Honda 2000 Generator and Cold Weather

Looking at the long range forecasts, I don’t know that we’ll have another extreme cold snap like the one we’re in the midst of at the moment. But, for those that also run the Honda 2000 generator, I’m curious as to what were the lowest temps you have used them in before they quit running, and if you’ve found a remedy for it e.g. gas line anti-freeze, etc.? Mine is two years old, and the coldest mine ran in before giving out was that polar vortex just after the first of the year in January 2014 in about windchill of -40…

most likely what is happening is the carburetor is icing up,generators run at almost full throttle any time there is a load on it.
the air moving through the venturi in the carb is where icing will occur because this is where the air is at it highest speed just before entering the engine,and its also the coldest spot,so any moisture in the air will collect and freeze there choking the engine until it dies.

I know its a pain to carry something else with you if you are using it to run anything in a fishing shack.
even if you are running it to generate electricity to run your home in extreme cold weather,I would suggest building an insulated box that can fit around it without blocking the exhaust and causing a potential fire

the purpose this would serve is to use the engines heat to warm the air around it while running and hopefully prevent carb icing.
the box only needs to be three sided and only a few inches taller and wider than the generator,the open side of course would be the exhaust side,and be sure to have it facing away from the wind.

if you feel that is too tight of an area,look at a motorhomes generator sometime,talk about cramped!!!

wind chill is a non-factor to a generator. It’s air temp that you need to seek out….

big_g wrote:

wind chill is a non-factor to a generator. It’s air temp that you need to seek out….

very true,the only things that are affected by windchill are those things with a heartbeat.
as I noted,air velocity is what causes the freezing at the venturi,and the moisture will freeze and cling there choking it out,that is why on airplanes that are carburated have a carb heater in place on them,and it can happen when it is ninety degrees above zero if there is enough moisture in the air.

Thanks for the tips. Should I, then, just not use the Eco throttle mode when it’s especially cold?

I would think some iso in the gas will help guard against freezing like it does on our sleds.

suzuki wrote:

I would think some iso in the gas will help guard against freezing like it does on our sleds.

this does help to a degree,but watch how much you use in the honda engines,yes,they are rated for ethanol,but you are generally warned by the dealer to not use any form of alcohol in them.

the problem lies at the carbs venturi before the fuel side of the carb,and alcohol doesnt help much there.
google carburetor icing,there is more than you probably care to know,you will find most of it is aircraft related because of its ability to get you killed,but it relates to all piston engines that are carburated.

hope that helps!!!

I had to switch to synthetic 0-20 oil a few years back when the temp was -20. I couldn’t pull start it when it was that cold with thicker non synthetic oil it. Never had an issue with it after that. After I got it started I have never had an issue with it icing up.

Iowaboy is spot on, most people who have them for their shacks miles out on the big lakes, build an exhausted box, the engines warmth keeps itself warm, carb included (the hood on your sled, does the same thing for the carbs on that engine)

Like mentioned above generally the air circulating around the unit is the problem. I always set mine in the back of the pickup with the cover rolled down and just leave the end gate open with exhaust pointed out that seems to work decent. I have though had times still where it didn’t and we had to bring the generator in overnight to thaw out. The insulated box is a really good idea.

I have an insulated box for mine and never have had any problems in the cold. I usually start it when I get to the lake and shut it off when I leave so I don’t have to battle getting it running on a cold morning. I have friends that use heavy duty plastic totes that work very well also, just cut holes for the exhaust and the cord and life is good

big_g wrote:

Iowaboy is spot on, most people who have them for their shacks miles out on the big lakes, build an exhausted box, the engines warmth keeps itself warm, carb included (the hood on your sled, does the same thing for the carbs on that engine)

what he said!

Mine doesn’t like to start when it is cold. I usually have to place it in from of the heater for 10 minutes or so and it will pop off. I use 5w30 when it is cold, but might switch to 0-20. I really only use mine in the winter for the ice shanty. I have used it down to -25 and didn’t have any icing of the carbs, but I have read where there is a kit you can use to help prevent this. I only use mine for charging batteries, tv, and a coffee pot in the morning.

big_g wrote:

wind chill is a non-factor to a generator. It’s air temp that you need to seek out….

Sorry Guys, I might have to disagree on this one. Wind-chill rating is the factor at which heat can be removed. Cold doesn’t exist there is only the absence of heat. The temp of an item will never get below the actual temp, but if there is wind, heat can be removed quicker, hence the wind-chill factor. So the comment “wind-chill only effects things with a heartbeat” is false. The correct statement is, Wind-chill only effects things with heat and engines have heat.

Like others have said any wind protection or a hood around the generator will help keep the heat in the generator.

Thanks for the tips. I think I’ll be building myself an insulated box. As I said though, I doubt we’ll have another extended cold snap like this one again this winter, but, you never know! I haven’t even pulled my wheelhouse out yet, and given the ice on my home body of water, I don’t know that I will this season. It’ll be a sloooow build process in the garage this winter and spring, lol. Stay safe out there!

