This review is for the propane-modified Honda EU2200i inverter generators that Genconnex offers for sale via their website at their genconnexdirect dot net website.
I live in a heavily-forested rural area in the mountains of NW Maryland. Due to the location in a heavily-forested area, we are subject to frequent commercial AC utility power failures. In order to keep all the essentials at my house -- including lights, PCs, cable modem, routers, refrigerator, freezers, etc. -- running during the frequent and sometimes-prolonged utility AC power failures, there is/was obviously a great need for a very reliable emergency power backup system that could provide backup power for all of the essential things mentioned above for up to about 20 days of utility AC power failure, if need be.
So, back in 2010, I designed and built/installed an off-grid solar-assisted emergency AC power battery backup system on my rural property that would provide AC power during utility AC power outages. The system sports a battery bank with a capacity of about 85 KWH, and an inverter that can deliver up to 4400 KW of pure sine wave AC power. And, on sunny days during utility AC power outages, the auxiliary solar panels will, to some extent, help to recharge the batteries and thus extend the useful remaining battery life, but, since my entire property is located under heavy tree cover, the solar panels are not very efficient (due to shading and shadowing) and thus can only help to a modest extent.
During some recent utility AC power outages that were rather lengthy, I realized that my above-mentioned off-grid battery backup AC power system needed some kind of good generator to top off my battery bank by running it perhaps every 5 to 8 or 10 days for about 18 hours at a time.
Now, I've gotta tell you that I absolutely HATE gasoline-powered generators, because gasoline is flammable, smelly, messy to work with, and has a very short shelf life in storage. So, I knew that I wanted only a propane generator. Also, since I am a scientist and an electrical engineer, I wanted only an inverter generator with a 4-stroke engine, because they are quieter, more robust, more long-lived and produce far fewer exhaust emissions and CO than most open frame 2-stroke generators.
And, since I wanted only the ultimate in reliability and robustness, and the highest generator efficiency, I decided that I wanted only a Honda EU2200i inverter generator (propane-converted, of course.)
Finally, I wanted only the very best propane-converted Honda EU2200i inverter generator available in the US, and, from having done many hours of due diligence research, I knew that this meant that I wanted to order my propane-converted Honda EU2200i inverter generator ONLY from Genconnex in Maine!
So, almost one month ago, I sat down at my PC and went to the Genconnex website and ordered a propane-converted Honda EU2200i inverter generator from them. Despite the fact that the entire Northeast of the US, along with much of the rest of the East Coast, was heavily socked in by violent snowstorms and windstorms at the time, Genconnex managed to ship my order within about 2-3 days of my having placed the order, and one day later, my new Genconnex-converted propane generator was delivered to me by UPS (and for a shipping/handling fee of well under $80, as I recall...!).
In a matter of a few hours, I unpacked the new generator, and installed it in a well-ventilated generator shed located near my battery backup power system so that I could incorporate it into the system.
The new generator, needless to say, works perfectly, and it is every bit as quiet, efficient, robust and powerful as I had expected. I think very highly of the skill, knowledge and competence of the staff at Genconnex!
Thank you, Genconnex, for a job very well done! read more