Solar panel battery charging

[gordd]

My electrician said forget solar and get a small generator and he will set it up lol but thx for help everyone

[prowlersfish]

What type of generator ?

[Happy Ours]

I agree, generator is the way to go, last year I bought a Honda 2000 inverter gererator, I sit it up on the bow on a piece of 1/2" plywood, plug the shore power into it and the whole boat is live, this generator is really quite, light and easy to carry. fridge, microwave, t.v., d.v.d player, lights, computer, hot water if needed, and at the same time the batteries are recharging, it also came with a set of booster cables with its own outlet for boosting, I often run it for three or fours at night while on the hook watching t.v., when I go to sleep I know the battteries are good and the anchor light will not go off. last year when rafting with a friend, he has a 34 ft Mainship, we plugged both boats into the generator and this genny did not even break a sweat. When we leave the boat I put it down in the engine compartment and sit it on the steel plate where the old generator use to be, then strap it down with one bungie cord and thats where it stays till needed. I personnelly like this setup more than the builtin system but thats just me, I bring it home for the winter, and if power outage I have power, extremely cheap to run, this was a very useful purchase

Craig

[prowlersfish]

That is so dangerous its not funny . On the bow ? Not trying tick you off but that's really bad . Where are the fumes going ?? Good chance some of its going in the boat . If your going to use one at least put it on the swim platform . Even thou I don't recommend using one at all . IMO they don't belong on a boat .
Best is to have a marine gen set or do without . As I did with my last 4 boats I cruised with .


Please rethink this

[Happy Ours]

Your opinion is very valid, and yes this is extremely dangerous if not used right. I have 2 co detectors one in bedroom and one in the salon not cheap ones, the genny is right up at the front next to the anchor pulpit exhaust is facing out towards the lake , hatches are closed, with it sitting up front it is alot further away from where we are than it being on the swimplatform, on my buddies Mainship he has a built in genny exhausting out the back and sometimes it really stinks, personnelly I would rather have the portable up front than one in the boat right below me exhausting out the back, the portable is alot quieter and less vibration, I can not talk for all built in gennies but the couple I have seen are all pretty similar, also on hot days it is nice not to have the heat off the built in adding to the interior temp. I take great care in making sure that this is safe, not having the built in genny gives me lots of extra space to move around in the engine compartment also the built in was not there when I bought the boat, but I do thank you for your concern.

Craig

[Big D]

..... I take great care in making sure that this is safe,....

But you're storing it in the engine compartment, and it's venting gas vapours while your engines are running. These are not made to be stored in an engine compartment. Insurance companies love this sort of thing, it's their ticket for legitimately denying a claim! But that's the least of the problems if it's found to be the cause of a fatality. I mean it's like having a bomb down there right? You can take a bunch of precautions but it's still a bomb waiting to go off, and you know Murphy is always along for the ride. Ultimately the captain is responsible. Hate to paint such a bleek picture but it's something you need to think about.

[gordd]

What type of generator ?

He mentioned he has little Honda generator I imagine like BigD . When he gets his boat in water I will go take a look at his set up and we can figure out best way of doing this .. He also suggested 4 bank set up so may get cpl extra deep cycle batteries as well . Learned a lot along the way but certain electrical still escapes me . I can get around some things but always call him in for double check on work and if I am not sure I just get him over for cpl hrs . He is retired gent charges 50$ an hour and cant go wrong with that .

[captainmaniac]

Your opinion is very valid, and yes this is extremely dangerous if not used right. I have 2 co detectors one in bedroom and one in the salon not cheap ones, the genny is right up at the front next to the anchor pulpit exhaust is facing out towards the lake , hatches are closed, with it sitting up front it is alot further away from where we are than it being on the swimplatform, on my buddies Mainship he has a built in genny exhausting out the back and sometimes it really stinks, personnelly I would rather have the portable up front than one in the boat right below me exhausting out the back, the portable is alot quieter and less vibration, I can not talk for all built in gennies but the couple I have seen are all pretty similar, also on hot days it is nice not to have the heat off the built in adding to the interior temp. I take great care in making sure that this is safe, not having the built in genny gives me lots of extra space to move around in the engine compartment also the built in was not there when I bought the boat, but I do thank you for your concern.

Craig

Obviously you are going to do what you choose to do... but I agree with Paul. You need to make a better choice. If you are anchored, the wind will blow the boat downstream of your anchor. And at least some of the fumes from the Genny - even if on the pulpit and hatches are closed - will blow down the decks and into your cockpit. From there, it's straight down hill to the cabin. You have side vents? Some of it will find its way in them too. Doesn't matter if hatches are open or not - you will get fumes. You have CO detectors? GREAT! So did my sister and her boyfriend in their house. They had 3 CO detectors, one on each floor (Bsmt, main, 2nd). The furnace chimney got clogged, and fumes built up in the house. They were almost comatose from CO poisoning when they were roused out of their bed by their German Shepherd. They slept on the 2nd floor... the last place CO would make it to... The dog almost died. The CO detectors did nothing for them - either they didn't go off, or the CO poisoning level was enough that my sister and her boyfriend couldn't comprehend the alarms by the time they went off.

