Honda generator vs inverter

duane.mosley

I'm looking to operate about a1000 watts ac which equates to 83 amps dc. Will 4 105 amp hour batteries be sufficient? I'm figuring  4 hours at 80% I am looking to run my 7,000 btu on board ac unit as well as the tv. My guess is that the ac unit will only run part time once the boat is cooled off which might give me an extra hour or so on the inverter. The Honda generator is great but storing the unit as well as having enough gas to run the genny all night is my concern, not too mention the noise. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance


duane

Dream_Inn

I'd go with a generator.  You can run it for 7 hrs on 1 gallon of fuel.  Running ac off of battery is just not efficient and won't make it half as long.  Then you have batteries that will need a long time charging.  genny you just add fuel.

jme097

According the the Honda brochure, you can run the generator on half a load for 8 hours. Its definitely small enough where you can store it in the engine compartment when not using. You will kill your batteries for sure.

TonyWalker

I would have a hard time being ok with putting any consumer grade equipment that uses and stores gas in the engine room.

 

Tony

Salt Shaker 342

Dream_Inn

Tony, I agree with you.  I will say, if used and wired correctly, the portables are really great!  Also typically more reliable and runs more efficient too. I'll also add the Honda makes one of the best.  I've seen a Honda integrated into the boat (water thru exhaust) and it was really great!

pault1216

I had a lot of luck on the FV270 with the Honda eu2000. Ran the a/c and charged the batteries all night if you topped the tank off. Be sure your CO detector is working. I have run it off the swim platform but preferred running off the boat on an old 3 chamber tube tied off to the back.

russellh

Paul did you plug your Honda direct into the shorepower socket on your boat?

duane.mosley

Dream_Inn said:

Tony, I agree with you.  I will say, if used and wired correctly, the portables are really great!  Also typically more reliable and runs more efficient too. I'll also add the Honda makes one of the best.  I've seen a Honda integrated into the boat (water thru exhaust) and it was really great!

dream, any photos available of that integrated honda? i removed the cooler plate and replaced with a hatch door last year when i bought the boat just for storing the honda genny but never got around to it last year. tying in the exhaust to  make it safe would be great!

aero3113

Anyone ever look into Next Gen? They have some compact units. I know portable is great to have but it's another option.

http://www.nextgenerationpower.com/marinegen.html

aero3113

I also found this but can't find any info on it!

http://www.monaromarine.com/298 Photos/pages/Generator Storage.htm

Cableguy Greg

That Next Gen unit looks sweet.

pault1216

RussellH- Yes. I have an adapter for the shore power connector and used a short heavy duty outdoor extension cord to the EU2000.

jme097

@TonyWalker I dont think it posses any harm? Run your blowers and make sure you gas cap is on tight and I would think you would be fine? I have a bunch of buddies that have done this already for a couple years with no issues

TonyWalker

I agree about running the blowers etc.   I am sure it is ok and entirely safe to do.  But I am old school on several topics   Some of my opinions were formed from my days of boating with my family in the '50's.  A lot of that is now "hard wired" in my head.  

duane.mosley

pault1216 said:

RussellH- Yes. I have an adapter for the shore power connector and used a short heavy duty outdoor extension cord to the EU2000.

my only concern with that would be someone waking and knocking the genny of the tube. we all know that there is always that one person who likes to send a wake to people on the hook!!

TonyWalker

A system of bungee cords thru the handle space on the gennie would secrue it pretty well, I am thinking.

jme097

Generac makes a couple portable model with decent reviews online. A 2,000 watt and a 800 watt. I wonder how many watts the AC runs at

duane.mosley

my air conditioner is 7,000 btu and it pulls  660 watts when running but needs almost 1500 watts at start up

Liberty44140

If you google using a Honda 2000 Generator to run marine A/C you will find a lot of good info on this. Lots of successful stories of people running a 16,000 BTU Marine air conditioner on a Honda 2000. Take to the google! 

