Honda Portable Generator: Will This Work?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Only way I would ever consider sleeping with a Honda running is maybe if we’re hanging from my davits.
But Airconditioning is a non starter, it just isn’t viable in a cruising situation except for rare instances in my opinion. ‘Many say we run our AC to cool the boat down and then we are fine overnight. I’ve tried that and with the boat closed up, it’s HOT inside in 30 min or less once you turn it off.
Then if you open the boat up to let air in, within 5 min it doesn’t matter if the AC was running or not.

I can only assume people who do this part time AC running are up North and consider 80F as hot, and are in cold water so the hull is cooled off constantly.

For us who are in 80F water and consider 90+ as hot the only way to make the AC work is to run it all night, that means of course run a generator all night, which works if you only out for your two week yearly vacation or maybe doing a weekend thing, but as far as cruising it’s not viable, that’s about 300 hours of generator running a month, and that’s way too much.

I have a Honda, and a built in Diesel generator, I use the Honda far more often based on an economics reason, but I will only run one overnight if It’s Hot as Hades and it’s raining, or the air is thick with mosquito’s.

But it’s my opinion that if your counting on running a generator every night to run an AC to sleep, your plan isn’t viable, best to rent a Marina slip.

With a soft start My Honda 2000 will easily run my 16,000 BTU and will do so in Eco mode.

If you are going to try and run it 200-300 nights per year...yeah get a dedicated built in generator. When we were doing the Great Loop, we used it maybe 1 night in 10 and were grateful for it. We tended to use it in remote areas where it was hot but no slips with shore power around or high rent areas where a couple gallons of gas was far cheaper than a $75-150/night slip.

I do agree on most boats, you either are running the air/con or you are quickly back to ambient outside temps.

If you are a tough southern boy who's happy to sleep in a stuffy 85F cabin, more power to you but don't expect me to do it.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Only way I would ever consider sleeping with a Honda running is maybe if we’re hanging from my davits.
But Airconditioning is a non starter, it just isn’t viable in a cruising situation except for rare instances in my opinion. ‘Many say we run our AC to cool the boat down and then we are fine overnight. I’ve tried that and with the boat closed up, it’s HOT inside in 30 min or less once you turn it off.
Then if you open the boat up to let air in, within 5 min it doesn’t matter if the AC was running or not.

I can only assume people who do this part time AC running are up North and consider 80F as hot, and are in cold water so the hull is cooled off constantly.

For us who are in 80F water and consider 90+ as hot the only way to make the AC work is to run it all night, that means of course run a generator all night, which works if you only out for your two week yearly vacation or maybe doing a weekend thing, but as far as cruising it’s not viable, that’s about 300 hours of generator running a month, and that’s way too much.

I have a Honda, and a built in Diesel generator, I use the Honda far more often based on an economics reason, but I will only run one overnight if It’s Hot as Hades and it’s raining, or the air is thick with mosquito’s.

But it’s my opinion that if your counting on running a generator every night to run an AC to sleep, your plan isn’t viable, best to rent a Marina slip.

With a soft start My Honda 2000 will easily run my 16,000 BTU and will do so in Eco mode.

Thanks for the follow up a64pilot. I have also read your previous posts on the topic. Very helpful!

We only need a generator for air conditioning while preparing dinner and while sleeping. A Honda portable will run our conditioning.

Our use will be based in Rio Dulce, Guatemala(20 miles inland), and cruise Coastal Belize and Coastal Yucatan no more than two weeks at a time. I will sail single handed 2-3 days at a time frequently. When in Rio Dulce we will have a long term marina slip with shore power but prefer to anchor out.

So we are not full time live-a-boards, and can be a more indulgent burning fuel. Plus we live at 7000 ft elevation in Guatemala where it rarely goes above 75 F. We are not acclimated to tropical heat and humidity.

It is interesting that you have a Next Gen 3.5 and a Honda portable and use the Honda portable more frequently.

