Portable generator or not?

[Rothblum]

Regarding the noise from the Honda portable generator -- you can reduce the noise substantially by hanging the generator from bungees, a trick I learned from making noise measurements aboard a navy acoustic barge. A lot, if not most, of the noise from any source is radiated by the sound board that it is mounted upon -- e.g., strings on a violin, guitar, or piano.

[Sailor80]

We never go anywhere without our Honda even though I have 400W of solar. Mainly b/c my wife likes the Honda for her hairdryer!

[justinfinity]

Always be considerate and use your judgment. It has never been an issue in our experience, in either direction, as a user or as an observer. There are times to run it and times not to run it. Just like loud music, cigars, light shows, drones, etc.

[Peeew]

Whatever you decide please remember that these are noise makers and most of that noise is going downwind of you. I have had people anchor right in front of me when there were plenty of other choices and ran their portable gens all night. Be kind.

[Ratbasher]

If you plan to head off the grid for any length of time then you must do a detailed power audit. 'Google' will come up with all sorts of examples to help you through this but basically its a worked assessment of how much power each bit of kit you have draws, how long you run it for in different circumstances (weather, anchor, at sea etc) mapped against your likely generative capacity in those same circumstances. The figures you come up with will indicate the size of battery bank needed and how many amps you'll need to feed it with daily. Once you have that, you can then decide if you need that portable generator or not. Anything else is pure guesswork - might be accurate, but it might not be....

[jcough]

We used a Honda 2200 as a backup, used it occasionally, great unit. This year we are switching to a similar sized Champion Propane unit as our backup so we don't have to carry stabilized gasoline. We can share the same tank that our stove uses.

[searenity38]

For those of you that are contemplating replacing your Honda EU2200i for a duel fuel generator, consider buying an LP conversion kit for your Honda. They're only a couple of hundred bucks and once installed, you can easily switch from gas to propane.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by bgallinger

We bought a Honda generator and used it just briefly. It worked very well, but my wife HATED the noise and the smell. Your bank of solar panels should suffice nicely!

Noise? You can hear that gen set more than 5 feet away. I have one. Quiet as can be .The EU1000i operates at 42 to 50 dB(A), which is less noise than a normal conversation.

[lifeofreilly57]

I have a 1000 watts of solar, 860 amps of lithium.
The boat also has a 6 kw diesel generator, at one point the generator had not been used in so long the pulleys rusted and shredded the belt when I ran it.
I have an anchor alarm, 12v refrigeration, we use our laptops, and run a countertop ice maker off the inverter. In 4 years I never needed to use the gen or engine to charge the batteries, even during the rainy season in Grenada.
It depends on what you have for panels (efficiency), what you have for batteries, lighting (LED or Incandescent), etc, etc.
If your really power hungry get a wind generator, on rainy days it tends to be windy, on sunny days, not so much.
I actually have a wind generator but never felt the need to mount it. Now that I'm back in the states where I can find mounting hardware for an affordable price I might mount it if I get bored.

[DragonflyBob]

We purchased the 2200 CI for our Dragonfly trimaran primarily to operate either a Carafamo heater or Frigidaire window AC that sets into our companionway. When using it, it’s also good for portable devices charging or charging the battery for our Torqeedo motor used for our dinghy. The CI model does have a 30 amp plug so we could use it as portable shore power to charge the boat batteries if needed.

There’s no exhaust smell we’ve noted and noise wise it’s quiet for us as we typically set it up on one of boat’s floats so it is at least 13 feet from where we are in the main cabin in a very open area so no worry on CO hazard. The noise level is advertised as 58 dB and I think if we stay at least 100 feet from nearby boats, it’s not a nuisance to others.

[Wolf Pack 2]

We used ours twice last year (once because of all the cooking we did for a party) this year, I can’t tell how many times we had to use it. We went through stretches of 8-10 days of no sun. We have 900 ah of lithium and 2500 solar. Better to have it and not need it. My advice is you get what you pay for, I wasn’t willing to roll the dice on the Sams club one, so we bought the Honda. Get and addition carburetor as well from amazon

[MHTinkler]

34 ft. sailing Catamaran (Gemini 105Mc). Have two Honda 2200i generators onboard. Also have water maker powered by a one horsepower industrial electric motor. One generator runs the watermaker pump exclusively. The other supports the watermaker saltwater feed pump and runs A/C. Without A/C I just run one generator for everything. (Runs at around 14.6 amps. Generator is happy with this load. Honda 2200s say they will provide 18 amps continuous, but my experience is that they don't like that much. The app reads red starting at 15 amps and runs wide open at this load. Using two small generators fits my needs and allows storage opportunities not possible with something like a 5000 watt frame type generator. Both units store nicely on a side deck and are covered for sun and weather protection. They are light enough to easily move around a rocking boat. Running the A/C overnight one unit works from 11:00 p.m. till around 6:00 a.m.. I also use a "Soft Sart" module to control cycling. (Prevents short cycling). On hot days when A/C never cycles run time on the Honda is reduced to between 4.5 and 5 hours. So staying cool during South Florida summer on the hook or in a Marina are about equivalent cost wise.

[lifeofreilly57]

If your going to use anything with gas use a gas preservative like StaBil. I've found the marine version to work well. Shut off the gas supply to the carberator and run the gas out before storing the generator. Modern gas has methanol in it. When it sits the methanol attracts moisture and the gas evaporates, leaving a sticky goo that clogs the tiny jets in the carburator. It's a bugger to clean out.
I've never bought a lawn mower, I ride around on big trash pickup days and pick an almost new mower that someone didn't store properly, clean the carb and use it til it dies. Paying a power equipment shop to fix it costs as much as a new mower.

[malbert73]

Not.

(From someone who has anchored in too many anchorages where someone had to run one. And whoever said they were quiet weren’t on the exhaust end especially when it’s not in eco- which is pretty much whenever it’s needed to power house loads. I’ll deal with the lawnmower sounds at home thanks)

[Icarus]

Yes you will need a gen set. A 2000 HONDA is a great back up, very quiet and reliable. Don't buy a Chinese one.
I have a HONDA 1000 and its very handy indeed.