48 volt electric generator system

D

Dave4562

Member
Nov 10, 2019
121
Boat Info
86 390 express cruiser
84 360 aft cruiser twin diesels
Engines
454 Crusaders
Perkins Diesels
Has anyone used or converted the a 48 volt generator system I have been seeing advertised?
 
https://integrelsolutions.com/
It makes sense and I think could rig it yourself or other people do other new things like using propeller drag on sailboats etc.
 
That website....copious red flags. All stock photos, no specific data. Some of the claims could be straight out of an MLM recruiting guide.

It wouldn't take much effort to use a bit of real data to discount their claims of cost savings. A marine generator runs at what, a gallon per hour under load? I wonder how long I need to run my 7.4L at idle to make up for the lower output compared to my Westerbeke. :) No way this makes sense unless you hate money.

Hard pass. And I've never seen it advertised which makes me wonder if the OP has a vested interest...? No offense intended of course...
 
If OP means me no vested interest here I actually saw a video f it on a sailboat but I thought it could be done other ways. Some other companies like Panda had some similar things with their generator system and I have read about the use of banks of batteries and smaller generators to basically load them up.
I have little knowledge really so why i posted here to see what people think
 
Dave4562 said:
If OP means me no vested interest here I actually saw a video f it on a sailboat but I thought it could be done other ways. Some other companies like Panda had some similar things with their generator system and I have read about the use of banks of batteries and smaller generators to basically load them up.
I have little knowledge really so why i posted here to see what people think
Click to expand...

Ahh cool. Good to hear, sorry for the assumption. Sometimes folks with lower post counts (again, no offense intended) show up and push things like this.

That website left me feeling underwhelmed and highly skeptical. There are easier, lower cost ways to produce power. Shoot, for sailors it's solar and wind?
 
I would think this type system would make sense on a sailboat with a small aux Diesel engine. Put a 48VDC generator and charge a big Lipo battery bank with a big inverter or a couple inverters cascaded together. You could use that engine as propulsion or as a generator and utilize the engine to its fullest.

I’m not so sure this makes as much sense on a large propulsion engine (gas or diesel) like we have in our boats.
 
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48VDC actually makes sense as the cabling is 1/4 the size that a 12VDC system requires for like amperage draw; Older yachts used higher voltage DC systems like 36 volts for this reason. Boats seemed to have evolved to 12 and 24 volt systems to take advantage of materials and components used on the road.
So, to take advantage of a 48VDC system it would have to be used as a "house" power system and pretty much dedicated for inverter usage. To use a 48VDC system for the existing house 12V elements a large converter would be required and another 12V battery to act as a surge buffer. Things are getting expensive, right?
48VDC is common in solar energy and many companies make inverter/chargers for this voltage; Victron comes to mind...
The hard part in all of this is converting engine management systems, navigational systems, engine starting and the like to 48 volts or even harder is to convert 48 volts to 12 or 24 volts for the very high current demands for cranking.... So, for most of us, this becomes a very expensive and complex conversion with added failure modes.
 
dtfeld said:
I would think this type system would make sense on a sailboat with a small aux Diesel engine. Put a 48VDC generator and charge a big Lipo battery bank with a big inverter or a couple inverters cascaded together. You could use that engine as propulsion or as a generator and utilize the engine to its fullest.

I’m not so sure this makes as much sense on a large propulsion engine (gas or diesel) like we have in our boats.
Click to expand...
The video I saw was on a sailboat and it seemed that was their main market but I have read articles of using a bank of the newer batteries and charging them primarily and drawing off their power. Also to tie it to solar when possible.
I am looking to scale down the generator part of my boat that I was gifted.
 
ttmott said:
48VDC actually makes sense as the cabling is 1/4 the size that a 12VDC system requires for like amperage draw; Older yachts used higher voltage DC systems like 36 volts for this reason. Boats seemed to have evolved to 12 and 24 volt systems to take advantage of materials and components used on the road.
So, to take advantage of a 48VDC system it would have to be used as a "house" power system and pretty much dedicated for inverter usage. To use a 48VDC system for the existing house 12V elements a large converter would be required and another 12V battery to act as a surge buffer. Things are getting expensive, right?
48VDC is common in solar energy and many companies make inverter/chargers for this voltage; Victron comes to mind...
The hard part in all of this is converting engine management systems, navigational systems, engine starting and the like to 48 volts or even harder is to convert 48 volts to 12 or 24 volts for the very high current demands for cranking.... So, for most of us, this becomes a very expensive and complex conversion with added failure modes.
Click to expand...
So basically would need bigger new batteries that cost a lot and be able to make them run the 12 volt things on the boat and a smaller generator.
 
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