The generator that caused me so much grief in the November contest was returned to the seller, by arrangement. The seller refunded my purchase price. He was unable to provide any certainty that it would be reliable for use at the altitude of the mountains I normally operate from (all above 1500 m or 5000 ft ASL).

The instruction manual for the generator had several paragraphs about what should be done to improve its efficiency at high altitudes (defined as > 5000 ft ASL). Measures such as fitting a different jet to the carburettor were included in the manual, these being arranged with “your authorised service centre”. When this was mentioned to the seller he said he had never had anyone ask about that for these generators.

So fortunately my money was refunded and I only had to pay freight both ways.

Subsequently my brother decided to replace his ageing Honda generator of some 20 years with a new EU20i inverter generator. I took a look at the manual and found it very interesting reading. Including the paragraph about getting an authorised service agent to install different jets in the carburettor if the generator is to be used at altitudes above 5000 ft asl…