Anyone using a camping generator?

[Randylb]

After seeing many cruisers in the North Channel using the Honda generators for years I bought one last year. I run it mid morning or mid afternoon. It is relatively quiet and considerable quieter than a dinghy outboard you are likely to hear during these same time periods. I plug directly into the shore power outlet using a pigtail.

I run it on the swim platform and carry gasoline on deck. We need to carry gasoline for the dingy any way so there is no additional hazard. It is likely safer than running the diesel engine to charge batteries while at anchor as all components including exhaust are external to the boat. As for it not being marine quality I'm not sure how that is relevant other than cost. When this one wears out I will by another.

Randy

 

[woodster]

I have gen and I have a 2 hp Honda outboard for the dink. I carry the gen and a little 2 gal gas container in the cockpit locker. Vents are closed. For the container, I have to physically push a button to get it to fart. I run the gen on the foredeck with the fwd hatch closed. So tell me.. What's wrong with this? What are the failure mechanisms? How low do your probability numbers have to go? What about all the boats that run on gas? Their tanks are "down below". For all the cruisers that have outboards for their dinks, I seldoms see jugs on the deck..and when I do, they're yellow...

the fumes will migrate to the lowest point in the hull and hover there ...in the event you have a spark of any kind down there you have just launched your boat in orbit ...for this reason that is why they have bilge blower fans on gas power vessels and it is required that you run the blower for at least 5 minutes before starting the engines...explosions always happen when one least expect it to happen


you can keep your gas down below if you like but hindsight and history has proven over and over again that this is not a good practice that is why the abyc has written clauses in the regs to cover this issue and i for one don't like arguing with a sign post only to lose by death

 

[Mark Maulden]

This little one gal container(I mistyped when I said two) takes two separate and simultaneous actions to allow fumes to vent. If left in the sun during the summer, it will pressurize. The sides will bulge. Nothing escapes until I force it to. Criteria being my nose...Stored in the cockpit locker, it never even approaches this state. I could leave it on deck and it could possibly start leaking. Then I'd have stream of gas down the deck. Also, it's only aboard when we're out. If we were discussing 20 yr old container design, then I could agree to keep it on deck. Lesser of two evils. I'd be interested in seeing the ABYC verbage on this subject. But I'd have to pay for it which pisses me off. That's another thread.