Hi. I have a 30 year old Honda EB5000 generator. 5000 watts which probably provides 4700 usable watts? Pain to start but once it does it runs forever. I never really needed more than a 20 amp circuit to run fridge and maybe a few lights when we get power outages, which is too often-Old neighborhood, lots of trees, no investment in infrastructure. Anyway, I'd just plug a cord into one of the two 20 amp outlets. But now, I need more power to run a couple of additional small appliances. So, I got a 4-prong generator adapter(turns one plug into 3 120v circuits to run appliances)and plugged it into the 120/240 30 amp outlet. For this, I switched the voltage selector on the generator to 120v/240v. Is this better, no different or not as good as getting a 3 prong adapter and plugging the 3 prong into the 3 prong 120v 30 amp outlet on the generator? See pics.
That machine is rated for 4500W continuous, 7000 surge. What additional appliances are you wanting to add? A fridge and a few lights is a fairly light load. I assume everything you want to run is 120v? Personally, I would just plug into the 120V/30A outlet with an adapter/splitter...if that's not enough, then you can direct plug into a 20A with a regular cord. But you already bought that cord, so as for your question, as I understand it, switching to 120/240 gains you nothing, unless you actually need the 240V. You might want to buy a Kill-a-watt meter so you can see what the actual starting/running amps are on things...they aren't very expensive...$10-30, depending on brand/model and where you buy it. You mentioned hard starting...that's not typical for a Honda...sounds like the choke circuit in the carb may be plugged up...that, or the fuel is really old...maybe both? That thing should start in 2-3 pulls when things are right. Those carbs are easy to work on, if you have basic tools and a little mechanical aptitude.
Thanks, that was a big help. So it seems that choosing either makes no difference, in that it's a choice if I would need to utilize 240v. I took apart the carb last year, cleaned it, and now it runs much more smoothly. I make sure to buy ethanol-free gas and add fuel stabilizer for my stored gas. Regarding starting it, it's very hard to pull the start handle and takes a good two hand yank unlike what a typical lawnmower might take. It's been like that for as long as I can remember. It's almost like trying to start something that's in gear or like pushing a car in first gear trying to start it. Lots of resistance. I'm reasonably strong and it's a workout. After a few pulls, because it doesn't seem to be close to starting, I spray starter fluid into the carb and it starts right up the first time. And from here, runs 24/7 no problem.
When starting a generator you are also turning the rotor, which is pretty heavy, so you are getting that moving too...but the biggest factor is that engine is pretty big (displacement) for a pull start model...390cc I think! Over twice the size of most (walk behind) lawn mowers! It doesn't have electric start? Another thing you need to do for prepping for storage is to shut the fuel off, let it run out of fuel, then take the 10mm head bolt loose on the carb bowl (there is usually one on the side/bottom, at about a 45* angle...that's your drain bolt) and drain ALL the fuel out of the carb. Just running it out of fuel until it quits leaves some fuel in the bowl...that small volume goes bad quickly! Bikes usually had a screw that you can open to drain the bowl, but OPE engines usually have the drain bolt, on Hondas.
