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WeekEndHack
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# Posted: 15 Oct 2014 23:08
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Situation: my cabin is ~200 yards from my cottage which is on the grid. I've been using a friends noisy old generator to power my tools thus far but the genny kinda died on me last weekend. I would love to buy a little honda 2000 to quietly supply my power needs once i start using the place (and to finish off construction which is nearly complete).
But given the proximiy of my cabin to my cottage maybe the better long term plan would be to fully power the cabin off battery pack that could be recharged as needed at cottage. Save a bit of $ and buy another cheap noisy heavy thing to get me thru last phase of build? But i like the honda. Any thoughts???
Steve
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WeekEndHack
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# Posted: 15 Oct 2014 23:13
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I should add that running an underground wire from the cottage 200 amp service is also an option but i think it would cost quite a bit and i kinda like the independent off grid approach. All option are on the tbl tho, just thought i'd canvas the collective wisdom..
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 15 Oct 2014 23:27
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A big factor in deciding whether to instal feeders from the service is your soil conditions- is there a lot of rock? Makes digging for conduit difficult.
600 ft is a long way to stretch feeders, you'd have to upsize the wire a lot to avoid voltage drop. In the long run, though, you'll be happy you did it.
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WeekEndHack
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# Posted: 15 Oct 2014 23:59
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Rock, yes. Canadien shield stuff. How much upsize, u mean wire guage? Would maybe rent a trencher if went this rout but still maybe lots of work and $? Maybe just battery packs and genny might be the way for occasional use cabin?
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2014 00:21
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I do not like noisy generators so I would opt for the Honda or a Yamaha inverter generator.
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Quoting: WeekEndHack could be recharged as needed at cottage.
Depends on how much power you need to draw from the batteries;any batteries you need and how much you like to lug them back and forth. Keep in mind that letting a battery(s) sit in partial discharge state (75% or less charge) for more than a day or so, promotes the deterioration of a lead-acid battery. Re-charging from an inverter generator to almost full and letting a solar panel finish the charge is better. The solar panel can also maintain the battery in float during the intervals the cabin is not used. A FLA battery will self discharge if left sitting unused for periods of time.
And off grid power is almost always more expensive in the long run when you count all the costs.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2014 00:46
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Quoting: WeekEndHack Save a bit of $ and buy another cheap noisy heavy thing to get me thru last phase of build? But i like the honda. Any thoughts???
Steve, penny wise and pound foolish. This will be your second cheap generator. How much is the total now? Get the Honda EU2000i, and not only will it last the last phase of your build, but for many years after that, will a full service centers and parts available for years to come and the sheer fact it will be so quiet, you can carry on a conversation standing right next to it. But be warned, you will find yourself throwing rocks at all those old noisy 3600 rpm jobs from here forward. 
Wisesales.com. Seems best price is about $999
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2014 01:41
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http://www.electricgeneratordepot.com/honda-super-quiet-light-weight-inverter-2000w-1 20v-fuel-efficient-generator-with-parallel-capability-and-oil-alert
$950
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2014 08:27 - Edited by: bldginsp
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Weekendhack- I'm not experienced with wire upsizing for voltage drop, but out of curiosity I pulled up a voltage drop calculator on the web, and in order to sustain only about a 3% drop in voltage on a 20 amp circuit it said you would need #1 wire at 600 feet. That's going to be very expensive. Again I'm not experienced in this so I can't say that is the last word. If I were you I would find an electrician who knows exactly what all the factors are, to give you a realistic number.
My rough calcs show using 4/0 three wire aluminum cable to get 30 amps to the cabin would cost about $2000 for the wire alone.
In cases like this I have always wondered whether it would work economically to install transformers. A transformer at the electrical service kicks the voltage up to 600 volts or more, and a transformer at the other end knocks it down to 120/240 again. The advantage to this is that at that higher voltage the wire size between the transformers is greatly reduced- in your case perhaps to #10 or #8 wire. So you save money on wire but have to buy transformers, which aren't cheap. So probably the cost of such an instal would be too high, but it would be interesting to research. Again, an experienced electrician should be able to rattle numbers off the top of his head to give you a ballpark idea.
