Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-03-2015, 09:22 AM   #41
Guru
 
Capt.Bill11's Avatar
 
City: Sarasota/Ft. Lauderdale
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,438
Quote:
Originally Posted by O C Diver View Post
I try to avoid anchoring next to people, especially if I'm going to run my genset even though it is extremely quiet. I think that's being reasonable. If you're going to anchor on top of me and expect me not to run it, that's not reasonable. Sorry for your bad luck.

Ted
Exactly. Use some common sense and courtesy. No one group gets to have all their way all the time. The world is only getting smaller.
Capt.Bill11 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 09:31 AM   #42
Wannabe
 
Britannia's Avatar
 
City: SF Bay Area
Vessel Name: Stillwater
Vessel Model: Kadey-Krogen 54
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 782
I'm a sailboat owner with no genset who is on the brink of becoming a trawler owner with two gensets. So I'm reading this with great interest!

Richard
Britannia is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 09:32 AM   #43
Technical Guru
 
Ski in NC's Avatar
 
City: Wilmington, NC
Vessel Name: Louisa
Vessel Model: Custom Built 38
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 6,194
I must anchor in different spots than some other folks. Rarely am I near anyone at all, much less often close enough that I could even tell if their gennie was running or not.

Sometimes raft up for a gathering, but that is noisy mess of fun on purpose.

Never been offended by another boat running a gennie.
Ski in NC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 10:01 AM   #44
Guru
 
Phil Fill's Avatar
 
City: Everett Wa
Vessel Name: Eagle
Vessel Model: Roughwater 58 pilot house
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,919
The Eagle has a main 10 kw gen and a 5 kw cruise gen which are more popular on single engine and sail boats. The main gen is run the mian 671 is not running, and it power the hydraulic for the get home and bow thruster. The crruise gen is run when the 671 is running, so we always have 120 volts AC, dock, criuse or main. The main 10 kw gen has 2700 hours, but the 671 has 1, 500 hours.

We also have an inverter and three 8 D batteries, which we have used occasionally. In the PNW solar is very limited with little sun and wind is not consistent. The primary purpose use of the mailn is to power the hydraulics, and AC secondary as we do not anchor so we have dock or use the cruise most of the time

This June were are going to see if we're can bet more get more thurst from the bow thruster, increase gen set rpm, increase sizes of hoses and or pulley and belts. The main gen set is the limiting factor,
Phil Fill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 10:36 AM   #45
Guru
 
Alaskan Sea-Duction's Avatar
 
City: Inside Passage Summer/Columbia River Winter
Vessel Name: Alaskan Sea-Duction
Vessel Model: 1988 M/Y Camargue YachtFisher
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 8,050
So to get back on point. If you have an anti-generator bias, why? If the boat is equipped with a genny, why not use it? Most gennies I have seen are mostly quiet. Yep there are a few that are noisy but not many. So why spend all the extra money, time and space for solar/wind?
Alaskan Sea-Duction is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 10:36 AM   #46
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,266
Quote:
Originally Posted by N4712 View Post
Well ours makes barely any noise outside of the boat. So no, I'll enjoy my hot showers, unlimited water, and AC.
See, thats the difference...

We also have a properly installed NL generator. You cannot hear my generator at all for example walking down the dock. As you walk down the finger you can start to detect something, and if you stand on the swim step you can kinda hear it.

Compare that to my slip mates diesel furnace which sounds like a jet turbine running next door.
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 10:38 AM   #47
Guru
 
Alaskan Sea-Duction's Avatar
 
City: Inside Passage Summer/Columbia River Winter
Vessel Name: Alaskan Sea-Duction
Vessel Model: 1988 M/Y Camargue YachtFisher
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 8,050
Quote:
Originally Posted by ksanders View Post
See, thats the difference...

We also have a properly installed NL generator. You cannot hear my generator at all for example walking down the dock. As you walk down the finger you can start to detect something, and if you stand on the swim step you can kinda hear it.

Compare that to my slip mates diesel furnace which sounds like a jet turbine running next door.
Mine too.......
Alaskan Sea-Duction is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 10:42 AM   #48
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,266
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alaskan Sea-Duction View Post
Mine too.......
Yes, and I need to correct, the brand of generator isn't relevant, the sound produced when its running is.

There are in my opinion only two reasons not to have a generator

1. Your boat is not designed to have one
2. you do not want to spend the money on one.

We can always find a way not to "need" something so "don't need it" doesn't count. Generators add flexibility.
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 11:04 AM   #49
Senior Member
 
City: MD
Vessel Name: Blue Yonder
Vessel Model: 37
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 346
Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt.Bill11 View Post
You're throwing your money away, as well as perfectly good oil most likely, if you're doing 100 hour oil changes.

