Diesel Genset (yet another dumb newbe question)

The wife and I are shopping for a Trawler instead a Sea Ray 34 -38 which is the norm found on the lake we are on. We plan to keep it on the lake for a couple of years until we retire and can move it down to the Texas coast. Our ambition is to do the loop.

On the lake, ALL the boats in the circle of friends we plan to raft up to on weekends have cruisers with gasoline gensets. How bad do diesel's smell? I mean or we going to run everyone off or better yet or they going to run us off? Are they a lot louder? I would think maybe so.

Our other thought is to purchase a gasoline 7kw genset and have a 20 gal gas tank installed and then reinstall the diesel on down the road when we move the boat down to the Gulf.

Seems like it makes more since to buy the type of boat we ultimately want instead of buying a cruiser for 2 or 3 years, loose money and then buy a trawler. Mean time we work most of the bugs out of the Trawler and really get to know it.

Any advice or ideas are welcomed!

Smaller gas gensets often run at 3600 RPMs and more torque-y diesels tend to run at 1800 RPMs so sometimes (in my experience) diesel is quieter than gas. Sound shields can mitigate direct engine noise, too. Sometimes exhaust noise is exacerbated by poor exhaust outlet placement, and raw water flow (splashing) can be noisy in some implementations, too -- not the gas or diesel question.

Assuming the genset motor is well maintained, your fuel fittings aren't leaking, and you didn't spill diesel on your last filter change... no smell.

If everyone on the raft is running a genset, I would bet no one will notice yours is diesel.

Pay attention to carbon monoxide (CO); the raft's gas gensets can kill you... so ventilation (and mitigating the station wagon effect) is critical. You can more likely run your diesel genset all night (if you and friends can stand listening to any kind of genset all night long).

-Chris

If you are buying a diesel boat then stick with a diesel generator. Ease of operation, safety and cost of operation. I don't know what boat you're looking at, but my boat doesn't have the gas fire safety rated equipment (sealed alternators, starters to name a few) in the engine room to support the safe operation of a gas generator. They're not required since it's a diesel. When we raft with another boat, we usually try to keep the exhaust outlets on the opposite side of the raft. But they don't run all the time, produce very little smell and run quiet.

The smell of burned gas isn't very pleasant either and the fumes from a gas engines exhaust contains carbon monoxide (CO) which is quite dangerous on an enclosed boat.

So I would say it's at the very least a draw. But overall I would still favor a diesel anyway.

B_rad...we're on LT & from 2005 to 2012 had a SeaRay340 with gas gen. in 2011 we bought the only full displacement trawler on LT, a KK36 Manatee, with a diesel gen (same kw) so I've experienced fumes from both & would much rather be downwind of our diesel than the gas. The rpm are half, the noise almost non-existent & the fumes not near as lethal.

What do you have on the lake now & good luck with your trawler search.

Well you could put this on the bow, wrap a chain and lock around it......

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Well you could put this on the bow,

Click to expand...

I agree that diesel generators are the best but they come at a considerable cost. I'd go (and am going) the Honda EU 2000 route until the type of boat is finalized.

I have heard (please correct me if I'm wrong) but diesels produce a fraction of the carbon monoxide of gas engines and are much safer from that standpoint.

If you eventually plan on long range cruising , with loads of anchoring out , the best plan is to outfit the boat over time so it does not require endless hours of noisemaker.

A good sized batt set and quality refrigeration will allow you to recharge every other day with ships movement from the main engine , with a replacement alternator and v regulator..

If you prefer longer time on the hook, all propane systems will allow weeks to months of independance.

The new Honda inverter noisemakers are able to start an air conditioner and are very quiet with good service life. They can be paralleled if required.

Both diesel and gas engines produce CO. Both can be dangerous.

I have found gasoline gensets are much quieter but the C
0 can really do a job on you

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/...her-dumb-newbe-question-11431.html#post175759

Is carbon monoxide a problem with diesel engines? Usually not, although any engine, including diesel, produces CO when combustion is incomplete. Diesel (compression ignition) engines run with an excess of air and often produce less than 1200 ppm CO. When diesel fuel is burned incompletely or when overloaded and over-fueled (rich mixture), diesel engines will produce high concentrations of CO. Diesels usually pollute the air with particulates and nitrogen oxides, not CO.

http://www3.abe.iastate.edu/human_house/aen206.asp


While usually less of a risk...still a risk....

Simplest is to install a davit on the rear and hang the noisemaker up out of the way.

A modern quality gas unit will not wake the anchorage and the rotten ethanol fuel hassles easily handled with OB 6 gal gas tanks as the supply.

Plug it in with your std power hose and no complex costly electric switching is required.

Wow! Had this been posted on another boat website (Who says Sea Ray Owners are snobs) they would have attacked the OP when even mentioning a honda genny. They would state he would be dangerous to himself, the crew and anyone within 100 miles! I think I will like being part of the slow boat crowd....

I'd be more concerned with being left behind in the wakes of your Sea Ray friends than the sound/smell of your diesel genset.

markpierce said:

I'd be more concerned with being left behind in the wakes of your Sea Ray friends than the sound/smell of your diesel genset.

Click to expand...

Not too worried about being left behind. At over 5 bucks a gallon on the lake, they won't be at the lake as often to hear or smell anything...besides, the wife sort of likes the privacy.

Go diesel and be done with it. Our 12kw is quiet- the only thing you hear outside is the water outlet. Inside, there's a low rumble, but nothing that precludes normal conversation.