Don't assume a stupid arse 'detector' is going to save your life. They are good as a precaution (and if they go off - get OUT), but never assume that it's safe just because they didn't go off.

Please make safe choices up front.... If you insist on using this kind of generator, at least put it on the swim platform so fumes will (normally) just fall to the water and blow away. On particularly windy nights you may still suffer from the 'station wagon effect', but at least it is less risky than having things up front for the wind to deliver everywhere it can.

Please.... I have been on the water for about 40 years. I have seen a lot of people die for completely avoidable reasons, and would prefer to not see you or your passengers added to the list.

Some people are hugely smart in what they do and how they do it. Some are hugely dumb. Please put yourself in the first category! "It has never been a problem before" is only as good as the next time you try it, and it turns out to be a problem...... but by then its too late ...

[captainmaniac]

You need to understand that a boat is not a car or a house. I don't give a rats arse how good your electrician claims he is. I don't give a crap about how cheap he is (maybe that is a clue -- the cheaper he is the better he is and the more he knows, right??? Or do I have that backwards - the cheaper he is, the less he knows, or the more desperate he is?) If you Hire WalMart or Sams Club to build your house, what do you expect??? The roof caves in after 5 years... Oh well... there was only a 4 year warranty on that part! Too bad so sad.....

I will step back from bring rude. Is he a certified marine electrician? If not , don't let him do anything, don't let him touch anything, and don't accept anythings he says! Boats are NOT simple electronics. If our 'expert' tells you it's all the same, ask him to explain how residual electronic fields induced by improperly grounded shore power setups can deteriorate underwater metalic appendages such as propellers, shafts, and rudders? If his answer is 'DUH'??? Fire him immediately and don't let him touch anything. Regular electricians don't know anything about marine electronics.

[Happy Ours]

Sorry gordd for hijacking this thread but this is all relevant to you also. You guys have given me something to really think about, we never leave the genny running when we go to bed ever, but there are other safety factors to think about, and I greatly appreciate all of your input, that is why this forum is so valuable, I am going to see about finding a built in genny, the exhaust line is still in the boat and the water pick up is still there and the electrical panel is still there I just removed the power lines that go to the genny, I still have it in my garage, I will need a muffler and the genny, cost is not a factor as you can not put a price on piece of mind or safety, and as BigD said being the captain I am responsable for my passengers safety and I do take that very seriously. Again thank you guys for the input it is now time to reevaluate my settup, if any one can chime in about what genny I should be looking for pros and cons and what make seems to work the best.

Thanks
Craig

[gordd]

Sorry gordd for hijacking this thread but this is all relevant to you also.

Oh no worries , lot of good people here withal kinds of input . By all means hijack all you like and or need

You need to understand that a boat is not a car or a house. I don't give a rats arse how good your electrician claims he is. I don't give a crap about how cheap he is (maybe that is a clue -- the cheaper he is the better he is and the more he knows, right??? Or do I have that backwards - the cheaper he is, the less he knows, or the more desperate he is?)

I understand that boats are not cars or house why I actually get a marine electrician or marine mechanic in to double check any work I done or get him to do it . I wasn't born yesterday . He is just semi retired . . And works part time as a yes Marine electrician which he always did. If I was to pay full electrician price you mite as well take the boat to a expensive marina and so on . Remember these boats that we work so hard on and have a love/hate thing going on with are old boats , most marinas don't even want them in their docks , up here anyways . I tried Port Credit marina for example .. they told me what is it with you guys and old boats !.That said I enjoy old boats and or cars and doing and learning things myself on them but not stupid , safety is first for me and whomever is on board with me and those around me . With me there and or helping I get to learn components what they do how to fix them and or what to tell mechanic if something isn't working. Dealer or in house marina electrician would very rare do that with anyone.
I do get it if it takes him for example 2 hrs to do a job of so called "professional" that may take one hour , it defeats purpose of saving money but it doesn't take him that long and he has full array of tools not just a volt meter and cpl screw drivers . Besides how often did you or anyone had to take car or boat back to a so called professional cause what ever work they done wasn't up to par and failed ? All work done by him and me on electrical so far passed survey and surveyor was one tough SOB. I think most on here are aware of safety aspect but there is always that thing called no pun "overboard and or to much of one thing" . Personally hate word safety "common sense" is better. Does one really need a safety label that says " do not stick finger in electrical socket " but that's where we are now days.

[bjanakos]

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