Generator Yes or no?

Yes, even up here in the temperate Northwest we use the crap out of our generator and A/C. Plus its great on those occasions that no shore power is available.
 
I am on the fence... It depends how you boat... After having had to replace mine last year for $10K, I can't really argue for a genny on a small boat... If you don't anchor out in 100 degree weather, I don't see it as a necessity... An anchor windlass in my opinion, is a necessity, an genny is not...
 
I kind of agree with rchnecht. I usually stay overnight at a dock so I have shore power. However, once this year on a very hot day while underway my wife got so hot that I needed to have the AC on so had to run the gen. A happy wife makes a happy hubby (if you know what I mean).
 
Buy a boat with Gen and factory installed items you will go broke doing it after.
 
tbirdvet said:
I kind of agree with rchnecht. I usually stay overnight at a dock so I have shore power. However, once this year on a very hot day while underway my wife got so hot that I needed to have the AC on so had to run the gen. A happy wife makes a happy hubby (if you know what I mean).
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A Happy Wife.... Means a Happy Life! :grin:
 
wastinaweigh said:
A 280 will have the same Kohler 5K generator that the 260 has. I change the oil every 100 hours or so. I use Mobil 1 10W-30 synthetic because it goes from 0 and cold to full throttle in about 5 seconds. I change the raw water impeller every 80-100 hours. I have broken vanes off before and it is easier to change it before it goes. If you don't have to fish out pieces of the old impeller it is about a 30 minute job. There is also a zinc that gets replaced with the impeller. This is also a good time to inspect the exhaust for leaks. In SW Florida, plan on doing this in March before it gets hot, which will probably carry you through the summer and into cooler weather in October. I have gone a full year before, it just depends on how much it gets used.

I carry spare spark plugs - it is hard to load up a 5K generator in a small boat and the result is that it will periodically foul the plugs. I'll wire brush them once or twice and then just replace them. You'll know that they are fouled because it will sound different. Spark plugs are cheap, I replace mine in March also so that I start the summer with fresh ones.

If the choke sticks, you may have to lubricate that periodically. Personally, mine has never caused any problems.

Otherwise, the most important thing you can do is run it. Kohler recommends that it be exercised once a week, although I have never had a problem going 2 weeks. However, any longer and it takes a few cranks to start, enough that I have to close off the seacock until it turns over. This isn't hard, it just means standing in the bilge with one hand on the lever and the other on the starter switch.

Every time I run the boat, I run the generator with as much load as I can for at least 30 minutes. On a 280, this will mean the A/C (or heat in the winter), the hot water heater, and the fridge.

The only other issue I have had happened this year at Aquapalooza. After about 6 hours of running, the strainer was clogged with seaweed. I shut it down and cleaned it out, but when I restarted it there was very little water flow, so I shut it down again to keep from destroying the relatively new impeller. It seems that the thru-hull was clogged also, since it cleared out when I pulled anchor and moved the boat. The water flow was restored by the time I got back to the marina.

Mine has been less trouble than the Mercruiser main engine. The Kohler does not have an IAC valve!
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Ken, You seem to know a lot about the Kohler 5K unit. Recently I've noticed that the overflow coolant bottle fills when the generator is running. Generator starts up fine, water pressure coming out looks normal and there are no warning codes. What might be causing this? Sorry for the slight thread hi jack. Brian
 
Brian,

I don't know nearly as much as you might think, but thanks! The overflow bottle is supposed to fill up as the engine warms and the coolant expands - same as in a car. The level should drop when the engine cools down. Is that what you are seeing?

Or, is the coolant spilling out, as if there is fluid leaking in from somewhere? That would not make a lot of sense, because the freshwater side of the cooling system is under pressure. For fluids to enter the closed cooling, they would have to be under higher pressure, which is why you are much more likely to see antifreeze in your oil than the other way around.
 
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