Genset

Are there any issues with running a genset while underway?


-- Edited by MT Nest on Sunday 27th of November 2011 11:05:56 PM

Yes and no, it depends on your electrical and mechanical setup. Some boat wiring,switches,alternators etc*will not accept power from both 12V and 110V sources at the same time. On faster boats water pickup for gensets can be a problem. Insure your genset high temperature cutoff is working OK. Try it at the dock first to be sure all your electrics are OK. Underway, only experience and careful temperature monitoring *can tell you. Many larger yachts run gensets all the time, many smaller yachts have a cruise generator driven from the engine to supply110V.

Shouldn't be, as long as everything was installed properly. I run mine underway if I need to cool down the refrigerator. Otherwise it's off unless we need heat or AC.

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We always have one of the two gen sets running.* We have a 10kw main gen set which powers the hydraulic bow thruster and the get home, and a 5kw cruise gen set powered by the 671 main engine.* *We have a selector switch that we can select between the two.* *I make sure the inverter is turned off when running a gen set.* AC electric does not like to have two sources that are out of phase with each other.

" In the middle of 10 hour run, the genset brings the batteries back up to a full charge. "

Is the alternator too small to hold charge voltage (13.8 to 14.4) with all the toys on?

A bigger alternator might lower the maint and fuel bill.

Fred is right on. When cruising, after an 8 hour run my two 90 amp 12V alternators easily bring the house bank up to "full" even with 3 chartplotters, 3 depth sounders and radar running. Usually I wlll start a days run with a 30 - 45 minute run of the genset for washing or drying clothes,*start charge cycle for house and start*batteries, cooking etc.