Honda Car Forum

On Oct. 21, 2003 there was a post on alt.honda that said, in part:

"I have a Honda EM5000SX generator I paid $2100
for new 5 years ago. It only has about 10 hours on
it as it's just backup for home. The other day it
gave no output and turns out some mice got inside
and ruined the generator portion. The Honda dealer
where I bought it said it would cost more to replace
the brushes and other components than to just buy a
new generator. . ."

Here's some more quotes on mice damage:

Nov. 21, 1999
" I recently finished rebuilding a (fixing mouse damage)
Honda EFs-5500 generator. . ."

Sep. 24, 1998
"I will need to fab up a metal box to keep the mice out
of the windings. . ."

Jul 30, 2006
"Mice in my shed have eaten away all insulation
from the inside of my EU3000is. Seems the
generator is noticeably louder without the insulation.
I can not find a dealer who can order these two
insulation 'blocks' from Honda. Can someone
please measure both insulation 'blocks' and post
the dimensions? I will try to glue alternative
insulation in its place."

I recently took a box cutter and made a small box cardboard box (out of
a larger one) and put it over my Honda Generator. Then inside the box I
put a can with holes in it filled with naphthalene moth balls.

Now, one problem that I have is those moth balls really smell bad. In
fact, they are stinking up my entire garage. That's a relatively small
problem, though. A bigger potential problem I am wonder about is
whether the fumes from the moth balls might damage the generator. Given
the potency of the gas that those moth balls (napthalene), another
problem, of course, is whether there is a health risk.

Here's an excerpt from something I found on the internet:

"CANCER HAZARD
Naphthalene may be a CARCINOGEN in humans since it has been show to
cause nasal and lung cancer in animals. Many scientists believe there
is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen."

So, mothballs might not be a great idea, unless you can completely seal
the container. Even so, the question still exists in regard to the
generator. Is napthalene safe for a generator?

Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
mice?

<mgkelson@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1157908690.954258.87800@p79g2000cwp.googlegro ups.com...
> On Oct. 21, 2003 there was a post on alt.honda that said, in part:
> Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
> mice?

There are sticky pads which will trap mice until you can remove them. And,
there is
a pesticide cake called 'Just one bite' which mice love and which will kill
them.

You could also make a "box" out of metal cage wire to place the generator
in.
The metal grid would have to have very small holes in it, because mice can
squeeze through very small holes.
Maybe chicken wire with screen wire lining it?
Also, Walmart sells "D-Con" mouse poison which is very effective.

<HLS@nospam.nix> wrote in message
news:n%XMg.24$e66.19@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
>
> <mgkelson@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1157908690.954258.87800@p79g2000cwp.googlegro ups.com...
>> On Oct. 21, 2003 there was a post on alt.honda that said, in part:
>> Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
>> mice?
>
> There are sticky pads which will trap mice until you can remove them.
> And,
> there is
> a pesticide cake called 'Just one bite' which mice love and which will
> kill
> them.
>
>



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On 10 Sep 2006 10:18:11 -0700, mgkelson@yahoo.com wrote:

[snip]
>
>Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
>mice?
>
My brother-in-law placed theirs on a small table that has large
diameter, very smooth, varnished legs. Mice can not climb the
smooth large diameter varnished legs of this tale. This table is
located away from any other items that mice could climb up then
jump to the table with the generator on it.

That strikes me as a pretty good idea!

The box could, for example, be made out of 2" x 2" lumber and
door-screen material.


