I'm going to have to agree with Sean (the other Sean) on this one. If he's looking to be lightweight and economize, the petrol genset isn't so bad, with the exception of it being less reliable.
Like everything with sailing, it would be about risk management. He should:
*Keep the genset outside and in a locker similar to a propane/LPG locker
*Use caution as it gets hot
*Don't let any CO inside the vessel or sit downwind breathing in CO
*Store all petrol carefully and properly (we all have it aboard for our ourboards, don't we??)
*Locate it near the stern, since sailboats face into the
wind 99% of the time or when you are underway. This keeps CO and
exhaust falling over the stern and not collecting in the
cockpit (assuming center cockpit)
While I doubt the smaller petrol genset will
work for his application (2KW
electric motor), I'm sure it's a reasonable solution for more modest
power requirements. I wouldn't count on it performing well for more than 6 mos, and wouldn't stake my watermaking or
refrigeration on it (owing to the fact that petrol engines are more maintenace intensive and don't last as long). However, it would work.
When our old diesel genset died this summer, I bought a 3.5KW petrol and used it up on
deck for 2 weeks, running it each day. Now, I have a new "portable" genset mounted on
deck permanently. It's a 5KW
Yanmar diesel, but it is air cooled and deck mounted. It has the same issues as Sean's would have, with the exception of being a more reliable diesel unit. Weighing in at 200lbs, it's much more heavy than Sean wants though. I used it every
single day for 6 mos without incident. It provided all power for our
charter guests, 120VAC refer,
computers, lights - everything since we didn't tie to a
dock the whole time.
If all cautions are taken, I don't see why a "portable" (meaning air cooled) genset can't be made to work for
marine use.