Portable generator or not?

[Ike]

My two cents:

Portable Generators, Pro and Con https://newboatbuilders.com/docs/portable.pdf

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by Ike

My two cents:

Portable Generators, Pro and Con https://newboatbuilders.com/docs/portable.pdf

One quote from that sheet: "The price of these portables may be one quarter of the price of a permanently installed marine generator."


Four times?? Yeah right!! I wish. In the US at least, try TEN TIMES. I have price compared several marine and portable generators, and especially when you count installation, the cost is at least ten times as much. You can get a decent portable generator for under $1000 but good luck finding a marine generator, with installation, for under $10000.

Heck, just the sound shield cover alone for a Fischer Panda generator can cost $1000.

[DragonflyBob]

Originally Posted by 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.

Just to clarify, we normally use a heavy duty extension cord from the generator to a power strip equipped with a GFI and we plug either the heater or AC into that. We’d only use the generator as a shore power source for the boat (the probable scenario being we needed to charge batteries) in an emergency and the 2200CI is one of the safest for that task.

[Ike]

Originally Posted by Rohan

One quote from that sheet: "The price of these portables may be one quarter of the price of a permanently installed marine generator."


Four times?? Yeah right!! I wish. In the US at least, try TEN TIMES. I have price compared several marine and portable generators, and especially when you count installation, the cost is at least ten times as much. You can get a decent portable generator for under $1000 but good luck finding a marine generator, with installation, for under $10000.

Heck, just the sound shield cover alone for a Fischer Panda generator can cost $1000.

Maybe I should update that. I wrote it in 2006 and revised it in 2021 but didn't change the prices. Things have changed since then. (understatement of the year)

[Leadfree]

All of you claiming that these gens are quiet…

NO, THEY ARE NOT. NONE OF THEM. Especially when it is a low wind calm night. Maybe your TV etc drowns it on your boat, but the rest of the anchorage will certainly hear your gen. That includes the famous Honda.

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by lifeofreilly57

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.

I had solar and wind on my arch (came with the boat). I have individual MPPT controllers on the panels (providing Amp info) and added a dedicated Amp meter on the wind. The wind RARELY makes 5A (have seen rated 40A in edge of a hurricane...). The wind clearly costs solar output, killing the solar panel next to it if it shades the panel. Due to an accident, I have had to replace the arch (and everything on it) so got to make my own design decisions. I opted to ditch the wind and use the space to step the solar up another size (gained 20%). Wind LOOKS like it is always working, but if you put a dedicated Amp meter on the output, you will be very disappointed. A cheap Ah meter from Amazon might be even more informative.

[danstanford]

Perhaps you could call it a weakness of mine but I have always been afraid of killing the batteries at anchor and not being able to start the engine when needed. Yes I understand house vs engine batteries but having a suitcase generator I can start by hand removes the fear.
I have not yet needed to do this to be fair.

[FlyingScot]

I've owned the original Honda 2000i, the first generation 2200i (not BT/CO) and now the 1000i. The 1000i is super quiet. Yes, it is half the power but also roughly half the size/weight. Love it and despite a big battery bank and a lot of solar, sometimes it's cloudy and we need a boost.

We are super concerned about distrubing others with music or generator sounds. Sometimes we use the diesels/alternators for power as they are the quietest. But if anchored downwind of everyone and the little 1000i generator charging at 40-50A (12v) I can't hear it on our bow let alone anyone upwind of us.

Buy the Honda, consider the little 1000i model and when you don't need it you can sell it for 3/4 of what you paid for it if barely used.

Of course be very aware of CO poisoining. You don't want to wake up dead!

[Xavierp]

Originally Posted by danstanford

Peace of mind in my view, even if you don't ever use it you will have it there if needed.

I like peace of mind
Thx

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by Ike

Maybe I should update that. I wrote it in 2006 and revised it in 2021 but didn't change the prices. Things have changed since then. (understatement of the year)

I should also add that repairing a marine generator can cost serious money too, and not many people who can do that work (at least that's the case around here).

But you can take a portable genny to someone to repair, which makes it easier. Although honestly, I have never heard of someone getting one repaired. Prices are so much cheaper most people would probably use that as an excuse to just get a newer one instead.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by danstanford

Perhaps you could call it a weakness of mine but I have always been afraid of killing the batteries at anchor and not being able to start the engine when needed. Yes I understand house vs engine batteries but having a suitcase generator I can start by hand removes the fear.
I have not yet needed to do this to be fair.

That's understandable, but a separate start battery is a better solution to this problem. Even better if it has its own alternator.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Rohan

I should also add that repairing a marine generator can cost serious money too, and not many people who can do that work (at least that's the case around here).

But you can take a portable genny to someone to repair, which makes it easier. Although honestly, I have never heard of someone getting one repaired. Prices are so much cheaper most people would probably use that as an excuse to just get a newer one instead.

I just spent most of a day servicing my Kohler heavy duty generator and can whole-heartedly agree with your comment.


Most diesel generators are quite reliable (excluding a few notorious types like Fischer Panda), especially heavy duty low speed ones, but they do break sometimes and this can be really expensive.



And the maintenance is much more complicated and expensive.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by argonauta1

You will be a leper in any anchorage especially if you operate it at cocktail hour!

You'll never hear a Honda 2000.
I played music at an event on a river once. I went asking where the generator to power the band was. The guy looked at me funny and pointed 10 ft from me. It was running.

[MHTinkler]

Originally Posted by Leadfree

All of you claiming that these gens are quiet…

NO, THEY ARE NOT. NONE OF THEM. Especially when it is a low wind calm night. Maybe your TV etc drowns it on your boat, but the rest of the anchorage will certainly hear your gen. That includes the famous Honda.

Have two Honda 2200i's. Both live on the back deck of my fiberglass sailboat, not ten feet from my dining table in the salon. I feel their vibration more than I hear them. Still, compared to any other means of producing power at comparable levels, you just can't beat them. One unit runs my 40 amp battery charger with ease. Barely raises the RPM's more than a couple hundred above idle.
One unit also easily runs my 16500 BTU air conditioner. Once the boat is cooled down the A/C cycles on for less than a minute, my compressor controller keeps it off for around 5 minutes. So the system only really works for around 6 minutes per hour. Honda 2200's are pretty quiet at idle.
No real maintenance to speak of. Change the oil every 100 hours and you are golden. They also come with a Bluetooth app that keeps track for you. Nice.

[GordMay]

Decibel [dB], the unit of sound volume, is on a logarithmic scale, which means that loudness is not directly proportional to sound intensity. An increase of 10 dB doubles the perceived volume, and doubling the dB increases the intensity by 10 times.
Sound intensity follows an inverse square law.
Each time the distance [from source] is doubled, the intensity is reduced, by a factor of four.
Since each time intensity is cut in half, the sound level decreases 3 dB, it follows that: doubling distance reduces the sound level by 6 dB.
Following the same logic, increasing the distance by a factor of ten, reduces the sound level by 20 dB.
Most manufacturers measure the sound levels at 23 feet [7m], in accordance with ISO 9614-2.

Honda Generators Noise [dBA @ 23 Ft] Chart
➥ https://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com...Chart-2018.pdf

Honda EU1000i 900 W/1000 W 42 dB
Honda EU2200i 1800 W/2200 W 48 dB
Honda EB2200i 1800 W/2200 W 48 dB
Honda EU3000iS 2800 W/3000 W 50 dB