Generator ?

[drjbarnes]

Any one with an 88 340 Sundancer who can tell me what size/model westerbeke generator came stock on this boat.

 

[hottoddie]

In 88 Brunswick was installing Quicksilver generators. Brunswick owned Quicksilver. If the generator was removed now you why. A Westerbeke 5kw would be a good substitute.

 

[Skybolt]

If you have Merc's then as mentioned a quicksilver generator. If you have crusaders then it had an Onan 6k.

 

[sbw1]

A 4.5kw would give you better utilization regardless of the brand you choose. WBs tend to foul plugs when not running at 75% of rated output. That is hard to achieve on a 34 foot boat because water heaters and ACs idle after a while and the genny is not taxed.

 

[Happy Hour IV]

My 88 340 da came from factory with a 6.5 westerbeke. I load it up with the cooktop. Even unloaded i have never had fouled plugs after 28 years of ownership

 

[sbw1]

My 88 340 da came from factory with a 6.5 westerbeke. I load it up with the cooktop. Even unloaded i have never had fouled plugs after 28 years of ownership

Not sure what you are loading it with. Achieving 75% of rated output is almost impossible with 5kw. 6.5 even more so. The biggest draws are water heater, ac start, microwave when magnetron is on, and electric heat if you have it. In real life, you need just 4.5 to 5kw on a small boat like a 34 SR. WBs are known for fouling plugs when not being loaded. Maybe your experience is limited and atypical.

 

[Happy Hour IV]

I have a 3 burner cooktop that gets close to 3 kw, a water heater that I suspect is close to 1 kW
(can't remember, maybe only .75), then an icemaker, refrigerator (both intermitent loads).
Microwave, maybe another 1 Kw. Never clamped the load but I can trip the 30 amp breaker. A 30 amp breaker probably trips around 33 amps with long continuous load so figure almost 4 kw. Then I have a 90 amp alternator added to the genset. I have seen it run at almost 40 amps when there is lots of 12 volt load (house inverter and since frig is 120 only, a separate frig inverter) so figure another .4 kw load on the motor. Grand total if I push it 4.4 KW. That is substantial on a 6.5 kw set. Not sure where the 75% suggestion comes from, thought that high of loading is recommended for diesels. But my loading works for me with no fouling. Could I live with 4.5, yes by all means, but with the 6.5 I am not pushing the backend very hard and that is a good thing. Almost forgot instapot, coffemaker and air fryer, dang my boat is heavy.

 

[sbw1]

I have a 3 burner cooktop that gets close to 3 kw, a water heater that I suspect is close to 1 kW
(can't remember, maybe only .75), then an icemaker, refrigerator (both intermitent loads).
Microwave, maybe another 1 Kw. Never clamped the load but I can trip the 30 amp breaker. A 30 amp breaker probably trips around 33 amps with long continuous load so figure almost 4 kw. Then I have a 90 amp alternator added to the genset. I have seen it run at almost 40 amps when there is lots of 12 volt load (house inverter and since frig is 120 only, a separate frig inverter) so figure another .4 kw load on the motor. Grand total if I push it 4.4 KW. That is substantial on a 6.5 kw set. Not sure where the 75% suggestion comes from, thought that high of loading is recommended for diesels. But my loading works for me with no fouling. Could I live with 4.5, yes by all means, but with the 6.5 I am not pushing the backend very hard and that is a good thing. Almost forgot instapot, coffemaker and air fryer, dang my boat is heavy.

All of those loads are intermittent loads. The water heater for example only runs until it heats the water. That takes maybe 5 minutes. Micro wave and cook top, same thing. The fridge and icemaker are next to nil. 6.5kw is overkill.

 

[jmauld]

View attachment 110384
The water heater for example only runs until it heats the water. That takes maybe 5 minutes.

Is this correct for everyone? My heater (on a 390da) takes about 45minutes to heat water. If it should only take five minutes then I have some digging to do.