Dream_Inn

@duane.mosley , I don't have any pics of the setup but I saw him at he Rinketvous last year.  so, maybe he'll show this year and I can take some pics!  It was very simple but worked well.  I know it was on a 270 an the genny sat under the cockpit sink area.  Was tied in very nicely with mix of water and exhaust put the side.

jme097

If you were to permanently install one you definitely couldn't have it in the engine compartment right? Would have to be above deck somewhere in compartment of some sort. How does the wiring hook into the boats panel? Mine is wired for a generator already

Dream_Inn

I believe it was wired using the standard power cord setup and still start it at the genny (not a big deal since it is easily accessible).  As said, it was not in engine room, but it ran water thru exhaust, which made it quiet and safe.

duane.mosley

Dream_Inn said:

@duane.mosley , I don't have any pics of the setup but I saw him at he Rinketvous last year.  so, maybe he'll show this year and I can take some pics!  It was very simple but worked well.  I know it was on a 270 an the genny sat under the cockpit sink area.  Was tied in very nicely with mix of water and exhaust put the side.

i installed this door last year with the sole purpose of storing a honda genny. seriously thinking about removing the hot water tank since we don't use it. i am only working with a 250ec so space is more limited than a 270. guess it's time to start figuring out how to run the exhaust!

jme097

How in gods name do you run water through the exhaust?

Dream_Inn

Ok, I really need to get more information for you all.  The exhaust water just used a seacock with a pump.  It was really simple but effective at both cooling and quieting the exhaust.  I'm trying tog remember if it was just a switch that turned the pump on or something else.  What's funny is I first saw this boat with this setup at our first Rinkervous and then he appeared at our tenth.  So he's been using it over ten years.

MDboater

duane.mosley said:

I'm looking to operate about a1000 watts ac which equates to 83 amps dc. Will 4 105 amp hour batteries be sufficient? I'm figuring  4 hours at 80% I am looking to run my 7,000 btu on board ac unit as well as the tv. My guess is that the ac unit will only run part time once the boat is cooled off which might give me an extra hour or so on the inverter. The Honda generator is great but storing the unit as well as having enough gas to run the genny all night is my concern, not too mention the noise. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance


duane

A few things to consider.  Your current calculation assumes perfect AC to DC conversion.  In reality the conversion efficiency is approx. 90%.  So you would have to supply closer to 93 Amps DC.  The amp hour (Ah) rating on a battery is typically measured over a 20 hour period. Therefore, those batteries can supply 105 Ah when supplying 5.25 Amps.  The Ah rating decreases as you discharge faster.   Beware that some battery suppliers measure over a 100 hour period to inflate their Ah rating.  Battery life is inversely proportional to the degree of discharge.  Therefore, batteries discharged by more than 80% will survive significantly fewer cycles than batteries discharged to 50%.

Given that the AC need 660 watts when running I think that you would need a minimum of 6 105 Ah batteries to have any degree of success.  Even then you would likely experience reduced battery life due to the degree of discharge.  As long as the inverter can handle the AC starting load, I would be less concerned with the brief load on the batteries when calculating capacity.  

duane.mosley

and the debate is over! also bought a 2.5 gallon spill proof gas can so we should make it through a weekend just fine. probably keep it portable too, more uses for it that way.

aero3113

I bought this clone from harbor freight last year. I haven't used it out on the boat yet but it works great around the house. It's quiet like the Honda but not as light. 

http://t.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/gas-engine-generators/2500-peak2200-running-watts-47-hp-125cc-portable-inverter-generator-61169.html

MDboater

duane.mosley said:

and the debate is over! also bought a 2.5 gallon spill proof gas can so we should make it through a weekend just fine. probably keep it portable too, more uses for it that way.

Does that model have a 30 amp recepticle?  If not,  you should consider that as it will make connecting to the boat shore power  a breeze.

duane.mosley

MDboater said:

duane.mosley said:

and the debate is over! also bought a 2.5 gallon spill proof gas can so we should make it through a weekend just fine. probably keep it portable too, more uses for it that way.

Does that model have a 30 amp recepticle?  If not,  you should consider that as it will make connecting to the boat shore power  a breeze.

it was 100 bucks more for the 30 amp receptacle that is only 30 amps if you have them set up in parallel with another honda 2000. i had already owned the 110 adaptor, so i will use a nice 12gauge extension cord when running on the genny.

duane.mosley

aero3113 said:

I bought this clone from harbor freight last year. I haven't used it out on the boat yet but it works great around the house. It's quiet like the Honda but not as light. 

http://t.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/gas-engine-generators/2500-peak2200-running-watts-47-hp-125cc-portable-inverter-generator-61169.html

i agree that the genny works great, a work colleague has one and it is too big to fit in my hatch door. i also tried the ryobi quiet run genny and it also wouldn't fit. go figure the only one to fit was the honda, which i'm fine with because they have the best reputation.