Why you might consider still keeping your generator

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

Sucha profound observation that anybody could have predicted exactly with just a bit of high school trigonometry and an ephemeris.

It's a reminder to those considering tearing out the generator, not an observation. Duh.

What did you do with your generator?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

What we did in this tropical place last Friday

It’s a bit chilly in the morning so a light jacket is nice but from 11:00 on it’s still T-shirt weather. We just had dinner outside at Grills with live music and fish taco’s with sushi grade yellowfin tuna seared for a couple seconds

Today I was activating all systems after2 years on the hard… turns out both toilets have failed, with the plastic discharge units completely disintegrating. Delay for our departure

Oh man!! Sorry to hear about the surprise degraded plastic. I'll be joining the annual migration again next year when I have some ability to make better progress on the passage. Motoring at 6-7 knots for weeks/months just isn't my thing after doing it a few months ago.

How did the boat do otherwise? All systems go?

She's so long and lean! Looks like she slips nicely through the water. Good design!

[The Yacht Rigger]

Originally Posted by Chotu

It's a reminder to those considering tearing out the generator, not an observation. Duh.

What did you do with your generator?

The reason I removed my gen was weight, and specific to my boat.. the Leopard 43 design had it in the stern, aft of the engine. Also I wanted all the additional storage and to carry less spares.

So now, on days when the 2.4kw solar can't keep up I briefly run 2x 185A 28V alternators on my 38HP Beta engines - insane charging capacity. Ok, usually I just fire up one of them.

[noelex 77]

One frequently seen problem on long distance cruising boats is designing the boat’s electrical system just for the local conditions and/or the peak sailing conditions (which usually coincides with best solar insolation).

For those relying mainly on solar generation for their electrical energy this is obviously more of a problem with boats normally sailing in areas/seasons of excellent solar insolation, such as the Caribbean. Be careful about doing things like ripping out the option of propane cooking without considering if you can generate enough energy for all the areas and seasons you may end up cruising worldwide.

It is better you plan your boat systems around the ability to comfortably cruise areas of poor solar insolation without missing out on the luxuries, while at the same time being able to make maximum use of the energy when in areas of excellent solar insolation. This can be done without installing a generator.

The high power systems such as cooking, water making and heating are particularly important. The ability to use solar energy for these systems in areas of good solar insolation is very convenient. The ability to use other sources of energy to accomplish these tasks opens up cruising areas of poor insolation without a generator.

Also consider the efficiencies of your electrical equipment choices. Selecting electrically efficient devices and planning systems so that devices with a high parasitic draw (such as inverters) are only operated for the minimum time is totally unnecessary while cruising the Caribbean, but without taking these steps cruising areas or seasons with poor solar insolation may not be viable.

[Mike OReilly]

My normal cruising area these days is kinda lower high latitudes. Between 49º and 52ºN. I'n usually on the boat between May and October, much of that time off the dock.

My boat is set up to be mostly self-sufficient electrically, with our solar and wind providing almost all the power needed. However, there is a significant drop-off in output by mid-August. By late September I'm barely scraping by, which sometimes necessitates the use of dino-power.

I carry a little 1000 watt gas generator. No way would I want to give it up.

[GordMay]

Daily insolation, at a location (latitude), depends on two factors: (1) the angle at which the Sun's rays strike the Earth, and (2) how long the place is exposed to the rays.
The annual insolation value, at the pole[s] is about 40 percent, of the value at the equator.

In the midlatitude zones are, between 35° and 55° north and south latitude, the length of daylight varies significantly from winter to summer, so seasonal contrasts in insolation are quite strong. As a result, these regions experience a large range in annual surface temperature.

[RedneckRedcoat]

Originally Posted by Chotu

100%.

It depends where you are cruising.

different for everyone for sure. Not many people do stupid things like I am going to do this winter. So they don’t get to see the system put to the test. With 1500 W of solar I had no idea what to do with this power for years. 100% charged by noon. Generators were never run except to use it for air conditioning.

Now? It’s all different.

it’s getting dark out at 4:30 now. The sun is not really coming up much above the horizon. I haven’t seen this in a while. Plus it’s not sunny all that often.

A huge difference in solar insolation and it's only just beginning

We are in the same situation , we just had 2 days of no sun in NC and I’m really wishing we had a generator. We survived for 2 years without one but in the last year due to storms and weather I’m seriously considering it

[Kettlewell]

A long time ago we had a small cat that utilized wind and solar long before most people even knew what it was. Down south, even in the winter, they supplied all our needs, but even in the summer in Maine we didn't get enough juice. One August we had dense fog nearly every day and we were wearing heavy sweaters even ashore. On one July cruise north from southern New England to New Brunswick and back we never saw Maine--every day was pea soup. In the north you have to plan for stretches of four or five days, or more, of no real sun, especially in the winter.

