[PCW] Honda generators, was Carbon monoxide -- explosion risk

[Arild Jensen]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Georgs Kolesnikovs
I'm close to buying one for my outboard-powered TomCat, to provide an
alternate source of power on board and to enable me to charge
depleted batteries when not connected to land.

--Georgs


REPLY
For a long time I have been a strong advocate of DC gensets when dealing
with huge battery banks that could absorb  200 - 600 amps of charging
current. However the biggest charger you can buy readily as an off the shelf
stand alone charger delivers 100 amps. and it cost about one and a half boat
units.
A typical 2500 - 3000 watt inverter can only deliver 100 - 120 amp of
charging power at 12V or 24V.
In other words it will only absorb 1500 - 2000 watt of power from the
genset.  Inboard, water cooled gensets are much bigger than that.  The
smallest diesel model I have found so far is the Entec at 4000 watts.
In other words it is not even being loaded properly when charging batteries.

But a 2000 watt Honda genset combined with a charger or inverter charger
with adjustable load control called power share or power contol depending on
marketing text is about the most efficient way to recharge a battery bank
from an engine driven source. A typical Xantrex or Victron inverter charger
has the ability to limit the maximum demand on the AC power source to
prevent popping the fuse.  This means you can fine tune the charging system
to extract maximum charge current from the fuel burned.  For various reasons
gasoline engines in smaller sizes are easier to build than  comparabe
ldiesels. Small size diesels tend to be single ot two cylinder units that
produce much vibration and lots of noise. To me the new Honda EU seriss
makes lots of sense. We just need to devise safe mounting arrangements such
as Bob Deering suggests.

Gien the escalating cost of fuel (both diesel and gasoline) it makes sense
to optimize the fuel burn for recharging at anchor.
To deliver 2000 watts of charge current, a 120V alternator is more efficient
than a 12V alternator which also needs a rectifying diode matrix added.
Most people buy a combination inverter/charger in any event.

best regards
Arild