portable generator

[doratheexplorer]

Disclaimer:  this happened a long way from my viewpoint but this is what I think I saw and heard:

 

Possibly the stupidest thing I've ever seen was a skipper of a commerical trip boat, which had engine on and was moving (albeit very slowly), topping up a portable generator with petrol on the cabin top in front of his helm position.  Again, I can't swear to it, but it looked like he had a cigarette in his mouth.  I can only assume the generator was in use.

 

I was aware that at that time, the operator had already been reported to the maib for their use of portable generators.

[doratheexplorer]

6 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

Since the BSS requires gas and petrol lockers to be gas tight (apart from the drain) to at least the height of the gas bottle valve or cap of the petrol can, your well deck is only suitable storage for gas bottles or petrol cans less than 2 inches high.

Front decks aren't lockers so the requirements for lockers isn't relevant.

[The Welsh Cruiser]

I'm in the generator camp. Why run a £6-8K lump for hours on end just to create a few amps of electricity?

 

I bought a nearly new Kipor generator off ebay 3 years ago, £150. It does between 3 and 4 hours on a litre of petrol. I syphon petrol out of my motor bike as and when required. Hot water is from a Morco. The generator lives chained to a handrail support on the cruiser deck during the winter months, with a cover over it when not in use. I don't use it during the summer months so drain the tank and carb and keep it inside the boat. 

Edited October 30, 2019 by The Welsh Cruiser

[Guest]

Also in the generator camp. Bought myself a Kipor IG2600 and a Victron Phoenix 12v/50a a while ago, use it infrequently although planning to use it more this winter. I don't store fuel on the boat - I buy enough petrol to fill it and then my fuel can is empty and then I'll refill it when I need to. I do store the genny on the boat. I'm one of the 24 who fills the genny on the stern. I'll certainly take onboard some of the comments here but I've had this set up for a few years now and I'm still alive.

[David Mack]

22 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Front decks aren't lockers so the requirements for lockers isn't relevant.

Well if you wanted to convince a BSS Examiner that your well deck is a safe place to store gas or petrol, your best chance would be to show that it complied with the nearest relevant BSS requirement, which is for lockers, but is in any event subservient to the overall requirement:

Are all portable petrol tanks stored, when not in use, to ensure that any leaking fuel or escaping vapour will not enter the interior of the vessel?

[Dr Bob]

1 hour ago, magictime said:

How long are you talking about being away from shore power, and how often?

 

If you're talking about a few weeks a year, just run the engine. If months on end, and without solar power, the case for a generator makes more sense. 

 

I was weighing this up myself recently (year-round liveaboard CCer) and had pretty much talked myself into getting a generator, as I didn't want to be running my engine 20 hours a week or more through the winter (= say 6 days at 2 hours and one at 8 hours) even if staying put in a given week. But the practicalities and safety concerns regarding use and storage did worry me.

 

In the end I've gone for a somewhat lateral solution; since my batteries need replacing anyway, I've bought a set of Pure Lead Carbon batteries that are claimed to charge faster and to be less reliant on frequent full charges to stay in good condition. Hence, in theory, I should be able to get by with maybe half the engine running time while stationary (say 60-90 minutes 7 days a week, which I'd need for hot water anyway), with full charges from a cruising day at least once a fortnight. They're expensive, but no more expensive than a regular set of batteries plus a generator plus fuel to run it. Made sense to me anyway; I'll see how they work out in practice.

 

 

That was our approach too. We need to run the engine each day to get hot water so the lateral solution of looking at the batteries was an easier way. We went for LiFePO4s instead though rather than Lead Carbons. Cut our engine running by half.

Petrol would have been a real pain to source though without a car.

 

[magictime]

4 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

 

Petrol would have been a real pain to source though without a car.

 

I could have lived with that side of it actually - maybe because we got used to finding a petrol station on foot and filling two 5 litre cans every day when cruising on our old petrol outboard boat! 5 litres once a week would have been okay (enough to run a small generator for say 12 hours). Still, combined with refuelling, storing/operating/servicing gennie etc it's a hassle I can certainly do without.

[Richard10002]

If I get a round tuit, (and I havent in 8 years to date), I plan to have a gas locker type enclosure welded on the stern deck with a drain hole over the side of the boat. This would be able to store both genny and petrol can/s, and would be handy as a seat on the stern, (moored up on sunny days  ).

