Connecting portable generator to shore power receptacle

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

Why not lash the dinghy fore and aft alongside the mother ship near the shore power inlet, put the generator in the the dinghy and run it there? No danger of CO at that point, especially if the dinghy is downwind. Just gotta make sure the noise isn't much louder.

Possible but generally, I would consider it more potential problems/hassles than benefits if you have a suitable place to mount it on the mothership.
- A wake flips the dingy.
- Hot exhaust burns a hole in the tube and sinks the dingy
- Easier to steal (possibly along with the dingy).
- Dingy stays in the water and grows oysters.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Possible but generally, I would consider it more potential problems/hassles than benefits if you have a suitable place to mount it on the mothership.
- A wake flips the dingy.
- Hot exhaust burns a hole in the tube and sinks the dingy
- Easier to steal (possibly along with the dingy).
- Dingy stays in the water and grows oysters.

Some of your concerns would be valid, although I was thinking of my fiberglass dinghy, so so the burning a hole in the tube wouldn't be the case. How many times has your dinghy been flipped by a wake? The real issue might be the generator flipping over due to a wake, but I guess you could strap is down. Easier to steal, depends where you are, use your judgement. Marine growth? I was thinking occasional use, maybe once a week?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Yup! That simple; done all the time.

Some portable gensets ground to neutral which creates a warning but can be easily corrected.

Ditto to S/V Illusion. Have at it! It sounds like you have it covered electrically. Watch the fumes.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by PaintedKite

It'll be called upon to run just a handful of loads.........and intermittent running of the potable water pump, shower sump, and electric toilet.

Firstly, I've run a portable Honda 2K on the swim platform for 13 years and I haven't managed to blow myself up, or die from CO poisoning. I've done so while being unplugged from shorepower for months at a time. Don't listen to the hyped nonsense.

Secondly, the generator is really only useful for running the battery charger, water heater and to recharge electronic devices (The latter could be done with USB 12v connectors from the batter).

There is no need to run 12v devices off the generator. Just use battery power like always and charge the batteries twice a day. We will run ours for a few hours in the morning and few hours in the evening. With a 2K, we can't run our 50 amp battery charger and water heater at the same time. We heat the water, then charge the batteries. We do flip the fridge over to shore power while either the water heater or the battery charger is running and top off all of the electronic devices. We heat water twice a day so that there is always hot water at the taps whenever we want it. It does start to get lukewarm in the later afternoon and first thing in the morning.

[Boatyarddog]

Location is always a concern.
CO is lethal.
SV Cloud Duster

[capt jgw]

Originally Posted by Boatyarddog

Location is always a concern.
CO is lethal.
SV Cloud Duster

With any combustion engine, mains and built-in gensets included. CO detectors are a must no matter what engines you are running. Exhaust can and has found it's way into boats and killed people.

[capt jgw]

Some portable generators have a floating ground (neutral and ground wires not connected) that will cause your "reverse polarity" light to come on. Not really a problem as it's not really reversed, they're just not at the same potential which is all the light is telling you. Two ways to correct if you want to: connect the green wire to the same terminal as the white wire in your pigtail. You can only do that with a home made pigtail or one with a non-molded on plug, and you can no longer use that pigtail for anything else. Or, just get a 15 amp plug and connect the ground lug to the neutral lug with a short piece of wire. Don't connect anything to the remaining 'line" lug in the plug. Then insert this plug into an unused socket on the generator. This does the same thing as the first option but doesn't modify your pigtail. Either way, you also need to connect the chassis ground of the generator to a good grounding point or a heavy wire hanging into the water. I think they all have a chassis ground. These two mods will make the portable act like a proper built-in genset. I'd have CO detectors in the cabin no matter where the generator was located. A good idea with a built-in too, there have been CO incidents with them as well. And was said before if you have a gas outboard for the dinghy, fire hazard is moot, you already have it.

[jmschmidt]

Maybe, but don't attempt to parallel two sources of alternating current (AC). You can get into all sorts of trouble with mismatches between frequency, voltage and phase.

[Dougtiff]

It's done all the time, just plug the gen set into the same inlet, as you would if connected to shore power, along with charging batt's, you are heating water, a 6 gal hot water heater takes 45 minute's, for me, I don't have solar, as my boat would look ridiculous with enough solar to do the job, I have had solar on passed boat's, and love it, don't get me wrong, but not on this boat. [ I use a Honda 200].