Which Generator?

[simonjames]

I am thinking of buying a Princess 415 which doesn't have a generator fitted. Can anyone advise me on which manufacturer makes the best/cost effective generator and roughly how much it will cost. Will a 6Kva be large enough to power a ceramic hob,oven and microwave. The boat will be kept on a marina therefore shore power will be available for battery charging. Is it advisable to buy secondhand if so from where? I am sorry to be longwinded but we are thinking of putting an offer on this boat and I have to roughly cost this out as I consider a generator is essential for our cruising needs.

Many Thanks in Anticipation

Simon

 

[Doffy]

I have a 6kva on our 440, all electric its a westerbeke beware of the smaller ones single pots some have only a life of 100hrs before liner and rings need doing, although can be done in a morning.

Do you really need one its a couple of hunderd pounds of weight which will hurt the 415 with 306's.

Do you know anything of the TAMD 61a's?

 

[simonjames]

Nothing at all only that they are old technology. I own a garage which as well as accident repairs does servicing and m.o.t.s so I know the basics of diesel automotive engines and I am led to believe this technology is 0f the late 70's. I therefore presume they are very bulky and heavy compared to newer technology. If you have any info or tips etc I would be very grateful as I was close to buying the boat. The thing which worries me is that I have looked at 7 boats mainly 415's, and none have been as immaculate as this one she really is original and v tidy but I don't want to make a decision I may later regret.

 

[Greg2]

We looked at gennies at the Boat Show - we were told the more than 6Kva (more like 9Kva)would be required to run what you want to run, by the people on the Panda stand. Thier prices seem exorbitant - around £9k - although it was clear that substantial discounts are apparantly the norm. I understand that they are amongst the best.

 

[Doffy]

It's always a good sign if shes been kept well, the engines are big lumps but if they have been oil changed every year and the do not show oil leaks expect some small drips.
Look under engines to see whats dripping, I did give some details in earlier post on PRINCESS, the other boat to look at is the 385 slighly more dated but still a 42ft boat and the same layout, again 306's are the one s to have.
check all the alarm/lights work, take the baot for a run at full cruising speed for at least 15 min and at full power for 1min if the sellers are unwilling walk away. watch the lower helm gauges as they are more accurate (less connections)

 

[Doffy]

http://www.princessownersclub.com/
Have a look there several 415 owners on site.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

It would be nice to have a 6Kva gennie not only because of the greater power output but because it will be driven by a 2 or 3 cylinder engine which will be much smoother and quieter than a single cylinder engine which you will find in a 4Kva or smaller. I think a 4Kva is enough to power one appliance at a time (eg either a microwave or a hair dryer) but not 2 appliances and certainly not aircon. A 4Kva will cost £4-5k fitted whereas a 6Kva may cost double that fitted
I would consider the 4Kva because I guess you dont want to drive aircon and you can probably place it in the lazarette where it should'nt be too intrusive
You could look at suppliers like HFL, Panda and Mase for 4Kva gennies or Westerbeke and Onan for larger ones

 

[Bandit]

A generator will cost you £ 5 to £9K and will add say 100kg in weight and take up a large chunk of the lazarette or engine room by the time you have space around it to maintain the thing.

I have a similar size boat in CI and apart from the fact that I cant use a microwave or TV while not on shore power which is not an issue because i dont have them on the boat, my battery power is adequate to last a night or so with modest use and the fridge turned off and anyway almost all mobos use marinas fro overnight stops when away.

A starter battery at about £300 will start your engines from dead, a camping gaz lantern will provide enough light for an evening aboard and is cheap, if you intend to occasionaly anchor a small portable petrol generator about £700 will keep your batteries up.

I carry a starter battery, a camping gaz lantern and a second shore power lead.

In a marina with a generator running you are persona non gratia.

consider an invertor if you want occasional 240v power while at anchor.

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: Which Generator? Re: everybody

I have a 5Kw engine mounted alternator with double row belt. The alternator is no bigger than a Class A (lorry) sized low voltage unit. The associated "control box" is about the size of a decent battery charger. Total weight (guess) 20Kg or less. It has been geared to give full power at 1500rpm. This particular model is no longer available over here, but others are.

Failing that good old Beta marine do a range of generators, but the soundproof casings make them a bit large for a small boat.

 

[admillington]

Consider an Onan - this is what Princess fit as stanard on the larger models. I have a 7KVA on my Fairline and it has a 3 pot Kubota engine and it is excellent. The backup service is very very good - I had a problem on a 4 KVA unit on a previous boat that was 2 years old and they replaced it with a new one!!

The warranty is 5 years.

 

[Piers]

Onan, Quiet, solid, and reliable. Around the 6kva (there's a 7Kva model) they use Kubota engines.

"6kva for...a ceramic hob,oven and microwave?" - Add all the wattage the appliances take, divide by 1000 for Kw, and then (if I remember properly) multiply this answer by 1.2 to convert from Kw to Kva. You will need a small margin on top of this as well for the general losses in the wiring etc.

It's always better to be slightly over rather than under.

Servicing is simple and easy.

Onan marine

 

[woodie1000]

Simon,

We had a 7Kw MasterVolt fitted to our last Fairline. The generator itself was excellent (quiet) and was enough to run cockpit bbq, microwave & kettle. In other words enough capacity for most things.

However, I couln't recommend the UK dealer/installation company GenAcis. The installation was botched and we had several problems that they were slow and difficult about following up on (despite the gennie being in warranty). Expect to pay ca. 10k for a 7kw installed.

We're taking delivery of a new fairline with the onan gennie in a few weeks so will be able to comment on that then!

Adam