Generators

[wannasail]

38'' CC.
Looking for information on generators.
Wife and I will be moving aboard our boat soon and will be sailing the ICW south into the Gulf and Caribbean in the very near future and are thinking about installing a generator.
Looking for info. on the advantages and disadvantages of a generator.
Any web sites out there that would be helpful?
Have never thought of a generator before but have spoken to others and get the opinion that this is a must when living aboard.
Any and all info. will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[windship2]

wannasail,
What will be the loads placed on your batts and will you have A/C?
If your not going to have an A/C unit then you won''t really need a gas or diesel genset.Your charging needs could easily be supplied by a turbine.

Dennis

[wannasail]

Dennis,
Do have AC with heat exchanger.
Have not used either as yet and really don''t want to unless really, really necessary.
We know nothing on this issue and are in the research stage. Is a genset the same as a generator? See we know little.
Looking for ways to have AC power for certain things such as computer, TV at times, short wave radio, etc.
Told by others that generator is a necessary item for live-aboards.

Any and all info. will be greatly appreciated

Ray (Dream Catcher)

[Sailmc]

If all you are looking to run are small electronic devices then an inverter will do the job. If you want to run air conditioning then you will need a generator. Be advised that to run a generator all night while you are sleeping is dangerous due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisioning.

[wannasail]

Thanks Dennis & Sailmc.
Your comments are appriciated.
Ray
Dream Catcher

[deseely]

Just an idea I want to throw out here that doesn''t directly address your question but may indirectly effect your project. Running a generator all night is going to be a pain for several reasons, fuel, noise, exhaust fumes ect. Has any one considered that the water temperature at 50 or so feet will be significantly cooler than the air temp. The temp difference will not be enough to efficiently cool the air in the cabin but if a line was dropped down into some fairly deep water and then pumped through a specialy designed mattress it would create a nice cool bed. Anyone who has slept on a water bed without a heater in it can tell you that it is very chilly even when the water is 80 degrees because water transfers heat much more efficiently than air. The energy requirements for pumping 20 gph into the boat, through the matress and back out of the boat will only be a fraction of the energy required to run an AC unit. Just a thought.

[Peter_pan]

Hi Folks
I have lived aboard both on my boat and my motor home. I have 6.5 kw gensets on both. Major over kill. A good quality 700 watt inverter will easly operate a computer tv and vcr simultaniously. Solar panels will do a very good job of maintaining a full charge. A 6.5 genset can burn up to 5 gals. of gas a day. Check the power need of your A/C. Normally only fesable for short periods of time or on dock power anyway.
Jim

[DuaneIsing]

deseely,

I just wanted to acknowledge your idea, which is intriguing to me. I doubt, however, that many boats of the size we SailNet members sail would be anchored in 50 feet of water very often. In the warm water venues we have visited, you''re usually in 10-15 feet of water, if you are lucky. With water that shallow, I don''t know what the water temperature would be relative to the night air temp in which you would be trying to stay comfortable.

I know what you mean about a water bed extracting heat from the body. I wonder if anyone else is already doing something like this or has discovered reasons why it isn''t effective or practical.

Duane