If you are going to continue doing 100 hour changes, I hope you are at least recycling the "old" oil by mixing it with your fuel and feeding it to your engine.
Maybe with an older mechanical diesel. I would never consider putting used motor oil in the tank with a modern common rail diesel. I would not want to subject that 2 micron fuel filter to extra crap from dirty oil.
BlueYonder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 11:13 AM   #50
Member
 
City: Madrid
Vessel Name: Halcyon
Vessel Model: Grand Banks 42 Classic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alaskan Sea-Duction View Post
So to get back on point. If you have an anti-generator bias, why? If the boat is equipped with a genny, why not use it? Most gennies I have seen are mostly quiet. Yep there are a few that are noisy but not many. So why spend all the extra money, time and space for solar/wind?
In boats with low electrical consumption (gas cooking, no A/C, LEDs, ...) solar/wind can greatly reduce the time the genny is run and still keep the batteries fully charged. This is good for the batteries as they are fully charged and not cycled as low. It is also good for the genny as it it not run under-loaded for a long time to fully charge the batteries.

If the genny needs to run for several hours a day anyway, for A/C or electric cooking, then I would think solar/wind probably do not make sense. There are many other opportunities to "invest" in a boat!
grsanchez is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 11:20 AM   #51
Guru
 
O C Diver's Avatar
 
City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
Vessel Model: Cherubini Independence 45
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,834
My boat is equipped with a very nice inverter, 8kw genset, and after the refit a very nice battery bank. Everything can run very nicely overnight off the battery bank with the exception of the electric stove and the ac/heat. I view generator usage in the same way as the engine. Plan to use it whenever I need it, but won't run it if it's not needed. See the boat similar to my home. Plan to be comfortable; no nautical camping here. That being said, I don't leave every light on in the house 24/7 to save the effort of throwing a switch when entering a room. So to with the genset, only when needed, but always whenever needed.

Ted
__________________
Blog: mvslowhand.com
I'm tired of fast moves, I've got a slow groove, on my mind.....
I want to spend some time, Not come and go in a heated rush.....
"Slow Hand" by The Pointer Sisters
O C Diver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 11:32 AM   #52
Guru
 
City: Carefree, Arizona
Vessel Name: sunchaser V
Vessel Model: DeFever 48 (sold)
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 10,185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt.Bill11 View Post
If you are going to continue doing 100 hour changes, I hope you are at least recycling the "old" oil by mixing it with your fuel and feeding it to your engine.
And the reason for putting one gallon of used motor oil into my fuel tank is what again?
sunchaser is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 12:25 PM   #53
Senior Member
 
Retriever's Avatar
 
City: Seattle, WA
Vessel Name: Akeeva
Vessel Model: Nordhavn 50
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 449
I was at Baranof Warm Springs a few years ago between seine openings. The dock was filled mostly with seiners, except for 3 or 4 pleasure boats and a big packer. The packer had to run its generator the whole night to keep fish cold.

Since they had plenty of extra power, they provided shore power for anyone on the dock via huge power cords with junction boxes on the end. This at least partially mollified the sailors on the dock.
Retriever is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 12:29 PM   #54
Dauntless Award
 
Wxx3's Avatar
 
City: Wrangell, Alaska
Vessel Name: Dauntless
Vessel Model: Kadey Krogen 42 - 148
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,820
Quote:
Originally Posted by fryedaze View Post
I just replaced an electric stove with propane. I am almost finished installing 3-150 watt semi-flexible solar panels on the bimini. If anchored more than 24 hrs I had to run the genset to charge batteries and run the stove. I may be able to go a week without running the genset in the summer if conditions are good. My Kohler is pretty quiet in its sound sheild and sound proofed ER. I just like not running the genset.
Yep. That is me also.

It's simply not efficient to run the Gen simply to charge the batteries. It takes forever.

Also when anchored, I like the quiet. If I want noise, the main engine can do that and get me somewhere at the same time.
__________________
Richard on Dauntless,
New York

a Kadey Krogen 42 currently: https://share.garmin.com/dauntless
Blog:
https://dauntlessatsea.com
Wxx3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 02:36 PM   #55
Moderator Emeritus
 
Bay Pelican's Avatar
 
City: Chicago, IL
Vessel Name: Bay Pelican
Vessel Model: Krogen 42
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,993
Value of two solar panels and a small wind generator. Ran generator at six am this morning for 1/2 hr. Since then we have been on the boat with refrigeration going and have done a load of wash in the Splendide and made water for two hours. Current state of charge at 4:30 pm is 12.8.

Admittedly this is unusual in that a trough is coming through Martinique and we have had winds in the 30kts for a couple of days and the sun is shining.

