So, I went over to the nearby city, 25 miles each way, to buy the Honda generator, EU2200i, got home about noon. Sat down with the unit and the owner's manual to study up on it and get acquainted with the features before firing it up.

Page 76 of the manual tells me in no uncertain terms that for operation above 2000 feet elevation the carburetor must be modified by a certified Honda service center. Every place in Wyoming is above 2000 feet!! My area of operation is frequently above 7000 feet.

So, I call the dealer, they dont do the modification, they are not certified. It has to be shipped to the distribution center in Laramie which is several hours away. I am taking it back to the dealer in the morning and let them deal with it.

Frogsnacks!


Not certified to install a smaller jet?

My 2000i has given me hundreds of trouble free hours. Probably 15 years old.

My only beef is no fuel shut-off to drain the carb for storage.

PS - Generator is used in lower elevations than you. Good luck!

That dealer let you walk out with that generator and didn't say ONE word to you about the mandatory modification during the transaction. I'd be super-pissed about that.

No kidding. That's not only poor service, it's a real disservice!

I have the eu2000i and have run it no problems at 8,500 feet without a rejet.

My hunting buddy brings his from 58 ft above sea level area to 10,000 ft in Colorado mostly to power his cpap overnight.
Never a problem, runs 8 plus hours and pretty quiet.

We use them un-modified at 8500 ft in the Sierra's

I am.

Ran mine well over 2K for plenty of hours.

Never modified.

We used a small Honda generator while hunting in Colorado in 2018 at 8,800 feet elevation. No problems.

Took my Honda to front range in Colorado from Pa hunting elk several times and never had issues at 8000 ft.

I don't know what caused this for sure, but burned up my Stihl cutting firewood at 9000 ft. Never had a saw problem like that before. Can that have been the cause?

Wont burn up but it will run rich. My buddy has one in Laramie and has never rejetted it and it has worked fine.

No need to drain the carburetor if you use non-ethanol gasoline. All draining it does is allows gaskets to dry out and crack. Honda engineers are quite smart.

I'm guessing the dealer would also void your warranty if you had brought it back after running it for not getting the mandatory modification done, too. Good thing you read the owners manual. I would be having some stern words with the dealer sales manager/store manager, the dealer should be having a short conversation with every buyer about this modification.

Who reads the manual?

My 3000 runs great from sea level to 8ishK. No hiccups yet due to altitude.

Sales people get paid to sell. Sounds like they fulfilled their end of the bargain.

Consumers ( you) have the responsibility to know what you are buying. They have no idea what or where you are going to use that equipment

If you are mad at anyone, it should be yourself.

Lol. You expect that person making $10/hr to be an expert ? Next thing you will be bitching because the generator cost more due to hiring someone with above average mechanical skills.

Fire it up and see what happens before you take it back.
I doubt they’d sell one that couldn’t be ran at the dealership where it was sold.

We used one last year in the Flat Tops at around 9k feet and it ran like a top. I know for a fact that it hasn't been rejetted.

If a guy was to run his Honda gen-set at one particular elevation 100% of the time, re-jetting might be something he'd want to look into.
It's not like it wouldn't run if he didn't, it'd just be mildly more efficient if he did.

Actual precision jetting can change in jet size about every 2k feet of elevation.

So if it were to sit at 10k feet forever, go for it.
You can buy about any jet you desire for less than ten bucks.

Ya got the internet, use it, match your elevation to the recommended jet and install it yourself.

BUT

1. This isn't unique of a Honda generator, any combustion engine operates best if jetted or adjusted to match elevation. Honda just happened to mention it in their owner's manual.

2. A smaller jet size makes it more susceptible to problems with ethanol fuels as well as dirt and debris commonly found in gas or dirty gas cans.

3. A smaller jet size at a lower elevation can cause a far bigger issue that a too large a jet size at a higher elevation.
You'd rather run a little rich than too lean.
Too lean can cause you to burn a hole right through the top of a piston. So if you change to a smaller jet don't ever run it at a lower elevation.

4. There is nothing wrong with being a precision freak and keeping all your equipment precisely jetted for elevation variations.
You can run around with a bag of jets and re-jet every couple thousand feet and your equipment will always be running at it's peak performance capabilities.

5. If you're not capable of learning which jet to use and when and you can't screw a jet into a carburetor yourself, you probably should forget you ever read page 76 in your owner's manual, pour some gas in your new Honda and run it.
Your not going to notice the difference.

I purchase a 2200i in June from local Honda shop, he had only a few and they go fast. Jeff the owner did not have any concerns with jets and he is standup guy so I don’t expect that warranty would be an issue.

I have been running ours at our land at 5,000 ft without any concern.

This one does have the fuel shot off that drains the carb. Apparently, Honda promotes draining the carbs as more important than ethanol free. I do both but mine is brand new.

