I’m thinking of getting a generator

The ebersplutter is far cheaper to run for water heating, much quieter and far quicker.
Also avoids issues with CO, doesn't require a separate tank of fuel, can safely be used underway.

But it's a negative on battery charge of course.
 
Thanks all. I think I will dispense with the Ginny idea and look at the webasto water heater and solar power as suggested by Star-Lord and others

can anyone recommend a solar power person in the Southampton area who can either a) provide very simple advice and the right parts at a sesnsible price and/ or
b) fit it for me please?

actually while we are at it a marine electrician who goes up masts, my tricoloure is no longer three colours and is 270 degrees of one colour.
 
If your main application is going to be water heating there is a Chinese combo blown air + water heater now. Not so useful in midsummer, but then there are solar showers etc

 
Homer J said:
What output would I need it to be to have enough grunt to run the hot water heater? Also to charge the batteries.

what is the etiquette for running one in an anchorage?

can anyone recommend a very quiet one?
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3.5 kW is about the same as you get from marina 16A shorepower. So if you don’t have aircon this is all you need.
With a water separator exhaust and silencer it is almost inaudible outside the boat and much quieter than an eberspacher. So use your common sense but not much etiquette needed.
Mines a whisperpower. But the noise is all about the exhaust and the installation.
i don’t have gas onboard so mines a great solution for cooking as well as hot water and battery charging.
 
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RupertW said:
Generators can be pretty quiet for those on board but very noisy and smelly to boats downwind.

Etiquette - doesn’t really matter - you will be despised the moment you start it to the moment you leave the anchorage.
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Only with a poor installation. You wouldn’t know about a decent install so wouldn’t despise them.
The key is a water separator exhaust and a decent silencer. The above water outlet is just to relieve back pressure to what is a very tiny engine, and the rest goes unheard underwater.
 
Elessar said:
Only with a poor installation. You wouldn’t know about a decent install so wouldn’t despise them.
The key is a water separator exhaust and a decent silencer. The above water outlet is just to relieve back pressure to what is a very tiny engine, and the rest goes unheard underwater.
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I think that what is being discussed here are air cooled portable generators.
 
I would second the Hydronic water heater. Just installed mine and it is very effective and pretty quiet (note, not solent). If you are prepared for the work involved it is a really good addtion.

Solar is definitely the way to charge batteries - a solar arch is ideal to do the job properly.

I dont use my 8KW genset very much now. It was always a very slow and noisy way of charging the batteries, but very good at making hot water. There is no substiute if you do have other hight load electrical appliances, however. I have a washing machine, tumble dryer, water maker, A/C and compressor and these do require the Genset when not on mains power. I suspect the Genset is only imperative in remote locations and spending lots of time on the hook mind you. Even with a huge inverter and equally huge bank you will not run many of these appliances for long, and then there is still an equally huge amoutn fo amps to put back into the bank.

Touch wood my Genset had proved very reliable, BUT keeping on top of the maintenance is vital. A marine Genset can be installed so the discharge is under the hull and I doubt anyone can hear mine. They are about as noisy as the engine at low revs. in the cabin even well sound proofed.
 
Elessar said:
3.5 kW is about the same as you get from marina 16A shorepower. So if you don’t have aircon this is all you need.
With a water separator exhaust and silencer it is almost inaudible outside the boat and much quieter than an eberspacher. So use your common sense but not much etiquette needed.
Mines a whisperpower. But the noise is all about the exhaust and the installation.
i don’t have gas onboard so mines a great solution for cooking as well as hot water and battery charging.
Click to expand...


I have had three generators, all were perfectly reliable and trouble free and all performed very useful service.
1. Kawasaki 800W from 1977. Small four stroke. Simple, ear splittingly noisy, worked really well as emergency power when motorbike racing. And ran all the fairy lights and disco at our 25th anniversary party! Too for from the house for mains power.

2. Kipor 2600. Powered our battery charger and immersion on our boat without any trouble. Fairly quiet, smelly downwind. Inexpensive and was totally reliable for the three years we used it. Quite heavy - but I am getting on a bit!

3. Westerbeke 8KW Diesel Genset. An ebay bargain, in working order but scruffy and obviously maintained by the crew of the trip boat it came off. Cost under 500 quid. After renovation, purchasing essential stuff and insulation under 1600 quid installed.
I purchased an oversize silencer and a custom made sound blanket - it was an open Genset - and now it is very quiet from outside the boat, noisier inside. It is EXACTLY what we needed. We run it for an hour each day, it gives a tank of hot water and charges our 600AH battery bank while heating the water. Noisiest thing outside is the splashing of the water from the exhaust.

A fixed 1500 RPM Genset is by far the best, but not always a possibility on smaller craft. A Westerbeke like ours new would cost well over 10K, so not a cheap option either.
A friend here in Wellington has just found two Fischer Panda 3000 RPM sets for under a $1000 NZ - about 500 quid. One looks good, it had a hole in the exhaust manifold, now repaired. The other, the engine has a serious oil leak. Not the most reliable units I understand, but they were the right price. We are going to get the better one going this week and test it for output. Then, when working properly, he can tidy it up - new fuel and coolant hoses etc.