Only downside is our Magnum inverter/charger will not charge at bulk mode unless the voltage is below 12.6 volts - but I can trick it by turning on the tea pot. Thus we can both charge the batteries and turn on the water heater for 15 minutes tonight. (Tea pot is tuned off as soon as Magnum begins charging.)

No problem for me with the 6 am generator running. Boats on all sides are friends and everyone is up with the sun.
__________________
Marty
Bay Pelican is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 05:33 PM   #56
Guru
 
BruceK's Avatar
 
City: Sydney
Vessel Name: Sojourn
Vessel Model: Integrity 386
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 13,329
Multiple ways to generate amps are good, I see no reason to run the genny if I can get amps passively, like via panels. But for some jobs only the genny will do, and I`m not hesitant to start it. I can make tea with LPG, but can`t run the espresso machine without the genset, which I load and multitask if I can.
__________________
BruceK
2005 Integrity 386 "Sojourn"
Sydney Australia
BruceK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 05:51 PM   #57
Guru
 
Capt.Bill11's Avatar
 
City: Sarasota/Ft. Lauderdale
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,438
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunchaser View Post
And the reason for putting one gallon of used motor oil into my fuel tank is what again?
To recycle it yourself and reclaim some of the money spent on it. Plus if you're running around in the boonies you don't have to store it till you find a way to properly dispose of it. Some engine manufacturers even state you can mix between 1-10% used oil in the diesel fuel you are feeding the engines.

But I understand why some people are skeptical of this. As they are of extended hour oil changes based on proper oil analysis with perhaps bypass filtration. But I'm sure the petroleum companies love you.

This may be of interest to some:

Engineered Machined Products : OilMate Oil Management System
Capt.Bill11 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 06:59 PM   #58
Hospitality Officer
 
Andy G's Avatar
 
City: Pittwater
Vessel Name: Sarawana
Vessel Model: IG 36 Quad Cabin
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,897
My two cents worth.

I have a good size genny that came with the boat and I use it for battery recharging, refridgeration and hot water. It is an well installed modern unit with sound shield. When out and about I use for an hour or so in the morning and same late afternoon.

In the more remote bays we access no one, but no one leaves their generators on much after sunset, on boats like my IG 36' with an above waterline through hull fitting generator noise is inevitable.To me part of the problem is the type of noise a generator makes, that low insistent never ending diesel drone with the water whoosh to accompany it.

Sometimes in summer down here the cicadas can be deafening far far louder than generators, however who doesn't like being in the middle of nowhere surrounded by that cacophony of sound, likewise who doesn't feel his/her blood pressure rise with the sound a of a single generator splitting the night in a secluded bay.

A couple of years ago we were in a bay with about five other boats and one had the genny running well into the evening. We were all pretty cranky when a voice from the end of the bay boomed out,"turn the f**cking thing off", a couple of minutes later dead silence. This was followed by clapping from the other boats in the bay.Once everyone had settled down we then all went back to opening another bottle of wine and putting some music on. Yes, I know a bit hypercritical of us it's just the sound of conversation and laughter with a bit of music on is closer to the cicada end of the spectrum than the generator.

For me the ultimate is to run my boat without the aid of a generator, while not breaking the bank to achieve it.
Andy G is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 08:26 PM   #59
Guru
 
JDCAVE's Avatar
 
City: North Vancouver
Vessel Name: Phoenix Hunter
Vessel Model: Kadey Krogen 42 (1985)
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,877
To Run or Not to Run the Generator

Quote:
Originally Posted by kchace View Post
I think running the genny and having solar can be a great combination - not one that is mutually exclusive. We run the genny to power AC/heat, hot water (when not under way) and to recharge the batteries. Typically 1.5hrs in the morning and 1.5hrs in the evening. However, the last 10-20% of the battery charge takes 1-2 hours *after* bulk charge is complete to top them off properly. Being on a mooring most of the time, I don't have the luxury of shore power to provide the relatively small amount of power required for that final topping off. To help the batteries live longer I am planning on installing a single 100watt solar panel. My total outlay for the solar will be less than $300. I expect it will pay for itself in less than 2 years.

Ken

What he said. I'd like solar to top up the last 15-20% charge on the batteries, every so often! to keep them happy. I hope to install a solar charging option in combination with the genny for that purpose.


Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum
JDCAVE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2015, 09:47 PM   #60
Guru
 
hmason's Avatar
 
City: Stuart FL
Vessel Name: Lucky Lucky
Vessel Model: Pacific Mariner 65
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,760
I'm surprised that no one has commented on the noise made by a sailor's Honda 2K gas generator buzzing away on his foredeck for hours into the night. Frankly, that noise can drive me nuts.
__________________
Howard
Lucky Lucky
Stuart, FL
hmason is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:06 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012