Dockhead
Well-Known Member
We have a 1500RPM Kohler 6.5kW genset. It lives in a sound enclosure in our engine space. It runs on a Yanmar 1,000cc three cylinder diesel which lopes along without any stress. It's important to note emphasize that 1500 rpm gensets not only make less noise, last longer and so forth, but the frequency of the noise they make is much more pleasant. So far we haven't had a bit of trouble with it (touch wood). It's so quiet that you are not really even aware of its running if you in the cockpit; down below the sound is not obtrusive -- just a soft, pleasant, muffled rumble. But it's not only a 1500 rpm set, it is in its own sound enclosure, which is enclosed in the main engine space which is also sealed and sound insulated, so it's got double sound insulation.
A permanently installed genset is a nice thing to have on a cruising boat. You've got AC power whenever you want it and you never have to abuse your main engine to charge batteries. You can live like you do at home -- washing machine, microwave, electric kettle, air conditioning -- no problem, if you want it (cue the canned speech which someone will no doubt give right now about how we've lost our way, and this is not cruising as God intended it, we don't need any of this ****, etc.). If you have the right kind of battery charger (it's got to be big enough to load the genset and charge the batteries within a reasonable run time), you can do a lot better job managing your batteries.
I second the statement about guests on board. Living without a generator requires certain habits concerning energy use which are inconvenient for non-sailors. Having a genset on board (and really big water tanks) makes it much easier to make your guests comfortable.
But the list of items of expensive kit which are "nice things to have on a cruising boat" is as long as your arm. It's certainly not necessary; we lived pretty happily for a couple of decades with no generator at all (and our forefathers were happy with no electrical power at all -- paraffin lamps). A big battery bank, inverter, solar and wind, and good battery management, will also give you plenty of power; you just have to live a little differently.
The suitcase petrol genset is certainly a good option for most people -- certainly vastly better cost to utility ratio than a fixed diesel genset. Did anyone mentioned how quiet the Honda suitcases are. But I think it's dangerous to store petrol, including petrol which is inside a generator, in a locker which is not vented downward to the atmosphere and sealed off from your main interior volumes. Much less would I permanently mount it in such a place. Remember petrol vapours behave much like cooking gas -- they are heavier than air. It would only take a little dribble of petrol to produce a cloud of explosive vapour in your bilge, capable of blowing your boat to smithereens.
So if you go that route, I would recommend keeping it in a lazarette or some other space which is not connected with your bilge, and setting up on your foredeck like the other guy who posted here.
A permanently installed genset is a nice thing to have on a cruising boat. You've got AC power whenever you want it and you never have to abuse your main engine to charge batteries. You can live like you do at home -- washing machine, microwave, electric kettle, air conditioning -- no problem, if you want it (cue the canned speech which someone will no doubt give right now about how we've lost our way, and this is not cruising as God intended it, we don't need any of this ****, etc.). If you have the right kind of battery charger (it's got to be big enough to load the genset and charge the batteries within a reasonable run time), you can do a lot better job managing your batteries.
I second the statement about guests on board. Living without a generator requires certain habits concerning energy use which are inconvenient for non-sailors. Having a genset on board (and really big water tanks) makes it much easier to make your guests comfortable.
But the list of items of expensive kit which are "nice things to have on a cruising boat" is as long as your arm. It's certainly not necessary; we lived pretty happily for a couple of decades with no generator at all (and our forefathers were happy with no electrical power at all -- paraffin lamps). A big battery bank, inverter, solar and wind, and good battery management, will also give you plenty of power; you just have to live a little differently.
The suitcase petrol genset is certainly a good option for most people -- certainly vastly better cost to utility ratio than a fixed diesel genset. Did anyone mentioned how quiet the Honda suitcases are. But I think it's dangerous to store petrol, including petrol which is inside a generator, in a locker which is not vented downward to the atmosphere and sealed off from your main interior volumes. Much less would I permanently mount it in such a place. Remember petrol vapours behave much like cooking gas -- they are heavier than air. It would only take a little dribble of petrol to produce a cloud of explosive vapour in your bilge, capable of blowing your boat to smithereens.
So if you go that route, I would recommend keeping it in a lazarette or some other space which is not connected with your bilge, and setting up on your foredeck like the other guy who posted here.