And upon looking it up, I live at 4,000 ft. Maybe this Honda shop change out the jet when they set it up?

PM and I can give you owners number to discuss, he has not been busy because they can’t get atv inventory.

Find this really interesting.
My local is mountainous, Allegheny style.

Thing is, we can get over 2000 here without too much trouble.
Never have noticed any issues with any engines.
Here!

I've run Honda motors almost daily for 20 years at all sorts of elevations and never had the slightest hiccup or concern.

Quit with the drama and run that thing.

Took a minute for me to figure out the big round off switch is also the fuel shutoff.



Doubtful.

I keep mine in my RV and run it at 5ft of elevation in Florida in the winter months then head off to the mountains in the Northwest and run it at over 10k feet often, never had any issues and I've owned this Honda for years now.

+1

I'd not leave the parking lot without firing it up and I do my research before the purchase. Live in the sticks here (4,500 ft elevation) and it only took one instance of a failed product secured 130 miles away to teach me that lesson.

TV, amp, lawn mower, computers, fishing reel, etc all get a store trial.

I’ve had great luck with mine too. About 3 years ago I bought a kit from hutchmountain.com that allows you to shut off the engine or shut off the fuel and run the carb dry. It’s a great little kit that was inexpensive and easy to install.

The best thing about Honda power equipment is the fact you don't HAVE to baby it. You can abuse the hell out of it and get a long life.

Fill it with gas and let er eat.

Had a Generator that gets run about once a week for several hours over the last 10 years. More so for deer season. Never gave a lick of trouble and everyone once in a great while, if the mood strikes it gets oil changed.

I've run mine at 7,000+ feet several times with no adjustments and no problems. Purrs right along. I looked at my instructions and there was no mention of special adjustments for "altitude." Mine is about six years ol.

Good luck.

L.W.

No kidding about reading the manual. Imagine if the OP simply checked or added oil then just used the damn generator.

I live at 8000' and have the same generator and its run just fine. I may derate some %age due to altitude but it works.
Fire it up and try it out before spending $$$.

JN, for what it’s worth, I’ve used ours ( though both are 2000’s) at above 8K feet! memtb

I used to have to mess with that when I flew my ultralight. If you only went up 1,000 feet you were OK. If you went up 3,000 feet, you had to install a smaller jet. Might wind up with a clogged spark plug.

That's just eco freak garbage!!!

I borrowed an old Honda pressure washer last night from a guy in Great Falls MT.
Called him up, he told me where I could find it in his shop, he wasn't going to be home when I got there.
He told me he hadn't ran it in over 5 years.

I got there and dug it out from under a pile of tack and saddles,
It was covered with dirt.

Decided to try and start it before I bothered hauling out to my rig.
Looked to be enough gas in it to cover the bottom of the tank, I found a jug of gas in his shop of unknown origin and filled it up.

5th pull it fired right up, one pull for each year it had sat unused.
Just finished pressure washing a home in preparation for a paint job.
Probably shut it down and restarted it 10 times, first pull every time. I'm using it at about 4k feet of elevation.
I'll guarantee you the thing has never been re-jetted.

HONDAS ROCK!

I bought mine new in Hamilton, Mt about 10 - 12 years ago, elev 3500 ft. My elevation in ID is 5200 ft.,I used mine in elevations ranging from1500 ft to 8000 ft and never had issues. I visited with the repair guy in the dealership before buying mine - his advice was to always use non-ethanol fuel other than that just normal service. I don't use it a lot anymore but it has never failed me. I suppose if a person wanted to optimize performance a jet change could be justified but I see no reason to go down that road.

drover

OP. You may be the only buyer to ever read the manual. I’d put ethanol free in it, start it up, run it, rest easy.

I'll give you 500 bucks for that POS. Cash

It's probably far more important to do the break-in oil change and using non-ethanol gas than re-jetting. I have a different brand small generator that warns that it will not provide full power above 3,000' altitude. I can't notice any difference at all here at 4650'.

Kudos for reading the manual first. People would ruin a lot fewer devices if they did so. However, many if not most warnings in manuals are exaggerated to some degree. Anyone with experience can tell which are valid and which are meant for neophytes.

The Honda EU22i is pretty much bullet proof. It can be run on any non-ethanol gas, although 91-94 octane is probably about right. More importantly, do not leave old fuel in the gas tank & carby bowl. (most people do) before storage.. If it ever starts to run rough take off the carby and use a needle to clean the pilot jet, main jet and to a lesser extent the emulsion tube.

Thanks for the kudos, Rocky. Yes, I always read the manual first, I'm kinda weird that way. Some guys are born with all the knowledge they need to operate a new piece of machinery, I wasn't.

I set up, installed and serviced complicated machines.

You read first or you stepped on your pecker repeatedly.