Inverter or generator

P

paul salliss

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 Sep 2010
Messages
1,037
Location
Sevenoaks
Visit site
Have you gone for an inverter and regretted going the whole hog, or perhaps spent big money on a full gen set and wished you had saved pounds and gone the other way.

I am not sure which way to go ?
 
Depends what you want.

I have had an inverter and it was great as far as it went as for not much money off eBay I was able to boil a kettle, make toast and run the microwave - but not together.

I used to run the engine if I needed more than a few minutes.

I now have a genset which was factory fit with the boat as it is in the mec, ac etc. it is great.

Now if I did not need ac and I did not have a genset would I buy one? No. Get an inverter and another house battery.
 
paul salliss said:
Have you gone for an inverter and regretted going the whole hog, or perhaps spent big money on a full gen set and wished you had saved pounds and gone the other way.

I am not sure which way to go ?
Click to expand...
Horses for courses. I had an inverter on my previous boat, worked great for us overnight. I have a gennie on my Snazi, and it is fantastic. I have power wherever we go now.
 
Benefits of inverter:
- takes up very little space
- does not need costly servicing
- does not need winterising
- no emissions
- quiet
- much cheaper to buy / install

Drawbacks of inverter
- Limited run-time
- Cannot charge batteries (in any practical way, that is)
- Cannot power heavy-usage stuff e.g. AC for long
- May need pure sinewave inverter for some equipment - more expensive

Personally, I chose an inverter to run the Nespresso for the 26-odd seconds it takes per cup plus a small 1kW portable generator to me out of trouble. I can move the generator between boats and I can take it home and use it as back-up there e.g. during winter.
 
Last edited:
Depends on how you use your boat. If you regularly spend nights at anchor, I wouldn't want to be without a gennie. A few hours of cabin lights, fridges, TV, anchor light + inverter use on top will soon drain the batteries. On the other hand, if you spend every night in a marina and just anchor on the odd occasion for lunch, you could probably cope happily with just an inverter. Of course as jrudge says, if you're planning on using ac, a gennie is a must
 
Personally feel that a gen set can open up a whole new set of possibilities - but it depends on you and the boat. We often use pontoons with no power, (hello Fowey :) ), and bouys for overnighters...the genny gives us heat, hob, water and a guaranteed start in the morning but as someone has said, its horses for courses...
 
Our boat came with a 2kW inverter fitted as standard - the generator would have been an optional extra. I did give some thought to upgrading to the gennie, but decided against it on cost grounds. I'm glad I did since, in practice we have seldom used the inverter. Computers, phones, TV - all run directly off 12v - the only things we have actually used the inverter for is making a few slices of toast and my wife did run the sewing machine for a while when at anchor.
 
OB is my first boat with a genny set (RN Destroyers and Frigates notwithstanding), great to have but I worry I am annoying other boats nearby when I most want to use it, e.g a quiet night at anchor in Newtown Creek. Most places else we have shore power, or coming from a Raggie background can generally manage without power, although I must admit the kids really struggle without Wifi let alone 240 volts !

Also when it packed up last Winter fixing it was a PIA for spare parts at sensible prices, although I eventually found these.

So total run hours in two seasons - precisely 6. Run hours just to keep the thing useable, of the 6 total approx 3. I guess an inverter and extra battery is likely a lot cheaper !
 
superheat6k said:
I must admit the kids really struggle without Wifi let alone 240 volts !
Click to expand...

Don't make the mistake I did. I installed 3G/wifi internet and the kids each have a laptop... so our last Newtown Creek weekend turned into a 24hour Minecraft-fest...

They keep asking me when we can go again... I have a cold and it's friggin cold out there now!

At least I have willing crew, now :-)
 
superheat6k said:
OB is my first boat with a genny set (RN Destroyers and Frigates notwithstanding), great to have but I worry I am annoying other boats nearby when I most want to use it, e.g a quiet night at anchor in Newtown Creek. Most places else we have shore power, or coming from a Raggie background can generally manage without power, although I must admit the kids really struggle without Wifi let alone 240 volts !

Also when it packed up last Winter fixing it was a PIA for spare parts at sensible prices, although I eventually found these.

So total run hours in two seasons - precisely 6. Run hours just to keep the thing useable, of the 6 total approx 3. I guess an inverter and extra battery is likely a lot cheaper !
Click to expand...

