Why have a generator

[Guest]

Seems to me.. why would you want to go to the considerable expense, weight gain and running cost of a generator? Clearly the point is to give 240V when no shore power available but, with inverters and with 12v equipment available AND with most over night stopping places around the UK with shore power, it seems it would never get used and be just a big white elephant. OR AM I WRONG??

I am thinking about installing one in a Phantom 40- hence the interest.

 

[Guest]

get the largest invertor you can afford and a alternator booster and you can run virtually anything you really only need the gen if you cant get any shore power at all

 

[Guest]

see MBM this month doing an inverter review NM

see MBM this month doing an inverter review NM

 

[Guest]

Inverters are fine if you just want lighting, PC, TV etc. Totally useless if you have to run a microwave or any other form of cooking. Even at say the top end, eg 1kW, running at 90% effeciency on say 24V, that will be drawing 46 amps from your batteries- 2 hours at the most. Then you'll have to run your engines to re-charge, if you have no shore power.

I have a 6.5kVA generator, which is capable of running, a 4 ring electric hob, microwave and a washing machine- all together, Something you practically could not do via batteries. And of course I can do that anchored off shore.

To avoid running down the engine batteries, you would have to have a substantial service battery bank- ending up heavier than the generator.

Get an inverter for light loads, but a genny is worth it's weight for cooking.

 

[Guest]

Try running a domestic kettle off a generator!

There are only two good reasons for having a genny 1. You don't need to have gas installed 2. If you ever run your batteries low you can always run the genny and charge them up, assuming you have a battery charger

 

[Guest]

Ans try running air conditioning from an inverter!NM

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[Guest]

I have a 32 Ft Boat and I have a generator and an invertor. The inventor is great for running the TV and video in the evening (quiet mode) but it wacks the batteries.

The generator is great for the kettle, hair dryer, Ice maker, fridge, microwave, water heater etc. All the things that my wife expects to use at anytime.

Andrew

 

[Guest]

Sorry!- forgot - the kettle, immersion, clothes iron, soldering iron, power tools &- yes dear- the Hoover! - just a few more items that LOVE a genny while bobbing about on the waves. NM

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[Guest]

It depends on what you want to do.

We have no mains electricity, our inverter and generator do it all.

We use gas for cooking and boiling kettles and take our washing to the launderette. The only times we put the generator on - other than to charge the batteries - is to use the toaster, microwave, or electric tools. The deep freeze is set up to only operate when the genny is running.

That said I wouldn't want to cruise without a genny, simply because I want to know I can start the engine if the batteries do get low. For that purpose only you could buy one of the small 'suitcase' gennies.

If you decide you need to go down the installed genset road, do get a proper marine one - designed to work at various angles - with water cooled alternator. Weight need not be a problem, Lombardini (Sowester are agents) do a 6 kva 3000 rpm unit which only weighs 130 kgs. The 1500 rpm version(more economical to run) is 190 kg. Check their web site www.lombardinimarine.com

 

[Guest]

Depends what your requirements for 240 volts are.

If you have electric cooking or air conditioning then if you drop anchor or moor somewhere other than a marina e.g. Poole Town Quay, Lymington Town Quay, Newton Creek, Newton Ferrers etc.etc. it becomes quite useful. Means you can have hot water from the immersion heater and fully charged batteries without running the main engines under no load.

We had a Kohler genny fitted into our Princess 40 and have a multifunction micro wave and gas hob for cooking . It may have been expensive but to us its worth every penny and gives you amazing freedom.

Look at your facilities on the Phantom and consider what style of boating you want to undertake. The choice of to fit or not to fit becomes simpler.

