benefit of built in generator?

[neil1967]

My newly acquired yacht has a non-working 4.5KVA fischer panda diesel generator installed. Fixing the generator will entail replacing the engine, at a likely cost of £3000. Although initially she will be on a swinging mooring in the UK, we intend to use her as a full time, warm weather, liveaboard in 4-5 years time, and intend she will be fitted with +300W of solar and a wind generator. I am tempted to remove the remains of the generator and put the money towards the solar and wind generation (and mppt regulator, mounting arch etc), and to buy a smaller portable genny for around £600. I would be grateful for any views on the merits, or otherwise, of this approach

Thanks

Neil

 

[padge]

Who quoted £3000 for a new engine

shop around !

New 5kva diesel gennys can be picked up for less than £1000

 

[Tradewinds]

Ditch it!

Having had a FP4 generator once upon a time I'd ditch it & go down the solar/wind/efficient alternator route.

Biggest waste of £3.5k (1993 price) ever. I gave it away for NZ$250 3 years later having spent £100s & £100s trying to keep it going & wasting my time waiting for spares to arrive in numerous exotic places.

As you can tell, I'm no fan of these high-revving FP generators - and, believe me, I wasn't the only one having problems with them.

 

[jrudge]

We don't live aboard but I would never have another boat without a generator. Our boat is all electric so perhaps I am biased but the ability to live a normal life on the hook is fantastic. We tend to use it when needed rather than leave it on for hours. Useful in port with 5 amp French electricity. I know nothing about gen parts but 3k seems a lot.

 

[neil1967]

fischer panda! £2250 + VAT + installation. Obviously to install anything else would be a a more complex job.

 

[Puggy]

Hello.

I bought a boat with a non working Paguro 3kw genny. I reckoned £3500+ to replace it, which I couldn't afford, so I rebuilt it as best I could with help from friends etc: rewind the generator, rewire it, new head gasket, fuel pump, injector etc etc. I reckon I spent nearly £1000 all up (more than I planned to) and I do feel that I have thrown a lot of good money after bad... However, it runs and generates, but I hardly ever use it. Eventually, it will be replaced by lithium batteries, proper solar and wind generation, LED lights and latest inverter technology, which I think is the future as well as being more environmentally responsible. I am already fitting a second high output alternator and smart charging system as a first step.

So, my opinion is don't replace it, look at better energy management and renewables, especially if you are planning to live aboard.

 

[CharlesSwallow]

I can see why people want plumbed in gennys. In Greece one often arrives at the usual crowded quayside, populated by charter boaters who live off of taverna food and pre-cooled drinks so the fridge is of minimal value to them. YOU have a fridge full of expensive food which will go off if you can't get power overnight. After their darling little Essex daughters have run their hairdryers off of the boat's inverter (& therefore main engine) making a great stink before going ashore , they are the first to complain if you run your genny for an hour or two to keep your vital and expensive food fresh.

We manage with the smart alternator and big efficient solars but only just. We DO use the genny on occassions but these have usually managed to co-incide with our visits to remote anchorages.

Why don't the charter companies tell these awful people that they are TEMPORARILY entering the environment of people who aren't just on a holiday jolly but seriously trying to LIVE on their boats? When they get back to fitting double glazing in Colchester or whatever they do, the people they have left behind, probably never to re-visit, will still continue to struggle for enough power to live adequately.

Chas

 

[Nostrodamus]

Why have a fixed genny for that price.
Saw a 1KW suitcase inverter one today for 250 pounds.
About the same price as servicing an inboard generator.

 

[NornaBiron]

If the sun ain't shining and the wind ain't blowing (like right now in Crete where we're anchored) the gennie is worth it's weight in gold, uses less fuel than the main engine and is quieter too!

We'll always keep ours to supplement the solar and wind gens.

 

[artemis07]

I also have a non working FP. I will be removing it this year and giving it away to anyone who wants it. When it failed (beyond economical repair) I purchased a small air cooled generator. I use it about twice a year although it is given regular runs. Solar panels and an inverter do the trick.
In Greece you make few, if any, friends if you run your genny (or engine) in harbours or anchorages.
Go for it.

