Opinions on portable genny

[Jackman]

I'm sure this has been talked about before...but I'm absent minded and forget things sometimes.

I just completed my repower as most of you know. At this point I can't swing the cash for a diesel genny but want one as soon as I can come up with it. My brother has offered to cover the cost of a portable Honda genny, like one of those 2000 or 3000 quiet units for a couple of trips on the water. Should I take him up on it or just wait for the diesel genny? At this point I don't care about having the a/c I just want lights for night chunking in the canyons and maybe a way to keeps the double d's (8D's) topped off. I don't like the idea of having it on the bow or hardtop, but the cockpit isn't the best place either because of CO gas. Any insight would be appreciated. The genny could either be sold or kept for camping when the admiral and I go when I get the diesel genny to replace it.

[67hat34c]

look for a good deal on a used 5kw diesel gen., they are out there or go with an inverter and extra batteries.

I would not use a portable gen. as you stated, there is not where to put it. of course if you are on the hook and put it on dive platform then it would be ok there but that is about it.

[jim rosenthal]

Look in B&H for a used diesel set; if not, what about a portable inverter? You could run it off one of the batteries for the drive engines and run lights, etc, but you'd have to run the main engines every so often to keep the 8Ds up. No CO hazard, though, and far less money.

The little Honda gensets are great, but they aren't made to be used out on salt water, and I think will rust quickly. I don't know why you couldn't have it out on the foredeck; looks aside, if there's a breeze, it's probably safe. Comments?

[Boatsb]

I can speak from experience for the yamaha portable as we use one on the FLW saltwater tournaments and its been fine. That aside i found a used diesel genny and installed it ( almost done) on my boat for under $2K. look and listen to others around. I found it being taken out of a boat in the marina and made the deal.

[No Hurry]

I have a honda 2000, like you describe and like you I don't have the budget for a real genset right now. I've used the honda for tailgating at football games for several years. It's light (49 lbs), and quiet. I plan on using it like you describe. I will only use it at anchor and I plan on strapping it down on the bow. The only danger/ downside I see is possibly losing a $1,000 generator if it fell overboard. I have a portable a/c unit and I want to be able to use it when we overnight on the boat. I have known guys that strap these units on the hardtop and never had any issues. It's lighter than alot of radar arrays.

I probably wouldn't spend the money on one if I didn't already have one, but if you have one or have other uses those little units are great to have.

As far as the CO2 issue, as long as you do not run it inside, I can't see why you would worry.

Just my thoughts.
Benjy

[Pascal]

around here, they are very popular on small boats but that's when anchored out in calm waters... not out in the ocean fishing where it would get splashed on the swim platform or at the bow.

they're small so they will not produce a lot of CO; maybe there is enough breeze up on the hardtop to disperse CO.

One thing though, is that they are not as quiet as people say when you put a load on them. Sound level goes up significantly under load and it's a very annoyiing noise... kind of like... well... a honda with trash can exhaust ! The noise of a loaded up portable 200 yards away will cover the exhaust of a marine genset 50 yards away.

if you don't care for AC, put an inverter and a 2 pairs of Golf cart batteries... that will not cost you a lot more than a honda and will do a much better job, whichi you will still enjoy when you add a diesel genset.

[Jackman]

How much can you run off of an iverter? What battery capacity do you need? I have a set of 500W (each) lights I'd like to use that are mounted to my hardtop. Can an invertor run an a/c? Probably not right?

How about a source for a top quality inverter? I don't want trash.

Right now I have an 8D for each engine. Help me with a good setup so I don't waste any money....haven't yet with those cummins!

[Trojan]

On top is the worst place to put it. All the co and gas fums will go down and inside any opening. The swim platform is the best place to operate it. Then you must consider the storage of gas. The best solution is Pascal's idea of the storage batteries and the inverter. Of course you can't run a big ac, but you can run lots of fans. Maybe a small ac.

BILL

[Boatsb]

I took off my 2 350 watt halogens and replaced them with fluorescent spotlights in a similar enclosure. About the same as 250-300 watts of light output but total for 2 fixtures is 52 watts. easy to run on an inverter. The lights were less than $100 each if I remember. Its more than enough light and the power drain is almost negligible. Even if the inverter can handle the load the batteries are a finite source of power.

[Jackman]

I kinda liked the idea of an inverter but I don't know if it will work for me. I found a calculator for how long it will run given a certain load on my battery. With an 8D (220amp hours) it said the 1000watt lights would only run an hour. That seems hardly worth the effort. I'd have to tuen the engines on many times throughout the night...probably even keep one on.

Did I calculate this wrong?