Honda EB5000 - 4500 Watt Portable Industrial Generator

Absolutely LOVE it. I wouldn't own any other brand generator

I bought this product for home backup power. I had my electrician install a transfer switch, and much to the surprise of both of us, when we plugged it in, the generator's GFI popped immediately, without any load. Turns out that because this is categorized as "industrial" the neutral and ground are bonded inside the generator to meet OSHA standards for a job site.

The problem is that this bond apparently causes a small current loop when connected to the transfer switch plug, which immediately pops the GFI.

Tell your electrician to read Honda Service Bulletin #20 on how to correct this by removing the little jumper between neutral and ground in the generator and it will work fine. The only person that this seemed to be obvious to was the obnoxious Honda Service Technician that I spoke with on the phone.

I bought this product for home backup power. I had my electrician install a transfer switch, and much to the surprise of both of us, when we plugged it in, the generator's GFI popped immediately, without any load. Turns out that because this is categorized as "industrial" the neutral and ground are bonded inside the generator to meet OSHA standards for a job site.

The problem is that this bond apparently causes a small current loop when connected to the transfer switch plug,... more

Readers should pay attention to Greg's informative review posted above. Unfortunately, his review had not been posted when I purchased my new EB5000X and I learned the hard way that an internal generator wiring change needed to be made for the generator to work through a whole-house transfer switch.

Needless to say, my electrician and I spent many hours tracing down why the generator would not power any circuit in the house. We even hooked up an EM5000 which worked perfectly!

The owners manual was of NO help. We finally ended up talking to a Honda Tech and learned that this was a common problem and that the generator needed to go back to an authorized dealer to make a wiring change which consisted of removing a small shunt. From conversations, we learned that these EB generators are sold to meet OSHA requirements in a construction environment. Honda previously included instructions on how to make the wiring modification for home transfer switch applications but has stopped this practice, probably on the advice of their lawyers. Anyway, shame on you Honda for not being upfront that EB generators need to be modified to be used in home transfer switch applications.

Readers should pay attention to Greg's informative review posted above. Unfortunately, his review had not been posted when I purchased my new EB5000X and I learned the hard way that an internal generator wiring change needed to be made for the generator to work through a whole-house transfer switch.

Needless to say, my electrician and I spent many hours tracing down why the generator would not power any circuit in the house. We even hooked up an EM5000 which worked perfectly!

The owners... more

Quality product, good price and fast free shipping!