Gasoline Generator Recommendations

[Vasco]

ADMPRTR

If you are heading south wait until you get to the States if you want a Honda. Mayberry has a good price and they will ship free.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by ADMPRTR

My thought is if I am going to buy a solar array anyway, maybe I should skip the gennie altogether, especially if it starts getting up in price. However, zeehag, you make a good point...

If you invest in adequate renewable energy, you'll never need the generator. I have 260 watts of solar and 200 watts of wind, and the only thing a generator would do on my boat is rust.

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Bash

If you invest in adequate renewable energy, you'll never need the generator. I have 260 watts of solar and 200 watts of wind, and the only thing a generator would do on my boat is rust.

That would save me about $2000 (for a genny and new charger).

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Vasco

ADMPRTR

If you are heading south wait until you get to the States if you want a Honda. Mayberry has a good price and they will ship free.

Not for a few years...

[mbianka]

IMO the Honda 2000 is still the gold standard in generators. I would not use anything else. I converted to electric propulsion four years ago and use a Honda 2000 to charge my 10 kw 48 volt battery bank (Zivan NG-1) and also my 12 volt house bank (Pro Mariner). I no longer have an alternator on board because I no longer have a diesel. I can use the Honda generator in eco mode to power my 900 watt 48 volt Zivan battery charger to push my boat along at 3 knots and also power my 12 volt house battery charger at the same time. Ran over 5 1/2 hours on one tank of gas earlier this week with this load.
It is light enough I can carry it up forward if I know I will be motoring for an extended amount of time. It's much quieter in the cockpit than when I had a diesel engine.
I also have solar for both the 48 volt and 12 volt systems and don't need to use the Honda everyday. Mostly, I use it for extended motor sailing and to charge up the 48 volt bank after I anchor. After that it is not often needed. In four years all I've done is change the oil. Probably should change the spark plug soon but, it just keeps on going and going.

[mjwarner]

As they have all said Honda. I don't know if I am allowed to post this link, I am sure they will redact it if I am not. I bought mine here, after long price comparison research. Cheapest, and good service, fast delivery. I am unafiliated with them.
Honda Super Quiet EU Series Generators : Honda EU 2000i Price WiseSales.com

[ADMPRTR]

Well, I think the choice is clear: Honda. Thank you all.

[keepondancin]

Just have to chime in. My roofer buddy uses a Honda 2000EU 5-6 days a week to power his small pancake compressor and his radio, with some use of a cirular saw. I saw it fall off a low roof so it has a duct tape repair. He does change oil. He just texted me that it is 6 1/2 yrs old. In this day and age, it's a pleasure to be able to buy quality.

[ADMPRTR]

That is a real testimonial. I like the bit about duct table holding it together...

[jdoe71]

We thought about buying a generator. But we put a 230 watt solar panel on with an MPPT controller and a 200 watt wind gen. Also have a 90 amp Leece-Neville alternator that cost $200 brand new from an outfit in Hamilton. We run the engine about 1/2 hr morning and evening getting on/off anchor/dock. With the solar/wind/big alternator we are never in need of additional generating capacity. We're on Lake Ontario, heading up your way next year.

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by jdoe71

We thought about buying a generator. But we put a 230 watt solar panel on with an MPPT controller and a 200 watt wind gen.

Does your wind gen help much? I have heard in the great lakes that wind generators would not provide enough juice because the wind isn't strong enough on a sustained basis.

Originally Posted by jdoe71

We're on Lake Ontario, heading up your way next year.

Cool. That's what we did (although I have to admit we trucked the boat up the second time). Are you going to visit or stay?

[jdoe71]

Wind gen fills in at night or cloudy days, it starts in 5 knots of wind but really doesn't make much power at that, you get 15 - 20 knots you get a lot of juice.

If I had to do it again I would likely put another solar panel on and add 2 more 6 volts, we currently have 4 X 6 volts for 464 amps. The wind gen mount doubles as the crane for the dinghy outboard so it just made double use of something else we needed to have. But we like solar better.

Not sure if we'll stay up there or not. Last up there in the early 90s and there's a ton of boats up there now. Current pictures look like the North Channel has become a victim of its own success.

BTW, two weeks ago we anchored about 250 feet from a boat with a Honda 2000EU running on deck. Those who say they are silent may need a hearing test, we could hear it quite clearly on our boat. But turning on the wind generator solved that, better white noise you cannot get.

[Pete the Cat]

Originally Posted by ADMPRTR

On another tack, I looked up the maximum input current requirement on a Xantrex TrueCharge. The 40AMP is rated at 9.0A load at 104Vac which is 936 watts (7.8A/120Vac) and the 60AMP is rated at 13.5A/104Vac which is 1404W (11.7A/120Vac).

http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Bat...-01_Rev-B).pdf

I read that to mean depending on the size of charger I purchase, I may be able to down size the gennie. What, if any, is the drawback of maximizing the load on a generator?

I have that 40AMP charger and have used a 1000 watt Yamaha generator with no problems for several years in a Cruise in Central America. Most of the time you are not using anywhere near the capacity of the charger, so it is all overkill. Unless you are running other stuff with it, I see no point in a 2000 watt unit.

[captden]

Two years now on my Honda and love it

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by jdoe71

Wind gen fills in at night or cloudy days, it starts in 5 knots of wind but really doesn't make much power at that, you get 15 - 20 knots you get a lot of juice.

That is good to know. While a wind gen is not on any short term plans I wanted to keep it an option.
Question: I heard one wind gen in our marina a couple years ago. It was a blustery day and it would speed up, make a terrible racket and then stop, repeating the cycle. The noise was unpleasant and it was actually a little scary when it was spinning fast. How do you find yours in that way (noisy/scary)?

Originally Posted by jdoe71

If I had to do it again I would likely put another solar panel on and add 2 more 6 volts, we currently have 4 X 6 volts for 464 amps.

How many amps do you think you get on a average summer day?

Originally Posted by jdoe71

Not sure if we'll stay up there or not. Last up there in the early 90s and there's a ton of boats up there now. Current pictures look like the North Channel has become a victim of its own success.

In August we went up to the NC the first time this year. It was actually quite quiet, I thought. I think it is the time of year one goes. July is full, August, much less so it would appear. Of course, we motored a lot on that trip (which is when I found that my alternator was not topping up the batteries and my batteries couldn't hold a charge for more than a day ).


On the day this photo was taken there were 17 boats in the South Benjamin anchorage.

Originally Posted by jdoe71

BTW, two weeks ago we anchored about 250 feet from a boat with a Honda 2000EU running on deck. Those who say they are silent may need a hearing test, we could hear it quite clearly on our boat.

We were docked next to one that was running and it was quite loud but I figured is was the proximity.

Originally Posted by captden

Two years now on my Honda and love it

When I started this thread I thought it would be good to cheap out for the short term with a Genarac or similar product. However, this whole discussion has made me think of kiboshing the generator idea and finding a way to get the solar panels. The consensus definitely seems to be for Honda so I figure that a generator and a new battery charger will be $2000 which is almost the same amount I as quoted for an arch to mount my panels. From looking on the internet, it appears that good quality panels can be had for under $500 each so I may be looking at under $4000 (rough estimate) for the total job. While that hurts my budget, it adds a lot to the convenience and comfort assuming the panels will generate enough of a charge, which seems to be the case.