Hope it's OK to revive this old thread...

I just bought a Honda EU2000i generator for my work, and I also like the idea of having it available for emergency service similar to what ironraven is looking for.

It's truly an incredible machine, and the more I learn about it, the more impressed I am. (There's a yahoo user group dedicated to only this model).

This unit seems to be the most practical method for providing intermittent fairly large power needs (fridge, etc.) and also coast along providing minimal power with minimal fuel use the rest of the time. At full rated output of 1600w (it surges to 2000) it uses its 1.1 gal of gas in 4 hours. When you're not using it full blast, it throttles way down, and uses its 1.1 gal over the course of 15 hours. At $3.20 a gallon, that's 23 cents an hour. It's all handled automatically, and provides the power through an inverter, so it's super clean and stable power.

I brought it home, and called wife outside to hear me fire it up. She didn't want start it, for fear of waking napping kid with nearby open window. (We were talking in hushed voices for that reason.) I started it anyway, and she was duly impressed. It then it sunk in we were still talking in our hushed voices, and could still hear each other perfectly over the generator running under full load at our feet. So to make a long story short, it's a quiet little sucker. Basically a loud hum.

FWIW,

Dave