onboard generators

[kskogerson]

Since many tugs have propane stoves, has anyone considered installing a propane gen set on board?

 

[workingdogs]

Interesting idea , however ..... Those little tanks that you store on the swim step will be emptied rather quickly , so you will either need several of them , or a bigger tank .
Not wanting to spend many thousands on a built in diesel generator , I will be carrying a portable ultra quiet Honda . It's not a perfect solution , but its $1k ,2200 watts , 57db , and its suitcase style and 65 lb weight allow me to use it for other things and transport it easily for service . I already need to keep a small amount of gas aboard for the outboard so that's not a problem . Yamaha also makes basically the same thing too . Whadda ya think ?? Where am I going wrong ?
Richard

 

[kskogerson]

I don't know about others but I find carrying gas a bad option. I just purchased a Lehr propane outboard and love it. My camper has a propane gen set and I haven't run out of gas yet.

 

[ozoner]

I'm with WorkingDogs. 1 gallon of propane is equivalent to right around .65 gallons of diesel, so you will go through a third more fuel, gallon-wise, when compared to diesel. Onan shows fuel consumption for the 5KW model installed in the R29 to be around 1.7 gallons per hour at 75% load - that would equate to around 2.2 gallons per hour of propane, exhausting a 5 gallon (4.6 gallons with the safety cutoff float) propane bottle in just over 2 hours. Those propane tanks will empty themselves pretty quickly over the weekend if you use the generator for a couple of hours.

Also, propane powered generators rugged enough for marine use are probably few and far between, not to mention expensive and harder to find service/parts for in your average marina.

Added: Also propane gives me the willies when it is routed through a bilge. It just loves to pool in the bilge until a random spark comes, unlike CNG which is lighter than air. I would be quite worried about the vibration from a propane generator eventually cracking a fitting on the propane supply hose and causing a <boom>.

 

[knotflying]

I just went with the Torqeedo, However I still carry gas for my Honda 2000. I carry the gas on top tied in front of my dingy which is stored under the solar panel. I use a 3 gallon outboard tank, low profile so it fits nicely and when I need to fill gas in the Honda I use the siphon tube. No fuss, no muss. And being on top I feel pretty confident I will not get fume infiltration into the bilge.

 

[Osprey]

Those of you using a Honda generator, as I do, should be aware that the Honda has a floating neutral, i.e. the stator winding is isolated from the frame and the AC receptacle ground pin. For safer operation one should install a jumper between the receptacle neutral and ground. Ths modification can be done by accessing the back side of the receptacle. Only qualified persons should do the work. Note that using an unmodified Honda generator causes the Ranger electrial system to display a "Reverse Polarity" red light.

 

[knotflying]

Thanks for that tidbit of information. I suspected that may have been the simple fix, but never really got into it.