The rock is a problem, but the reality with trenching is that you can trench through rocky soil, but not through rock with a little bit of soil, if you know what I mean. All depends on how much rock there is, how big they are, how big a trencher you have.
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Pookie129
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2014 15:38 - Edited by: Pookie129
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I have the honda 2000 and I would suggest just putting the coin down and get it. The generator can be helpful in many situations, including if the cottage ever lost power. You would have all your bets covered for both cabin and cottage.
Never go wrong with a honda ;)
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2014 21:38
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Great price Don! Good find.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2014 21:42 - Edited by: MtnDon
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It's the power of Google funding vendors and persistence in looking up a great many of the results links. I got an EU2000i from them in January for 899.99; FedEx ground shipping free
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WeekEndHack
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# Posted: 23 Oct 2014 15:44
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ok, on the strength of what everyone is saying bout these things I went and grabbed the Honda! Hurt the wallet a bit but am looking forward to putting it to the test this weekend.
One thing I'm curious about is if I do overload this thing will it damage the interanls? I'm assuming the automoatic circuit shotoff protects against this?? Wouldn't mind trying my 13amp miter saw on it this weekend but dont want try if i could do damage?? I would only use it for quick cuts of siding (softwood) ,think I'd be covered?? I am really looking forward to working in peace this weekend though!!
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WeekEndHack
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# Posted: 23 Oct 2014 17:21
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Also, should I build some kind of (lockable)vented box beside cabin?? What do people do??thx
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 23 Oct 2014 17:38 - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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It protects itself. If you do overload it, it just shuts the output totally off. To reset, shut the engine off, restart. Also, if voltage and cycles drops to a dangerous point (for sensitive electronics) it will stop also. I ran my worm drive saw, it takes a bit to spool up when its cold in eco mode. The generator will stop output, then the engine speed flares up, then it turns back on and runs the saw, no problem. Its rated for 16.3 amps surge, 13.5 or so continous.
Weekend hack, you will absolutely love this thing. It holds about 3/4 of a qt of oil. I use OE Honda 10-30 oil in mine. It has a nice carb drain for long term storage to store witht he carb empty. Super easy to service too.
You will wonder how you got by without it.
PS, I run all my tools to build my cabin wi th it, including compressor for air nailers. You have to be selective on which tools you use.
My worm drive this last weekend was cold and took extra power. After it spooled up, I ket it running under no load to warm up transmission oil, made it start easier from there forward. My worm dive and shop vac were by biggest loads. It does start my 1000 watt microwave at the cabin in eco mode also. I run mine in eco mode all the time. Make sure it has oil before starting if you bought it online. They ship with no oil.
It has a vent lever to shut off the air vent to keep gas smell down when stored. I do not leave mine behind, its handy and carrys easily, just load it up and take it home.
Give us a full report on how you liked its performance. 
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WeekEndHack
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# Posted: 26 Oct 2014 20:11
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ya worked great this weekend! Used it to powere lights at night to work by. Nice hearing the birds again lol
I got the big loud clunky one fixed though and continued to use that for my miter saw and heavier tools. The miter saw did work on the Honda, the overload light flashed on startup briefly but went out in about 1 second and it purred nicely after that. Coulda used for sure but figured there's no point pushing it to the limit when I got the other one to beat up on. Am wondering where I should store it though, esp in the winter when I'm up there working. Should I build a little box/mini shed for it park it behind cabin. We get TONS of snow, -30 type temps..
thx for advice on this thing. Was really impressed how light and quiet and easy to use it was, I see myself finding a LOT of uses for this !!
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 26 Oct 2014 22:38
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WeekendHack, glad you like it. I can explain how nice they are and how much better cabin life is with a quiet generator, but until one actually experience it, they dont really know what they are missing. And for some, laying out the extra $$$ at first is tough. But now you see what I was speaking off. 
Great little gennies for sure. Change oil every 50 hours, drain the carb for long term storage. That is done by opening the small inspection cover and the brass screw at the bottom of the carb, crack it open (CCW) a half turn or so, gas in carb will drain out a vinyl hose outside of the generator, close the screw back off when it stops flowing, seat it lightly, not crank it tight. Close vent on gas cap, you are ready for winter storage.
I cant image a trip to the cabin without one. I'm about to buy another one.
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