Skenny wrote:
> You could also make a "box" out of metal cage wire to place the generator
> in.
> The metal grid would have to have very small holes in it, because mice can
> squeeze through very small holes.
> Maybe chicken wire with screen wire lining it?
> Also, Walmart sells "D-Con" mouse poison which is very effective.
>
> <HLS@nospam.nix> wrote in message
> news:n%XMg.24$e66.19@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
> >
> > <mgkelson@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> > news:1157908690.954258.87800@p79g2000cwp.googlegro ups.com...
> >> On Oct. 21, 2003 there was a post on alt.honda that said, in part:
> >> Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
> >> mice?
> >

You might also try the "Rat Zapper" I used to sell them and everyone who
bought one was very happy with the product. They are basically a plastic
box with a metal floor and I assume a BIG capacitor since they were powered
by 4 AA batteries. Highly effective and a kind of fun way to deal with rats
and mice.

mgkelson@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> On Oct. 21, 2003 there was a post on alt.honda that said, in part:
>
> "I have a Honda EM5000SX generator I paid $2100
> for new 5 years ago. It only has about 10 hours on
> it as it's just backup for home. The other day it
> gave no output and turns out some mice got inside
> and ruined the generator portion. The Honda dealer
> where I bought it said it would cost more to replace
> the brushes and other components than to just buy a
> new generator. . ."
>
> Here's some more quotes on mice damage:
>
> Nov. 21, 1999
> " I recently finished rebuilding a (fixing mouse damage)
> Honda EFs-5500 generator. . ."
>
> Sep. 24, 1998
> "I will need to fab up a metal box to keep the mice out
> of the windings. . ."
>
> Jul 30, 2006
> "Mice in my shed have eaten away all insulation
> from the inside of my EU3000is. Seems the
> generator is noticeably louder without the insulation.
> I can not find a dealer who can order these two
> insulation 'blocks' from Honda. Can someone
> please measure both insulation 'blocks' and post
> the dimensions? I will try to glue alternative
> insulation in its place."
>
> I recently took a box cutter and made a small box cardboard box (out of
> a larger one) and put it over my Honda Generator. Then inside the box I
> put a can with holes in it filled with naphthalene moth balls.
>
> Now, one problem that I have is those moth balls really smell bad. In
> fact, they are stinking up my entire garage. That's a relatively small
> problem, though. A bigger potential problem I am wonder about is
> whether the fumes from the moth balls might damage the generator. Given
> the potency of the gas that those moth balls (napthalene), another
> problem, of course, is whether there is a health risk.
>
> Here's an excerpt from something I found on the internet:
>
> "CANCER HAZARD
> Naphthalene may be a CARCINOGEN in humans since it has been show to
> cause nasal and lung cancer in animals. Many scientists believe there
> is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen."
>
> So, mothballs might not be a great idea, unless you can completely seal
> the container. Even so, the question still exists in regard to the
> generator. Is napthalene safe for a generator?
>
> Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
> mice?

The proper way to protect it is with fine metal screening covering all
the openings. Keeps out both rodents and many insects. You do not need
to enclose the entire unit, just seal off the problem areas with a fine
mesh, no more than about 1/8" opening size.

Pete C.