Trouble with the R.N. frigate/destroyer set up (as I remember) was whenever they flashed up the "standby genny" the whole boat vibrated, the lights dimmed and my oppos took the opportunity to pocket a packet of my Blue a Liners whilst in total darkness!!........(Ardent, Scylla and Broadsword)...........whilst now, with my little 9.5 Onan.......it flashes up almost silently, with little or no vibration........and is man enough to keep all of the toys onboard working.........servicing costs are minimal!!..........and SWMBO thinks it's the best thing onboard..............apart from the new Xmas tree on the Flybridge

and and inflated reindeer pulling Santa across the foredeck!!
 
EugeneR said:
Benefits of inverter:
- takes up very little space
- does not need costly servicing
- does not need winterising
- no emissions
- quiet
- much cheaper to buy / install

Drawbacks of inverter
- Limited run-time
- Cannot charge batteries (in any practical way, that is)
- Cannot power heavy-usage stuff e.g. AC for long
- May need pure sinewave inverter for some equipment - more expensive

Personally, I chose an inverter to run the Nespresso for the 26-odd seconds it takes per cup plus a small 1kW portable generator to me out of trouble. I can move the generator between boats and I can take it home and use it as back-up there e.g. during winter.
Click to expand...

How do you run a portable generater safely?
 
I've never under stud why folk stopped using gas. It's cheap, available and never breaks down.
We had a little inverter, it charged phones and stuff. But, In winter and cold. We would get the little Honda generator out.

It was mostly a good few yards away. No one there so no bother.
for anything bigger
I could never see a need. Ok we had no hot water, after the first shower in the morning. Is that such am big deal.
 
This has been very useful feedback so thank you, I have learned a lot from reading the replies.

Each to their own, but popping from our marina, to just spend time in another marina 10 NM away is losing its appeal, I want to change the way we go boating next year, perhaps a gen set is the way to go
 
Would you go new or consider used genset? I'm looking for a used one about 4-6kw as my boat came without one. I fitted a used Ficher Panda on another boat about 4 years ago cost me about £4k and worked well so looking to do this again.
 
paul salliss said:
How do you run a portable generater safely?
Click to expand...

I still have my portable from my previous boat. I used to put it on the pontoon and lash it to a cleat or on the swim platform tied to the ladder. If you can smell the fumes then you need to move it. I sometimes had to put it on the foredeck, but it was noisy through the deck.

If you are going to use it a lot then fit a CO alarm too.

I made a patch lead to plug into the shore power supply point with proper female (fully shielded) lead connector, as I hate double ended exposed plugs, although I must confess to having one at home (kept in a remote cupd in my workshop out of everyone else's way) for emergency connection if the lights go out.

Note that many of the smaller (3-4kva) gensets are generics of the Paguro by VTE, all using the Farymann engine, so worth shopping around for Fischer Panda, Westerbeke, Mastervolt, etc. Farymann parts are reasonably priced from non-marine diesel repair firms (no HAT - Hamble Added Tax)
 
Last edited:
hlb said:
I've never under stud why folk stopped using gas. It's cheap, available and never breaks down.
We had a little inverter, it charged phones and stuff. But, In winter and cold. We would get the little Honda generator out.

It was mostly a good few yards away. No one there so no bother.
for anything bigger
I could never see a need. Ok we had no hot water, after the first shower in the morning. Is that such am big deal.
Click to expand...

Hayden, it really depends how long you are anchored/moored. Overnight is fine for a decent domestic battery set, but any longer, and you need a recharge. Of course, you could use the engines, but a built in gennie is so easy to use. Ours is controlled from the helm, so no setting up, or carrying petrol, as it takes diesel from one of the tanks. No gas on our boat, so safer as well.
 
There's a Vetus GHS4 4kva listed on eBay at £1,200 starting price with a Buy it now of £2,000

This has the Farymann engine and looks like it could be worth a punt.

eBay Listing 131071435965
 
paul salliss said:
How do you run a portable generater safely?
Click to expand...

For us, outside eg swimming platform or pontoon with the exhaust pointing downwind. Many people use them, they are safe as long as you follow the instructions and use common sense, and know that your CO detectors work in case you get it wrong.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top