Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month's PBO)

[demonboy]

Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

Just read the 'New Gear' section in this month's PBO and like the sound of the Honda EU 10i generator.

I know little about generators (already done a search on them in the forums) but wondered if this would be powerful enough to charge my batteries in an emergency? The article says it will run TVs and computers but no mention of battery charging.

Anyone familiar with this model / range? Any comments on pros and cons of Honda?

 

[Talbot]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

really depends on what size battery bank and how big your charger is. A lot of the small generators have a 12v output, this is not really designed to charge the batteries, but could run your domestics for a while. The only way to effectively charge the batteries is to connect the generator to a proper charger. The size of the charger is dependent on the size of the battery banks, and the size of the generator is dependent on the size of the charger!

The honda is a nice generator which is the quietest on the market, but it is also the most expensive by a long way.

 

[LORDNELSON]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

I am not familiar with the 10i but I use an old Honda 300e which has 220 V AC and 12 V DC outlets. The hand book, so far as I remember (its on the boat), says the 12 v. output is good for charging batteries (in fact if I want to charge the batteries from the Honda I use the 220 V AC output routed through a smart charger). However suggest you look at the Honda Manual for the 10i which you should be able to download from the web

 

[poter]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

Go Here for info on gen sets prices etc.

poter

 

[david36]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

I run a Honda 10 generator to top up a 280 amp domestic battery bank via a Mastervolt 40 Smart charger. It is fine for occasional use to put something back into the batteries when anchored etc. However, I do not think that it is sufficient for use when wanting a full recharge from a large bank of seriously depleted batteries. You would have to "run it for ever" to do that. The Honda does need regular refueling ( petrol) which can be a chore. It is very quiet, easy to start, reliable and comparitively light weight. Changing the oil can be a fiddle and is sometimes a bit messy unless you are very careful. For what I want it is very good if a bit expensive. Look for deals on eBay and from garden equipment suppliers.

 

[pappaecho]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

Lidl and Aldi seem to have very cheap generators for sale from time to time, and the story is apparently that the US has stopped the use of 2 stroke engines due to pollution, and hence there is a glut of such kit in the Far East which is being dumped, as a destocking exercise.
The real question is, will a smaller generator be able to provide 5-7 amps at about 13.6 volts, either from its 12 volt output or from the 220volt mains via a charger?

 

[Norman_E]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

Have just bought a very cheap 2 stroke generator from B & Q (£49.98). Instructions clearly state that it is not suitable for sensitive equipment, such as TV sets. It has a 14.4 volt output to charge batteries up to 45 amp hour rating (according to the instructions), but if you were to attempt to charge a large battery in a bad state of discharge the current demand would be too much for it. I think it would be perfectly OK to use the 240 volt output (650 watt continuous rating) via a battery charger up to about 30 amp output, as the latter should not draw more current than the generator can supply.

 

[SteveA]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

We have one of these Honda generators and the 12v is not suitable for charging - it is 12volts! To charge batteries you would need a charger connected to the 240v connection and in this way works fine

 

[cliff]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

Read the manual again! the wording is not "sensitive" but "electronic" and smart chargers are electronic. I was not prepared to risk £800+ of smart charger on a 49.99 (45.00 with oap card) genny. If you are not sure phone the help line number and they will probably tell you the same - resistive loads only ie lights or heaters but nothing electronic or containing pcb / ICs.

Also these little gennies appear to be "floating earth" and as such could apply extremely high voltages between the item plugged in and earth unless you earth the unit - nice trick on a boat.

Put an an oscilliscope across the output and gate it for say 500v, 750v and 1000v spikes then tell me you would use the output to power electronic equipment.

As a final comment on the B&Q £49.99 gennie - they are cheap, nasty and NOISY. IMHO not worth the money.

I have one gathering dust in the back of the garage now - might do for running some lights if there is a power cut /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
----------

“Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity”
Skype id:cliffillupo

 

[William_H]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

The problem of charging batteries from a 240/12v generatro has been alluded to before. 12 volts to charge a battery at any sort of a rate needs more like 15 volts. This allows that the load of battery charging will pull the voltage down to that of the battery so that you get a large current into the battery and if you leave it on long enough you get a full charge.
If you want to use one of these generators rated say at 300 watts to charge batteries you want to get at least 15 amps or even 20 amps into your batteries otherwise you have a generator virtually idling making a lot of noise and not doing much for a long time.
The amswer is battery charger running on the 240 v output. Not a fancy electronic one but a transformer rectifier type with an ampmeter. You don't want regulation because that will cut the current back as the voltage rises and sure as hell you are not goping to leave it running overnight accidentally.
One way to build a charger would be to use a toroidal transformer of 300VA rating with 2 X 15 volt widings connected in paralell to a bridge rectifier. This is connected directly to your battery although best via an ampmeter. The Transformer shoud give 20 amps AC s,o something similar or a little less into the battery. This combination would work on shore mains power provided it was assembled in a safe manner but don't ever leave it on long term as it will cook most batteries. The diode bridge would need to be bolted to something large preferably aluminium to dissipate the heat. Don't use sensitive 12 v gear at the same time as charging as the 12 volts can rise a lot higher with a 100 herts hum pulses on the line.
Try WWW altronics.com.au cat. M5516 total cost about 50 quid.
and cat Z0091 for the bridge rectifier. to see what I mean.
regards olewill

 

[Rick]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

I've got one of the Taiwanese 2 stroke genies, and it's good for lights, but that's all. Even the 240 outlet into n 8 amp charger is hopeless, as the 240 only gives about 190-200, and the charger output is then only just over 12 volts - virtually no help. Friend with Honda however has much better results - he drives a 6 amp charger that sees battery voltage at over 14 volts consistently.

 

[William_H]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

High rick obviously you need a charger with a higher voltage output. ie a transformer with more volts o/p. Or get into the generator and adjust in some form the voltage output to give more. Wish I was there I would tear it apart. Not necessarily get it back together again mind you. olewill

 

[Steve_N]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

Rick - on the cheapo 2 stroke Chinese/Taiwanese gennies there is a screw that adjusts the spring tension on the governor: it's just beneath the fuel tank on the side i.e. no dis-assembly required. You can use this to adjust the output voltage to whatever you want. Increasing governed engine speed increases AC voltage (and frequency) and DC voltage. Bear in mind these machines have never been test run so they are unlikely to hit 230v straight out of the box.

I find the best way to charge a battery bank with mine is using an old ferro-resonant charger, with the genny AC voltage governed to c. 280v. The charger doesn't seem to care about the increased frequency. This works really well, as well as using the charger on the mains.
There is no way I'd connect one of these cheapo gennies to anything 'sensitive' including a smart charger - the output is way too dirty.
Also the DC output is effectively useless as it trips out at 8.3 amps, the reason why the handbooks mention an arbitrary limit of a 40Ah battery bank I guess..

 

[msimms]

Re: Honda EU 10i Generator (as seen in this month\'s PBO)

Recently bought one of these Generators of eBay. I think it was about £180 including delivery. Not tried it out fully yet but gave it a quick trial hooked up to my shore power connector and I could see the battery was receiving a charge. Probably wouldn't connect anything too expensive to it, at least not until I'd hooked a scope up to it and checked out the output.

I was surprised to see how close in design it was to the picture of the Honda EU 10i in PBO. All switches, knobs, removable covers etc seem to be in the same place. Probably the electronics are not up to the Honda's standards. However, it seems to be a good compromise between the Honda and the 2-stroke cheapies.