Generator failure

[Jc180]

We are looking to purchase either a 350 or a 390 Mainship and have noticed several with rusty and inoperable generators. Since the generator sits just above the shaft seal, it appears that if the shaft seal leaks, saltwater will spray right on the electrical end of the generator and there doesn’t appear to be any way to raise the generator or relocate it. Also, since the generator is in the rear of the boat, when underway any bilge water will be pushed that direction and could possibly slosh up on the generator. To those of you who own one of these particular models....what have you done to deal with this issue other than constantly checking the bilge. We are accustomed to a dry bilge and a generator forward of the engine so have not had this issue in other boats.

 

[Duetto]

hi,

we have a 2003 pilot 34 ht and we have a friend with a 2006. both are similar with regard to the generator location. the generator on our 2 boats is on a shelf which extends across the rear of the engine compartment and is sealed with regard to the shaft seal. aft of the rear engine room bulkhead is open to the shaft seal but we use this exclusively for storage except for our inverter/battery charger.

to your point, we have a tides marine shaft seal and there is zero leakage/spray. i base this on 10 years of ownership. if there were leakage/spray our magnum charger would have been toast years ago. with that said, if we had a pss seal i would be more worried. they throw a fine mist right near the seal. we have pss on another boat. but back to your question, the genset is well protected from the shaft seal.

as far as bilge water is concerned the aft bilge pump can be set on auto and there will be minimal to no accumulation.

 

[Jgutten]

I had the same issue with my MS400. The genset was very rusty and corroded and was always a problem with rusted fittings and sensors failing at the worst moments. I sprayed the genset with CorrosionX but that didn't work well. It's an issue with the boat.

 

[High Wire]

You can shield the packing gland(s) from throwing saltwater all over with something as simple as a sliced open used Gatorade bottle or coffee jug. However that won't stop what has already been damaged.
Better to also fix the packing.

 

[Dougcole]

I had the same issue with my MS400. The genset was very rusty and corroded and was always a problem with rusted fittings and sensors failing at the worst moments. I sprayed the genset with CorrosionX but that didn't work well. It's an issue with the boat.

I have not had this issue with our 400. The generator on the 400 is in the lazz, not in the ER near the shaft seals. I think (not sure) that the 390 has the gen in the er.

As far as the genset rusting, as I said, it has not been an issue for us. I think removing the sound shield helps a lot with that as the genset gets more air flow and dries out quicker. Also, I can easily see any corrosion issues as they start and take care of them before they become a problem. I ospho/touch up paint our genset once every year or two as a preventative thing. I do the same thing to our main engines.

 

[Dougcole]

I had the same issue with my MS400. The genset was very rusty and corroded and was always a problem with rusted fittings and sensors failing at the worst moments. I sprayed the genset with CorrosionX but that didn't work well. It's an issue with the boat.

Also, it sounds as if Jefferys genset was already rusty when he got the boat. In that case corrosion x wouldn’t do much. You have to get tid of the rust, then paint, then keep it up.