 

[northern]

WE have an 8KW generator. We run watermaker, 140 AMP charger for 14 batteries, hot water heater, 2 refrigerators. We run the generator for 1 to 2 hours a day. When on it draws 70% load. The batteries (10 six volt) power a 2500 watt inverter the rest of the time.

 

[bbwhitejr]

Is this correct for everyone? My heater (on a 390da) takes about 45minutes to heat water. If it should only take five minutes then I have some digging to do.

You are not alone....my HWH in this boat and others run much longer than 5m to initially heat up...

Bennett

 

[drjbarnes]

My 88 340 da came from factory with a 6.5 westerbeke. I load it up with the cooktop. Even unloaded i have never had fouled plugs after 28 years of ownership

Thank you. The PO told me the generator was a 4.5kw; however, after some digging around to find the serial number and calling Westerbeke it is indeed a 6.5KW.

 

[nelson Gay]

for the cost of a 6.5 kw generator you could go solar for less and never have to worry about the fumes although it would be 2-3 kw per solar genny

 

[DaveKamp]

It would also turn his 340 Sundancer into an aircraft-carrier deck of solar cells, and his bilge with 3x the gen's weight in batteries to accomplish what his loads identified.

I'll second the comment that A 6.5 is quite a bit... during outages, I run my house primarily on a Kohler 6.5R22, that's enough to manage one 2-ton HVAC duet, gas water heater (electric inducer fan) plus half-dozen ceiling fans, three intermittant sump pumps, two refrigerators, one chest freezer, plenty of LED lighting, and a TV set... with enough left to run the microwave.

Light loading is a challenge for marine engines for two basic reasons: 1) low temperatures (from raw water cooling) and 2) High backpressure from water-lift exhaust systems. Running at a higher load helps mitigate both these issues, as does going to closed cooling...

 

[nelson Gay]

It would also turn his 340 Sundancer into an aircraft-carrier deck of solar cells, and his bilge with 3x the gen's weight in batteries to accomplish what his loads identified.

I'll second the comment that A 6.5 is quite a bit... during outages, I run my house primarily on a Kohler 6.5R22, that's enough to manage one 2-ton HVAC duet, gas water heater (electric inducer fan) plus half-dozen ceiling fans, three intermittant sump pumps, two refrigerators, one chest freezer, plenty of LED lighting, and a TV set... with enough left to run the microwave.

Light loading is a challenge for marine engines for two basic reasons: 1) low temperatures (from raw water cooling) and 2) High backpressure from water-lift exhaust systems. Running at a higher load helps mitigate both these issues, as does going to closed cooling...

why would you need so many solar panels unless he is living off the hook you recharge it at the dock. its for overnight AC which is possible with a solar Gen in fact they sell a LION portable AC zero breeze 2300 BTU and a generator would be cheaper than installing a new 6KW genset

 

[DaveKamp]

There's no indication of how he's living... only an indication of what's currently on his system... which is an apples-to-apples (ampres-to-ampres) comparison... but in reality, the comparison is just not-that-simple- it's ampere-hours, peak loading, and recovery time consideration.

I don't know any of the aforementioned boats, but it's not unusual for craft to use the generator's waste heat to provide a significant amount of domestic water heating... that's why they can accomplish such a fast recovery time on gen, but act slower on just shore power. Electric heating is incredibly inefficient... a hideous waste of battery+pv solar panels. The 10' x 30' PV solar array I helped a buddy build, is capable of running 10kw when he's got good solid full sun, but averages about 5kw on most mid-day circumstances. Mounting that array on any boat WOULD give it the USS Lexington's silhouette.

Energy density of the generator's fuel supply is orders-of-magnitude higher, at a a much faster recovery rate AND substantially lesser mass than chemical battery storage If they're only looking for a temporary support source, and not concerned with having large energy availability or a fast recovery, we can safely assume they would not be addressing the generator as a necessary power element in the first place.