So choice is between a Honda portable or one of the small, light, higher RPM diesel models: Next Gen, Phasor, or Whisper Power, etc. A big, heavy, quieter, 1800 RPM diesel generator is not an option because of their weight and the space required.

We will go with a Honda portable to start and see how it goes. When using a Honda portable, based on the comments here, we will not run the the Honda inside a locker. We will lash to the transom steps, with padding underneath and extend an exhaust extension to the side to avoid a potential suction bringing the exhaust/CO onboard, close everything up and have 3-4 CO detectors inside.

If the Honda is too much of a hassle and we will go with one of the smaller, lighter, higher RPM, diesel models. Looks like the cost is approx. $10K for a one cylinder and couple grand more for a 2 cylinder, all in. So saving $10K to $12K is some incentive to make the portable Honda work.

We might be able to squeeze in a two cylinder of one of the above mentioned smaller diesels for smoother, quieter operation with less vibration. The diesel gen will go in a lazerette locker and in addition to the sound shield we will follow your advice as to securing in the locker with an additional set of footings under the sound shield. We can also insulate the inside of the locker with sound deadening material.

[rslifkin]

The a/c in the evening thing mostly works when it's very hot and sunny during the day, but cools off in the evening. It just brings the boat temperature down faster so you don't have hot interior fittings radiating as much heat during the early sleeping hours.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by Franziska

We had an installation like this for a while, but, with high capacity explosion proof forced ventilation (in- & out blowers) which had to run for some minutes before start.
The whole installation was mounted in an aft lazerette which was 100% sealed from the rest of the boat.

The 2.6 kw genset which we used was similar to a Honda and with an electric starter and separated tank.

Exhaust vented overboard through a stainless hose with a special high temperature gastight silicon sleeve.

We did not use it for aircon, as we also never felt the need for it, even shoreside. Aircon is overrated, just get used to live without it. Most of the world does it :-)

The main problem was the huge amount of heat it generated despite the strong blowers. Eventually we moved it to a deck mounted box & now take the cover off when running it.
Even with commercial made insulation covers its almost impossible to remove the excess heat & still maintain proper air cooling.
To much heat is not good for the inverters.

To those saying no no no to this installation, there are petrol driven inboard engine installations on boats around. If you adhere to the proper installation guidelines/codes they are safe to use.

So, if one tries to install one of these gensets in its own compartment, one needs to at least follow these guidelines.

Bear in mind that an insurance is unlikely to pay if an accident can be traced back to originate from such an installation. In the Honda manuals it says afaik that they are not to be used inside of enclosures.
You take the risks completely yourself.
Be careful.

Excellent feed back. Thanks! We may try a storage box similar on deck similar to what you use with a portable generator. We have no problem going without air conditioning in the Windward Islands, for example. Where we will be cruising it is a whole another level of heat and humidity.

[Franziska]

Have a look on Lady Rovers website. There are some pictures. As far as I remember I built the box in 2018...

[boat driver]

I would like to ask for more info-
size of boat,style of boat, propulsion engine fuel, and planned run time per day/week, and at anchor or under way?
The honda generator is nice, not to noisy, but exhaust discharge area, fuel storage and consumption, and anticipated tank burn rate might be details needed.
That leads into immediate question- a steel tank will corrode fairly fast in salt environment- like hours to deck ring marks. So exchange may not be viable unless composite tanks available.
Honda generator will have a shorted life in salt environment. It is not marinized.
And as mentioned, propane is heavier than air and sinks- so being confined with a 12volt fan and generator is not only not permitted professionally in same compartment, it is a boom opportunity when air mixture and built in ignition sources.

[a64pilot]

If your going to run it all night, go with a Nexgen, not that the Honda won’t do it, it will with an external fuel tank, but it won’t do it as safely as the Nexgen.
People that don’t think a Honda will catch fire, just look up all the recalls there have been for fuel leakage on them, it’s quite a few.
However know that the oil change interval for a Nexgen is 100 hours, so your changing oil every other week. In my opinion you only need to pull the screen every other oil change max, as I’ve yet to see any carbon in mine, and that is what the screen is for, same as it was on a VW engine, to catch carbon that breaks off of the bottom of the pistons.

