CLB
Well-Known Member
I had that quote ringing in the back of my mind when I bought the Kipor. The truth was, at that time, I could have bought three Kipors for the price of one Honda. 10 years later I am still on my first, so not doing too bad
Cheap portable generators
- Thread starter PhilS
- Start date
I had that quote ringing in the back of my mind when I bought the Kipor. The truth was, at that time, I could have bought three Kipors for the price of one Honda. 10 years later I am still on my first, so not doing too bad
matthewriches
Well-Known Member
Brother runs a bouncy castle rental and we spent a long time looking at generators. Ended up buying a few Honda units and 2 large Stephill diesel generators. All commercial quality. The Honda’s are favoured by a lot of racing hobbiests for their race wagons, horsey people with horse lorry’s, etc...
Kipor come with a good rating also.
I’d definitely go with the “buy cheap, buy twice motto”!
Kipor come with a good rating also.
I’d definitely go with the “buy cheap, buy twice motto”!
coenvanwyk
Active Member
I bought a 1kw Kipor, half the price of the Honda I wanted. It has given three years of abuse, but I had to modify the fuel system to add a fuel filter. It stood a lot of hard work, and I can recommend it. Especially in marine environment I expect problems from corrosion, and would be prepared to throw it after a few years, but a Honda would also be vulnerable.
I would be inclined to go with the "buy cheap, buy two' point of view
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I would be inclined to go with the "buy cheap, buy two' point of view
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PowerSlapper
Well-Known Member
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Agreed, first husband found that out when he wore out and I had to replace him.
On a more serious note 10 yr old Kipor still going strong. Change the oil every 50/100 hours and treat it to a new plug now and again. At a guesstimate we have somewhere in the region of 4k hours on it.
rustybarge
Well-Known Member
Just bought the latest 2.2kw Honda , uprated from last year's 2.0 Eui.
Boils kettle no problem, heats water on 'sink', runs microwave and other stuff all at the same time. Very quiet on idle up to 600 watts, but starts to speed up with 700watt microwave and make a bit of a racket.
Overall very pleased, as you can run ordinary domestic appliances as long as you remember to use only one at a time.
One liter of petrol lasts 3 hours at tickover.
Boils kettle no problem, heats water on 'sink', runs microwave and other stuff all at the same time. Very quiet on idle up to 600 watts, but starts to speed up with 700watt microwave and make a bit of a racket.
Overall very pleased, as you can run ordinary domestic appliances as long as you remember to use only one at a time.
One liter of petrol lasts 3 hours at tickover.
PhilS
Active Member
I was put off by the weight of the bigger units. It must be hard to lug them from the locker out on deck to get the ventilation required.
Steve_N
Well-Known Member
That's one of the reasons I opted for the little Impax. Only 8.5kg.
RichardS
N/A
I like the fact that one the new model you can easily drain the carb. I have to let my EU2.0 run itself dry when we leave the boat but it would be better if, like my outboard, I could just turn a screw and drain it.
Richard
rustybarge
Well-Known Member
It takes 2 or 3 pulls to get going if you let it run dry; surprisingly I've found a bit of choke helps to get it started even when hot. I'm lucky to be on a river moorings so the sound doesn't bother anyone, but I would imagine it would irritate your next door neighbour in a marina after a very short time.
I'm considering an FP34 motorcat from the early 2000's and I see you have a sailing version. What sort of cruising speed do you get on the motors, and what is your max speed?
Dipper
Well-Known Member
After regular power cuts in our village, I bought a cheap Wolf 800W generator just to use for lighting. It's worked brilliantly. We haven't had a power cut since.
RichardS
N/A
It's a Leopard 40 rather than an FP. Leopard also make the same boat as a motorboat but the engines are much larger. Mine are only 30HP each which gives a cruising speed of around 6 knots and a top speed of around 9 but the powercat version will be much faster I think.
Richard
rustybarge
Well-Known Member
rustybarge
Well-Known Member
Interesting.....lol!
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/20...Barbuda?refSource=browse listing#.W1pBblbTUwg
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/20...Barbuda?refSource=browse listing#.W1pBblbTUwg
RichardS
N/A
The updated version of mine with the same engines and equipment but it's certainly been through the wars and hence the price. When they say that "the mast is damaged" my reaction is "what mast". :ambivalence:
Richard
asteven221
Well-Known Member
Having just returned to sailing after 8 years with a mobo, one thing I miss is the convenience of our genny. On the mobo it was a 6kw unit installed down below in a large soundproof enclosure. The noise was just a background hum and wouldn't annoy any of the neebs when on a mooring.
Anytime I have heard someone fire up a portable genny on a mooring it's quite loud and the users seem to be aware of that themselves as they don't keep them on for long. These are definitely loud enough to ruin the peace & quiet of a nice anchorage. I am wondering if the latest generation of portable genny's could solve the noise problem. Do they? Could they be used at night on a mooring without bugging everyone?
Anytime I have heard someone fire up a portable genny on a mooring it's quite loud and the users seem to be aware of that themselves as they don't keep them on for long. These are definitely loud enough to ruin the peace & quiet of a nice anchorage. I am wondering if the latest generation of portable genny's could solve the noise problem. Do they? Could they be used at night on a mooring without bugging everyone?
Graham376
Well-Known Member
Much depends on how close one is to other boats and wind direction and strength but, even the Honda charging batteries at low revs would be annoying on a quiet night. We used to have a neighbour running an open frame genny during dark hours and he failed to understand it was a nuisance.
rustybarge
Well-Known Member
I put my suitcase Genny in a small cuddy with two big duvets on a chair over the door : it would be too noisy to run even on idle if you were closer than 50mtr to the closest boat. It's air cooled so produces quite a lot of noise.