Mike, Sorry those thieves got your stuff. I know you must really be aggrivated with all this.

With scrap metal bringing in what is is these days it is amazing what is winding up at the recyclers. Back in February we had an incident at a local scrap yard that had explosive results. Some undocumented individuals sold scrap to a local recycler that turned out to be LIVE MUNITIONS! When workers at the yard were compacting bails of scrap one of the anti-tank rounds exploded injuring two.

I live about five miles from the scrap yard and could hear explosion for several days as the Fort Bragg Bomb Disposal Unit that was brought in exploded all the ordinance it could find. Some of the munitions were bailed up prior to the one that exploded so every bail had to be opened up and inspected.

The speculation is that these guys got the ordinance from Fort Bragg which is less than an hour away. Identification required by the scrap yard lead to the arrest of the men who sold the ammo.

You can read more about the whole affair here http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/946433.html .

Jon

Rcavictim, I agree with you on those engines. Way too expensive ! Someone likes them though as 11 of the 10 hp electric start models (#60111) have been sold in the last three months. Wonder how I know .

I would like to see the price of the small air cooled diesels come down so they will gain more users. It is hard to justify paying up to two thousand dollars for diesel when Clone Honda Chinese gassers are less than two hundred bucks.

Jon

The Honda EU3000I is a superior machine, well worth the price. They are super quiet as you can have a regular conversation standing next to one as it runs.

We sell a bunch of them and have only had one come back. Not because of any fault with the unit but it would not run the guys air conditioner!

These inverter generators are fuel efficient because the engine only runs as fast as it needs to based on load. As the load increases the engine rpm increases. I have plugged in small loads and the engine stays at idle.

Another advantage of the Honda EU (1000, 2000, 3000) series of generators is you can parallel two of the same size units to get 80% of the combined power from them. This feature is good for the RV set who may need more power but still enjoy the quiet, efficient benefits that these unit provide.

Sorry if I sound like a commercial for Honda but these are excellent products. The only down side is they will not produce 240 volts if that is what you need.

Jon

When dealing with clone products I always have the tired old but still applicable philosophy of "You get what you pay for".

I run a service center in a store of a large retail/catalog company. Let me take you out back to the scrap heap and show you the quality of cloned/chinese engines and generators. Let see, broken rods, shorted windings, stripped threads, inferior metals and worst of all NO PARTS SUPPORT.

Cloned products are just basically to be used until something breaks then throw them away. Unfortunately I still get the guy who buys a 35 dollar reciprocating saw and wants parts for it like it is a 200 dollar Milwaukee. They then look at me like I am the bad guy when I tell them I can not get parts for them!

Honda is really having a time with the Chinese cloning their products. Honda does all the work designing and engineering a product and puts it out for market. They spend millions in the process. The Chinese buy the product copy it part for part and might change a thing or two and put it out for sale at a much lower price. Joe hapless consumer buys what he thinks is a Honda and is quite surprised when he goes to get parts and finds out it is not.

Now some parts may interchange with factory Honda parts but I will not sell them If I know it is going on a cloned unit. Just because the part "looks" like it will fit does not mean it will and I will not take the part back if it is returned.

Recently I have seen a new direction for the cloners. I had a guy who called wanting parts for a Honda WP40 water pump. He gave me the serial number and it seemed like a valid Honda number. I checked my parts program and could not find any mention of a WP40. Honda only made up to a WP30. I checked Honda's service manuals and there was no mention of a WP40. I asked him if he is sure it is a Honda. He got mad a me saying that he is looking right at the pump and it has Honda stickers all over it! The serial number he gave was for a WP30. He hung up the phone disgusted with me since I could not help him.

Well not long after that I got a call from the service department of another of one of our stores and was asked If I ever heard of a Honda WP40. I told him of my conversation with the guy on the phone. Well he had one on his bench and it was almost an exact copy of a Honda! I went to his shop to see it for myself. It looked like a Honda and had Honda stickers plastered all over it but it was obvious that it was a clone. I wonder how much the guy paid for what he thought was a quality pump?

The bottom line is buy from a reputable retailer and even then make sure you are buying what you think you are buying. Most of all make sure you can get parts before buying any piece of equipment!

Jon

Looks like Mike may be throwing in the towel if his next batch of engines does not pass tier 2 emissions standard.

From his website: http://www.listeroids.com/Prices.html

Quote "We are no longer accepting deposits on any engines.
The container is full and no new orders can be taken. Those who have a deposit on file are assured of receiving their engines.  As of January 1, 2007 all new engines must meet EPA Tier 2 Emissions standards. Once these engines arrive we will begin testing to meet Tier 2 standards. There is no guarantee that they will pass. If they pass we will resume imports. If they won't pass Tier 2 standards then it will be the end of an era as no further imports will be possible legally. There are some dealers selling kits of parts for home assembly but this simply shifts the burden of EPA compliance to the assembler, who then becomes the "Manufacturer of Record" and is STILL liable for EPA compliance and the fines of $32,500 for non-compliance with EPA Tier 2 standards. We won't sell "kit" engines."end quote

Wonder what happens to the engines if this batch does not pass tier 2? Reading the text above customers have put deposits on engines that are not in this country yet and may not be legal to sell as of January 1.

I am sure Mike has something figured out since I am sure he would not import a container of engines just to have them sent to the scrapyard.

Jon
   

Onan figured out a way to combat the flickering lights syndrome on their single cylinder gensets such as the DJA3.0 and MDJA3.0. On the side of the engine timed to the cam is a device called "flicker points". These points are connected to a ceramic resistor and the field coil.

These points reduce the voltage to the field slightley at the proper point in the engines rotation thus reducing the flicker.

Of course this is a direct connected 1800 rpm generator\engine combo. Not sure if it would work with a belt drive system.

Jon

Just my luck. I just find this topic and the offer has been recended. Mike, I am in Raleigh and would love to check out your operation next time I visit my mamma in Charlotte.

I would love to have an origional CS 6/1 but have an eye on your new 4/1 as well. I especially like the price since it is what I can afford.

Jon