How big of a Genset do I REALLY need? Your advice appreciated...

Consider it’s hot and humid in South Carolina (which it always is in the summer)and you have a small new gen set. You might be lucky to run one air conditioner and the hot water heater and a few minor other items. Either go big or use it in cooler weather. Good luck.

Rusty,You know better. We just leave the hose on the dock for hot water.

On a 53, if you re fine with a single 50amp shore power that’s about 12kw... so 15kw is fine. Your 21kw can’t put out more than the 50amp breaker on your panel will allow...

Less than 12kw and you re going to be tripping the breaker on the genset

Installation will be the same regardless of size so going under 12kw isn’t going to save you that much money.

The inverter Isn’t going to hell because at some point you ll have to recharge the batteries using even more power.

If the electrical end of your norpro is good, I’d try to find a new or rebuild engine for it. Doesn’t have to be an Isuzu, maybe a Kubota would work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by racclarkson@gmail.com

Rusty,You know better. We just leave the hose on the dock for hot water.

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Lol, your right Robert I wasn’t thinking 🤔

Other than going out of business I read mostly positive things about Norpro.

Cheapest alternative might be to just replace the engine on existing unit. There are a couple of guys on eBay who sell used Kubota, Isuzu and Yanmar Diesels that come out of reefer units. They're dirt cheap and some are relatively low hours as a whole bunch of them had to be replaced years back to meet current emmission standards.

Most of them have SAE bolt patterns on bell housing so should be compatible to what you've got now.

Might be able to find a used engine there, do a rebuild if it needs it and install as a replacement.

I bought a three cylinder Yanmar to power an ST16 generator head for back up power at home. Paid $900.00 for it and free shipping.

About 4 years ago, we replaced the original 15kW generator in our boat ago with an Onan 13.5 kW. We've been very happy with the performance and fuel consumption and I cannot think of a single time when this unit did not deliver enough to power for all of the ACs, stove, water heater, etc. It's about 300 lbs lighter than the old Onan and opened up a lot of space in the gen room.

Southern Comfort, 1977 Hatteras 58 YF