Portable suitcase generators

[Graham376]

I got this make (mine is a 2800) to use as an emergency generator as my onboard one has decicided not to work, again.
It does seem reasonably quiet compared to most.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09GB61PCW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Looks good but my worry would be whether parts and warranty repairs available outside the UK, which isn't a worry with Honda in EU or worldwide. With customs problems these days, I wouldn't want anything with a return to UK base warranty.

 

[Bouba]

Just a note for those planning to buy a knock off brand...I prefer a pure sine wave...kinder on the electronics

 

[Nauti Fox]

From their website....."*Steady power: Pure sine wave,produces safe, clean stable power for sensitive devices "

 

[Bouba]

From their website....."*Steady power: Pure sine wave,produces safe, clean stable power for sensitive devices "

Yes, I saw that...which is why I brought the subject up...

 

[asteven221]

How many watts was your generator? I assume it was a fairly beefy one?

I can't really remember exactly, but it was a proper installation and most likely was installed by Sealine. It was beefy enough to run 2kw fan heaters and things like that without even thinking about it. I reckon it must have been around 3kw. It was a 2 cylinder Vetus generator. I can remember that, as it was another engine to service!!! That's the downside!

 

[asteven221]

I got this make (mine is a 2800) to use as an emergency generator as my onboard one has decicided not to work, again.
It does seem reasonably quiet compared to most.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09GB61PCW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That does look good. Pretty reasonable price too. The big question is how loud is it? I know that is a difficult question, but are you able to offer your thoughts on the amount of noise it produces? Is it usable on a mooring, or would it drive anyone around you nuts? Are you able to compare it to something like the Honda?

 

[Nauti Fox]

Very hard to quantify, would I use it in a busy anchorage to run domestics? no.
I have tried it out on the swim platform ( chained so it couldn't move) using the shore power lead and it doesn't sound too loud, but then on the boat you're shielded from the noise.
Whether it's louder than a Honda I don't know, unless you had them side by side and the same load applied It is impossible to tell, but it is a lot quieter than a Kipor suitcase I had for a previous boat.
I do think as has been said they're good backups if you somehow flatten the batteries.

 

[asteven221]

Thx for trying to describe the noise level.!!! From what your saying it sounds as if it might be worth a punt. At the price it seems good value and as you say I can always keep it as a backup for emergency lekky. If the price electricity goes up much more I will can always use it for my house.!!!!!

 

[Greenheart]

If, at anchor, one put a generator inside a snug watertight fibreglass enclosure, with snorkel and exhaust pipes, a good metre apart...

...and with bilge-blower fans within the ducts (served by the generator's output) delivering fresh air and shifting the exhaust...

...and assuming the set-up isn't attempted in rough conditions (when an on-deck generator might not be heard anyway)...

...the encapsulated running generator could then be lowered from davits, to sink under the water.

How much of the generator's noise would still escape through the inlet and exhaust ducts, to irritate those aboard, or the neighbours?

EDIT: By the way, I'm not trying to be funny. I may well be mistaken, but if a suspended or floating immersion unit for a free-standing generator could be made watertight, yet allow air exchange, wouldn't this be a huge noise reduction, beside a deck-based or below-deck generator?

 

[Momac]

Some of the suggestions above are quite alarming

A petrol generator should never be run with the generator standing on a boat . So a useless item for a boat at anchor.
Fitting a petrol generator inside a boat should not be considered .
https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/me...-of-using-generators-aboard_web-final_nov.pdf
.

 

[rotrax]

Horses for courses.

I have had a Kipor 2600 running for hours at a time on a sailboat deck. Far from any openings into the boat and always downwind.

You just have to be sensible, not frightened.

 

[Greenheart]

Some of the suggestions above are quite alarming

I've edited mine now, thanks. I hadn't explained the main point...the encapsulated generator would run underwater, behind the yacht.

It may be nuts, but not dangerous, I hope.

 

[oldharry]

Just one fatality is of course a tragedy, and to be avoided at all costs but I do find the nannyish worrying about the dangers of storing and using petrol on board unrealistic. But then I am of the generation where the old Seagull outboard was the height of sophistication. I defy anyone to fuel one of those afloat without frequent splashes and spills! You had to flood the carb with the ticklèr until it dripped petrol for a cold start, too! I cut my teeth on the old Stuart Turner inboards. They too could leak petrol like a good un! Some even had drip trays under the carb to catch the normal fuel spills! Yet somehow we managed to survive it all without blowing ourselves up!

Gas is equally flammable, yet how many of us still use it and below decks?

In any case, how many smaller mobos use petrol outboards still, particularly on inland water? Yet the H&S boys are getting in such a twist about having petrol aboard. Many of us carry a small petrol outboard for the dinghy nowadays anyway.

