Cold weather and Honda EU2000i generator

[Fish whisperer]

Anyone else have any issues with theirs in extreme cold temps? Owned mine for 3 years and have never had an issue before this year. I’ve had the misfortune of having 2 fishing trips (New Year’s weekend and this past week) with extreme cold and wind chill. On both occasions we’ve had 2 of these generators freeze up in the crankcase breather. They make a cold weather kit for them and I currently have one on order from Acme but it wasn’t here before I left for Lake of the Woods. I made a little “bush” fix to get us through the weekend...set it on spare tire and then covered it with 2 blankets. Just curious if anyone else has installed a cold weather kit on theirs and has it made a difference in the extreme temps?

 

[raider]

had it happen a lot...

when it gets cold in the fishhouse bout 3am, bring it in and warm it up and you will b good to go...

always parked mine right outside the door in really cold temps expecting this...

didn't know they made a cold weather package 4 it...

 

[Velva_zv21]

I've always just left running in the bed of the pickup with the tonaeu cover just barely cracked open..... stays plenty warm in the back of the pickup

 

[Captain Ahab]

Mine has always worked well. Most of the time I have it sit in the back of the pickup. Tailgate and topper open.

 

[wby257]

I agree in the back of pickup with cover open 5 - 6 inchs and tailgate closed.

 

[2400]

Anyone else have any issues with theirs in extreme cold temps? Owned mine for 3 years and have never had an issue before this year. I’ve had the misfortune of having 2 fishing trips (New Year’s weekend and this past week) with extreme cold and wind chill. On both occasions we’ve had 2 of these generators freeze up in the crankcase breather. They make a cold weather kit for them and I currently have one on order from Acme but it wasn’t here before I left for Lake of the Woods. I made a little “bush” fix to get us through the weekend...set it on spare tire and then covered it with 2 blankets. Just curious if anyone else has installed a cold weather kit on theirs and has it made a difference in the extreme temps?

I have one of these and use t a lot when the power goes off. It's worked fine at -5 or so and at 10-15* with wind up to 45-55 mph. I noticed it did run "funny" when it was below zero and high wind but never gave much thought to it.

What's in the cold weather kit and best of all does it work? Let me know when you get yours.

had it happen a lot...

when it gets cold in the fishhouse bout 3am, bring it in and warm it up and you will b good to go...

always parked mine right outside the door in really cold temps expecting this...

didn't know they made a cold weather package 4 it...

Me either.

 

[Nmariner]

I always borrowed dads Honda Generator in the winter for ice fishing and had this happen to me a few times. I ordered the cold weather kit, I think it was $40.00. Went to install it and after reading the directions decided there was no way I was tearing into it as far as the instructions showed for fear of messing his generator up, and left it as is. Disclaimer I am not a mechanic, but I can do most things myself.

 

[Fish whisperer]

I had the 4 wheeler in the back of the pickup so I wasn’t able to put it in the box under the cover. Kit is a heater coil that goes inside the breather tube. Was just over $100 at Acme. I’ll post how installation goes once I get it.

 

[Fish whisperer]

Quick update, finally received my cold weather kit from Acme. Took a little less than an hour to install. Didn’t exactly follow instructions to a T since it said to remove the front cover and electrical panel completely but I just got them opened up enough so I could get to everything. Looked like a lot of wires to undo so worked around it. Feeding the wire harness to the outlet was a challenge because of this but got it done. Pretty straight forward and I’m by no means a mechanical whiz.

Now all I need is -45 degrees to find out if it works!!!

 

[raider]

i hope you wait YEARS to find out...

 

[2400]

Thanks for posting, is that a switch in the pic or??? Got any more pics of the kit?

 

[Fish whisperer]

Thanks for posting, is that a switch in the pic or??? Got any more pics of the kit?

That’s not a switch, it’s the heater. 2 breather tubes in picture attach on each end of the heater. Other cord with prongs gets attached to 110 outlet when you pull the front panel off. When the generator is running, the heater pulls off the electrical outlet and is supposed to keep breather from freezing up. Don’t have any more pictures of actual kit but I can get some pics of the instructions later.

 

[2400]

That’s not a switch, it’s the heater. 2 breather tubes in picture attach on each end of the heater. Other cord with prongs gets attached to 110 outlet when you pull the front panel off. When the generator is running, the heater pulls off the electrical outlet and is supposed to keep breather from freezing up. Don’t have any more pictures of actual kit but I can get some pics of the instructions later.

Thanks for straightening my out, the pic is confusing.

I'm looking forward to pics of the instructions.

 

[Fish whisperer]

Here’s the instructions, hopefully they clear it up.

 

[2400]

Thanks!

 

[Slappy]

Bought a new eu2200i last year. Have had no issues above 0 degrees but always problems below 0. Last year it shut off at -4 after running all night and would not stay running when restarted. Ran fine again once thawed. Installed the breather heater kit after complaining to Honda corporate for selling generators in North Dakota without them (standard on all generators they sell in Canada).

Ran fine all weekend in early December this year down to around +15 degrees. Last night was extreme cold but it ran for less than 2 hours before shutting off around -12 degrees. It restarted but only ran a few minutes before shutting off again. The old beat up powerhorse generator I brought for backup ran without a hiccup all night through -21 degrees.

I'm really frustrated with this Honda but I believe it's still the only option with fuel pump to allow auxiliary tank. Any ideas?

 

[NG3067]

Get a plastic tote slightly bigger than unit, use a hole saw and saw a 3-4 “ hole for the exhaust and one for the power cords, a couple 2x4s for it to sit on as it will produce enough heat to melt the ice. Done. Cheap and easy.

 

[wslayer]

Get a plastic tote slightly bigger than unit, use a hole saw and saw a 3-4 “ hole for the exhaust and one for the power cords, a couple 2x4s for it to sit on as it will produce enough heat to melt the ice. Done. Cheap and easy.

Sounds very logical. . .

 

[Allen]

Get a plastic tote slightly bigger than unit, use a hole saw and saw a 3-4 “ hole for the exhaust and one for the power cords, a couple 2x4s for it to sit on as it will produce enough heat to melt the ice. Done. Cheap and easy.

Engineers hate people that are smart enough to deal with their product's shortcomings without the need to re-engineer things. Good on you!


My 15+ yr old Kipor generator hasn't missed a beat for me as of yet. But I don't often have the need to run it in these temps. I keep waiting for it to fall apart so I can buy a Honda, maybe not after seeing this thread.

 

[MuskyManiac]

I know on my Yamaha YG2800i there is a tube that runs from the valve cover back into the top of the air filter cover. The first year I had the generator and using it in extreme cold it froze up and dumped a bunch of oil through the air filter. Guy at Acme said just remove the that tube during the winter and tape the hole on the cover. Has never frozen up since.