The topic of paralleling Honda and Yamaha inverter generators has come up a few times so I thought I'd share my experience.*
I attend a bunch of group (camping) events each year and often need much more than the 1600 continuous Watts that one EU2000i is able to provide to run; lighting, coffee makers, air conditioners, sound systems, power tools, etc... A simple and cost effective solution has been to parallel a series of Honda generators (sorry, I haven't tried it with the Yammy's yet) until I have enough power to run all the group's stuff.
I have paired two, three, and four EU2000i's (4000/6000/8000W) together. I have also paired an EU1000i with an EU2000i with no issues whatsoever.
To make the process easy, I assembled a handful of inexpensive paralleling cables in various lengths that are made from a 12/3 power cord and shrouded banana jacks (plus a couple of spade connectors). One time the generators could not be placed right next to one another, so I made a simple male-male adaptor and then use a heavy-duty extension cord to interconnect them and create a poor-man's "power grid".
Here's a pic':
Note that my setup is for running a large group campsite and not for powering one camper from two generators. If the latter were the case I'd make a dedicated 2-into-1 adaptor with a 30A RV receptacle.
Cheers
-Mark
* DISCLAIMER: There are lethal voltages present at a generator's outlets and in the the parallel cables! Extreme caution must be used to ensure that no person can come into contact with an energized power cable or exposed electrical wire. If you do not have experience with electrical wiring DO NOT attempt to create your own parallel cables. All generators should be turned OFF before any parallel connection is made. Honda does not recommend paralleling more than 2 identical generators together.
This information is presented for informational purposes only.
* This post was
edited 12/29/11 06:39pm by msiminoff *
Mark, that scares the hell out of me. It would be way too easy to expose someone to live leads with a setup like that.
I strongly urge you to reconsider your setup. Please find another way to terminate your cord ends. There are many different styles of "cord caps" that are available.
Those double-male cord are called "Suicide Cords" for a reason.
Me, I would cut the hooded banana jack cables and splice in another set (hooded banana jacks are available at Mouser and other electronic suppliers)
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n7bsn wrote: Those double-male cord are called "Suicide Cords" for a reason.
Yes, I actually refer to that one as my "widow-maker".
The very reason that I put a disclaimer on the original post is because it's NOT safe! I do not recommend that anybody attempt to make or use a a cord like this.
To reiterate: AN ELECTRICAL SHOCK COULD BE FATAL. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
That said; Necessity is the mother of invention... While boondocked miles from the nearest anything and in need more power asap to feed a camp of hungry people, banana plugs were not available but Edison plugs were plentiful. So that is what got used. Warnings were given, care was exercised, generators were successfully paralleled, coffee was consumed, and nobody died in the process.
As I mentioned, I have since made up several long cords with appropriate insulated paralleling connectors on them. I even bought extra shrouded banana jacks to keep in my tool bag. They're made by E-Z-Hook and I ordered 'em from Digi-Key (P/N's 9386RED-ND & 9386BLK-ND).
I am just plain amazed that this works? Aren't there issues with synchronization? I've worked on tugs that had multiple gensets that would be paralleled, and I tell you, it was a whole lot more complicated than your little wires.
Maybe I'm missing something, with these Hondas & Yamahas, but I keep thinking that there should be more problems
If it was this easy, I'd think that plenty of folks would be doing this....and aside from the Honda units that can be paired, I've never heard of anyone doing this before??
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PapPappy wrote: I am just plain amazed that this works? Aren't there issues with synchronization? I've worked on tugs that had multiple gensets that would be paralleled, and I tell you, it was a whole lot more complicated than your little wires.
Maybe I'm missing something, with these Hondas & Yamahas, but I keep thinking that there should be more problems
If it was this easy, I'd think that plenty of folks would be doing this....and aside from the Honda units that can be paired, I've never heard of anyone doing this before??
Yes you are missing a bit, you note the title is "Inverter-Generator" (as opposed to a conventional generator)
The 120 VAC is generated not by the generator windings, but rather by the inverter circuit (which, of course, gets it's power from the windings). If this circuit has the parts to sense any voltage already present at the AC terminals, this circuit then synchronizes the AC generated by the circuit, with the AC that is already present. This is why you can connect several together. The first generator started is the "master" and the others are "slaved" to it.
Please note: Only Honda, Yamaha, and a hand-full of other brands have this second "sync" circuit, few, if any, of the ultra-cheap brands have this circuit.
Hi
so what lead would I need to connect 2 hondas ???-----and are you sure about two gennys of different sizes ?? I have read that they MUST be the same
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