Generator retro fit

[Someday Lady II]

My just acquired 1991 350 Sundancer is just perfect.....except, it has no generator. I told myself when looking at the boat that this was not a deal breaker when it was the only negative that I could identify.
But now I am thinking what is involved in putting a generator into a boat that did not previously have one.
Has anyone done this and what should I expect?
Selling the boat is out of the question, I will take my portable with me when I am away from shore power.

 

[Someday Lady II]

Presentation did add a generator on his 280 DA, and would probably be a good resource.

As for the portable generator idea, no comment. Search portable generator and you'll find all the guidance you need.

Hmmmm...I see what you mean.
I meant for use when we beach the boat and plant the genny on shore but oh, well, live and learn.
I would still like to retro-fit a marine generator if possible.

 

[J.Wilt]

Has anyone reto fit a portable genny to work on propane:huh: wouldn't that emit less CO. I don't have a generator either and very seldom would have use for it, but wish I had one.:grin:

 

[sbw1]

Has anyone reto fit a portable genny to work on propane:huh: wouldn't that emit less CO. I don't have a generator either and very seldom would have use for it, but wish I had one.:grin:

Don't believe propane is allowed in a bilge unless it's in a locker that is sealed and vents to the outside. Probably a propane genny would face a lot of regulatory hurdles although I'm just guessing.

 

[ktcanuck]

Have you considered the alternative of an inverter and battery bank?

 

[Someday Lady II]

Have you considered the alternative of an inverter and battery bank?

No, I haven't ... until just right now but that would eliminate a lot of the issues that come up with retro fitting a marine generator.
Any suggestions on what size, number of batteries, alternator upgrades will be appreciated.

 

[tbirdvet]

I had my dealer install a Kohler 5ECD with sound shield. Cost $10K. There is quite a bit of installation work that needs to be done to be integrated into the boat's power distribution panel. Mine included a remote start display.

 

[Someday Lady II]

On one of my previous boats, I had a freedom 2500 watt inverter, and used two golf cart batteries in parallel, which gave plenty of power for all my A/C needs except for the air-conditioner.

On your set up did the golf cart batteries get charged by the alternators or did they recharge off shore power?

 

[flarepoman]

What exactly are you trying to do with the power, A/C what??

 

[northern]

We have an 8KW generator and a 2500 watt inverter powered by ten 6V golf cart batteries. We can charge them off the main engines when running the boat but still need to run the generator 3 hours a day at anchor to charge them. The main power draw is the ice makerand frigerator. Unless all you want to do is run a few lights and charge your computer you will need to instal a generator.

 

[Someday Lady II]

What exactly are you trying to do with the power, A/C what??

Primarily the ice maker, stereo and fridge. Any thing else i.e. lights, cell phone charger, etc. will be intermittent and could probably be run when the ice maker or stereo is shut down.
We are new to over nighting on the boat and this is what prompted us to move up from our 270 Sundancer.

 

[northern]

My 10 golf cart batteries will drop from 13 volts to 10.5 in 48 hours if I do not charge them every day. The inverter puts out 140 AMPS of charging power. If I turn off the ice maker I can fun for 4 days. Even at running the generator 3 hours a day it takes 8 hours of shore power to fully top up the golf batteries. The stove and heat are electric and we have a watermaker so charging the batteries is not realy extra generator time to us.

 

[ktcanuck]

No, I haven't ... until just right now but that would eliminate a lot of the issues that come up with retro fitting a marine generator.
Any suggestions on what size, number of batteries, alternator upgrades will be appreciated.

I installed a Freedom 1500 with 2 T105 gold cart batterys. I also replaced the standard alternator on my 454 Mercruiser with a high output Balmar alternator and smart regulator. The setup worked perfectly for us.

 

[ktcanuck]

Primarily the ice maker, stereo and fridge. Any thing else i.e. lights, cell phone charger, etc. will be intermittent and could probably be run when the ice maker or stereo is shut down.
We are new to over nighting on the boat and this is what prompted us to move up from our 270 Sundancer.

For that load you would need max 1000Ahrs of battery capacity to ensure you don't discharge past 50%. Your boating habits will dictate your real need so the capacity could be a lot less. How long you will be out, how quickly you need to recharge etc. You don't need a large inverter for those loads but the larger inverters have larger battery chargers built in.

Do some research to figure out the options (including whether you want wet cell batteries or no maintenance AGMs).

 

[Someday Lady II]

For that load you would need max 1000Ahrs of battery capacity to ensure you don't discharge past 50%. Your boating habits will dictate your real need so the capacity could be a lot less. How long you will be out, how quickly you need to recharge etc. You don't need a large inverter for those loads but the larger inverters have larger battery chargers built in.

Do some research to figure out the options (including whether you want wet cell batteries or no maintenance AGMs).

I've done some research (I have to do something while I go insane waiting for Spring!!!) and think that I would like to go with a Xantrec 3000 inverter / charger and will add 2 Optimo D31M Blue Top batteries to run in parallel with the existing house battery.
Everyone tells me that the refrigerator and the ice maker are the big loads. I can live without a lot of things but go without ice? Seriously, why even live?