A generator running on incessantly can really be annoying. I understand why they're necessary for things like all-electric galleys, heating water, charging batteries, and air conditioning. But outside of the air-conditioning thing I am baffled--- as are most other boaters up here--- by the few who seem to feel their generator has to be running constantly.
If I can't hear the generator or smell the exhaust, fine, run it 24/7. Unfortunately there are not many generator installations like that and I have seen some near-violent encounters on the docks or on the buoys in the State Marine Parks up here over someone running a generator non-stop.
We have a 7.5kw Onan and we use it on a cruise when we need it. On days we don't run the main engines we generally run the generator about an hour to heat water for the whole day and throw a charge back in the batteries. Other than that we have no need for it. And it's a fairly quiet installation, at least from the outside, but I would still never want to be running it for hours at a time. We'd get fed up with the sound let alone everyone nearby.
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