Small generators

[bobaefa]

Thanks for the advice and warning on power useage. I really don't know enough and appreciate the advice. I am looking online at a Pigtail. To make sure I get the correct one to go from the Generator to my 30amp shore power input on the boat. I found a Marinco 15 Amp Male to 30 Amp to female. Is the generator 15 Amp? The 15 amp plug looks like the "household" plug but I am not sure.

There is a link to ebay and the item I am looking at.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MARINCO- ... iesQ5fGear

[nedmiller]

15 amp refers to the amount of electricity that the wire is designed to handle--about 1800 watts at 120volt. Look at the wattage output of your generator--I wouldn't use this with a 5000 watt generator! This wire won't be properly 'fused' so could heat up/even melt if you put more than 15 amps through it.
The male plug does look like a regular plug like you would plug into your generator or house.
Be sure and never remove that '3rd prong'--the safety grounding prong--so you don't flip the wire upside down accidentally and reverse polarity. It isn't that things won't "work" with reverse polarity, it's just that you don't want that coming into to your shore-power for reasons mentioned in my previous post.
SILK

[Divecoz]

Personally....I would question any facility where I pay to slip my boat if it doesnt have .
#1. GFCI at the pedestal
#2. if it doesnt require Twist lock cords... I use my 3 prong at the garage and in my brothers side yard..
If the above / 3 prong and with No GFI is available? Make it available for and by you.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

Just a note of caution: The expensive cord with a twist lock is there for a couple of reasons. First, you don't want a live 110 volt cord coming loose and dropping either into a wet cockpit or into the water where someone might come in contact with it. Think about how many times you've accidentally pulled a cord loose at home! Whatever type cord you use, make sure it cannot be easily knocked loose where it enters the boat.
It is also quite important that you not mix up the hot side and the ground which is easier to do with a regular extension cord. My shore-power unit has a light on it if there is a reverse polarity. If you have breakers inside the boat and flip them off, you think the shore-power is off. If you have a reverse polarity, then, in fact, what should be the ground wiring inside the boat is now HOT but the 'ground' has been turned off! My shore power unit was wired so that the breaker switches turn off BOTH wires coming into the boat in case you don't notice the reverse polarity light. 110volts in a wet environment is a risky situation if you don't use what safety devices have been developed.

SILK

[DaveB]

Divecoz, one can have a 20 amp or 15 amp cord running to the 3 prong twist clamp at the dock, just have the adapter.
I have a 50 ft. new $200 Marine Cable and a $150,25 ft. Marine cable and never used them.
I have only DC power that runs most but I have a 10 amp battery charger that powers all batteries and is connected to a 110 power cord with quick release in cabin for no water or vapor penetration.
All my AC appliances run on a 75 watt inverter and a 125 watt inverter for backup. This includes Laptop 15.7 screen and chargeing AAA batteries.I also run a Edgestar 63 quart ref/freezer that I now run on a 75 watt inverter because the DC doesn't work.
I have been at Marinas that has only the three prong but also has the twist 3 prong. Most Marinas will let you lend you the twist type to allow hookup on your reg. extension cord.
I would carry a 50 ft. 20 amp extension cord and a twist cord adapter to hook to shore power on dock. Duck tape is conductive so use black elect. tape to tape them togeather.
Dave

Personally....I would question any facility where I pay to slip my boat if it doesnt have .
#1. GFCI at the pedestal
#2. if it doesnt require Twist lock cords... I use my 3 prong at the garage and in my brothers side yard..
If the above / 3 prong and with No GFI is available? Make it available for and by you.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

Just a note of caution: The expensive cord with a twist lock is there for a couple of reasons. First, you don't want a live 110 volt cord coming loose and dropping either into a wet cockpit or into the water where someone might come in contact with it. Think about how many times you've accidentally pulled a cord loose at home! Whatever type cord you use, make sure it cannot be easily knocked loose where it enters the boat.
It is also quite important that you not mix up the hot side and the ground which is easier to do with a regular extension cord. My shore-power unit has a light on it if there is a reverse polarity. If you have breakers inside the boat and flip them off, you think the shore-power is off. If you have a reverse polarity, then, in fact, what should be the ground wiring inside the boat is now HOT but the 'ground' has been turned off! My shore power unit was wired so that the breaker switches turn off BOTH wires coming into the boat in case you don't notice the reverse polarity light. 110volts in a wet environment is a risky situation if you don't use what safety devices have been developed.

SILK

[Craig LaForce]

Thanks Dave, I'll check out Northern.

Regarding noise levels, the first one I bought is very quiet and has a low muted sort of sound. Haven't run the new one yet, but looks identical except it is blue instead of red. Might want to look at the muffler to make sure it is not loose or cracked. I bought a few larger ones and hooked friends home furnaces up with themduring a 2 week power outage caused by Ice storms in Tulsa a few years ago. One of the mufflers had an attachment bolt strip out from the vibs and it screamed like a jet engine on takeoff. Vibration + cheap steel = bad

Regarding the inverter with a pure sine wave, duh yeah, that's what I meant.

[Divecoz]

Dave I think you lost me or its just too late at night.. ( Too Cold Too Dark Too Many Lights strung and too many packages wrapped)
Up Here.. Marina's abide by NEC and any and all , I have been in. Require approved Marine Twist Lock Cords. I see a Huge difference in the safety factor of a twist lock , very heavy duty / very difficult to damage.. approved marine cords ..I assume thats what your saying... By All Means .. NO Less Than a GFCI.. In the 37 years or more I have been using them I have yet to see Even one, NOT trip.. Like Scuba 1st and 2nd stages they are designed to.... Fail... Safe..

