pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi all,
There is often a discussion about the costs of running a generator.
I'd love some feed back on this.
Let's assume we are talking about the very popular Honda 2000i unit.
Purchase price?
Fuel cost per hour (eco switch off please--just to make all things equal let's assume $3.50 USD per gallon)?
Cost of oil change every 100 hours?
Cost of maintenance (spark plug, air filters, and other miscellaneous)?
Cost of replacement (i.e. how long will one of these run before it travels to generator heaven)?
Any other costs I've missed?
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts solar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries 2500 watt inverter.
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sushidog
Abita Springs, LA
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Maybe the OP is trying to compare campsites without electricity to ones with, to see which would be cheaper. For instance, is it cheaper to buy and operate a small generator and camp in a $10/night site w/o electricity for 30 days/yr, or go without a generator and camp in a $30/night site w/electricity? And what is the break-even point $20more/night, $30/more, etc.?
I'm sure it depends on how many hours you need to run the generator and if you are just recharging batteries for an hour a day or trying to run your a/c all night. It also depends on the size of your a/c, if this genny is big enough. I can run my little Aliner's 5,000BTU a/c with my 1,200 watt genny, but a 1,600 watt Honda EU2000i will only start some 13,500 BTU units.
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sh410
Northwest
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Joined: 08/29/2007
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Purchase price: 875. USD Amortized over 10 Yrs 87.50 USD
One of the reason for generators with eco switch is that it reduces fuel consumption.
Fuel cost per hour: 3.50 USD/6hrs= 0.583 USD
Cost of oil change every 100 hours: 1/2 qt 2.00 USD/2= 1.00 USD
Cost of maintenance: Air Filter Washable, Spark Plug 3.00 USD /yr.
Hours Used per Year: 200
Cost Per Year in USD:
Unit Cost 87.50
Fuel Cost 116.67
Cost of Oil 2.00
Maint. 3.00
Total Annual Cost 208.17
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Fisherman
Angus, Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 09/28/2002
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pianotuna wrote:Hi all,
There is often a discussion about the costs of running a generator.
I'd love some feed back on this.
Let's assume we are talking about the very popular Honda 2000i unit.
Purchase price? $850 US, plus exchange came to $1150 CDN, they wanted $1799 + tax north of the border..nuts.
Fuel cost per hour (eco switch off please--just to make all things equal let's assume $3.50 USD per gallon)? Can't give you a hard answer, I run Eco on, for coffee, toast in the morning maybe soup at lunch and a bit of TV at night, maybe $2.00 for a weekend.
Cost of oil change every 100 hours? $4.00, only takes about .5l/1.2 qt.
Cost of maintenance (spark plug, air filters, and other miscellaneous)? After 2 years, $0, spark plug like new, air filter still clean. I also have an EU3000,about 8 years old, still the same plug, very clean running engine.
Cost of replacement (i.e. how long will one of these run before it travels to generator heaven)? I would guess a couple thousand hours. I had an ancient E300 from back in the sixties that I sold to another guy 3 years ago, it finally broke a belt of some sort, parts no longer available.
Any other costs I've missed? A dust rag to shine it up now and then.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi sh410,
That's the type of information I'm looking for--Thanks!
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LEN Retired
SW Michigan ( Two Paws )
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Joined: 02/24/2009
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I dont have electric on my northern lower Mi. property and purchased the new Honda 3000 and go thru about 5 gal of gas in 4 days give or take, in my case it was $$$$ well spent. I had a Honda snow blower purchased in 1983 and finally sold it last year and it was still working, this was the reason I selected the new Honda 3000. lighter no electric start but didnt care. Bill
06 GMC 2500HD Duramax, 2007 Holiday Rambler Alumascape Suite 32SKT,3 slide 5th wheel " SEMPER FIDELIS "
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HobbyTalk
Kzoo, MI
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longtrailer48 wrote:IMO, if you can afford a Honda generator you don't need to be worried about the cost to run it. It's a moot point. Sure it does. Over the life of the genset, the fuel cost saving using the Honda over other cheaper brands will more then offset the additional purchase cost.
2004 Flagstaff 28RLSS - 2005 RAM 2500 4x2 QC LB Hemi
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az99
N.Y.
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Joined: 12/26/2006
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HobbyTalk wrote:longtrailer48 wrote:IMO, if you can afford a Honda generator you don't need to be worried about the cost to run it. It's a moot point. Sure it does. Over the life of the genset, the fuel cost saving using the Honda over other cheaper brands will more then offset the additional purchase cost. You will also save $ on your nerve medication as you won't have all your neighbors constantly screaming at you to shut off your noisy piece of******Chinese generator.
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T_Bone
Arizona
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Joined: 09/20/2001
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sh410 wrote:Purchase price: 875. USD Amortized over 10 Yrs 87.50 USD
One of the reason for generators with eco switch is that it reduces fuel consumption.
Fuel cost per hour: 3.50 USD/6hrs= 0.583 USD
Cost of oil change every 100 hours: 1/2 qt 2.00 USD/2= 1.00 USD
Cost of maintenance: Air Filter Washable, Spark Plug 3.00 USD /yr.
Hours Used per Year: 200
Cost Per Year in USD:
Unit Cost 87.50
Fuel Cost 116.67
Cost of Oil 2.00
Maint. 3.00
Total Annual Cost 208.17
Solar PV cost, 260w = $570
Charge controller= $200
Total PV cost for 20yrs= $770/20= $38.50/yr
Zero maintance other than a little water to clean the face.
50,000ahr available yearly
NO NOISE what so ever... 
Generator total cost for 20yrs =$4163.40
* This post was
edited 09/29/09 03:49pm by T_Bone *
T_Bone
02 F350, 4x6, CC, DRW, PSD, 6spd, 3:73
32ft Serria 10yr 100% Solar
Please do not trust everything you read on the internet. Use only valid engineering information from well established Companys.
Buy UNION Work UNION
It pays off in the long run !
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oldgreybull
Glade Valley, NC
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Joined: 09/24/2006
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 hum, I wonder how well my A/C will run off that solar setup? ...that's what I thought! 
06 Dodge Ram SLT 2500 QC SB 4x4 SRW 5.9L CTD Big Horn,Firestone airbags,Rancho 9000XL shocks,Hellwig sway bar,Rickson 19.5 wheels,Hankook DH01 tires,Line-X,front&rear cargo racks.
07 S&S 9' Bitteroot TC,Polar Cub A/C,FFan,Torklift/Fastguns,2Honda 2000i.
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