

I'm glad I haven't had to depend on my eu 2000, because I can almost guarantee it won't start, and I have two of them.

I just bought 2 Champion 2000W generators that I will run in parallel. They are dual fuel so they will only be operated on propane so I don't have to be concerned with the carbs plus propane stores well over time.  The generators will be used to charge up battery packs, one of which will connect to the natural gas furnace with an EZ Connector transfer switch. The fridge and chest freezer will have their own battery packs.

I have an E U 2000 I that I bought probably close to 20 years ago and it still runs good. I need to do a full maintenance on mine I’ll probably take it to the shop and have them go over everything and also put a new pull starter rope on it. I imagine mine’s probably getting ready to break as old as it is. I may have it converted over to propane.

I have 2 EU2000’s, both 1990’s vintage. When needed I can run one or both in parallel. I run them at least once a month and change the oil annually. I use a full synthetic motor oil which tends to be more stable over time. During storage I keep them both fueled with engineered full synthetic 4 cycle fuel. This type of fuel remains very stable over long periods of time. I have had no trouble with carburetor fowling. When needed I use only premium gasoline, or non-ethanol gasoline if I can find it. These Honda’s to me are will worth the extra cost. Easy to maintain, reliable, and quiet.

I use the same generator  to  power my house , and the house next door. We draw 32 Amps but have reduced the load at the generator  by installing a magnetic plasma diode. 47 ohms  at 230v.

I bought an Generac 4000 from Home Depot about 35yes ago. Runs most everything and will run over 13 hrs on a 4 gallon tank of fuel. I start it every 6 months and fresh non ethanol  fuel with stabilizer. The only thing other than the battery failing was the coil.