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Old 10-26-2017, 10:59 PM   #21
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Wouldn't go anywhere without a Honda. I've put 1200 hours on one in two years according to the meter I installed. Runs great, quiet and is able to handle my 32v and 12 v chargers, two freezers etc. you have to manage the loads but it's easily doable. I like being able to leave the boat for hours and not worry about sucking up kelp and killing the diesel gen.
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Old 10-27-2017, 03:49 AM   #22
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I have honda 2000i it is a good generator if you need occasionally max1600w ac power eg tools etc, but just for charging the battery I get solar panels.

Honda or Yamaha are quieter and the highest quality portable generators, but still quite loud for battery charging if near other boats. If the solar panels do not make you meaningful and you just want to recharge your batteries, buy a honda / yamaha 1000i smaller model, half lighter and fuel consumption smaller and it's great enough to charge the batteries through an AC charger.

I would not buy the Chinese half of the cheaper products if you do not want stunts for yourself ... the opinion of me and many others.
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Old 10-27-2017, 07:12 AM   #23
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honda gen set

I have been using a Honda eu 3000 for about 5 yrs now, ( my Onan died ,to much $$$ to fix) great gen, easy start,( electric ) mounted on 1/2 in. heavy foam pad on fly bridge aft end on Mainship 34 ,held in place by 4 straps (eyes) through bolted to roof. run my 16000 btu ac all day. VERY QUIET ,as it is not running flat out all the time. to heavy to lug on & off (149 lbs ) ,but running ac, you CAN NOT hear it run in the cabin, also very quiet to neighbors. If this one dies I would buy another one in a heart beat. good luck.
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Old 10-27-2017, 08:46 AM   #24
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We've carried a Honda 2000i for several years. Bought it to avoid running the sailboats' Yanmar at mooring to charge the refrigerator. Very handy for when the batts get iffy.

Endless discussions about running one of these on a regular basis: CO2, gasoline, shock value, noise for others.

While lightweight; they're not all that lightweight as we all grow feaker and weebler with age. You won't want to run it where you store it and you won't want to store it where you run it.
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Old 10-27-2017, 10:44 AM   #25
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We keep it stored in the laz when not in use. I use a 15 to 30 amp adapter and have had no issues as the load on our 32 is quite low. We recently added solar and have not had to get the Honda out at all this year.

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Old 10-27-2017, 11:22 AM   #26
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I agree with Darren. The Honda's are used a lot by sailors that need a genset while on the hook. They can be incredibly annoying to listen to.
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Old 10-27-2017, 11:46 AM   #27
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fuel cost compare/using diesel gen vs portable

fuel $/kWh


Grand Bahama utility $0.22
Carib/other Bahama utility $0.32
* 9kw Northern lights, .93 gph
US- marina diesel $2.33/g $0.26
Lucaya- marina diesel $3.72/g $0.41

* Honda 2kW portable, .28 gph US road gas $2.40/g $0.42

*- only fuel cost!

If you can run US gas, then Honda is cheaper to run than that diesel running offshore fuel.
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Old 10-27-2017, 08:54 PM   #28
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Hi, have a 43' mmc, 1983 trawler. No genset, use the honda 2000, takes about an hour to bring 6 12 v sealed batts up to top. Works fine.
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Old 10-27-2017, 09:04 PM   #29
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Hi, have a 43' mmc, 1983 trawler. No genset, use the honda 2000, takes about an hour to bring 6 12 v sealed batts up to top. Works fine.
Very thrifty power usage. 30 amps at 12vdc per day?
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Old 10-27-2017, 09:50 PM   #30
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The ABYC really discourages the use of these generators in on-board applications for two very important reasons. The first reason is electrical. The ABYC requires that for 120-volt AC systems, the neutral conductor and grounding conductor be joined at the source of power (the generator in this case) so that in the event of an electrical short circuit at an appliance, the fault current will get carried directly back to the power source and trip a breaker. Portable generators often keep the neutral and grounding conductors isolated from one another on the device. This is internal to the unit and not easily modified.

If the current can’t find its way back to the breaker it’s either going to leave the boat or start a fire. If it leaves the boat it could very well electrocute some one.

Second issue carbon monoxide.