Drain every drop you can from the Nexgen into a half gallon Orange juice container or similar, then mark that container and from then on, fill it with fresh oil to the mark and just dump it in after an oil change and your not having to add and check, add and check.

Based on other forums etc a Honda if it gets frequent oil changes will go four or five thousand hours, and I’ve not yet heard of a Nexgen 3.5 worn out, a few that have had water intrusion etc, but not one worn out.
Both the Honda and the little Kubota single cylinder have a ball bearing Crankshaft and those last pretty much forever, the rod however is not needle bearing or I don’t think it is.

Apparently the little Kubota was originally designed to run a generator for portable signs etc and was designed of course for a stupid long life, but it’s also found in many small construction pieces of equipment. It’s cooled by thermal siphon, no water pump. It is a wet sleeve motor so overhauls ought to be dead simple, just replace the liner and piston / rings

[a64pilot]

As far as petrol inboards, yes there are many, but all have Marine fuel hose certified for in hull use etc.
No Honda does, and in fact many have been subject to fuel leak recalls.
This is a list of recalls
https://powerequipment.honda.com/sup...ls-and-updates
Apparently however it doesn’t include the latest, where the inverter can catch fire.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/am...d-burn-hazards

Now I’m not slandering the Honda, it’s in my opinion the benchmark that all others are measured against, it’s the best there is, however it’s not meant in my opinion to be put into a box or run on a boat while you sleep. It’s one thing to sleep in an RV with it 50” away on the end of an extension cord, and quite another on a boat.

Treat a Honda like a pet Rattlesnake and you’ll never be disappointed by it and it won’t hurt you, but if you use it on a boat, realize your using it in a manner that it wasn’t intended or designed to be used. I believe you can still safely use one, just take extra precautions and don’t trust it further than you can throw it.
Those that start one up and go into town are in my opinion being very foolish.

[Franziska]

As usual good points A64!

But no Nextgen below 3kW.
Same as with Fischer Panda.

For smaller boats 3kW is often overkill.

Wish someone would start making tiny lightweight 1.5-2kW watercooled gensets..

Originally Posted by a64pilot

As far as petrol inboards, yes there are many, but all have Marine fuel hose certified for in hull use etc.
No Honda does, and in fact many have been subject to fuel leak recalls.
This is a list of recalls
https://powerequipment.honda.com/sup...ls-and-updates
Apparently however it doesn’t include the latest, where the inverter can catch fire.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/am...d-burn-hazards

Now I’m not slandering the Honda, it’s in my opinion the benchmark that all others are measured against, it’s the best there is, however it’s not meant in my opinion to be put into a box or run on a boat while you sleep. It’s one thing to sleep in an RV with it 50” away on the end of an extension cord, and quite another on a boat.

Treat a Honda like a pet Rattlesnake and you’ll never be disappointed by it and it won’t hurt you, but if you use it on a boat, realize your using it in a manner that it wasn’t intended or designed to be used. I believe you can still safely use one, just take extra precautions and don’t trust it further than you can throw it.
Those that start one up and go into town are in my opinion being very foolish.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by boat driver

I would like to ask for more info-
size of boat,style of boat, propulsion engine fuel, and planned run time per day/week, and at anchor or under way?
The honda generator is nice, not to noisy, but exhaust discharge area, fuel storage and consumption, and anticipated tank burn rate might be details needed.
That leads into immediate question- a steel tank will corrode fairly fast in salt environment- like hours to deck ring marks. So exchange may not be viable unless composite tanks available.
Honda generator will have a shorted life in salt environment. It is not marinized.
And as mentioned, propane is heavier than air and sinks- so being confined with a 12volt fan and generator is not only not permitted professionally in same compartment, it is a boom opportunity when air mixture and built in ignition sources.

Cruising area, duration of our cruises, intended use and why we need a generator were described in my last post.

We only need a generator for air conditioning.