Pete C. wrote:
> mgkelson@yahoo.com wrote:
> >
> > On Oct. 21, 2003 there was a post on alt.honda that said, in part:
> >
> > "I have a Honda EM5000SX generator I paid $2100
> > for new 5 years ago. It only has about 10 hours on
> > it as it's just backup for home. The other day it
> > gave no output and turns out some mice got inside
> > and ruined the generator portion. The Honda dealer
> > where I bought it said it would cost more to replace
> > the brushes and other components than to just buy a
> > new generator. . ."
> >
> > Here's some more quotes on mice damage:
> >
> > Nov. 21, 1999
> > " I recently finished rebuilding a (fixing mouse damage)
> > Honda EFs-5500 generator. . ."
> >
> > Sep. 24, 1998
> > "I will need to fab up a metal box to keep the mice out
> > of the windings. . ."
> >
> > Jul 30, 2006
> > "Mice in my shed have eaten away all insulation
> > from the inside of my EU3000is. Seems the
> > generator is noticeably louder without the insulation.
> > I can not find a dealer who can order these two
> > insulation 'blocks' from Honda. Can someone
> > please measure both insulation 'blocks' and post
> > the dimensions? I will try to glue alternative
> > insulation in its place."
> >
> > I recently took a box cutter and made a small box cardboard box (out of
> > a larger one) and put it over my Honda Generator. Then inside the box I
> > put a can with holes in it filled with naphthalene moth balls.
> >
> > Now, one problem that I have is those moth balls really smell bad. In
> > fact, they are stinking up my entire garage. That's a relatively small
> > problem, though. A bigger potential problem I am wonder about is
> > whether the fumes from the moth balls might damage the generator. Given
> > the potency of the gas that those moth balls (napthalene), another
> > problem, of course, is whether there is a health risk.
> >
> > Here's an excerpt from something I found on the internet:
> >
> > "CANCER HAZARD
> > Naphthalene may be a CARCINOGEN in humans since it has been show to
> > cause nasal and lung cancer in animals. Many scientists believe there
> > is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen."
> >
> > So, mothballs might not be a great idea, unless you can completely seal
> > the container. Even so, the question still exists in regard to the
> > generator. Is napthalene safe for a generator?
> >
> > Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
> > mice?
>
> The proper way to protect it is with fine metal screening covering all
> the openings. Keeps out both rodents and many insects. You do not need
> to enclose the entire unit, just seal off the problem areas with a fine
> mesh, no more than about 1/8" opening size.
>
> Pete C.

I think you are right. Protecting the problem areas or building an
entire box out of fine metal screening is the best and possibly the
only practical solution. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it right
off the bat.

Yeah, get a cat.... :-)


> Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
> mice?

<mgkelson@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1157908690.954258.87800@p79g2000cwp.googlegro ups.com...
> On Oct. 21, 2003 there was a post on alt.honda that said, in part:
>
> "I have a Honda EM5000SX generator I paid $2100
> for new 5 years ago. It only has about 10 hours on
> it as it's just backup for home. The other day it
> gave no output and turns out some mice got inside
> and ruined the generator portion. The Honda dealer
> where I bought it said it would cost more to replace
> the brushes and other components than to just buy a
> new generator. . ."
>
> Here's some more quotes on mice damage:
>
> Nov. 21, 1999
> " I recently finished rebuilding a (fixing mouse damage)
> Honda EFs-5500 generator. . ."
>
> Sep. 24, 1998
> "I will need to fab up a metal box to keep the mice out
> of the windings. . ."
>
> Jul 30, 2006
> "Mice in my shed have eaten away all insulation
> from the inside of my EU3000is. Seems the
> generator is noticeably louder without the insulation.
> I can not find a dealer who can order these two
> insulation 'blocks' from Honda. Can someone
> please measure both insulation 'blocks' and post
> the dimensions? I will try to glue alternative
> insulation in its place."
>
> I recently took a box cutter and made a small box cardboard box (out of
> a larger one) and put it over my Honda Generator. Then inside the box I
> put a can with holes in it filled with naphthalene moth balls.
>
> Now, one problem that I have is those moth balls really smell bad. In
> fact, they are stinking up my entire garage. That's a relatively small
> problem, though. A bigger potential problem I am wonder about is
> whether the fumes from the moth balls might damage the generator. Given
> the potency of the gas that those moth balls (napthalene), another
> problem, of course, is whether there is a health risk.
>
> Here's an excerpt from something I found on the internet:
>
> "CANCER HAZARD
> Naphthalene may be a CARCINOGEN in humans since it has been show to
> cause nasal and lung cancer in animals. Many scientists believe there
> is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen."
>
> So, mothballs might not be a great idea, unless you can completely seal
> the container. Even so, the question still exists in regard to the
> generator. Is napthalene safe for a generator?
>
> Does anyone have any other ideas on how to protect a generator from
> mice?
>

Mine rests on an metal shelf about 4 ft above the floor. You can build your
own with square tubing and plate steel. If you cannot weld , drill holes
and use good bolts with nuts and lock washers. Then attach shelf to the
wall using lag screws. Good luck.