Electrical System Questions

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Knotflying,

The Honda 2000 has a gasoline engine and, since gasoline fumes are heavier then air, if any of the fumes were to leak out they would settle in the bilge and could explode. This is why boats with gasoline engines require you to put on a blower before you start the engine. I decided against storing the Honda where the Mase generator is usually installed and bought a good cover for it instead and keep it all the way aft, on the port side, in the cockpit. I bought a top notch bicycle chain and strap it to the stainless railing. It really isn't in the way at all there because it fits just about perfectly and the chain keeps anyone from stealing it. I looked into hooking it up in where the Mase was permanently with an exhaust hose but the generator is also air cooled (the Mase is water cooled) so you would need to leave the hatch cover off and it would just be in your way. In order to operate it safely I did the following: I bought a 6" high container from Walmart and drilled some holes in the bottom (this drains out any water that may splash into the container). Then I attached some stainless pad eyes to the swim platform. I also bought some straps from Walmart. I set the container on the swim platform, drop in the generator, and strap it in. The generator is outside of the boat so I don't have to worry about gas fumes or carbon monoxide poisoning. Then I run the shore power cord from the generator to the power plug on the boat, turn on the breaker, and kick off the AC. Works great and the generator is nice and quiet.

Hope that helps,

Doug
 
There are some chargers which have selective outputs for mixing various battery types. I have used these successfully for several years on different boats.

I agree with the advice to buy a Honda over a copy. Honda made a 500 watt generator (available in AC and in 12 volts) back in the late 70's. I still own one, and it usually starts on the second pull, after a year's storage.

The Honda EU 2000i (as well as the 1000) are great machines. I use one to power a 8300 BTU AC unit and battery charger on my boat. On eco, it will not run over night, so I do have the 6 gallon fuel tank. The imitation machines may work--but I notice that our local RV dealer has gone thru several brands during the last several years. I want a brand which will be around and have parts/service if I need it.
 
Andrew was good enough to provide information on the alternator on the 150 HP Yanmar. The alternator is a Valeo TG15 150a KSR-DF. It has an internal regulator

This is the same alternator that I have on my Audi A4 which is fine for our applications as this is a diesel engine. However, I now understand why Andrew and others have warned about putting anything with gasoline even close to the engine compartment. The alternator is not spark proof and hence if any gasoline fumes drift down into the engine compartment, it would not be good.

Thanks you to everyone who helped me with their great advice. I am taking delivery on Tuesday and have decided to wait and see before I make any changes. I think this was wise advice from Levitation.

Things that make sense to do soon are to replace all the lights with LEDs and getting an energy efficient freezer - again thanks Levitation. I am also going to put in an amp-hour meter. Thanks Captain Mac and others.

After that I may consider replacing my house bank with 4 x 6V Golf Batteries. Thanks to John Gray for first suggesting this.

I suspect that the automotive alternator is not up to the job of recharging the batteries if you are not hooked up to shore power on a regular basis. If I have a 440 Amp house battery, it will require about 90 amp during the bulk phase. As a result, I will look at hot rated, large frame alternator with a smart regulator. Thanks to Thataway for pointing out this issue.

Contrary to advice, I am going to try the 2000 Watt Champion generator with invertor. It is 1/3 the price of the Honda ($399) and Costco is good about returns.

I wish solar made more sense as I think we have to wean ourselves off hydrocarbons. However, the price of solar is too high and besides the sea kayaks will shade the panel.

Levitation: A couple of clarifications:

1. You indicated that you thought that the ACR was fine for charging a Golf cart house bank and the other batteries without boiling them. Did I understand you correctly?
2. I didn't quite understand why I need to bypass the ACR when charging using shore power through my invertor. Could you clarify that please?

Thanks for everyone help. Bill
 
Bill,
FYI, I do not have any experience with the Champion Generators. I have noted that many of the cheap Chinese made generators for sale on the internet have had terrible reviews. The only reviews I could find for the Champion were for the 3500w on Cabelas.com and it had generally good reviews.

I did not find a 2000w Champion for sale on Costco. They did have a 3500w though. I found a 2000w at http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...er Generators&cm_cat=Nextag&cm_ven=Aggregates. I would recommend you ensure it has the receptacles that you need, and will generate the power you need. The 2000w rated power is for surge power. It's continuous power is 1700w. That can make a difference on high amperage devices such as air conditioners and microwaves.
 
The place to go for questions about the air cooled portable generators is RV.NET--there are many thousands of users there, and one thread on the Champion 2000i has 83 pages! http://tinyurl.com/6ap6lrl (use the search function on the main page). RV.NET is also an excellent resource on tow vehicles for boats as well as RV's.

The Champion generators have a good reputation (maybe not quite as good as the Honda, but "OK"). There is one caution in any one of these type of generators, be sure that it will run what you need it to run. If you want to run an AC unit, or microwave, the amount of power necessary is much more than a battery charger. The smaller Honda 1000i will run most battery chargers--although I have heard of a few that the inverter/alternator types would not run properly.
 
You are quite right that the Champion generator is a 2000 watt starting and 1600 watt rated generator, but so is the Honda 2000i. The specifications- including noise - are pretty well identical. I agree that it is hard to beat Honda quality, but I think the reviews for the Champiion are positive.

One of the things that I did like about the 2000 watt Champion Generator is that is stackable. That is that you can connect it to another 73531i generator and it becomes a 4000 watt (3200 rated) generator. There is a special cable that has an outlet to allow for this.

Here is the Champion website. Like so many companies, it is an American Company which does the design and builds the genertor in China. http://www.championpowerequipment.com/73531i.php

At $499 ($399 on sale with a $100 Costco coupon), the price is very hard to beat. I think the Honda generator is selling for about $1,200.

cheers Bill
 
Honda 2000i is "stackable" as well.

Gene R
Wolf Pack
 
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