Running gen

[Coker61]

Want to know if it has an inverter?Don’t run the generator and see if your refrigerator light comes on, assuming it has one. Given what you were told, I’m sure it doesn’t. One thing you need to do is load the generator on a regular basis when you’re running it. Turn on the hot water and run the AC, even when you need neither.

I will try that. I know it has a ac/dc inverter in the fly bridge for the 12v battery that powers the electronics. Also he told me to turn off battery charger on the electrical panel when the motors are running. But the charger in the fly bridge seems to still be charging and it's ac..????

[cww]

He's just saying that because unless somebody added an inverter there's not a lot that works onboard without the generator running. The icemaker and fridge being the biggest offenders, you don't want the fridge without power for very long they get nasty inside quick with the power off. There is no reason besides for that to where you can't run the boat with the generator off though. The alternators will charge the batteries underway.

Personally I consider no air conditioning, no cold beer/booze, no ice, no hot food, no laundry, etc., the line between boating and camping. I'd have got a center console if that's what I wanted. In our boat the generator is on 100% of the time it's off the dock.

[Captain Ralph]

I will try that. I know it has a ac/dc inverter in the fly bridge for the 12v battery that powers the electronics.

I would say (hope) that is a 32Vdc to 12Vdc converter for the 12Vdc electronics.
Not a DCv to ACv inverter.
If a ACv to DCv power supply, the electronics would not work at all with out the gen set.

Oh Flip, Another 727 / 813 area code.
I never get a chance to look at new stuff.

[Pascal]

It’s hard miss an inverter between the size of the box and the heavy gauge cables going to the batteries

Back in 2004 I installed a Xantrex on my boat with 8 golf cart batteries. I could run about 18 hours mostly for the old GE fridge / Freezer and a few other things. The inverter and batteries paid itself in 18 months in fuel savings. Most of the time i would run the gen at night for AC but turn it off during the day since these old boats have excellent ventilation and even in SoFl there is always a breeze.

That chicom built xantrex lasted 5 or 6 years… And then since I didn’t t use the boat as much it didn’t make sense to replace it and the batteries

I m tempted to install another one considering the insane diesel prices we have to deal with these days

As CWW said, I m not interested in camping and sweating all night. So far I have yet to see the real world coat of retrofitting a system and bank capable of running air con thru the night even just down below. Lots of hype, little facts and actual njmbers. And don’t get me started on the risks associated with lithium batteries

[Augusto]

We occasionally shut down generator while at anchor, to sleep in silence, but only on nights we don’t need AC. The max we’ve had it off is only overnight, 7-8 hrs and the temps in Fridge and freezer in the morning do not change much. Now, admittedly the fridge/freezer was our only concern, not the AC, so I purchased some inexpensive Extech temperature indicators and ran a few dockside tests to monitor shutdown temps one sleepless night.Good luck, Augusto

[JD5652]

Personally, I've always ran my generator while underway. On my previous boat I had an inverter and still ran the generator underway.

My main reasons for doing so was to have the interior cool when I got to my destination and keep the fridge and freezer on. My previous inverter was not designed or set up to run the A/C.

On my 58LRC, I run the generator since I do not have an inverter... for all the same reasons as above.

Currently replacing one of my 20kW generators for that exact reason.

[madhatter1]

Personally, I've always ran my generator while underway. On my previous boat I had an inverter and still ran the generator underway.

My main reasons for doing so was to have the interior cool when I got to my destination and keep the fridge and freezer on. My previous inverter was not designed or set up to run the A/C.

On my 58LRC, I run the generator since I do not have an inverter... for all the same reasons as above.

Currently replacing one of my 20kW generators for that exact reason.

How many hours did you get out of the generator? Was it simply worn out or did something break? We use ours whenever underway and anchored. 13KW and usually running 2 AC units.

[Sadey]

One benefit of running the genny all the time is knowing it’s there for you when you need it most, plus mechanical things hate lack of use. Having said that I’d like some relief from running ours every time just to enjoy the peace and quite. Easy to say when your in northern Wisconsin, I know.

[jim rosenthal]

One of the few advantages to having a small boat is that there are less AC appliances to run. That said, one of the forum members has promised to help me put an inverter in this summer- to power the fridge etc when running the boat. I don't usually run the generator when running the boat, but I would like things to stay cold. Finding a place for the dedicated battery bank will be the challenge.

[JD5652]

How many hours did you get out of the generator? Was it simply worn out or did something break? We use ours whenever underway and anchored. 13KW and usually running 2 AC units.

The starboard generator had 8400 hours on it. As luck would have it, it ran fine during sea trial and two months while bringing boat from Florida to CT, the starboard generator stopped producing power. The engine ran just fine. I did not look into it for the second season. While preparing to come down to Chesapeake in August last season, I started up the starboard generator and it was running fine... pulled the dipstick and found gray oil and the oil pan was overflowing.... was only running for less than 10 minutes.

I disassembled the engine down to the head... including removal of the head and did not find a smoking gun on source of water intrusion into the oil. That design engine has two orings in the cylinder wall. I suspect at least one of the orings gave up the ghost. At that point with having to replace the electrical end AND rebuild engine, it simply wasn't economically feasible to repair.

On my sportfish, I had a 10kW Westerbeke, I got about 9000 hours out of that one.