Using a portable generator to run A/C?

I have some statistical training & I love data analysis as much as the next guy, but telling me that a million people used a portable generator on the boat last year without incident does not change the fact that "I AINT DOIN IT!"

Case in point...
Alabama has some hot freakin nights believe me. We use a hatch unit that works just fine for us. About a month ago we woke up around 1am....the air was off! Turns out an auto accident had the entire marina shut down. We had two Honda's available to us....No thanks. We waited about 2 hours to no avail. We packed up & went home.
 
I guess you didn't read the whole article.
 
Doesn't it seem like the people who ask these questions often already have their own preferred answer???

You can't teach the unteachable. If you think this is a safe practice, knock yourselves out... Literally. Just make sure your insurance is paid up, and don't do it around your own kids or another boat.
 
you can't equate the two. that's like saying "people get hit by buses and die everyday, might as well shoot heroin".
 
MonacoMike said:
I do not know enough to even try to give an opinion of this issue and I have read ALL related threads.

I want to ask for more data to get beyond “I think” and to attempt to create a “preponderance of the evidence”

When the issue of blood alcohol content (BAC) levels and vehicle operation came up there was a lot of “I think” expressed. As we all know, we as a society, have decided some expediency is worth the risk of some loss of life. If we had not, the speed limits would be 2-5 mph so as to reduce to nearly 0 the loss of life.

I believe to decide the BAC issue, society should have the data of how many deaths were caused by drivers below 1% BAC but above .8% BAC. Once this data is known then society can make an informed decision. (I asked a legislator for this data and this question was never researched.) Deaths caused by drivers above 1% BAC are already breaking the law and lowering would have no significant affect. The decision on BAC was based on emotion and “I think” not data, rational thought, and consensus building.

I want to issue a challenge!!!

Please post all articles you can find related to generator use deaths both marine installed and portable and post them here. If there are deaths or near deaths they will be reported and online in today’s world.

There are bad, good, better, and best practices in everything and we all will never agree on everything but we should be able to reach a general consensus that 80-90% of us agree is reasonable. When I read this and other threads I do not see agreement. There will be the boater who uses bad practices to anchor and hasn’t had a bad outcome. While some will use better and best and still have a bad outcome.

So is there a wake of carnage from generator use in general? Portable use only? Lets see the data and discuss the risk level of bad, good, better, and best practices rather than just draw hardened lines between people who have made up their minds on either side and others asking questions to make up their minds.

OldSkool, You may need more popcorn. Pass the salt and Skittles please.

Sundancer, Could not find those stats on the link from your old post.

Thanks, MM
Click to expand...
Here you go Mike, lots of reading for you: http://www.doubleangel.org/archives_frame.htm
If I remember correctly the majority of situations involved raft ups and/or houseboats.
 
There is a right way and wrong way to do things.This is one of those times.

An outside top deck mounted honda 2000i is no more harmful than a marine genset that pums exhaust out a hose around the hull.

Even moreso is the fact that anytime you are sleeping in a cabin,genny or not,you need a properly working CO detector near your head.

Boating is a risk.You try your best to be safe.

I can tell you this right now.I would ABSOLUTELY rather sleep with my A/C running with a clean air source than breath the outside air of the 50 marine gens running next to me.
 
sfergson727 said:
hhmmm, I wonder where exactly does the air that is in your boat come in from? I mean, your boat is not air-tight, right? (if it was, you would smother every time you closed the cabin door)

Think about that for a while, and see if you can envision a potential problem here.
Click to expand...


It's blowing around cabin air that it a whole lot less likely to be a pool of CO that finds its way inside all at once...sure you're gonna suck some in but that is what the dang detector is for.
 
I can't seem to get passed the notion that it seems absurd to think that the idea of a 1 cylinder generator on the bow of a boat in fresh air is going to create so much CO to cause a problem in that boat assuming it's closed up. I mean, I stand within feet of a lawnmower engine all the time. I've driven tractors all my life for hours with exhaust right there. I've sat in hours worth of L.A. rush hour without ever a problem. Surely those all produce much more CO. I haven't read all the posts or studies but is there one single reported case of a portable generator on the bow of the boat causing a single death?
 
