What Generator?

Jurgen

Jurgen

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Hi All,

Have been thinking of buying a portable Gerator as were starting to spend more time away from Marina Shore Power and dont like running the engines to keep the batteries topped up.

Main use as follows

Boil Electric Kettle
Charge Batteries
Heat Water in Calorfier

Budget is dictating what we can afford, have seen this Honda Generator on ebay but not sure if it's suitable for the above intended use?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-eu1...trial_Tools_Generators_ET&hash=item19de62dac1

Any thoughts please.

Many thanks

Andy
 
NO! The Eu10 is 1Kw and will not be up to the challenge (as many have found out)

You'll want the Eu20 which is 2Kw (and I think 2.6Kw peak)

I have the Eu20 and love it. OK, they ain't cheap, BUT are worth it in the long run. I loaned one to a friend with a big steel dutch cruiser last week and it powered his immersion no problem. Also his kettle... and even his missus' hair-dryer (not at the same time, mind)

If you can't stretch budget for a Honda Eu20, I think 'Kipor' do a cheaper version of them, but they may not be as silent. The noise the Honda's make will not lose you friends. You can hardly hear it if only charging batteries but it does make a bit of noise when a load is put on, but nothing off-putting

DON'T BUY THE 1KW VERSION, YOU'LL REGRET IT!
 
Thanks Alt, thought it might not be powerful enough but wanted advise, looks like we'll be relying on Marina's for a while yet lol or showering as soon as we drop the hook lol
 
I would go for something with a bigger output- say 2Kw The Honda, whilst a good piece of kit, only puts out about 1KW. The EU20i is better and probably the best and quietest portable on the market - but they cost :( We use a Kipor 2000 which is a Chinese copy of the Honda and about 1/3 the price. Not as quiet granted, but not bad and light enough to lift about the boat. Many on here have them. Ours is now in its 4th year and still works great. If you feel flush then the Honda is the best buy, if you just want a working unit that does the job reliably - then look at the Kipor.
 
Ripster said:
I would go for something with a bigger output- say 2Kw The Honda, whilst a good piece of kit, only puts out about 1KW. The EU20i is better and probably the best and quietest portable on the market - but they cost :( We use a Kipor 2000 which is a Chinese copy of the Honda and about 1/3 the price. Not as quiet granted, but not bad and light enough to lift about the boat. Many on here have them. Ours is now in its 4th year and still works great. If you feel flush then the Honda is the best buy, if you just want a working unit that does the job reliably - then look at the Kipor.
Click to expand...

Hi Ripster, is this the 1 you have?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kipor-IG2...curity-lock-/280869174845?hash=item41651b7e3d
 
Jurgen said:
Main use as follows

Boil Electric Kettle
Charge Batteries
Heat Water in Calorfier
Click to expand...

alt said:
NO! The Eu10 is 1Kw and will not be up to the challenge (as many have found out)

You'll want the Eu20 which is 2Kw

DON'T BUY THE 1KW VERSION, YOU'LL REGRET IT!
Click to expand...

There is a big difference in not only price between the 1 and 2 kw gennys, but also in physical size and weight.
You MAY get away with a 1 kw version as long as your kettle and immersion heater on the calorifier are are below 1000watts. Most are not, but some are, so you need to check the size of these components first. Some kettles are even more than 2000watts so would even trip a 2kw genny. I had a 1kw Kipor on my last boat and had a 1kw immersion and an 850w kettle so the genny was fine as long as I didn't run them both a the same time. Admittedly it took a long time to make a cup of tea ;)
 
I went for the kipor 2kw after much deliberation between that and the Honda 2.0 eu. Honda is slightly quieter than kipor but the price difference was hard to ignore. Purchased ours from same place as your eBay link, and although they also sell the Honda, they advised the kipor for our occasional use which is the same as your needs of batt charging, hot water. Thing to bear in mind these are classed as 2kw but give a continuous rating of 1.6kw, but this still fine as most hot immersion are 1kw or 1.5kw (worth checking though).
Ours is nice and light to lift, quite good with fuel, quiet under low loads but noticeably noisier when higher loads are applied. Availability of spares seems very good in uk. Overall no complaints so far.
 
Be aware, The Honda Eu20i is about 21kg, which is pretty heavy. I can move it about easy enough, but SWMBO would definitely struggle. I think the Eu10i is about 13kg, so much smaller, and more manoeuvrable.

