Tips for a newbie using a generator?

[Larry M]

markpierce wrote:


Larry M wrote:

...*Last summer in the Sea of Cortez, we saw about 1/2 the sailboats all had*the Honda 2000.* They had figured out that with the DC water makers and refrigeration, solar* wasn't enough.* Some*ran them at night to power a 5,500 BTU air conditioner.* It would run all night on a gallon of gas.*

Gawd!* The noise!

*



Mark:**They are surprisingly quite plus we'd never hear them.* The night time low temps in the Sea of Cortez in the summer are in the 80's and 90's (outside), cabins are hotter.* We were always running fans to keep the air moving which also gave us gray noise.*

 

[FF]

"recommend the biggest generator you can reasonably fit in and service."

Really bad idea as a diesel should be run at at least half power almost ALL the time.

Ideling making almost nothing but a house fridge juice and a couple of amps for the batts assures short service life.

THe correct (but costly) solution is a small noisemaker that will be at 80%+ loading and a following inverter that will fill in , for extra power for SHORT HIGH LOADS.

In the Carib charter fleet in the 70's the noisemaker issue (gas or diesel) was "solved" by trailing the unit astern in the dink.

With the gas units being actually powered inverters the ability to not operate at a constant speed reduces the noise and increases the units service life , thru proper loading.

 

[rwidman]

Larry M wrote:
*Last summer in the Sea of Cortez, we saw about 1/2 the sailboats all had*the Honda 2000.* They had figured out that with the DC water makers and refrigeration, solar* wasn't enough.* Some*ran them at night to power a 5,500 BTU air conditioner.* It would run all night on a gallon of gas.* You can even parallel 2 if you need the extra power.* For a little over $1,000, why not. The only issue we saw was*that the US warranties were not valid in Mexico.

Great story from a friend that ran his 40 Nordy to the south pacific. He would have generator hours from 5pm till bedtime about 11pm.

It's pretty rude to run a generator or make other noise in an anchorage or at a dock where it disturbs other boaters, just as it is to run through an anchorage making a wake.

If you feel the need to run a generator, you should anchor away from other boats.
*

*

 

[Carey]

rwidman wrote:

It's pretty rude to run a generator or make other noise in an anchorage or at a dock where it disturbs other boaters, just as it is to run through an anchorage making a wake.

If you feel the need to run a generator, you should anchor away from other boats.

Hear, hear!!! Not hear!

I never go looking for the opportunity to hear an engine run. I go boating in search of peace an tranquility. There is really no time of day that I seek the noise of a generator.