Boat will be a 34 ft to 40ish ft Cat. We are doing research at the moment and we know air conditioning for our use will be needed about 1/2 the time in the early evening and most of the night even though, for example, we don't need air conditioning when sailing in the Windward Islands.

I have detailed knowledge of the boats we are considering buying and couch my questions on this topic as such.

We are going to charter for at least two weeks before we buy. We are held up by COVID-19 from chartering at the moment because the country where we live offers no bare boat charters whatsoever, and the borders are closed. If we leave, we cannot return.

We have pretty much ruled out putting a portable generator in a locker based on the comments here. It does not make sense to reinvent the wheel and take the inherent safety risks even though I think it could be made to work safely. However since my initial post the "solution for a portable generator in a locker" has evolved to include industrial grade ac blower for ventilation and exhaust. And includes using a shroud that goes over the entire exhaust end of a Honda portable(see link). http://www.generator-line.com/~shop/...-system/77369/. The exhaust will exit out the next to last step with a flapper valve to prevent water ingress. The generator and exhaust blower would be 2 ft.

We are going to go with a honda portable to start. If that does not work we will go with one of the smaller, higher RPM, diesel generators because the weight and size of quieter, more dependable 1800 RPM diesel generators won't work.

[dennismenace111]

I sas a boat a few weeks ago at anchor not far from me. ..he hauled his honda generator up on a spinnaker halyard and steadied it with spin sheets on either side and a loop around his forestay, so it would swing. .. up high were the vibrations wouldnt enter the structure of the boat and the exhaust was not a problem... he attached his shore power cable and had power all evening. Probably isnt a good idea if your in an unprotected anchorage but where we were that night it was just fine.

[Franziska]

Interesting idea.

Guess you could also hang it with some bungee from the boom.
At least vibrations should be gone that way.

Originally Posted by dennismenace111

I sas a boat a few weeks ago at anchor not far from me. ..he hauled his honda generator up on a spinnaker halyard and steadied it with spin sheets on either side and a loop around his forestay, so it would swing. .. up high were the vibrations wouldnt enter the structure of the boat and the exhaust was not a problem... he attached his shore power cable and had power all evening. Probably isnt a good idea if your in an unprotected anchorage but where we were that night it was just fine.

[taxwizz]

I have carried a Honda 2000i for years.
I carry it on the port side deck, chained to the lifeline stanchon.
When in use, I take it ashore. It easily runs my air conditioning and other systems, except the battery charger cannot run at the same time as the A/C.
No problems.


Ed Collis
ORION VII
NS30U
Toronto

[Augi]

Originally Posted by dennismenace111

I sas a boat a few weeks ago at anchor not far from me. ..he hauled his honda generator up on a spinnaker halyard... up high were the vibrations wouldnt enter the structure of the boat and the exhaust was not a problem... he attached his shore power cable and had power all evening. Probably isnt a good idea if your in an unprotected anchorage but where we were that night it was just fine.

Thanks for the feedback. The solution you mention could work or a similar concept is put the portable generator in the dinghy 10 meters behind the stern when at anchor.

Either of the above can work if you don't have nearby neighbors sharing the anchorage. We will trend to be in not very crowded anchorages. If we are in a crowded area and it would not be good etiquette to run a generator all night we will go to a marina if it is too hot. We are not full time live-a-boards so we can afford to go to marina if necessary, but prefer to anchor out, as most do.

We are thinking about a lashing the portable generator hung on the port quarter rail with an industrial AC blower for ventilation or as shown at the link below for the exhaust with an elbow in the duct going a foot or two more outboard than shown.

Store

[Flod]

I tried this on my boat. Built in a Honda 1kw in a sealed lazarette. Welded a pipe to the exhaust and led the exhaust to the side of the boat via a Webasto through hull. Two big engine blowers and then a cable to the shore power. Also installed a thermometer. It worked great for like 10 minuter. Very Little sound could be heard(I soundproofed the box) then the temp skyrocketed. I tried a lot but the fans couldn’t supply enough air. My advice is: don’t do it. It is simply not feasible.