jmccart

Like it says. Where is the hour meter on this generator?

I am hoping I will be happy with it.

ymustang

it depend's which 3000 you have, there is 3 possibility's..if you have the one that has the digital read out push the button twice and it will display the hour's for you..the digital read out all so display's rpm's and voltage..you should be very happy with your's as long as you take care of it..i work on honda product's as well as stihl,imler,wacker and many other brand's..i'm a mechanic for a equipment rental company that service's outside equipment as well as our own..we are a honda/stihl/hitachi and so on dealer as well as a ace hardware store..keep the oil changed in your generator regulary as well as the air filter also, and keep the fuel switch in the off position when transporting/not useing machine and you will have a good experience with it..keep it out of rainy weather also, rain water over time will ruin the armature..we had a guy that brought his eu2000 in said it would'nt start, well his oil was so saturated with gas it fouled the plug, filled the crank case up..after a little t l c i was able to revieve it (just barely) and his bill was over 200.00..also keep fresh gas in your 3000, if you know you are not going to use it for awhile put some stabil fuel additive in it or drain it..i've had alot of equipment brought in when spring time roll's around with a no start tag on it and the customer saying it ran fine when i put it away last summer, well all i would do is drain the gas, clean the carb and jet's, add fresh gas and hand them a bill for over 100.00$$ or more if the carb was difficult to get to..

Haulin_in_Dixie

I have read dozens if not hundreds of posts and articles on the 3000. When I bought it I figured that I was probably making a mistake and it would not last in commercial use. Over all for three years it has been a great unit. It does have poor surge characteristics and will easily pop the breaker on a motor start but as time has gone by I have learned to work around that and rarely have to reset it.

As was mentioned you must be very careful of the unit and take good care of it. They say that.... My unit is strapped to the frame behind the cab on my Class 8 tractor with two inch straps to the handles. It sits outside for three years with no cover. I change the oil when it starts getting dark. I did have a starting problem with it for a few months and through posts learned to use mid grade gas in it, no more problem. I changed the plug once that it did not need and also the air cleaner.

The manual start cord lasted about a month and cut itself off somewhere inside but never use it. After a year the battery went bad so I hooked the battery cables to approprate sized wire to the truck batteries. I have the remote start on it as made by Sun or something like that. It is hooked directly to a 1650 watt heat pump and also to a Xantrex 2000 watt inverter with five AGM deep cycle batteries. My hookup is through the 30 amp plug, the small plugs were nothing but trouble.

In the summer it runs every night with the air on and in the winter it runs all night with the resistance heat or heat pump running. The resistance heater will use less gas than the heat pump. I get about 13 or 14 hours of use on a tank full with the heat pump running as well as the inverter keeping the batteries charged. In the spring and fall with no heat or air at night I only use it to cook and bring the batteries up.

The access door likes to vibrate open on a regular basis. I have NEVER shut the gas off. I use 15w40 oil in it same as the truck. There is little paint left on the generator as the air and trailer pigtail hang on it. One time in the pouring rain in Florida the moisture caused the no oil light to come on but otherwise the water has not bothered it. I have been usine it steady for three years now. It has no hour meter, no idea how many hours on it. I promase it probably has ten times the use on it that a RV unit would get.

It has been a great unit, highly recommend it. See I am lazy. I have it set with the air on and the generator off. I wake in the bunk and the heat is starting as the sun comes up. I roll over and press the remote start button on the key fob, the generator fires up and the air comes on. I roll back over and go to sleep. It is also very clean power, I have a computer set up in the truck (on it now) with a laser printer to print all my papers and logs. It operates the printer just fine. Most know that the hardest thing to power on a generator is a laser. Also have a freezer, coffee maker, microwave with convection, refridg, 27 inch hi def tv and dvd..... ect, ect.

jmccart

Thanx for sharing all the cool info guys! I am looking forward to having a generator. It will only be for camping a few times a year. I never camp anywhere where I would need to use the A/C (I live in the desert, I like to camp away from the heat). The previous owner used it for camping, then bought a 5th wheel w/an integrated generator.

Thanx again.

Bark

Never thought I would need a generator for anything other than charging the batts. Now I cant imagine being in the desert at night, nobody else around for miles, looking at the stars: without munching on some fresh popped microwave popcorn.

Haulin_in_Dixie

Yeah they grow on you. Try sitting in a truck stop one of 200 trucks, 30 degrees and raining, only 36 hours to sit. Without the truck runs keeps you warm and dry and bored at over $100 for the effort. With the gen, warm, movies, tv, cooking, just like home and for about $10 in gas.

jmccart

Thanx for the tips guys. I got it home. I love it. It is spotless and I can't believe how quiet it is!