Have fun

Mike

 

[Guest]

Do you really want to go from one electric marina to another all the time? There are any number of great places to visit where it's difficult or impossible to get electricity. If you're on the S Coast, how about Newtown,Yarmouth, Keyhaven,Studland,Swanage,Lulworth and Weymouth to name a few. A generator gives you the freedom to stay in these places for more than just a day and still avail yourself of the comforts of home. No matter how good your batteries are, they get hammered by 1 or 2 fridges, lights, diesel fired heating or TV. Then, without a gennie, you'll run out of hot water quickly and forget about using a kettle, microwave, toaster, electric heater, icemaker or aircon; an invertor may power some of these things but the batteries will be dead in hours. A generator also allows you to dispense with gas which is a big safety plus as far as I'm concerned. If you do fit a generator and if you can afford it, go for a larger engined slower running (1500rpm) model giving 6KVa or more rather than the smaller engined high speed (3000rpm) models as the noise/vibration levels are much lower

 

[Guest]

Shorepower is fine when available but when you find yourself exploring continental river systems you need a generator, most shore supplies have very limited current available and some will not run an immersion heater, install one and be sure, good luck Rick

 

[Guest]

Not much lower.

Lombardini's 3000 unit is 54 db and the 1500 50.5. Not a lot in it.

 

[Guest]

Re: Not much lower.

All I know is that I've had various boats with both types of generator and I'd take a nice slow running Onan or Westerbeke any day. Automotive engineers refer to NVH (noise/vibration/harshness). It's not only the noise levels per se that determine how unpleasant a particular sound is but also the type of noise. The smaller generators tend to emit a higher pitched metallic sound (because they're powered by 1 or 2 cylinder engines) compared to a lower pitched rumbling sound for the bigger ones (which tend to be powered by 4 cylinder engines) and I find the former distinctly irritating but there's no doubt the smaller gennies are much cheaper and take up less space

 

[Guest]

Couldn\'t agree more about \'type of noise\'.

I wont bring up PWC versus throbbing diesel!!

However, I think you might be agreeably surprised by the lack of unpleasant noise/vibration from some of the new generation 3000 rpm encased units.

There is a big difference compared to older gensets and lower price and weight are also factors to consider.

 

[Guest]

Well Bob, have we helped you make up your mind? *

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[Guest]

Thanks all for your responses. Reckon I'll put one on my Xmas list!

Bob

 

[Guest]

Re: Well Bob, have we helped you make up your mind? *

Yes! It sounds like it makes all the difference in the world as soon as one wants to go further afield than tame full facility marinas. I am not planning on going the inverter route- sounds like a quiet generator giving about 4KW is the answer I will now do some research and stick one on my Xmas list!

Many thanks Bob

 

[Guest]

Think seriously about the size.

You say you are going for 4kVA. I would seriously consider going for a little bit bigger, the size/weight is not much more, and you have something in reserve. I have a 6.5kVA Onan- which is very quiet and just about big enough.- good luck

 

[Guest]

Maybe you should go bigger .......

and you should still put an inverter on your Xmas list.

When, like us, you HAVE to rely on your own power the learning curve rises steeply and the first lesson is that what you bought, based on clinical brochure statements about power consumptions, is far removed from real life experience.

If you take a long term view and think that you need 4kva now, it is near certain that, in the future, you will wish you'd gone for 6, because having electrical power available inevitably makes you hungry for more. You might, for example, want to have a self seeking TV antenna in the future and that will take power above your present requirements.

You need the inverter because, however quiet the generator, any engine is an intrusion and its much nicer to keep that quiet anchorage really quiet. From personal experience I'd recommend a full sine wave 2.5 kva Inverter/charger. You may think 2.5 is OTT but one day someone might want to watch TV whilst you surf the net on board. A TV - receiving via sattelite box - consumes almost 5 amps and a Pentium 3 can use as much as 9 amps. (Those are REAL figures, taken from our actual consumption, not some theoretical stuff from inverter manufacturers’ brochures.) You must add to those consumption figures whatever consumption from lights and anything else - nav aids etc - which are also taking power.

We run our house on low consumption light bulbs and our only other electrical consumption - not run directly from the generator - comes from a TV receiving via satellite, one Pentium 3 on for around 16 hours, one used for about 4 hours and a third used intermittently - say ½ hour per day. We have a 6.5 kva top quality genset and a 2.5 kva top quality inverter and this is not really adequate. We manage, but we consume batteries faster than we should.

When making your choice remember that it's cheaper to wait until you can afford to lash out on more than you think you need, rather than chucking out what you've got away and starting again.