Clearly, the smaller one isn't as powerful, but you can buy lower wattage kettles, toasters etc., it might have trouble heating water, but will be fine for charging batteries with even a fairly powerful charger e.g. 40a x 15V = 600W
 
Jurgen said:
Hi All,

Have been thinking of buying a portable Gerator as were starting to spend more time away from Marina Shore Power and dont like running the engines to keep the batteries topped up.

Main use as follows

Boil Electric Kettle
Charge Batteries
Heat Water in Calorfier

Budget is dictating what we can afford, have seen this Honda Generator on ebay but not sure if it's suitable for the above intended use?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-eu1...trial_Tools_Generators_ET&hash=item19de62dac1

Any thoughts please.

Many thanks

Andy
Click to expand...

I used to put an Eu21 on the bathing platform when we were staying out of marinas - until a pikey nicked it out of the boot of my car. As a cheapskate I replaced it with a chinese copy 1kw.

The Honda wins hands down. It's quiet and reliable. And in the world of Mrs E it will do 2 essential things that the 1kW won't - heat the calorifier and run a hair drier (not at the same time!) The 1kW was cheap but for me a waste of money.

Storage under way is the issue though. It's petrol so needs treating with extreme care. I used to keep it in the aft cabin, but we never stayed out of marinas with more that the 2 of us onboard, it still isn't ideal for safety reasons.
 
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+1 Honda EU20i for an ultra quiet portable geni.

On a previos boat the EU20i was so good I bought a second one for use about the farm. They come with 3pin sockets by default, but I changed ours to outdoor round pin so the shore power lead would connect and more weather proof. On the boat the EU20i had no prob charging batteries and boiling kettle, or calorifier but only the kettle and charger simultaneously. The 10yo one of the farm still works perfectly. They have a fuel tank good for about 10hrs. They use inverter technology to output AC
 
I have a Makita 1700I but have only used it the once so I have no real idea on performance- anyone on here any views on this one?
 
Weight is an issue, we have the Honda 1KW and it's dead easy to move around. I changed the immersion heater to 750w and boil the kettle using an Origo but you can get 700w kettles. The genny powers the battery charger and immersion together.
 
Looks like the kipor is an potion, they have a 2600 for around £550 which is within budget, there is no doubt that the Honda has a number of advantages but its beyond my budget so I can live with the additional noise for the short periods that we will use it
 
Jurgen said:
Looks like the kipor is an potion, they have a 2600 for around £550 which is within budget, there is no doubt that the Honda has a number of advantages but its beyond my budget so I can live with the additional noise for the short periods that we will use it
Click to expand...

I'm not one to thrown money about (cause I have none), BUT, if it were me, i'd save up the bit more to get the Honda Eu20. Honestly you won't regret it. And the noise may not bother you, but you could find yourself getting the stink-eye from others. That won't happen with the Honda.

I've no vested interest obviously just a very satisfied customer. Also, correct me if i'm wrong... but doesn't the Honda come with a 5 year warranty?
 
Let me know if you go for the Kipor one and I will walk round and see you - we have been thinking about one for 'Megara', but I'm a bit concerned about storing it in the available space. We are on C pontoon -might see you this weekend if you are around.

Mike
 
Jurgen

I remember looking at that one but it was fair bit heaver at 30kg compared to 22. Doesn't sound much, but it is like OBs - every kilo makes a difference humping it around the boat! If you haven't managed to see one or listen to one and want to in advance of buying, I am happy for you to come a see the 2000 I have so you can compare the quality and noise level with a Honda maybe. I am round at Darthaven, but won't be there until WE 13/14th July.
 
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Jurgen said:
Looks like the kipor is an potion, they have a 2600 for around £550 which is within budget, there is no doubt that the Honda has a number of advantages but its beyond my budget so I can live with the additional noise for the short periods that we will use it
Click to expand...

Andy - On Sunday morning (when we were rafted) when you were lying in your bed I was running a Honda EU20i from the fly-bridge, and it's my guess you never heard it. I used the Honda rather than the on-board genny simply because you would have been miffed if I'd have fired up the on-board "old thumper". I was conscious of the fact that noise is always an issue, and particularly so on a Sunday morning.
Having said that you probably didn't hear it that was because the coffee machine is only 1260w and doesn't demand power continuously. If I'd have switched the water heater on, you'd have definitely heard it. What i'm saying is, don't be fooled into thinking that the Honda genny is "silent" as it purports - it isn't when near it's maximum load.

....... and what were you doing till that time on Sunday morning anyway?!;)
 
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