Inverter generator maintenance

[Blr243]

My Honda 2000 watt gen is 15 years old but goes first time every time and never missed a beat. Mid December hunting trip it will be running my little air con Tent And my fridge so it’s super important that I don’t have any dramas. Other than changing the oil and keeping it in the shade at midday is there any preventative thing I gotta do?

[Ziege]

not really, clean air cleaner, dont leave old fuel in the carby, make sure oil is correct level and in good condition, we have at least a dozen engines on the farm in pumps, generators and other things like orgas and 5 in 1 bins and so on, none of them ever give us any greif, they all tick along just fine, the right amount of lube and keeping them free of dust seems to be the only thing it needs.

cheers.

[rc42]

Yep, the engine is the only part that you can service anyway.
The low voltage generator part is just magnets and copper wires, much like a car alternator and the electronic inverter will keep going until it suddenly dies as high voltage electronics always do, buying quality is the only way to extend life there.

[Blr243]

Thank you. May my Honda quadbike and Honda gen set die the same day as I do

[GQshayne]

I used to work doing maintenance on these kinds of things. Lots of machines with Honda GX engines, including gensets.

My tips would be, after a period of time clean out the fuel tank. These engine do not have good fuel filters like other things, just a gauze on the tank outlet/petcock assembly. They also have a two stage filter, with foam over the inner paper filter. These work better in tough conditions when you use an airfilter oil on the outer foam. Just like a dirt bike does on foam filters. In poor conditions, you can peel off the dirt encrusted outer and the inner paper filter will be clean. I have never noticed an difference to engine running from the oiled filter, but have seen plenty running very poorly from a dirty inner.

If you are confident to do so, a strip down and clean of the carby would be good maintenance to do as well.

[Blr243]

Thank u shayne ,,,,when I removed the air filter cover I was unsure if I have ever done so in its 15 year history. I bought it new ...the foam filter looked ok but as soon as I touched it it was fragile and crumbly There was no paper filter behind it that you mentioned so it may not have had one. I’m definitely getting new filters before I leave the city ....your mention of paper filters prompts me to get it right

[Tiger650]

Old dirt bike trick is to lightly grease inside airbox and any intake trunking, greasy surface attracts dust before it gets to the filter element, adds to effective filter capacity.
May not be possible with a compact genny filter.

[GQshayne]

Old dirt bike trick is to lightly grease inside airbox and any intake trunking, greasy surface attracts dust before it gets to the filter element, adds to effective filter capacity.
May not be possible with a compact genny filter.

It is possible, but I found using grease unnecessary on the Honda GX. The filter assembly is quite good, and the grease provides no advantage. Some good motorcycle airfilter oil works a treat, even in very poor conditions. It also makes the filter serviceable, as you can clean the foam outer in turps and then re-oil it. I have done this many times without having to change the inner paper element.

[Blr243]

Gen is nearly 15 years old and ran like a dream on my trip away