As another poster said, running a portable noisy genset in a marina or anchorage will not make you popular. Ellesar and I can get away with it as ours are quiet.
 
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Elessar said:
Only with a poor installation. You wouldn’t know about a decent install so wouldn’t despise them.
The key is a water separator exhaust and a decent silencer. The above water outlet is just to relieve back pressure to what is a very tiny engine, and the rest goes unheard underwater.
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That’s what all people who can’t hear their own generators say
 
RupertW said:
That’s what all people who can’t hear their own generators say
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So I was sure not to unreasonably annoy others in a quiet anchorage or alongside without shore power I took the dinghy out with the Genset running.

As I said in post # 28, the noisiest bit from the exhaust is the water splashing out.

A very light rumble from the Port side at approx 20 metres, nothing from Starboard as the Genset is in its garage, thoughtfully provided by Island Packet for that very purpose. Directly astern a light rumble at approx 15 metres.

Far noisier onboard than from outside. I shall put sound insulation under the sole above the Generator Garage which might help to make it quieter onboard.

Three years use now no complaints. If alongside with no shore power we always let our Port side neighbour know that we will be running the Genset for hot water at breakfast time.

Not very early these days................................
 
If you just want hot water, how about a few of these draped on deck, fitted with a very low power pump or arranged so that they thermal syphon and plumbed into the calorifier with some bayonet fittings: Intex Solar Heating Mat PVC 1.2x1.2m Black Hot Water Energy Sun Heater Panel 8718475992554 | eBay

Or far better, one of these: Solar Water Heater, Water Hot Water Heating, Evacuated Tube Panel | eBay

If, really, you want electricity I'd go for one of these and a big solar panel(s): 12V 300W 1inch Immersion Water Heater Solar Power Electric Tube Heating Element | eBay
 
Iliade said:
If you just want hot water, how about a few of these draped on deck, fitted with a very low power pump or arranged so that they thermal syphon and plumbed into the calorifier with some bayonet fittings: Intex Solar Heating Mat PVC 1.2x1.2m Black Hot Water Energy Sun Heater Panel 8718475992554 | eBay

Or far better, one of these: Solar Water Heater, Water Hot Water Heating, Evacuated Tube Panel | eBay

If, really, you want electricity I'd go for one of these and a big solar panel(s): 12V 300W 1inch Immersion Water Heater Solar Power Electric Tube Heating Element | eBay
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I can see those working well in an average summer! Plus we use our boat early and late in the year when the sun is often absent.

Our boat has room on the pilot house roof for 6x150W solar panels. So, 900W .

So, fit them, with all the hassles of brackets, wiring, regulators and inverters or use a specific space incorporated into the design of the vessel for a diesel Genset..

It was a no brainer for me!
 
Baggywrinkle said:
My (small) Honda generator has become obsolete since fitting solar - and any significant load makes it audible three anchorages away - on the plus side, I can tell when the toast has popped because the generator goes quiet.
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The Honda is the best of the bunch by far. Quiet as they are they are still obtrusive in certain conditions.

It is sobering that when RKJ did his RTW solo he used a Norton Villiers air cooled two stroke engine driving a dynamo. When the exhaust broke it nearly gassed him.

IMHO, it is either or. Solar or a 1500 RPM Genset. For us anyway.

Further South, solar would be my choice. Here in Wellington our Kiwi boat has 260AH's of battery. 40W of solar keeps them around 12.9v - 13.6v depending on sunlight levels. We are not having a sunny summer this year - warm, but not sunny.
Leaving for the far North early Feb. for a camping and fishing trip. More sun there, semi tropical. The big Snapper and Kingfish live up in the far north...............
 
FWIW I have asked a few other sailors if they can hear our Genset when we have been rafted (so you cant get closer). They said they couldnt. Good enough for me. It is just about silent. It is reasonably loud in the downstairs saloon, not so bad you wouldnt want to run it, but the noise is definitely there, I can hear it on deck, but it is a dull backround rumble, cant hear it on the boat next door, or anything of the discharge.
 
I have not read through this post but a daft (?) idea that has frequently cropped up in my mind is to run the genny under water.

The scheme would need a bit of ingenuity to contrive a sealed watertight enclosure and an air feed and exhaust connection.

Before pooh poohing it, compare with a divers kit.
 
Graham_Wright said:
I have not read through this post but a daft (?) idea that has frequently cropped up in my mind is to run the genny under water.

The scheme would need a bit of ingenuity to contrive a sealed watertight enclosure and an air feed and exhaust connection.

Before pooh poohing it, compare with a divers kit.
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Given the way we hear ships moving half a mile away when we're moored, I doubt it would help much?
 
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