Generator or Inverter ?

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Jim@sea

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I need to use some power tools on a boat in particular a 240v Orbital Sander.
Where the boat is there is no power supply.
Rather than buying a small generator is there something that I can plug into the cigarette lighter socket which would convert 12v to 240v with sufficient power to work an orbital sander.
Or can anyone recommend a cheap portable generator.
 
Jim@sea said:
I need to use some power tools on a boat in particular a 240v Orbital Sander.
Where the boat is there is no power supply.
Rather than buying a small generator is there something that I can plug into the cigarette lighter socket which would convert 12v to 240v with sufficient power to work an orbital sander.
Or can anyone recommend a cheap portable generator.
Click to expand...

Cigarette lighter sockets are usually rated at 16A max, which isn't enough to run an inverter for an orbital sander. You'd need to hard-wire the inverter to the battery bank with meaty cables. A typical 400W orbital sander connected to an inverter will draw about 40A from the batteries, so you'd need to consider how long you'd be using the sander and whether the battery capacity is sufficient.
 
Will you want to use the genny ( on board or elsewhere) in the future? Could you spend the money on solar power to charge the batteries for your present needs? using a sander sounds like you may be doing a lengthy job so perhaps a genny is the answer. There are plenty of cheapos around but would a better investment be a better quality ( and kinder on the ear drums)?
 
Machine Mart do Clarke generators that are best classified as cheap and cheerful: this one for example is just over a£100 and will provide you with enough power for your sander Clarke G720 2 Stroke Petrol Generator - Machine Mart - Machine Mart. Downside is that it’s noisy at 91dB compared to the 50dB or so of a Honda: but they come in at nearly £900 (Honda EU10i 230V 1kW Petrol Driven Inverter Generator - Machine Mart - Machine Mart).
There a midpoint Clarke inverter generator which is quieter at just over £200 Clarke IG950B 800W Inverter Generator - Machine Mart - Machine Mart but about the same output as the cheapest one.
For a one off project, I’d be tempted to get cheapest of the Clarke generators. For longer term use, especially at anchor, I’d go for either the Clarke inverter generator (cheap but as it’s an inverter has smoother power delivery, but it’s still noisy) or the Honda (expensive but quiet).
 
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Certainly when I was doing refit work in a yard without power I used a cheap and cheerful Machine Mart open-frame genny, a 3kW 4-stroke one on wheels. It was noisy, but I used to tuck it behind the semi-abandoned hulks along the edge of the yard, with the exhaust pointing away at the scrapheap across the mud, and run an extension cable over to the boat. I abused that generator for four or five years (leaving it in the rain, never changing the oil) and it still started first pull and ran smoothly.

Unless the sander is very small like peteK's I wouldn't try to do this off batteries.

Pete
 
I've been gathering cordless powertools for the boat as I can charge the batteries with a small inverter. Same brand so they share batteries and 12v because you never know when you might need a bit of 12v on board. Ive already made an adapter so I could power my vhf in an emergency.
 
The two stroke generators are not reliable, difficult to start after a while. The modern four stroke small genies (like the one suggested above) are generally much more reliable and lightweight and good to have on a boat.
 
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