Is it necessary to purchase a portable generator? If so, which would be the best? I heard Hondas are pretty good
Ah yes where we get even less solar hours and where most boats reside only on moorings.....:winkMaine-you live in Maine. I think you mostly cruise N.E. Think that has impact on your (quite educated) choices.
If I had to respond to Outbound's post it would have been exactly the same as yours.We like our Honda. Great for charging batteries when the solar cannot, when we need relief from the heat to put one AC on and run the odd 120 volt equipment. My Honda cost me $800 back on 2008. One can be had for about $1200 now. Inboard diesel generators cost upwards of $10,000-20,000 to put one in. Do the math.
I had one of these, a Chinese Honda knock-off. It worked great for the one year that it lasted with about 100hrs. run time.I'm seriously considering this one from Harbor Freight, which has lots of rave reviews. The price is right, only 10 pounds heavier than the Honda, half the price, very quiet at 63 db. Inverter Generator - 4.7HP, 2500W Inverter Generator
Gary,I just looked at the study Mainsail talked about, and apparently, the vast majority of those deaths occurred when people fired up gasoline generators in their garages, basements and homes during power outages. Here is an exert from that study: ASHRAE Journal, Sept, 2014, Vol.56(9), p.92(4) [Peer Reviewed Journal]
Description: Concerns exist about the hazard of acute residential carbon monoxide (CO) exposures from portable gasoline-powered generators, which can result in death or serious adverse health effects. As of April 23, 2013 and as shown in Figure 1, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) databases contain records of at least 800 deaths (involving 597 incidents) from CO poisoning caused by consumer use of a generator in the period of 1999 through 2012. (1) Typically, these deaths occur when consumers use a generator in an enclosed or partially enclosed space or, less often, outdoors near a partially open door, window or vent. While avoiding the operation of such generators in or near a home would reduce indoor CO exposures significantly, it may not be realistic to expect such usage to be eliminated completely.
All the best,
Gary
Yeah but like all things boat, everything can be fixed with cash. I'm in the process of installing a below deck diesel generator and so far I've spent about $6800 on the project. And this is for an inexpensive unit. Not everyone can afford one of these and not all boats even have the space to install one.No still hate generators. All generators. But still think below deck units make more sense for some.