[The Yacht Rigger]

Originally Posted by RedneckRedcoat

We are in the same situation , we just had 2 days of no sun in NC and I’m really wishing we had a generator. We survived for 2 years without one but in the last year due to storms and weather I’m seriously considering it

Unless you are looking at a Honda portable generator, definitely consider a high output alternator with external regulator. It will likely charge a LOT faster than a big generator could and be less than half the price.

[RedneckRedcoat]

Originally Posted by The Yacht Rigger

Unless you are looking at a Honda portable generator, definitely consider a high output alternator with external regulator. It will likely charge a LOT faster than a big generator could and be less than half the price.

Problem with an alternator is that it’s putting wear and tear and costs you more over time m, you’re servicing your engine, more belts, oil and parts . A 2000watt generator is cheaper to maintain and replace as well as run.

[The Yacht Rigger]

Originally Posted by RedneckRedcoat

Problem with an alternator is that it’s putting wear and tear and costs you more over time m, you’re servicing your engine, more belts, oil and parts . A 2000watt generator is cheaper to maintain and replace as well as run.

It depends on use... if you're motoring around a fair bit, even just to get out of anchorages, you can accomplish a crazy amount of charge in 45min to an hour run time, and it lets your engine get up to temp.

If you're on anchor in the same place for weeks and weeks, then I hear you on how it may be annoying to have to put the extra hours on your engine. Personally I don't really mind adding a few hundred hours a year to a diesel, properly maintained it's a drop in the bucket.

I prefer to occasionally need to run the engine over the added weight, spare parts, maintenance, and loss of storage a diesel generator comes with.

A honda just isn't powerful enough for my system needs, and I don't want to carry the extra gas.

Each to their own though!

[RedneckRedcoat]

Originally Posted by The Yacht Rigger

It depends on use... if you're motoring around a fair bit, even just to get out of anchorages, you can accomplish a crazy amount of charge in 45min to an hour run time, and it lets your engine get up to temp.

If you're on anchor in the same place for weeks and weeks, then I hear you on how it may be annoying to have to put the extra hours on your engine. Personally I don't really mind adding a few hundred hours a year to a diesel, properly maintained it's a drop in the bucket.

I prefer to occasionally need to run the engine over the added weight, spare parts, maintenance, and loss of storage a diesel generator comes with.

A honda just isn't powerful enough for my system needs, and I don't want to carry the extra gas.

Each to their own though!

There all valid points , like all cruising there are always compromises it’s just what your willing to sacrifice and compromise on :-)

[SV__Grace]

After 5 years cruising full time in PNW our pattern for our1200ah house bank has been that our solar and wind has been able to keep up 100% with our energy needs (+alternator when under way) April to September.

When the days get shorter and the cloud cover thicker, no amount of solar panels (even if we had the room) could possibly keep up so we typically use the generator occasionally in Oct and every 3-4 days November-March (was every other day when we had AGMs). Seems coincide with Daylight Savings Time!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by RedneckRedcoat

We are in the same situation , we just had 2 days of no sun in NC and I’m really wishing we had a generator. We survived for 2 years without one but in the last year due to storms and weather I’m seriously considering it

Even just a little Honda eu2000 is a godsend for when the darkness of winter sets in.

Kettlewell: wayback when I was doing just like you, the solar was able to keep up with the refrigerator and freezer down in Florida, but up in Maine it did the same actually because the demand for the refrigerator and freezer went down with the colder weather. So my old one actually worked the whole time. Although I did not get to test it through winter because I was at a dock.

This is an entirely new situation for me. Trying to use renewable energy out at anchor as we are getting closer to the shortest day of the year in higher latitudes. it’s definitely generator territory.

what I am finding with the current charger I have which is adequate, is I am running for 2 to 3 hours every three days.

I get three days and nights from the batteries before it's time to charge.

Anticipating this, I took on 100 gallons of gasoline the other day. That should be good for probably the whole winter lol

[Shaneesprit]

Originally Posted by The Yacht Rigger

The reason I removed my gen was weight, and specific to my boat.. the Leopard 43 design had it in the stern, aft of the engine. Also I wanted all the additional storage and to carry less spares.

So now, on days when the 2.4kw solar can't keep up I briefly run 2x 185A 28V alternators on my 38HP Beta engines - insane charging capacity. Ok, usually I just fire up one of them.

Hmm removed my generator but I have 2 x185A Alternators driven by a Diesel engine aka a Generator! Just saying.