Kubota EA300-E2-NB1 generator suitabililty in marine environment

[sean9c]

One of the reasons I chose to use a Hurricane hydronic heater is that i can also use it to heat my domestic water. I can heat 6gal of water from cold with the heater also starting from cold in 30 minutes and you barely know that it's running

 

[Jeff F]

One of the reasons I chose to use a Hurricane hydronic heater is that i can also use it to heat my domestic water. I can heat 6gal of water from cold with the heater also starting from cold in 30 minutes and you barely know that it's running

Me too! Solving for HW is a pretty big deal.

 

[sunchaser]

I’d look at this a little differently. Aside from making sure the genset cooling water is safely separated from the main engine, use the genset as an auxiliary battery charger for both house and engine starts. Reconfigure the genset starting setup (not a big job) allowing it to be started without raising hatches and turning valves.

Then install an additional main engine alternator primarily dedicated to powering the electrical needs of the water maker. The water maker, if not already properly configured, can be an easily accessible “newer” design of either 12 or 24 volt. The JD engine may well be set up with the proper sheave for a new alternator.

Tacoma, Seattle or Anacortes have several good yards that can do this work. Adjust your offer accordingly to update the current setup without the high cost of a new genset.

What other issues did the surveyor find? Did the sea trial pick up non genset concerns? In the long run, the genset may be the lesser of the gotchas. Nice boat but good writeups and photo shopping can mask issues for us arm chair guys.

 

[ksanders]

OP’s surveyor has concerns over the generator because it’s non standard. OP is now nervous about this and is trying to determine if the generator is ok, needs replacing or is reason to not buy.

What OP is experiencing is exactly what he will be dealing with if he tries to sell the same boat in the future. What is unknown is how many people have walked from this boat already due to a non standard generator installation.

The day tank alone is enough for me to not be interested in the boat as is. I would evaluate the boat as if it had no generator. If it’s still worth buying then I would install a proper generator both for personal convenience and proper resale.

My thoughts as well.

People buying a quarter million dollar, 40' boat can and will reasonably expect it to have a working marine generator.

 

[DDW]

One of the reasons I chose to use a Hurricane hydronic heater is that i can also use it to heat my domestic water. I can heat 6gal of water from cold with the heater also starting from cold in 30 minutes and you barely know that it's running

If the ITR is installed right, you can have a nice hot shower 10 minutes after starting from stone cold.

 

[O C Diver]

If you don't need climate control (air conditioning) and want house bank charging, water heating, and water making, remove the generator. This is pretty simple, add a second alternator (to the main engine as I did) 12 VDC 220 amps with separate regulator, mount the watermaker pump to the main engine, if the water heater isn't connected to the coolant loop, replace it. What you end up with is a significant load on the main engine between the water maker pump and the 200 amp alternator, and the ability to make hot water. I would guess an hour and a half each day at anchor makes everything good. The other consideration is that when you move between anchorages you restore everything and get propulsion. Then there's also the extra space and less complexity.

Ted