Honda EU2000i filling suggestions

[bebotx]

I love my Honda gennies. I have a regular EU2000i paired with the EU2000i with the 30 amp plug built in. My question is how do you fill them to as full as recommended (which is not-quite-all-the-way full) without over filling and spilling gas, especially in the dark? When a genny runs dry we sort of pre-measure the gas into a one-gallon gas can to refill, but to top off we have overfilled and spilled, even with one of us holding a flashlight. Am I missing something really basic here? I've read the manuals. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Betty

[ShrimpBurrito]

I don't have any experience filling these tanks, but I have made an extended run tank for one of these gennies. Have you considered that? That way you won't have to ever refill the gas tank.

I described how I did it in post #8 in this thread:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=7393

EDIT: If I did it over again, instead of buying the OEM gas cap and messing with the JB Weld, I'd buy one of the anodized aluminum caps sold on eBay for about $30 (about $10-$15 more than the OEM cap, but a much more secure connection). They were not available when I made this tank.

Dave

I have a drip-proof gas can I have used for years. It has a spring loaded fill spout that only flows when pressed down on the tank fill opening. It also traps fumes coming from the tank and stops filling at the proper full level. Works every time. They are sold by several companies on line.

[Bill]

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason for so much after-dark generator activity? If you have to top up in the dark, and you need to get them really full so they don't run out of gas during the night, it sounds like you are running them all night long. Maybe it's just me, but I'm glad I'm not camping in the same area.

If it is really needed, one of the spring-loaded filler cans described by MisterP is a quick and easy solution. But if I were in that position, I would get one of the extended run gas caps that let you run a hose to a second tank, as Dave described. See, for example:

http://wisesales.com/DurationTanks.html

Bill

There are also hats with LED lights in the brim that make it easier...

In econo-mode, our 2000 will run for considerably more than 10 hours. Assuming no major load! Should be able to get through the night, although I do agree with Bill's comment. So given a 10+ hour running time, wouldn't topping off at last light in the evening give you enough gas to make it until morning? They are enough of a pain to fill in daylight...I would avoid dark if possible!

http://cgi.ebay.com/No-Spill-6131-Ga...90811314216979

Koz

[mjlaupp]

Originally Posted by Bill

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason for so much after-dark generator activity? If you have to top up in the dark, and you need to get them really full so they don't run out of gas during the night, it sounds like you are running them all night long. Maybe it's just me, but I'm glad I'm not camping in the same area.....

It's quite obvious that you have not camped in the deep south during the summer months - 80 degrees and 99% humidity at nite.

[T and C]

Originally Posted by mjlaupp

It's quite obvious that you have not camped in the deep south during the summer months - 80 degrees and 99% humidity at nite.

It doesn't even have to be in the deep south. I once bought a truck camper w/o an AC. Two nights in the Fredricksburg Texas KOA during a heat wave was enough to send me to Camping World the week I got home. It was so hot that when we got to the New Braunfels area people were just standing in the river to escape the heat/humidity.

Tom

[Brutus]

Betty,
like Dave said, you may want to consider a hookup to an external tank and forego filling in the dark altogther. I run a setup similiar to Dave's above, also running a single Honda generator. My 3 gallon boat motor tank has a vent screw to allow air in as the gas gets used up. Here's an (old) example of a 2-tank setup.

http://members.cox.net/ccandies/Hondas.htm

Not that hard to build one of these contraptions, especially now that there are threaded aluminum caps offered on ebay...