Honda EU2000i Leaking Oil and Won't Run - Found in the Trash

Wow, don’t take it personally but Americans seem quite wasteful to me. Watching your’s and others videos and the condition that some machines are in when they’re left out for free or garbage collection just leaves me speechless, especially gas engined machines. Maybe it’s the cheap initial cost that makes them easier to just toss. I have that same generator and here in Australia they were $1800 - $2200 AUD. The eu2200i has replaced the eu2000i but sell for around the same price. Looking at Walmart US the most expensive gas powered pressure washers are around $500US. In Australia it’s difficult to find a gas powered pressure washer for that price and those ones that are, are junk sold by the big box hardware stores. A 3200 psi Honda powered Karcher like mine is around $1500. Admittedly even you were surprised that the Honda generator was dumped. Perhaps the previous owner tossed it out of frustration. The sad part is I’ll bet he’s running around telling everyone that Honda’s are junk. Obviously you proved they’re not. Thankfully there are people like you that save this stuff from landfills. Cheers from the expensive land down under. 🇦🇺

That is the perfect generator, not only because it is a Honda, but the fact that it generates power AND repels mosquitos!!

Mine is over 15 years old. Only maintenance, change oil, air filter, check the plug, and cleaned the carb once. Videos like this give Rookies like me the confidence to do our own repairs. Thanks.

A friend once told me that every lawnmower you see on the side of the road likely only needs minimal effort to get them going. People toss away things often because no one has any skills left to fix it.

I bought one of these 10 yrs ago and to this day, it still runs great. I run nothing but ethanol free premium fuel, start it up once every couple of months and put a good load on it. It came in quite handy after a wind storm hit 2 years ago and left us without power for 6 days. I set it up outside and it ran the fridge, a few lights in the house, coffee maker in the morning and the washing machine. I filled it up before going to bed and in the morning before leaving for work. It ran for 6 days straight no issues. When neighbors were using these big, loud gensets mine was just humming away mainly for the fridge. I used about 1.25 gallons per 24 hours when neighbors were burning 5 gallons a day. Honda makes an excellent product and they'll run for years if well maintained.

Me: I’m not going to watch a 45 minute video. Also Me, 45 minutes later: that was really well done and interesting.

I remember those times during soviet union, - where things in people's houses were serving them for decades and some of those still around. why? because we were not able to buy things in the stores, - so that's why people were fixing everything all the time. Something broke, - you are fixing it again. You always knew someone who can make spare part for you. And now so many things are going to a dumpster because we don't know how to fix it anymore.

The Hondas are awesome little generators. I had a batch of a dozen. During Covid we were running medical tents at hospitals and these units ran nonstop sans refueling. We had zero issues with them and would service them per spec. by tracking hours of operation. We had a knock off version from a certain tool retail store, and it grenaded after several weeks of service. Replaced it with a Honda and no more issues. I currently have one of these on my salt water fishing boat and it runs flawlessly and has for the last 4 years. Clean oil, fuel, sparkplug gap, and wiping down help maintain it. There is a micro circuit board in these that can go bad and keep it from firing up. Found that out when a friend accidently submerged his non-running generator in salt water which lead to the board failure from corrosion and electrolysis.

The agency I work for has four of these units. When we had problems and took them to a shop, we found the problems were usually with old or bad fuel. I make it a point to pour the fuel out and run the engine dry. I've never had a problem since doing that. They are extremely reliable, and two units can be connected in parallel to double the capacity. Jim

Not gonna lie, there is something VERY satisfying how much attention to detail you put into CLEANING these revivals and making them look their best.

James, the only additional check you should have made was to check the spark plug. The plug could be loosly gapped or is fouled. Combustion chambers get very hot when they are burning off oil so a plug check is required.

I bought a mint 1994 Corvette ZR1 from a guy for $1000 several years ago. It hadn't run for over 15 years. It would not start and he could never figure it out. So it just sat in his barn. He just wanted it gone. I installed a new battery and replaced all fluids and changed out the spark plugs. Still would not start. Did a continuity check on the starter. Come to find out, a small grounding cable had come loose. I reconnected it and behold, the car started right up. One man's laziness is another man's treasure. I've had several offers for the car. One guy offered $30k. I said nope, not letting this one go.

You hit the jackpot finding that treasure in the trash! I'd never been that lucky.

Our EU2000i is ancient, or seems that way, we keep it full of gas because it sees 150 to 200 hours of operation every month for the last 12 years. I've had to adjust the valves 3 times in all those hours. It's forced to live outdoors as well, but the unit always starts first or second pull. Amazing machine.

My guess about the oil overfill is that the owner rolled the generator over onto its side to put new oil in it rather than filling it the right way. Good job overall

You forgot to reinstall the fuel feed clamp! Good thing you decided to look at the carb again. Great video

I watch a few YouTube videos and “try” to repair most things before replacing. Recently rebuilt my GE dryer, replaced my snowblower belts and cleaned the carb in my 15 year old Honda eu2000i that was starving for fuel and wouldn’t run a 1,000 watt appliance. Saved me hundreds of dollars👍

How much you wanna bet the owner laid the generator on it's side and filled the oil to the top. Thanks for the videos !

James, that pull cord wear is not from excessive pulling. It is where the pull cord rubs against the inner shroud when the unit runs. It is at an angle and generates wear. A true sign of a higher hour unit. I fix hundreds of these a year. The surging also doesn’t matter because the inverter still outputs clean power. They all surge like that at no load

you are so gentle with everything! it’s like watching a precision piece of equipment being rebuilt. I quickly realize why i break 75% of the small motor stuff I work on lol