Far higher statistical chance of killing yourself in the car getting to and from the boat than all the collective risks of boating put together!

So what's the deal with carrying and using a Genny aboard? Apart from the antisocial idiots who leave theirs running in a peaceful anchorage, that is! Different issue anyway.

Running a Genny below decks without proper exhaust arrangements is just asking for it. It must be incredibly unpleasant with the fumes anyway, long before you pass out. One could almost suggest Darwinism applies if it wasn't such a tragedy.

I wasinvolved once in rescuing a live aboard youngster who ran a paraffin heater in his cabin, so know a bit what it's about.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I was once working on a boat in Lowestoft marina and the boat next door had a small petrol generator running on deck. The Co alarms went off on the boat i was working on.

 

[Bouba]

I was once working on a boat in Lowestoft marina and the boat next door had a small petrol generator running on deck. The Co alarms went off on the boat i was working on.

That is the problem...you can be the most safety conscience boater..but if your neighbors are improvident you can still wake up dead

 

[fredrussell]

Grumpy man alert. I have to say, if someone in the same anchorage as me chose to run a generator anywhere but inside their boat, I would be taking a trip over in the flubber to have a word. I’m a mellow sort of guy at heart, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

 

[Bouba]

Grumpy man alert. I have to say, if someone in the same anchorage as me chose to run a generator anywhere but inside their boat, I would be taking a trip over in the flubber to have a word. I’m a mellow sort of guy at heart, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

If you make someone operate their petrol generator inside isn’t that akin to manslaugher??‍

 

[Grith]

I use an eco flow delta max 2000w portable lithium battery pack in combination with very occasionally firing up my Honda eu2.2 generator. ( located in a stern facing, water proof when closed, box opening onto our swim platform). The eco flow has 168a of storage, a very fast computer controlled charger ( 20-80 percent in about 50 minutes), a 2400w sine wave inverter and a solar controller capable of handling 800w of solar panels.
This means the once every 2-3 days (depending on solar input) that I fire up the generator is done whilst motoring creating very little extra noise and no neighbour disturbance whatsoever as we are then totally silent at anchor.
We cook by electric inverter cooktop, have a compressor refrigerator and electric hotwater and occasionally use an electric fan heater and an electric blanket.
We have no LPG or propane on board and being outboard powered we cannot use a heat exchanger for hot water.
It all works great and the ecoflow delta max being totally portable and app remote controlled lives securely in an under settee berth (vented ) storage box which is anything but sinking waterproof and it can be easily removed to use as an uninterrupted power supply at home or transferred to our truck camper when camping on land rather than cruising by yacht.
I think this combination answers all the problems of suitcase generators, noise
and battery capability.
Our cruiser is only a 28 foot trailer sailer.
Second shot show remote control app screen on my phone. Full switching and parameter settings changes available by remote.
Eco flow shown in box before fitting under settee.

 

[Graham376]

If you make someone operate their petrol generator inside isn’t that akin to manslaugher??‍

Often a lesser sentence than for murder if he doesn't shut it up

I can't understand what all the fuss is about using generator on deck, we've done it occasionally for 30 years. I the boat swings or wind shifts, the exhaust fumes can be smelled long before they can become a danger.

 

[Bouba]

I use an eco flow delta max 2000w portable lithium battery pack in combination with very occasionally firing up my Honda eu2.2 generator. ( located in a stern facing, water proof when closed, box opening onto our swim platform). The eco flow has 168a of storage, a very fast computer controlled charger ( 20-80 percent in about 50 minutes), a 2400w sine wave inverter and a solar controller capable of handling 800w of solar panels.
This means the once every 2-3 days (depending on solar input) that I fire up the generator is done whilst motoring creating very little extra noise and no neighbour disturbance whatsoever as we are then totally silent at anchor.
We cook by electric inverter cooktop, have a compressor refrigerator and electric hotwater and occasionally use an electric fan heater and an electric blanket.
We have no LPG or propane on board and being outboard powered we cannot use a heat exchanger for hot water.
It all works great and the ecoflow delta max being totally portable and app remote controlled lives securely in an under settee berth (vented ) storage box which is anything but sinking waterproof and it can be easily removed to use as an uninterrupted power supply at home or transferred to our truck camper when camping on land rather than cruising by yacht.
I think this combination answers all the problems of suitcase generators, noise
and battery capability.
Our cruiser is only a 28 foot trailer sailer.
Second shot show remote control app screen on my phone. Full switching and parameter settings changes available by remote.
Eco flow shown in box before fitting under settee.
View attachment 142729View attachment 142730View attachment 142731

Very good…I love anything battery powered (Tesla, Torqeedo, ebike, escooter, lawnmower, leaf blower, drill, angle grinder) and I think the future of battery storage solutions are going to be very exciting