Yanmar air cooled diesel genset

[Justin R.]

A friend of mine has offered me a super sweet deal on a used Yanmar L100V genset. It's a tiny single cylinder diesel that he's been using on his jobsites (he's a contractor). I have room for it in my boat's engine compartment, so I'm thinking of buying it so that I can stop using my diesel engine just to charge batteries and whatnot, but am wondering about the feasibility of some of the other details:

1. Exhaust. Can something like this be hooked up to an exhaust line? I'm happy to punch a hole in the transom and add another hose - I've done that before, when I installed an Espar hyronic furnace - but I'm less sure about getting the exhaust hose on the engine. I'm also assuming that the exhaust doesn't need to be water cooled.

2. Cooling. Do I need to force air through the engine room?

3. Fuel. It has a 1.25 gallon fuel tank on board. At 4 kW/h it burns 230 grams of fuel per kW (http://www.martindiesel.com/Products...e%20Curves.pdf), so 920 g/kWh. The 8.75 pounds of diesel in a full tank would last about 4 hours 20 minutes at that rate. So, I could refuel it manually with the fuel transfer pump that I already have installed in the engine room, just pointing the output hose at the genset's tank. Thoughts?

4. Noise. The spec says 97 dB, which sounds crazy loud. Some random website says that's about the same as a lawnmower. Can anything be done about that? If not I think this won't help, as the primary use case is hanging out at anchor, and that loud would be unpleasant.

Thanks!

[Lepke]

Air cooled engines, including radiator cooled engines are not made for enclosed spaces. Without an aggressive air circulation system, your engine room will be unbearably hot. Probably leading to failure of the generator engine and other items in the area operating above their designed temperature. The exhaust will also be too hot. It could damage the hull. Engine oil will lose much of its lubrication ability when it goes above 200°.
An air cooled diesel has high noise levels because the cooling fan noise adds to the already noisy diesel.
In the open, fresh, unheated air replaces the air passing by the head and cylinder cooling fins that is taking away the heat. In your engine room there is no replacement air. The same air just gets hotter and hotter until the engine seizes.

[SimonV]

I can't see why you couldn't. Problem 1 air flow. Build a sound proof box, as you have AC fit a big fan to push the air . Exhast: the air flow may be enough, if not small water trap and 12 volt sea water pump.

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[a64pilot]

Most likely a 3600 RPM set, going to be much louder than a Honda, noise is the thing the will make you abandon this I think. everything else is solvable with enough work, but the noise aspect while solvable will be just too much I believe.

I have a German Army 3KW Diesel genset, 1500 RPM and very quiet as it's in a sound shield, takes two people to carry it. An air cooled single cylinder Diesel can be made quiet, but it's tough.

[Sailmonkey]

The l100 based yanmar generator is in fact a 3600 rpm machine. It is wholly unsuitable to install in an enclosed locker. Firstly the heat generated by this thing when under load is intense, the exhaust is hot and none too clean. 2nd is the noise. It's worse than a lawn mower, in fact it's not even comparable to a lawn mower, more like screaming banshees from hades.


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[jimbunyard]

Since it's a friend, why not ask him to let you bring it on board and see how it sounds?


I'm with those in the negative, the cons outweigh the pros, but you never can tell...

[NCboatrx]

You have obviously not heard this thing run. If you had, you would not have asked the question as the L100 engine is one of the noisiest small engines available. It works great running a pump or generator in an industrial setting.
This unit is totally unsuited to use on a boat.

[ColdEH]

If you are thinking of installing this inside , I wouldn't attempt it . The exhaust will be very hot it would burn down your boat , this is why we have wet exhausts, they are cool to the touch and pose no worries about fire when run through the interior of a boat .

Regards

[Privilege]

So, listening to everyone's advice, you're going to buy a non-marine generator, put it in an enclosed soundproof box to cut down on the excessive noise, add a cooling fan or maybe a water-cooling system and
punch a hole through the hull for the exhaust...you mean just like a marine generator!

[captstu]

I have this engine, sold by MACE in an air to water conversion with a water lift muffler and a water "radiator" that collects the heat.

It lives in a sealed "soundproof" box - rattles your fillings.

It is a 3600 rpm unit - to loud for an anchorage even with sound proofing and water cooling conversion.

It is a foolish design - works OK, generates power, but hard to service (as built by Mace), and loud.

Did I say loud?

[Justin R.]

Thanks everyone for the information. I am going to pass on this, given the noise concern. Shipping any number of banshees fleeing hades is not in the long term plan.

[capt jgw]

Just get a Honda and run it on deck.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Justin R.

A friend of mine has offered me a super sweet deal on a used Yanmar L100V genset. It's a tiny single cylinder diesel that he's been using on his jobsites (he's a contractor). I have room for it in my boat's engine compartment, so I'm thinking of buying it so that I can stop using my diesel engine just to charge batteries and whatnot, but am wondering about the feasibility of some of the other details:

1. Exhaust. Can something like this be hooked up to an exhaust line? I'm happy to punch a hole in the transom and add another hose - I've done that before, when I installed an Espar hyronic furnace - but I'm less sure about getting the exhaust hose on the engine. I'm also assuming that the exhaust doesn't need to be water cooled.

2. Cooling. Do I need to force air through the engine room?

3. Fuel. It has a 1.25 gallon fuel tank on board. At 4 kW/h it burns 230 grams of fuel per kW (http://www.martindiesel.com/Products...e%20Curves.pdf), so 920 g/kWh. The 8.75 pounds of diesel in a full tank would last about 4 hours 20 minutes at that rate. So, I could refuel it manually with the fuel transfer pump that I already have installed in the engine room, just pointing the output hose at the genset's tank. Thoughts?

4. Noise. The spec says 97 dB, which sounds crazy loud. Some random website says that's about the same as a lawnmower. Can anything be done about that? If not I think this won't help, as the primary use case is hanging out at anchor, and that loud would be unpleasant.

Thanks!

All that glitters isn't gold. I have no tact. It sounds like a fools errand.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by capt jgw

Just get a Honda and run it on deck.

+1


Either go real marine diesel generator with proper cooling and a water cooled exhaust. Preferably low RPM heavy duty type.

Or go Honda (or Yamaha) on deck (or not on deck, but on a swim platform somewhere where carbon monoxide don't get in to suffocate you). That's a cheap, zero installation, quiet, and generally satisfactory solution.

[Cheechako]

I considered that type of engine for one of my 12V gen builds years ago, I'ts complicated to do and not well suited.