Off topic, but can this generator run a 15k-20k btu electric heater. Thinking about getting one when I take my kids and in case they want to sleep in the hub shelter. Thanks

You’d have to look up the watts the heater requires to run. The Honda 2000 actually peaks at or just above 2000 watts, but it probably shouldn’t be run at that level for too long. I’ve read that the highest sustained wattage should be around 1600-1700 for any extended length of time. I’m sure someone else will reply that I’m incorrect, but I don’t want to damage the life of my $1000 piece of equipment.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
I would think some iso in the gas will help guard against freezing like it does on our sleds.

the problem lies at the carbs venturi before the fuel side of the carb,and alcohol doesnt help much there.
google carburetor icing,there is more than you probably care to know,you will find most of it is aircraft related because of its ability to get you killed,but it relates to all piston engines that are carburated.

Yes, to be clear, this type of icing is NOT caused by water in the fuel.

The ice is formed from humidity in the air that the engine is sucking in. It has nothing to do with the fuel, the ice is forming in the air intake portion of the carb.

Carb icing is a huge issue of concern with piston powered aircraft and it constantly has to be on your mind up there. To stop the carb from icing, aircraft have either a heated intake or they have a deflector that can route hot exhaust gasses over to the intake side to heat the carb and melt any ice.

The best way to solve this problem on a generator would be with an enclosed box as mentioned. Let the generator’s heat provide enough of a warm up to heat the box.

Problem I can see is that you need some way to fine tune how much fresh air gets into the box because these generators need air for combustion AND for cooling.

I’m actually building a generator enclosure for my cabin site right now, so I’m working on this issue of making sure there’s the right balance of enclosure and fresh air.

Grouse

tmyboy2001 wrote:

You’d have to look up the watts the heater requires to run. The Honda 2000 actually peaks at or just above 2000 watts, but it probably shouldn’t be run at that level for too long. I’ve read that the highest sustained wattage should be around 1600-1700 for any extended length of time. I’m sure someone else will reply that I’m incorrect, but I don’t want to damage the life of my $1000 piece of equipment.

The heater I want to run is a small 1500 watt convection heater. Maybe I can talk to a dealer and see if they have any advice they can share

That should work fine, but always a good idea to speak with a professional if it’s convenient. I sometimes ran a 1,600 watt electric heater when the propane ran out, along with a few other smaller electrical items. Didn’t seem to have a problem, although it wasn’t running it eco-throttle mode.

Had problems with my powerhorse this last weekend not running right and doing research I found that what happens is the crankcase breather line starts to freeze up and if it freezes completely it will blow oil all over and shut down, Honda make a cold weather kit to solve this problem, it cost about a $100, I am just going to make a insulated box to take care of the problem.

Here is the link to what Brad is talking about. Ordered mine a couple weeks ago when I ordered a new generator. Cold Weather Kit

Couple of things. First we were on Red lake last weekend, 3 out of 3 Honda’s did not run. The cold weather kit in an above post is a heater for the breather and helps the carb to not ice up. I was also told by my dealer to trow a blanket over the generator or as stated earlier, make a cover for it. if you use a blanket you can leave the exhaust end open as the air intake is the same. I had friends up there that were successful putting the generator in the back of the truck bed and under the tonneau cover. I ordered the cold weather kit and bought a blanket as it was a real pain on Saturday night, woke up to -25 below.

Can the cold weather kit stay on year round? Sorry, I’m not familiar with the mechanics of it.

I am not a teacher,but I will try to explain this in a way that all will understand.

as far as watts go,it takes 1500 watts to start a one horsepower motor,and one thousand watts to keep it running steadily,so if you have a 2000 watt heater,and your generator is rated for 2000 watts,that heater will take everything the generator puts out to keep the heater running full time without having any extra to run anything else,lest you fry your generator by overloading it.

another example,a small fridge at 500 watts,( when its running ) a small fan,( 100 watts) tv,sattelite,radio,battery chargers, will add up to about another 100 watts,so in total,your running load will be 700 watts with a 1300 watt reserve so to speak.

plan your wattage load accordingly,like I said,if you are running an electric heater that is using your generators total capacity when running,you have no reserve left for other things,buy more than what you think you will need.

there was a reply about windchill,I will stand behind what I said about only living things with a heartbeat being affected by it, wind chill is a perception,that is why you can say,its twenty degrees,but with the wind and humidity,it “feels like” twenty below,simply another tool used by the forecasters to make you more miserable than you think you already are,inanimate objects can not “feel” anything,as noted by the person who made the reply against this fact,once at the actual temperature,it cant get any colder.

the fact remains though that with any kind of breeze or wind regardless if the temp is ninety above,or thirty below,things will cool down much faster as you are moving heat away at a faster rate,that I agree with,but it is not caused by “windchill” respectively,iowaboy1

I believe the cold weather kit can stay installed all year but I would check with your dealer to make sure.

Nice shack in your Avatar Brad

Thanks, Just bought it. last weekend was the first time on the ice and it worked awesome, 35 below windchill?? could of fooled us, we were nice and warm lol

I did my research on the heater and it was listed as a heater to keep the crankcase breather open. In long term cold weather use moisture can freeze and block the breather and cause the pressure to build up and blow all the oil out. It said nothing about keeping the carb ice free???