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I've remained largely a bystander in all of these portable generator threads. But I have a stinky opinion just like everyone else, and I'm no more capable of keeping it to myself than the next guy. So...

It's clear why people want this. They want cool air to sleep in. I do too.

And I get why people are challenging the "you would be nuts to do this" camp. At a glance, a gas-powered genset is a gas-powered genset, right? It's not like the marine models don't emit CO, right? So what's the diff? I see the logic here (flawed or not I do not know).

So where's the data supporting the position (either side)? Does it exist? Can it be found that x CO incidents occured from generators on boats, and of them y were factory gensets and z were portable units? This data would surely show if this was an issue. But I don't think that data exists...at least I haven't seen it. Sure, you can find data pointing to portable generator deaths - but were they on a boat? And you can find data pointint to boating CO deaths, but were they due to portable generators?

I have no idea what the right answer is - at least based on the facts.

But I do think that given a boat an anchor, and the wind direction (from the bow), the only sane place for a generator would be downwind from the occupants. Typically, this will be the swim platform. And I can't for the life of me (no pun intended) see how placing a unit that is generating electricity on a platform that routinely gets wet is a good idea. Not to mention how it would look...

Personally, I knew when I purchased a boat with a cabin that it would get hot down there. So I made it a point to find a boat with a generator so the AC could keep me cool and the fridge could keep my beer cold.
 
You guys that need A/C at night just need to move up here! Wait, that's a bad idea!!
 
Turtlesboat said:
I guess you didn't read the whole article.
Click to expand...

Ummm, wrong.

Doesn't really matter to me, I do not advocate their use on, in, or around a boat under any conditions. Just trying to answer a question brought forth. How many fatalities can be attributed to use of a portable generator used on a boat (externally)? Of all the portable generator threads in recent memory I don't think anyone has come up with any real data to answer this question.

So far just a lot of inane responses about buses and heroin and "what he said!" That's the media for ya...
 
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Cincy Aquaholic said:
I can't seem to get passed the notion that it seems absurd to think that the idea of a 1 cylinder generator on the bow of a boat in fresh air is going to create so much CO to cause a problem in that boat assuming it's closed up. I mean, I stand within feet of a lawnmower engine all the time. I've driven tractors all my life for hours with exhaust right there. I've sat in hours worth of L.A. rush hour without ever a problem. Surely those all produce much more CO. I haven't read all the posts or studies but is there one single reported case of a portable generator on the bow of the boat causing a single death?
Click to expand...

Uhh Ohh, a logical, intelligent, and lucid response followed by a well thought out cogent question...

MODERATORS!!! Please remove this post ASAP!!! Quickly before common sense starts to infiltrate this thread!
 
I'm on the side of LP driven gens. I know the LP tank can cause a concern but when stored correctly it is safer than gas. There are many tank configurations to fit variuos appications. The fumes are clean and do not pose near the health risk and as in my last post, you can use it for the grill.
As with anything, good maintenance is key to living longer.

Just my thought.
 
Propane is a great idea. You can then put a turkey fryer on the back:

DSC_0162.jpg
 
About a half-dozen years ago, Westerbeke and a few other marine generator manufacturers began to outfit their generators with catalytic converters. The cats significantly reduce the amount of CO produced to nearly zero. While my boat doesn't have it, I seriously would consider a genset upgrade if we anchored out. But since my wife doesn't like to do that, it's not necessary. Anyway, the next boat will be diesel powered. Catalysts are not available on portables.
 
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I guess we can add this thread to all the others on Portable Generators. :smt101


First comes the moans and jokes

Next comes the opinions

Next is the arguing and bantering back and forth

Than back to the jokes

And eventually the thread Dies.

I HOPE THIS ONE DIES SOON. :smt043:smt043
 
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