3500 portable generator

Capt.G

Member
Apr 14, 2018
43
Boat Info
2005 Sundancer 300
Engines
5.0 mercs bravo 3
Hi has anyone tried the 3500 watt habor freight generator it states it can run a 15,000 btu rv ac unit.. this might be a great gen. for no gen boats that have a 30amp plug.
Not bad in price with a 20% coupon.
I
 

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its a portable one. it can go on the swim platform . I hear people using 2 honda 2000 generators on their boats. I think 1 would be easier and alot cheaper
 
if I made an exhaust pipe to extend into the water would that delete the co's. i wonder if the gen. would be able to even start/run with the pipe in the water
 
I have seen alot of discussion on honda port.gen or portable gen alone. and sorry to add to it. but on a boat that comes with a generator were does the exhaust fumes go
 
I have seen alot of discussion on honda port.gen or portable gen alone. and sorry to add to it. but on a boat that comes with a generator were does the exhaust fumes go
My comment wasnt directed at you specifically. This question of portable generators comes up 3 or 4 times a year and its the same questions. If we had one sticky that addressed all the questions you could read it and decide for yourself if its safe or not
I am thinking Frank W. gave a pretty comprehensive explanation of the issues using a PG on a boat.. Maybe use that as a sticky
 
I have seen alot of discussion on honda port.gen or portable gen alone. and sorry to add to it. but on a boat that comes with a generator were does the exhaust fumes go

They go out the side of the boat with the raw water that cools the generator's heat exchanger.
 
if I made an exhaust pipe to extend into the water would that delete the co's. i wonder if the gen. would be able to even start/run with the pipe in the water

The short answer to your question is "NO". An onboard exhaust system is specifically engineered for the marine industry and, in the case of my water cooled 6.5 KW Onan MCCK, it exhausts out the side of the boat. Back to the drawing board Capt.G
 
My comment wasnt directed at you specifically. This question of portable generators comes up 3 or 4 times a year and its the same questions. If we had one sticky that addressed all the questions you could read it and decide for yourself if its safe or not
I agree on 1 sticky would be great. I didn't see anything post with exhaust running through the water etc. more about safe/not safe
 
The short answer to your question is "NO". An onboard exhaust system is specifically engineered for the marine industry and, in the case of my water cooled 6.5 KW Onan MCCK, it exhausts out the side of the boat. Back to the drawing board Capt.G
I never seen a boat gen. hooked up and this may be a dumb question but the exhaust from you Onan that is coming out the side of the boat produce co gases?
 
Between 2004 and 2011 there were over 8,000 deaths and injuries reported due to portable gensets placed on the swim platforms. Consumer Safty Council

Is it worth risking your or your families lives?

My Westerbeke is plumbed and hard wired. The unit itself is grounded to the boat. Portable unit aren't. It's exhaust is mixed with the cooling water and pumped to a wet muffler and the out the left side of the boat near the water line. Exhaust to the rear of most all boats will back flow into the cockpit and cabin, even when the boat is not underway. Even with mine, I don't run it after bedtime. Even with the two CO detectors.

SeaRay engineers worked out the best locations to place the exhaust port for each boat they build. They know there are lives at risk, it wouldn't look good if even one died due to improper placement of a exhaust port.
 
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Capt'n, you're not going to ask ANY question that hasn't been asked and answered a hundred times before. If you want to learn more, and save this thread from becoming 13 pages long (and save our time from reading/discussing something that has been beaten to death), do a search for portable generators here. There really are LOT'S of threads already discussing this. And, as mentioned, the most all inclusive answer can be found by searching using fwebster (Frank Webster) as a search criteria.
 

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