What small generator

Maurice55

Maurice55

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Hello everybody,
I am considering buying a small generator (Just found a cheap mooring with no shore power).
Is there any make/type/ model better than others ?
I want something rather small, but above all something reliable.
Any suggestion ?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers.
Maurice.

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I've had a Kawasaki suitcase style generator for about 10 years, 700w, reasonably light, quiet and very reliable. The new Honda invertor technology gennies look very impressive, very light and extremely quiet. Check prices and comparisons by doing a google search, there's also a big difference in prices so choose carefully.

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Depends on what type you want, portable petrol? Installed diesel? What output? Air or water cooled? Give me some more details please.

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eBay is a good source for cheap 2-stroke generators. Made in China, but mine has worked at first pull for the last year. 600w continuous rating for about £120. At that price you could buy five for the price of a Honda!

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I have a small Honda petrol four stroke generator which seems very reliable ( I run it very infrequently but it always starts easily) and reasonably quiet. The latest model delivers about 3.5 Amps at 220v and about 8 amps at 12 volts and weighs about 12 Kg. Snags are 1. They are petrol (I drain mine before stowing it in the cockpit locker and keep a small petrol reserve in plastic "can" on deck), 2. Exhaust fumes - when running the genny has to be sited so that fumes do not flow into the interior of the boat, 3. Noise, whilst quiet, you do notice the noise and I do dislike making noise in a quiet anchorage. I keep mine mainly as an insurance, so that if the starter battery goes flat I can always recharge it by using the genny. Have you considered solar panels?

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What do you intend using it for? If you have power tools in mind I suggest that you look at nothing less than 2 kVA (about 1600 watts). Buy something with a Honda 4 stroke engine and you won't regret it. I wouldn't bother with a Honda badged generator - expensive and no better than others fitted with the same engines IMHO.

I suggest you try www.generators.co.uk. They carry a full range at the keenest prices I found when I was buying a year ago. I am still pleased with the 2.8 kVA I bought from them then.

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I bought a brand new one at the Esssex boat jumble on Sunday 1000 watt 240v and a built in 10 amp 12v charger, so you can charge the batteries without the need for a seperate charger. It has a Honda OHV engine in it too.
Cost - £195, which I thought was quiet reasonable.

Thanks
Mike.

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Thank you everybody,
Good tips and good questions to ask myself before I buy.
I'm quite busy launching the boat a week earlier than I thought (crane aviability)
so Genny is on the back burner for a few days !! But a least now I know what I'm looking for.
Cheers.
Maurice.

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