ianj99
Well-Known Member
I would not run the engine just to charge the battery. The idea is to actually leave the berth / mooring and use the boat for its intended purpose!
Shock! horror!
I
Generator advice
- Thread starter aquaholic
- Start date
I would not run the engine just to charge the battery. The idea is to actually leave the berth / mooring and use the boat for its intended purpose!
Shock! horror!
I
RAI
Well-Known Member
I wish. Or maybe not.
I was in Fowey on a buoy for a week. Not enough sun for the panels, not enough wind for a windmill. So naturally my batteries got low. Out with the genset. At full wack it can just about keep up with the battery charger. I kept to 10-12 then 14-16 to try not to be too much of an anti-social git. It wasn't as bad as I thought, before switching it off, I paddled away from the boat in my tender to listen. The genset was not that loud from the next boat. Of course, paddling up wind helped.
rosssavage
Well-Known Member
'TV? Get a 12v one
Kettle? Use the gas stove - quicker, silent, facility already there
Battery charger? With properly set-up charging system, separate engine start battery and decent domestic capacity you won't need it. If you do, start the engine for 30 mins max, rather than the genny for 4 hours
Hairdrier? Get a 12v one
Laptop? Get a 12v adaptor (Maplins)
Heating? Fit a proper boat heater
Virtually anything and everything else - buy 12v equivalents. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can get most things from caravan & camping suppliers.'
Yeah, but... it's horses for courses really isn't it? I use my boat 90% of the time on the Thames, and (for example..) go to the Henley Music Festival every year on the boat, where she spends the most part of a week stationary. 12v Won't run my microwave. 12v won't heat my water. 12v doesn't actually last that long with no support (440Ah domestic bank..) And there is no way I'm running and bore glazing a 5.5l TD engine for an hour under no load (because a 50Ah alternator on a 306BHP engine is NOT a load..) every day to top up the batteries and provide a shower / washing up etc... Even if I did, it is FAR more antisocial than a purring genny (think clouds of unburnt diesel / smell / booming noise..)
If you need a genny, you need one. If you only ever go on the boat when it's actually moving, yes, you can get by without one. I use my boat as a boat, but also a portable holiday venue - I don't see that as a problem, after all - it's mine and I'll do what I want with it!!
Kettle? Use the gas stove - quicker, silent, facility already there
Battery charger? With properly set-up charging system, separate engine start battery and decent domestic capacity you won't need it. If you do, start the engine for 30 mins max, rather than the genny for 4 hours
Hairdrier? Get a 12v one
Laptop? Get a 12v adaptor (Maplins)
Heating? Fit a proper boat heater
Virtually anything and everything else - buy 12v equivalents. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can get most things from caravan & camping suppliers.'
Yeah, but... it's horses for courses really isn't it? I use my boat 90% of the time on the Thames, and (for example..) go to the Henley Music Festival every year on the boat, where she spends the most part of a week stationary. 12v Won't run my microwave. 12v won't heat my water. 12v doesn't actually last that long with no support (440Ah domestic bank..) And there is no way I'm running and bore glazing a 5.5l TD engine for an hour under no load (because a 50Ah alternator on a 306BHP engine is NOT a load..) every day to top up the batteries and provide a shower / washing up etc... Even if I did, it is FAR more antisocial than a purring genny (think clouds of unburnt diesel / smell / booming noise..)
If you need a genny, you need one. If you only ever go on the boat when it's actually moving, yes, you can get by without one. I use my boat as a boat, but also a portable holiday venue - I don't see that as a problem, after all - it's mine and I'll do what I want with it!!
Heckler
Well-Known Member
Here Here!'TV? Get a 12v one
Kettle? Use the gas stove - quicker, silent, facility already there
Battery charger? With properly set-up charging system, separate engine start battery and decent domestic capacity you won't need it. If you do, start the engine for 30 mins max, rather than the genny for 4 hours
Hairdrier? Get a 12v one
Laptop? Get a 12v adaptor (Maplins)
Heating? Fit a proper boat heater
Virtually anything and everything else - buy 12v equivalents. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can get most things from caravan & camping suppliers.'
Yeah, but... it's horses for courses really isn't it? I use my boat 90% of the time on the Thames, and (for example..) go to the Henley Music Festival every year on the boat, where she spends the most part of a week stationary. 12v Won't run my microwave. 12v won't heat my water. 12v doesn't actually last that long with no support (440Ah domestic bank..) And there is no way I'm running and bore glazing a 5.5l TD engine for an hour under no load (because a 50Ah alternator on a 306BHP engine is NOT a load..) every day to top up the batteries and provide a shower / washing up etc... Even if I did, it is FAR more antisocial than a purring genny (think clouds of unburnt diesel / smell / booming noise..)
If you need a genny, you need one. If you only ever go on the boat when it's actually moving, yes, you can get by without one. I use my boat as a boat, but also a portable holiday venue - I don't see that as a problem, after all - it's mine and I'll do what I want with it!!
I stay on a pile mooring, genny is the way to go.
Stu
Pincoya
Well-Known Member
Big vote for a Honda 2000i. I cruised with one and used it daily to fully top up batteries on my 45' boat. There are dozens of Americans cruising in Mexico with them, quiet and efficient. I sold mine to a friend who cruises in The Sea of Cortez each summer and he is delighted with it, his wife more so.
I presently have an inboard Northern Lights genset and sometimes wish I had retained the Honda for a back up and shore use.
Paul
I presently have an inboard Northern Lights genset and sometimes wish I had retained the Honda for a back up and shore use.
Paul
saltwater_gypsy
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 13 Jan 2008
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- Now back in Scotland . Boat for sale
Do not despair! If you shop around you can get a low wattage kettle (as low as 600w). I had a fast boil kettle that was blowing marina fuses too often but now I have a slow boil but a quieter life!
Anthony
Well-Known Member
Be careful, alot of the erlectronic battery chargers are very sensitive to the quality of mains supply.
I have seen a few go bang (mainly their large caps) whilst running on suitcase style generators.
I am sure there are lots of people who will reply and say 'I run mine on one and it works fine' thats great, not lookig to start an argument, just voicing a note of caution from experience. Basically the output from these types of generators is not always a pure sinewave, its often more of a modified one like a low spec inverter, I have founbf it can also vary if the engine isnt running smoothly (yes even with the digital inverter units).
Ants