 

[Nostrodamus]

What are the type of minimum specs you would look for in a back up portable generator?

 

[sailinglegend420]

..........I am tempted to remove the remains of the generator and put the money towards the solar and wind generation (and mppt regulator, mounting arch etc), and to buy a smaller portable genny for around £600.

+300 watt solar is the way to go, but you still need to get the batteries back up to 80% charge with an engine or genny of some sort. The difference between a small suitcase Honda and 4.5KVA built-in is all about the convenience, quietness, and most important the speed of getting charge back in the batteries. What value do you put on this if you anchor most of the time and are living aboard 24/7?

Fischer Panda do not have a great reputation for their AC gennies. We have a FP 4 KVA DC genny which charges at 280 amps at 14.2v - and we have AGMs which can take the charge. After 7 years permanently living aboard we have replaced two relays and have had the exhaust elbow re-welded @ a total cost of £20.

Before you decide you need to consider the whole DC system, from shorepower and alternator(s), to what batteries and what capacity you will have when you do start living aboard.

 

[whipper_snapper]

Fischer Panda do not have a great reputation for their AC gennies. We have a FP 4 KVA DC genny which charges at 280 amps at 14.2v - and we have AGMs which can take the charge. After 7 years permanently living aboard we have replaced two relays and have had the exhaust elbow re-welded @ a total cost of £20.

I have had problems with FP gennies too. Try googling "fischer panda generator problems"

 

[CharlesSwallow]

Why have a fixed genny for that price.
Saw a 1KW suitcase inverter one today for 250 pounds.
About the same price as servicing an inboard generator.

NOISE!!!!! and that particular one is particularly noisy.

Chas

 

[CharlesSwallow]

What are the type of minimum specs you would look for in a back up portable generator?

Something which will power the battery charger without revving it's head off. This usually means a 2kW machine but these are often heavier (relatively of course), more expensive (again relatively) and bulkier than a 1kW but the latter in my experience would cope if run when you were devoid of neighbours or could site it behind a remote wall with a long lead to the boat.

Chas

 

[SHUG]

There have been previous posts on the subject od portable generators and the Honda suitcase style always seems to come out as best.

Are there huge problems about putting a portable generator in a well ventilated locker with an insulated or water-cooled exhaust to the outside world?

 

[Jegs]

Help

Who quoted £3000 for a new engine

shop around !

New 5kva diesel gennys can be picked up for less than £1000

Would you please advise where these may be purchased, I assume that, for marine purposes, they are water cooled.

Thanks,


John G

 

[binch]

Genny

In all our three live-aboard boats we have had a diesel genny.
The first was a 3kw at 3000 rpm which deafened evrybody within 3 miles and shook itself to pieces over five years. I learned a lesson.
After that we used 1500rpm generators, and have done so satisfactorily for 30 more years.
They really are whisper quiet. We record neighbours who have been unaware we were generating.
They are bulkier, but a proper live-aboard yacht should make room for one.
Even smaller boats can get a belt-driven one that turns at 1500 off the main engine via a 3:2 belt so the engine is doing little more than idling quietly.
You need a control box which has an automatic cut out if Ac goes outside 45 to 55 hertz, or below 190, or above 250. Most electrical gadgets are voltage and frequency tolerant. For example, in the US Intra-coastal all our gadgets worked adequately on 60 hz (except the clock.)
We got these from Teddington Controls.
Don't buy Boat Show fancy things at dancy prices.

 

[rogerthebodger]

The small PandaFisher diesel generator used a Farymann engine and spares are easy available. There is an agent in south London.

I rebuilt a very old one some years back and connected to an AC alternator and still works well.

The one problem the PF's did have was corrosion of the water cooled alternator being raw water cooled aluminium was asking for trouble IMHO.

 

[bazobeleza]

Can't beat a big genny, Yes I have an inverter, a windgen, and solar panels, in fact shortly fitting another 160w to the 80w I currently have. The genny however is the ultimate back-up, when you need 240v for power tools, when you want the microwave, kettle etc etc, wack on the genny. Sometimes the sun doesnt shine, sometimes the wind doesn't blow and occasionally the gas runs out. and all the time the fridge is drinking electricity so on goes the genny!