Thanks for your advice, I will try the same approach. I was incorrectly under the impression that the engine should be broken in for 5 hours when in fact the first oil change should be after 5 hours.I have a EG2800i - exact same engine as EB2800i
Nothing in the owners manual about break in - and it would be a bad idea to let it run for hours with no load.
You want to get it hot and let it cool back down a few times -
This is how I broke mine in -
I bought a couple quarts of 10W30 conventional oil (SuperTec or whatever SN is cheap) Honda EG2800i does not come with oil -
It takes just under 20 ounces to fill -
I ran it for a few minutes to warm it up
Then 500 watts for 15 minutes
1,000 watts for 15 minutes
1,500 watts for 15 minutes
Then about 2,000 for 10 minutes
Then a few minutes at 1,000 and 500 and then let it idle for a few minutes then shut it down
Let it cool down - changed the oil
Then did the same thing again but went through two cycles so about 2 hours worth
Let it cool down and changed the oil
Then ran it hooked up to my breaker box with an interlock switch for 5 hours - power was out and it was really cold -
Then switched over to Honda 10W30 and changed it once per day - after I burned through 2 quarts of SuperTec breaking it in and 2 quarts of Honda 10W30 conventional I used Mobil1 10W30 full synthetic.
10w30 is the recommended oil but in the manual it's indicated you can use 5w30 if the temperature is low enough.I would use whatever the manufacturer specs for break-in. Probably a 10w30. Then for use, I would go with HDMO 10w30 or 5w40. You want to have an oil in there that can hold it when you need to run it hours on hours.
Thanks for the advice! I have 2 cans of Honda 10w30 so I'll break it in with that and then do a winter fill of 5w30 Valvoline Advanced synthetic if I need to start it up in sub zero temps that we have here occasionally.The lower winter rating facilitates starting at lower temperatures, it doesn't prevent use at higher ones.
And any temperature above 0F or so is fine for an oil with a 10W winter rating.
The important parts of the break-in process are:Thanks for your advice, I will try the same approach. I was incorrectly under the impression that the engine should be broken in for 5 hours when in fact the first oil change should be after 5 hours.
Since it is in the 30°'s F here I will break the engine in on Honda Power Equipment 5w30 for an hour, reapeat, and then top off with some extra 5w30 SuperTech I have.