To generate or not?

[clayton curtis]

Hi all,

I've followed the discussions of where is the best place to put a generator on a B40/43, and I'm interested in potentially adding one. I would love to get your feedback on these questions.

Background: My B40 lives on a mooring ball in Newport. We keep the fridge, but not freezer, on at all times even when we are gone for a week or two. Otherwise, I have LED everything. My two solar panels i installed do a fine job keeping the batteries topped off by the end of the each day (most days, with weather permitting). So why get a generator? It comes down to really one thing - the convenience of hot water. Our solar shower bag works on really sunny days, but you gotta use it at the right time (worked great in the Bahamas). After a day out sailing we mostly motor back through the harbor, but this only takes 15 mins and the water doesn't really get hot enough in that time. I could just run it for another 30 mins each time we need hot water, but that seems like it could add up to a lot of engine hours over time, possibly more than its use for propulsion. Not to mention it is noisy and inefficient. And what if I want to take a shower in the morning like a civilized person?

Is it worth it?

I'm considering the NextGen 3.5 or 5.5kw and I know they are about $6k/7k.

1. How much does it cost to get it installed?

2. I'm pretty handy, how hard is it to do it yourself? I would obviously have someone install the thru holes in hull as that would terrify me. But I could probably do the rest. I'm curious how much that would save me in dinero and is it worth it.

3. Other ideas you might have? The water heater is a hog. I'm rarely at dock and don't even know how long it has to run to heat up the water in the reserve. Anybody?
Could a dedicated battery with a powerful inverter run it? Are there any propane water heaters that are safe, and could be adapted to the water system? My little Honda portable generator can sometimes run the heater but it is so loud that the entire harbor, or g forbid the anchorage, sounds like a plane is taking off. Plus it most often trips.

Sorry for the long message, but I wanted to get all the details out there. And thanks for any of your thoughts and opinions!

Clayton

[sam]

Clayton, I have a 43 and installed a NEXTGEN 3.5. Rough estimate for installation using top shelf guys was about $6K , or the unit's price.I use it about a half hour or hour a day when cruising, usually in the AM to run the coffee pot and maybe add a bit of warm water for the shower.If you want to use it to recharge the batteries, I would suggest going with a larger shorepower battery charger to reduce runtime. I have a robust / upgraded Balmar alternator that I rely on for battery charging. I have only run it once all night for air conditioning on a very muggy night at anchor after several days out. We have also used it for heating the cabin, it was great to be able to run the ac in heat mode when motoring along the ICW back in cold weather.

The 3.5 can handle the forward air of 16 KBTU and other loads at the same time with care, but I would not try to run both ac's off of it. I added the soft start device to the 16kbtu aircon to help reduce the starting / surge load.

It is  bit noisy, but that is OK as it prevents me from wanting to run it all the time or too frequently. It is noisy on board, and not so to other vessels. It has a deep thrum-not unpleasant but very noticeable.

I had it installed in the port lazerette, near the front of the space, athwartship. I highly recommend having a good electrical guy do the wiring. The other stuff is pretty straightforward. We added support and strengthening under the floor as the weight is not insignificant.We installed the sound shield from NextGen.

If any other questions or if I can help let me know.

Sam

B 43, Hull #9

[clayton curtis]

Thanks Sam! 

Yeah, I feel you with the chilly nights on the ICW.  I had forgot about that. I guess that's another advantage for the generator.  Seems like a good investment.

/cc

[James Taylor]

Clayton

Have you decided on a generator? We are thinking of having a generator installed but lots of people we talk to are having problems with them. We want to make a good choice as far as reliability and service is concerned. Would prefer to have a 1800 rpm unit with enough juice to run ac for long stretches.

[clayton curtis]

James,

I've decided against one. I really only wanted hot water. Decided to install an on-demand propane water heater. Was super easy. Only cost $200. And is one of the best upgrades I've done. I'm happy with the decision.

/cc