Adding portable generator

[dlochner]

@Ralph Johnstone Really? A finger? LOL... now play nice. I know you have been here long enough to know what is and what is not acceptable.

@Brian D I agree that it was a big large and dominating. However, it did capture the apparent sentiment of the offending boaters. Perhaps a more discrete gesture would be more acceptable. After all, we do have this as one of or emojis.

And one of those boaters who probably deserve the "Flying Fickle Finger of Fate" was a large (~65') power boat named "Bow to my Stern." Think about it.

 

[Ward H]

I assume you will be at anchor (or on a mooring). I also assume there will be some breeze such that the boat will be aimed bow into the wind. If the generator was on the stern, with the exhaust going downwind, how could any exhaust gas get into the boat?

I know from experience it can happen.

 

[Davidasailor26]

The summer is Florida is very warm. I would like to cool the boat in the afternoon. I have a window AC that I could set up on the bow hatch. I have a generator but am afraid of dying.
If I placed the generator in the dingy and attached the dingy to the stern of the boat with a pvc pipe from each corner to the dingy and ran an extension cord through the pvc pipe and plugged in the AC directly would I survive? The pvc pipes would be 10' long and I would be at anchor.
I would cover the generator if rain was coming. No cords would hit the water. Cool the boat in the afternoon and not sleep while the boat is being cooled.

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I’d be pretty worried about the effects of the PVC pipes in powerboat wakes or a swell. Maybe there’s a way to secure it, but it feels to me like the pipes would chafe the dinghy, painter, or power cord.

 

[TimFromLI]

Backfeeding through an outlet is not a good idea, besides it probably won't work on a gfci protected outlet. Just use the adapter to your shorepower inlet.

 

[jviss]

I think the PVC pipe idea is a bit goofy. I would just make a dinghy painter with a shore power cord lashed to it with just a little slack. Heck, you could probably just use the shore power cord as a painter, and seize it to to short lengths of line to tie it to the dinghy and to a cleat on the boat. There's very little stress on a painter while at anchor.

 

[Hayden Watson]

The summer is Florida is very warm. I would like to cool the boat in the afternoon. I have a window AC that I could set up on the bow hatch. I have a generator but am afraid of dying.
If I placed the generator in the dingy and attached the dingy to the stern of the boat with a pvc pipe from each corner to the dingy and ran an extension cord through the pvc pipe and plugged in the AC directly would I survive? The pvc pipes would be 10' long and I would be at anchor.
I would cover the generator if rain was coming. No cords would hit the water. Cool the boat in the afternoon and not sleep while the boat is being cooled.

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I have been doing this for the past 4 seasons although it is to recharge batteries not run AC. I do not use the pvc pipe to hold off and just let the dink trail behind on a 3' painter. This keeps the exhaust and vibration out of the boat and make the generator much quieter for me and my neighbors. I tie the generator so that it will stay in the center of the floor and not vibrate around. Point the exhaust away from the sides so that you do not burn the tubes.
Sound travels mostly "line-of-sight" so with it down below the top of the inflatable tubes, the sound travels out and upward rather than horizontally across the water.
And yes you should have a working CO detector.

 

[jviss]

For several years I have been thinking it would be cool to have a dinghy with an electric drive and an integrated generator, that was also designed for charging the big boat's batteries.

The problem with a portable generator feeding AC to the boat and then using one's shore power charger to charge batts is that most shore power chargers are in the 20 or 30 Amp neighborhood, and as such can take a long, long time to charge up a reasonable house bank. It would be better if the generator put out like 100A of DC, or your shore power charger could put out 100A.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

It would be better if the generator put out like 100A of DC, or your shore power charger could put out 100A.

Just how big are these battery banks ?

 

[Bob J.]

Using a portable generator to charge batteries especially FLA or AGM works until one hits 80% SOC. After that it takes upwards of 4-6 hours to finish that last 20%. A mind numbing drone if there ever was one.

Even with the generator on the stern facing the exhaust downwind, it sometimes does find it's way back into the boat.

 

[Hayden Watson]

Using a portable generator to charge batteries especially FLA or AGM works until one hits 80% SOC. After that it takes upwards of 4-6 hours to finish that last 20%. A mind numbing drone if there ever was one.

Even with the generator on the stern facing the exhaust downwind, it sometimes does find it's way back into the boat.

Which is why on the hook I start charging my Lifeline AGM house bank when it is at a 20% SOC and stop when it is at 80% or the Amps going in drops down due to the CV section of the charge cycle. I do not have the generator on the boat. It is in the inflatable 4' off the stern of the boat and I have never smelled any fumes and more importantly, the CO detector has never gone off.

 

[patrickfarley]

Sounds hopeful. I might give it a try.

 

[NCBrew]

my A/C runs on a 20 amp breaker so I purchased a WAN 3800 watt generator and also changed the 110 volt pump (necssary for A/C) to a 12 v pump so it would reduce the 110 v for the pump. I purchased a 30 anp pigtail to connect the generator to the 110 side of the power panel. I turn off all breakers on the 110 side and only turn on the 12 pump then the A/C breaker. The A/C runs fine and I can also run my TV and laptop. But not the water heater unless I shut off the A/C. It will run the water heater as well as the Battery charger if A/c is turned off.