I don’t believe Honda recommends their generators for marine use.
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Old 10-27-2017, 10:58 PM   #31
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Honda etc should not be for regular use. The risks are real, but for emergency or occasional use, with care, I think is OK. Run them where prevailing wind will take fumes away from the boat. Always be on board when using them.
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:07 AM   #32
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Honda etc should not be for regular use. The risks are real, but for emergency or occasional use, with care, I think is OK. Run them where prevailing wind will take fumes away from the boat. Always be on board when using them.
X2...
AND CO detectors.
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:45 AM   #33
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It amazes me the price rise in portable generators over the last ten or twelve years, I paid $1800 for my Honda 8kw in '04, now you can't buy a 3k for that.
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:50 AM   #34
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Quiet?

I'm hearing impaired, even without my aids in place, I can point out a running "quiet Honda" in an anchorage 5 boats over. The only folks maintaining they're quiet are the folks running one.

If you have one, make SURE you have a functioning CO (it's NOT CO2) monitor in place, one that does the algorithmic background calculations and can alert you before the CO accumulation makes you groggy enough that you'll ignore it. CO poisoning mimics symptoms of seasickness, it's cumulative, and it's insidious. Be very vigilant if you're using a portable gasoline powered anything. Yep, I hear you've never had a problem. You may never know if you do.
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:56 AM   #35
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It amazes me the price rise in portable generators over the last ten or twelve years, I paid $1800 for my Honda 8kw in '04, now you can't buy a 3k for that.
A 6500 watt non-inverter Honda generator is still about $1900 new.
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Old 10-28-2017, 08:19 AM   #36
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In the very wet PNW, how do the portable gas powered gensets fare when parked on the swim platform for several hours per day?
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Old 10-28-2017, 09:24 AM   #37
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Originally Posted by tiltrider1 View Post
The ABYC really discourages the use of these generators in on-board applications for two very important reasons. The first reason is electrical. The ABYC requires that for 120-volt AC systems, the neutral conductor and grounding conductor be joined at the source of power (the generator in this case) so that in the event of an electrical short circuit at an appliance, the fault current will get carried directly back to the power source and trip a breaker. Portable generators often keep the neutral and grounding conductors isolated from one another on the device. This is internal to the unit and not easily modified.

If the current can’t find its way back to the breaker it’s either going to leave the boat or start a fire. If it leaves the boat it could very well electrocute some one.

Second issue carbon monoxide.

I don’t believe Honda recommends their generators for marine use.
This ground the neutral vs float the neutral is actually more complicated than that, both by code and by practiced safety.


In "small scale" installations, a floating output is safer. Why? Because contact with either HOT or neutral, reference a grounded human, will not result in deadly current flow. There is no complete current path thru the human. The overcurrent issue is not related. If you draw too much current, or a Hot to neutral short happens, the overcurrent protection is still active, and safe.
THere are some classic examples of "floating" power. Naval ships for one. But, this is more of a reliability improvement strategy.

So, why are homes and businesses using grounded neutral? Because the added threat with "large scale" installations is the issue of lightning protection, and step down transformer primary to secondary faults. Both cases benefit and require earthing of one current carrrying conductor on the load side.

A small boat would benefit from a floating, isolated from ground, ac distribution system, when supplied by an on-board genset. So would your home, but this is a demand for a 50kW isolation transformer, economically out of reach.

So, bottom line. Do not connect the neutral and case/ground/earth together on your portable gensets. It would DECREASE safety.

THe complication for a yacht, is that the same panel is used for shore based power, which is always neutral to earth bonded. So, it becomes part of what I call, large scale installation
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Old 10-28-2017, 11:00 AM   #38
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Yamaha 2400, it has a large capacitor built into the unit that lets it handle surge loads (like a/c start) without kicking offline. It is still pull start so it is light enough to carry, barely.
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Old 10-28-2017, 11:01 AM   #39
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In the very wet PNW, how do the portable gas powered gensets fare when parked on the swim platform for several hours per day?
This is why they make Hefty bags.......
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Old 10-28-2017, 06:39 PM   #40
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I have had a 2000i on board since I purchased 5 years ago. It's quiet enough so that IF all it's doing is charging the batteries, by the time I am 50 yards away I can't tell if it's running or not (kayaking). I often leave it running when I go hiking or kayaking to top the batteries so I don't have to listen to it when aboard.

Since I installed a Balmar 100amp HO alternator, I almost never run the Honda. I only have the refrigerator and the stereo operating when at anchor. With about 450 AH in the 2 4D's have never noticed a draw down. If I am on the hook for more than 2 days I run the Honda just to be sure the batteries get cycled.

It sits on a transom plate at cap rail height so the wind draws the exhaust off well, and I have a CO detector as well. I have never had the generator run out of fuel when charging the batteries, but it will if I am running an electric heater and charging batteries. It never comes of low idle charging batteries...
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