Woody
Well-Known Member
I'm calling BS on this one....ya' got a link?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
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I'm calling BS on this one....ya' got a link?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
That's what I figured....don't post garbage. This subject has come up so many times each of us ought to have read ourselves blue in the face, I have. If you do your due diligence what you'll find out is that portable generators as a source of CO deaths on a boat will be the smallest on the list. The boats main engines and built in generators account for the majority of the CO deaths.I di miss write part of the post, this is for ALL portable gensets. Not just swim platforms
USCG's report I can not find yet
I swore I was not going to participate in another discussion on this, but I cannot let with go with only 1/4 the caution needed. The risks are far more than just CO:
Carbon Monoxide
Is simple to grasp, breathe it in a confined space and you don’t wake up. Permanently mounted marine generators have their exhausts plumbed to exit at or very near the waterline and away from closed occupied spaces.
Uncontained Fuel System Vents
The fuel systems on Honda and other portable generators are vented to the atmosphere and their carburetors have a bowl drain that releases fuel inside the generator case. That means where you run it, store it or put it under way will have gasoline fumes released in the area and if the bowl drain leaks, you have raw fuel spilled and an explosive liquid in the compartment with the generator.
Lack of ignition protection on electrical devices
The electrical components on portables are not ignition protected like marine generator electrical components are. This means you could easily have an arc or spark anytime contact opens or closes or whenever something is plugged in ot disconnected.
Lack of Continuous Grounding
Portable generators pose an additional shock hazard since the portable is not grounded to the boat or to a shore side ground. Likely not a problem with a drill or power tool, but if you connect it to your boat's AC system, you have essentially disconnected the green wire.
The Honda iU series generators are investors. An inverter drives both line and neutral so it is possible to have voltage between neutral and ground. With ground bonded the the boat's bonding system, which mean to the water, this means a shock hazard may exist that normally would not. Anyone who ignores all the above risks and insists on using a portable generator should use a very good, sensitive multi-meter to throughly prove out the electrical system. That the reverse polarity light is lit is clear indication of a potential problem.
The USCG governs only boat manufacturers and the manufacturers voluntarily subscribe to ABYC guidelines, so there is no "law" against using portable generators on boats. However, both the USCG and ABYC say using portable generators on boat is a bad idea and regularly caution boaters against it.
In spite of the fact that Honda’s advertising says that boating is a popular use of their generators, They have not addressed the grounding, gas fume and ignition protection issues and those risks do indeed exist.
If you are one of those who jumped on the CO train and the relatively few deaths attributed to CO, you are not fully considering all the risks of using portable generators on a boat. While accidents may be rare, you do substantially increase your risk of becoming a "statistic" when using a portable generator on a boat.......you put your family unnecessarily at risk when you do.
If you want to test my superficial risk theory, try this: Tell your wife you are buying a portable generator for the boat because it is cheaper and you don’t think the risk of your family not waking up one day was sufficient to require spending the extra money. Also tell her you didn’t bother to consider anything but CO and that you are not ignoring the risks if fire, shock and explosion to your wife and kids.
Let us know how the dog house sleeps……………
From Frank Webster (Hope he don't mind):
PORTABLE GENERATORS ON BOATS
Carbon Monoxide
Is simple to grasp, breathe it in a confined space and you don’t wake up. Permanently mounted marine generators have their exhausts plumbed to exit at or very near the waterline and away from closed occupied spaces.
Uncontained Fuel System Vents
The fuel systems on Honda and other portable generators are vented to the atmosphere and their carburetors have a bowl drain that releases fuel inside the generator case. That means where you run it, store it or put it under way will have gasoline fumes released in the area and if the bowl drain leaks, you have raw fuel spilled and an explosive liquid in the compartment with the generator.
Lack of ignition protection on electrical devices
The electrical components on portables are not ignition protected like marine generator electrical components are. This means you could easily have an arc or spark anytime contact opens or closes or whenever something is plugged in or disconnected.
Lack of Continuous Grounding
Portable generators pose an additional shock hazard since the portable is not grounded to the boat or to a shore side ground. Likely not a problem with a drill or power tool, but if you connect it to your boat's AC system, you have essentially disconnected the green wire.
The Honda iU series generators are inverters. An inverter drives both line and neutral so it is possible to have voltage between neutral and ground. With ground bonded the the boat's bonding system, which mean to the water, this means a shock hazard may exist that normally would not. Anyone who ignores all the above risks and insists on using a portable generator should use a very good, sensitive multi-meter to throughly prove out the electrical system. That the reverse polarity light is lit is clear indication of a potential problem.
The USCG governs only boat manufacturers and the manufacturers voluntarily subscribe to ABYC guidelines, so there is no "law" against using portable generators on boats. However, both the USCG and ABYC say using portable generators on boat is a bad idea and regularly caution boaters against it.
In spite of the fact that Honda’s advertising says that boating is a popular use of their generators, They have not addressed the grounding, gas fume and ignition protection issues and those risks do indeed exist.
If you are one of those who jumped on the CO train and the relatively few deaths attributed to CO, you are not fully considering all the risks of using portable generators on a boat. While accidents may be rare, you do substantially increase your risk of becoming a "statistic" when using a portable generator on a boat.......you put your family unnecessarily at risk when you do.
I know a few guys that have bought these, and so far they are happy with them... they are as quiet as the Honda 3000 and provide that little bit more "umph". If they last as long as the Honda, you can't beat the price... time will tell. Heard one guy say, "well I can buy 5 of these for the price of the Honda!".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
one good thing from all this...
i bought 2 new battery CO detectors and will install this weekend for total of 3! The Admiral has to have AC overnight.
Maybe we are too hard on Generator threads.... They are kind of like a public service announcement every couple of months .... and we see a spike in CO2 detector sales and popcorn and no doubt a few generators ...which in turn helps the economy...
i think way more people drown than get co poisoned during boating .
if the skipper is not a complete dumbass i guess there is nothing dangerous in a honda generator . if he is a complete dumbass he should stop boating at all .
run only in fauvorite wind direction , and not overnight.