This is some advantage to my information, as I hear from the 1000 Bushtrackers running, the hub of the wheel sort of connection point.. I hear from the 80% that are not Boggers as well as the maybe 20% that are on the
BOG. And here is my current analysis and best advice as to the generator choices…. There are always ones that will disagree, with their Chinese or Indian generator being a lot cheaper, but I am talking about the best choices here, and would not risk my AC compressor or electronics to just any cheap generator. I think is this Mainstream thinking for about the 98%...
The Honda 2.0i has been the Number One choice for a few years. About maybe 1 in 40 or 50
Bushtracker Owners running the Hondas have problems with them tripping off under load with air conditioning in hot weather approaching or over 40 C…. There are some Tips on the Owners
Forum on the subject, on how to prevent this:
1) One Bogger writes “told by the experts it was a combination of current draw /heat and oil thickening app as I understand it the il gets thicker as it gets hotter so it is 10 at cool and 40 at hot , the honda relies on a tiny slinger to flick oil around the bottom end and when the oil gets too hot/thick a sensor stops the engine we found the fix was more frequent oilchanges in the Kimberleys we were doing oil changes every 20 hrs and never had another problem it is no big deal from memory it is 200ml of oil .That was our finding for what it is worth."
2) Another Bogger writes: “Make sure your lead is not curled up too much. I have had trouble in the past with long cords that when not unwound enough get hot and you either loose power or will stop whatever you are using.”
One Bogger has printed that these seemed to work, with the following: "Well I seem to have fixed it. Thanks to all the suggestions. I did change the oil, even though it was nowhere near due for replacement, also cleaned and re-oiled the air filters. I then took all the 'loops' out of the power cable and set the Honda in the shade where it got max breeze."
Another Bogger has come forward with this idea: “After fiddling around a bit we deduced that the only thing that should have been stopping the Honda was the low oil level cut out. The engine oil was in the safe to operate zone but I added about 2 or 3 tablespoons full anyhow. No more problems, no cut outs. My deduction was that oil was hanging around on the crankcase walls too long giving a false low level indication. Might be wrong but I can't think of another reason. This may also explain why others have reported that their Honda worked OK again after an oil change, they simply brought the oil level up again.”
This is all good advice, and here are some more from the outside...
Two more Tips to add to this that I have heard from other sources: Is to run the compressor on 240 mains, before you go away, it gets the lubricating oil going and frees up the compressor. Now this sounds silly, but the oil in the system does pool and can add to the loading if it has set for a while not being used, and running it may ease the start up loading as the oil is circulated throughout the system … This could help..
Another Tip is to run the AC on fan alone for a minute or two and get the generator running with that load before switching the AC to Cool….
Another person has fixed the problem by running it on AC low then after a little while upping the AC level.
Another Client fixed his, by setting the thermostat up so the compressor was not on for long, and then gradually bringing the thermostat down to the coolest level.
All in all, these additional steps were only taken by the 1 in 40 or 50 or so, and by far and away most are happy with the Honda 2.0i. These tips are the exception to normal use, will make the difference to the 1 in 40-50 that have some problems…
I think the Honda 2.0i will remain the number one choice for a generator. It is also the lightest. The Honda 2.0i is only 21 kg, and 54-59 dba for noise level… The Contender is the Yamaha, at a small fraction quieter noise level of 53-58 dba, but it does weight 31 kg!!! 31 kg is a bit heavy for most to want to wrestle in and out of Cargo Holds… That is 50% heavier than the 21kg of the Honda…. And in all fairness that will decide it for most people and certainly does me.
Per my TIP # 149 on the 46 Degree start up loads on the air conditioning, the new air is the same loading, just a fraction less than the old standby, so that is the same situation and is probably not a factor.
Frankly, I like the Yamaha, “Blue Whisper” but at 31 kg weight is against it and I think most will still opt for the good old standby of the Honda 2.0i. For that reason we have decided to still carry the Honda as a convenience to our Customers, and there is a $200 cash back that has been reinstated on the Honda 2.0i generator.
Our price is $2050, and there is a $200 cash back rebate from Honda on all sales after March 1…
Best Regards from the lone Ranger…