[Craig LaForce]

I for one am not a fan of the twist lock connectors for a boat. I've had 3 kinds of outlets at difference marinas, normal 120V 3 wire grounded polarized outlet with GFCI. - Very easy to just run a heavy duty outdoor power cord to the boat, fish it through the gap at the top of the companionway hatch, down under the head door with a drip loop then back up to a dedicated cord that goes to a power strip by the battery and galley. This works great in my opinion.

Then there was one with a 30 amp twist lock service and now I am at one with a 50 amp twist lock service. Between the size of the thing and the corrosion that happens you almost need the "jaws of life" to connect and disconnect that giant honkin big plug. And the connector and cord cost as much as a good dingy.

I was a guest of a fellow with a big powerboat. He was a bit older and forgot to unplug the twist lock power cord as he pulled out of the slip. I dove acros the boat, unplugged it in a nick of time and tossed the energized power cord back to the dock to keep it from tearing the guy's cord/boat or service connection up. a straight 120V plug would be more forgiving and just unplug.

I don't see polarity control entering into the equation, unless in favor of a standard 3 prong straight grounded plug. (because they all are impossible to plug in the wrong way, and you can buy a simple cheap little plug in outlet tester for a normal household plug. (for just a couple of dollars.) I don't think I have seen them for sale to check the wiring on 50 amp twist lock outlets. If they sell them, they are probably very expensive.

Just one guy's opinion.

[DaveB]

I have both the 30 amp Marine 25ft and 50 ft. lock on.
I don't use them unless a Marina demands them.
There is nothing wrong with them except they are very heavy and bulky and most Marinas I go to don't care what you use, just plug in.(some Marinas will lend you a adaptor for the twist connection on a extension cord) It's up to the boat owner to insure safety in connection.
There are mandatory requirements in Elect. hookups on docks and it's up to the Marina to abide and enforce these regulations. In a small boat demanding less than 10 amps per hr. many choose the blind side and many small boaters be happy.
Dave

Dave I think you lost me or its just too late at night.. ( Too Cold Too Dark Too Many Lights strung and too many packages wrapped)
Up Here.. Marina's abide by NEC and any and all , I have been in. Require approved Marine Twist Lock Cords. I see a Huge difference in the safety factor of a twist lock , very heavy duty / very difficult to damage.. approved marine cords ..I assume thats what your saying... By All Means .. NO Less Than a GFCI.. In the 37 years or more I have been using them I have yet to see Even one, NOT trip.. Like Scuba 1st and 2nd stages they are designed to.... Fail... Safe..

[nedmiller]

This is a good reference for those of you who are wishing to put in safe shore power:
http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/36.htm

SILK

[blue angel]

Ned Miller, since you did the time consuming research on the AC and heater and other appliances that would run on power from the small honda, could you list them, and maybe even possible sources? thanks

[nedmiller]

I'll be happy to post a list of appliances that will run with the Eu1000i but I've left cold and snowy Missouri (and SILK) behind and am in lovely and warm Miami! I'm headed for the Bahama's on a much larger boat--the Admiral is calling it a 'recon' mission since we are wanting to take the Mac there!
I'll post the list of things that I've found when I get back to check the model numbers, etc. I do remember that the AC was the smallest Haier and I got it at Target and the microwave was the smallest one at K-mart. The toaster is 800 watts if my memory serves me.
No internet for the next week but I'll post when I return

SILK

[nedmiller]

As promised, here are the appliances that will work with the Honda Eu1000i. While the 2000i will run most appliances that you would plug into a wall socket at home, the 1000i is much more limited. You do, however, get a smaller (17.7" x 9.4" x 14.9") and lighter (28#) generator which is easier to store and easier to move around. You can expect microwaves to perform as well with the 1000i and 2000i as they would at home and computers and other electronics can be used safely since they produce a pure sine wave.

The air conditioner we use is a Haier 5,200 BTU Model HWF05XC7-2. We start the fan first, then turn on the AC and set it at full power. It will not cycle rapidly (ie turn off and then right back on) but we have found that if it is hot enough outside to need the AC then leaving it at full power works well and keeps the boat comfortable.
When not using AC, we plug the shore power into the generator--The Battery Charger in our set up is a West Marine 10 amp (output at 12 volt) Multistage Charger. Input is 3 amps (120 volts) and it works well. Using the 12volt cables would be more efficient if you want a quick charge since the charger output decreases as the batteries get charged and therefore takes a long time to get a full charge.
The 800 watt toaster is Oster (Sunbeam) model 6307-000
The microwave is a 600 watt Procter-Silex model PS-P60D17L-D5 (input is 860 watts).
We have an Engel 45 which could be powered by the generator, but it just sips electricity and can run off of 12volt so it is plugged into the battery bank. The 1000i ran our side by side refrigerator in our kitchen during a power outage so I think it would run any refrigerator you might have on a Mac.

The AC is really the only appliance that gets regular use when not plugged into marina shore power. It's a lot of trouble to get out the generator to cook toast or microwave a cup of soup. If the generator is already out and running to charge batteries or running the AC, it isn't so much trouble to switch over to the toaster or microwave for a few minutes.

[Ixneigh]

I love my Honda 2000 and it ran a small Room AC with no problem. I still have it but right now my boat in pretty much running off solar. I've had other generators but the Honda is the best.

[yukonbob]

ran a honda all last winter in temps down to -35'c while building a house out in the boonies (compressor, saws, radio you name it). Started first time every time. Even ran after the head gasket went, but was a fairly cheap fix ($100). Got a subaru rental geny in the mean time and wouldn't even start unless kept in a warm house all night and even then kept overloading with a skil saw and it was twice the size and same power.