Kevin H Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I am ready to buy a Honda generator. Right now I only want one 2000 watt unit. I may want to connect a second at a later date. Honda shows two units: The basic and the companion. The companion has a 30amp outlet. The basic has 20 amp outlets. Other than that, I see no difference. Would there be a problem running the 'companion' by itself so I can plug into the 30 amp outlet? I see pictures with a 20amp to 30amp adaptor plugged into the 20 amp outlet on the 'basic' . Seems plugging directly into the 30amp outlet would be a little less hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 The wire from the connection jacks to the 30A plug are heavier. Other than that, your good, plug the 30 right in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 "Seems plugging directly into the 30amp outlet would be a little less hassle." EXACTLY Any additional mechanical connection has the potential to introduce resistance and resultant voltage drop and I Squared R heat energy losses into the circuit.... True, you could use a 20/30 adapter and it can "work" but realize the onboard 20 amp "outlet" is indeed rated for that current NOT 30 amps. That's NOT to say the generator itself can or can not supply the full 30 amps, that's ONLY to say "outlets" have a certain rated ampacity. John T I'm NOT addressing any parallel operation or compatibility issues which might affect your choice, ONLY the outlets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 To add to the info above. On my Honda 2000 using it as a charge source for my inverter/charger it would drive a 100 amp charger at up to 3000' elevation. Beyond that, you had to back the charger off some. Of course, you could not run anything else while charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Jack - Did you use the load share feature? I set my inverter / charger to 15 amp service and the charger backs off the charger if there is another load (say a coffee pot) so 7? amps goes to the coffee pot and 8 amps (120 volt) goes into the charger (and comes out at 80amps @ 12 volts). If your at elevation, use a lesser number (10 amps) and it should do the same thing - less load to the Honda. And, don't you have the hybrid model? That should make up the anything that exceeds the generator's capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin H Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Thanks everyone. The 'companion' is the one for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamtracy Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 I bought mine together but if I was going to buy one at a time I would buy the companion first. To bad you didn't decide to buy last month when they were $100 less. Still worth it. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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