Portable Gen

[casual]

Hello folks please give advice,I am purchasing a boat up noth and will bring it back to Fl along the ICW.Jan will be Cold and I am thinking of purchasing a portable Gen to power a couple of Ceramic heaters.I do not know the required wattage for the heaters but can't be much,My question has any one had experience with these small Honda gen sets.They claim 8 hours of running on a gallon of gas,get me thru a cold night with no carbon dioxide worrys.Thanks for the advice

[zeta]

Can't go wrong with Honda or Yamaha.

[Vasco]

You're better off getting a small portable propane heater and a comfy down duvet. Turn the heater off when you go to bed. The most popular small genny, Honda EU2000i, will not run two ceramic heaters (1500watts each). If you're really cold you'll have to go to marinas to run the two ceramic heaters. You couldn't be too far north if the water is still soft in January. In the past there's been ice in the Virginia section of the ICW in November.

[Waterway Guide]

We heated our cabin reasonably well with 1 ceramic heater on the 750W setting. We needed sweaters in the evening and the comforter at night, but it was enough to the edge off, even on 26ºF nights (34' Catamaran). You could run one on 750W and the other on 500W (if it has the 3 settings ours does) with one of the 2000W gens. I agree...Honda or Yamaha, although we had pretty good luck with our Kipor for 2 years (Chinese Honda knockoff), but don't take my word for it.
I never had the guts to use a Mr. Heater, although we did leave our propane oven on all night by mistake, and I don't think I have any drain bramage from it (it was nice and toasty that night).

[casual]

Thank you you gave me the answer I needed.Anchoring out is quicker and easier,but being warm at night is most desireable.No ice Going south from Annapolis.

[casual]

Hey everyone thank you for the help.I got this figured out,I'll bring a Warm front up from Fl to take home.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by casual

.No ice Going south from Annapolis.

Hopefully it will be a mild winter but, for the record, some years back there was ice at Great Bridge in November.

[webejammin]

We carry a Honda 1000 and it is good for pluging in the boat to recharge the batteries but have not tryed to hook a heater to it. we also have a Mr heater the small one and a 5 gal propane bottle, it warms the cabin but foggs the windows with condensation so we usually leave it near a vent or open window on our catamaran so most moisture escapes. Good luck, stay warm

[Waterway Guide]

Nice boat, webejammin! (we're #912 "Cat Lady")

[cabo_sailor]

Originally Posted by casual

Hello folks please give advice,I am purchasing a boat up noth and will bring it back to Fl along the ICW.Jan will be Cold and I am thinking of purchasing a portable Gen to power a couple of Ceramic heaters.I do not know the required wattage for the heaters but can't be much,My question has any one had experience with these small Honda gen sets.They claim 8 hours of running on a gallon of gas,get me thru a cold night with no carbon dioxide worrys.Thanks for the advice

I believe you mean carbon monoxide but you most definitely DO have to be worried. You would never, ever run the genset in the cabin. As to the endurance, you can either make or purchase an optional fuel line that allows the generator to feed off a 5-6 gallon jerry can.

I have the Honda 2kw and love it. If I place it on the aft deck I don't even hear it below. There is some vibration so you might wish put something under it like a small rubber floor mat otherwise some of that vibration may translate to noise below. I've not used mine to run a heater but have run a 5K btu air conditioner for about 6 hours on a gallon of fuel.

Have fun,
Rich

[AnchorageGuy]

casual, The 1000 will power a small heater at the 750 watt setting. The 2000 will run the heater at 1500 watts for a single. We used the 2000 to run two at 750 each and keep two cabins warm. I also built an extended run tank so we could have the genset running all day and night if we wanted to. It is quick and easy to build, The Trawler Beach House: Extended Use Tank For A Honda Generator In 4 Easy Steps . It will also run our battery charger, coffee pot, toaster and even the hot water heater, although not all at once. Chuck

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

I believe you mean carbon monoxide but you most definitely DO have to be worried. You would never, ever run the genset in the cabin. As to the endurance, you can either make or purchase an optional fuel line that allows the generator to feed off a 5-6 gallon jerry can.

I have the Honda 2kw and love it. If I place it on the aft deck I don't even hear it below. There is some vibration so you might wish put something under it like a small rubber floor mat otherwise some of that vibration may translate to noise below. I've not used mine to run a heater but have run a 5K btu air conditioner for about 6 hours on a gallon of fuel.

Have fun,
Rich

An excellant and very very important catch Rich.

[casual]

MANY MANY Thanks,I,was still in the research phase concerning Generators,all done Honda is it you folks have convinced me.Special thanks to Waterwayguy,I was pondering extending run time for night use,YOU solved my Pondering.Safe sailing to all.

[djmarchand]

Casual:

A Mr. Heater, Wave, etc propane radiant heater will be several times more efficient at heating than a gasoline generator powering and electric heater. We bought a Wave 6 (about 6,000 btu/hr, equal to 1,800 watts) and teed it in to the inlet to the propane stove.

ABYC would not approve of that installation but I think it is safe if you check the connections with soap solution for leaks and recheck periodically.

I wouldn't sleep with one running however.

A 20 lb propane cylinder should run a Wave 6 for about 60 hours.

David

[Cormorant]

Don't forget the good old fashioned hot water bottle. Fill a couple of them up with hot water from your stove before bedtime, tuck them between the sheets. They'll keep you toasty all night . . . or most of the night, at least.

I discovered this back in college one January when our landlady didn't fill the oil tank for the house heat, but the electric hot water heater still worked.