 

It doesn't seem like a big job, but procrastination is the thief of time  

[Momac]

1 hour ago, magictime said:

storing/operating/servicing gennie etc it's a hassle I can certainly do without.

If little used there should hardly be need for servicing a portable generator .... assuming you buy a good one. Which I didnt. But with modification it seems okay ... says he hopefully.

 

Perhaps a better silent generator would be  a good idea  .... such as a hydrogen fuel cell . They are more than a little expensive .... but coupled with a lithium battery pack  ? 

Maybe one day my battery anxiety will no longer exist....

 

https://www.fruugo.co.uk/efoy-comfort-80i-fuel-cell-33-a/p-7086982-15354320?language=en&ac=croud&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6eTtBRDdARIsANZWjYbQ54yOAs7zHa1gh-6AH4LFnQvDiUxpa3DA4xmkKBVC4394Fv8rYTIaAm8PEALw_wcB

 

 

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, MartynG said:

If little used there should hardly be need for servicing a portable generator .... assuming you buy a good one. Which I didnt. But with modification it seems okay ... says he hopefully.

 

Perhaps a better silent generator would be  a good idea  .... such as a hydrogen fuel cell . They are more than a little expensive .... but coupled with a lithium battery pack  ? 

Maybe one day my battery anxiety will no longer exist....

 

https://www.fruugo.co.uk/efoy-comfort-80i-fuel-cell-33-a/p-7086982-15354320?language=en&ac=croud&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6eTtBRDdARIsANZWjYbQ54yOAs7zHa1gh-6AH4LFnQvDiUxpa3DA4xmkKBVC4394Fv8rYTIaAm8PEALw_wcB

 

 

 

At that price battery anxiety would rapidly be replaced with wallet anxiety! ?

[MtB]

8 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

At that price battery anxiety would rapidly be replaced with wallet anxiety! ?

 

And £10 a litre for the fuel, IIRC!

 

 

[cuthound]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And £10 a litre for the fuel, IIRC!

 

 

 

What fuel does it use, printer ink? ?

[Momac]

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And £10 a litre for the fuel, IIRC!

 

 

Not quite. £5 to £7 per litre .

But yes its expensive. 

How that works out per day in real life I dont know. 

[MtB]

11 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Not quite. £5 to £7 per litre .

But yes its expensive. 

How that works out per day in real life I dont know. 

 

Plus delivery....

 

[doratheexplorer]

19 hours ago, David Mack said:

Well if you wanted to convince a BSS Examiner that your well deck is a safe place to store gas or petrol, your best chance would be to show that it complied with the nearest relevant BSS requirement, which is for lockers, but is in any event subservient to the overall requirement:

Are all portable petrol tanks stored, when not in use, to ensure that any leaking fuel or escaping vapour will not enter the interior of the vessel?

Yes.  Been there, done that.  My well deck is fine, as are many other well decks I presume.

[Neil Smith]

Lpg gennie is worth considering.

[doratheexplorer]

25 minutes ago, Neil Smith said:

Lpg gennie is worth considering.

I looked at that option.  If you're gonna use it a lot, the savings are good.  Also, advantages re storage.  In the end I was put off by how 'heath robinson' the conversion kits seemed to be.  I was worried about their safety, which I realise is a little ironic in the context of what I've said on this thread.

[doratheexplorer]

https://petepowerblog.wordpress.com/lpg-propane-conversion-of-petrol-generators-explained/

[The Welsh Cruiser]

Is it really cheaper to run a gennie on lpg when boaters have to pay around £34 for 13KG of the stuff? £34 of petrol would give me around 100 running hours.

[doratheexplorer]

21 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

Is it really cheaper to run a gennie on lpg when boaters have to pay around £34 for 13KG of the stuff? £34 of petrol would give me around 100 running hours.

It's cheaper if you have an adaptor to fill the bottles yourself or you use huge bottles.  If you're just swapping 13kg bottles at boatyards, it's no cheaper.  The main advantages then are that the fuel itself is seen to be cleaner and safer and that if doesn't go off if you store it a long time.  Disadvantages are that you pay more for the lpg kit, some gennys don't get on with lpg, and the lpg causes greater wear and tear to the genny components. 

 

Also, there's my personal concern about the safety of these heath robinson kits.  I suspect they aren't tested to the same extent as a brand leading genny is.