generators

[thebelly]

Hi there.

Any advice on what sort of portable generator to get?

[NB Alnwick]

Hi there.

Any advice on what sort of portable generator to get?

 

We have a Honda EU20i - and although expensive, you will find that you will get your money's worth.

Ours has already completed more than a thousand hours and is still as good as new. It is guaranteed for five years and likely to last three times as long. It is also quiet and easy to transport in the car boot.

 

We used to have a cheap generator which we thought was the 'bees knees' but after less than a year it failed and the repair costs would have been more than we paid for it - with the Honda you get a reliable and sturdy bit of kit that will not let you down.

 

We bought ours from Brown Power of Rugby and found them quite amenable when we did some serious haggling over the price. So it is well worth shopping around and making offers!

 

This link will take you to the Brown Power listing.

[Lady Muck]

I'm about to buy one of these too - yes they are expensive but the cheap ones cannot be repaired easily so they are a false economy. They also sound louder than an aircraft taking off.

 

I was thinking about buying one from here as the price was so good. Also does anyone know if its worth converting to gas? Whats the consumption like?

 

Elliots

[Proper Job]

I give the Honda EU20i the thumbs up as well.

 

Expensive initial outlay, but it will pay dividends in the long run. And its quieter than anything else on the market

 

I got mine from Edge: Link

[casper ghost]

Hi. I had one of the little 2 stroke gennies, you can buy them for as little as 70.00. Mine worked fine for about 2 years but then it packed up, but only due to dirty fuel. I then sold in for spares for 26.00 so worked out quite cheap. It also did about 8 hours to the gallon.

My dad has a Honda genny which is now 25 years old, it's never been serviced, not even an oil top up, it works like new and gets some serious abuse too, can't beat an old Honda.

 

I give the Honda EU20i the thumbs up as well.

 

Expensive initial outlay, but it will pay dividends in the long run. And its quieter than anything else on the market

 

I got mine from Edge: Link

 

Just checked out the link. WOW thats an astronomic price just for a 2kw genny.. My electric start 6 kw diesel genny only cost 600.00 new..

[NB Alnwick]

I'm about to buy one of these too - yes they are expensive but the cheap ones cannot be repaired easily so they are a false economy. They also sound louder than an aircraft taking off.

 

I was thinking about buying one from here as the price was so good. Also does anyone know if its worth converting to gas? Whats the consumption like?

 

Elliots

 

I don't know what the consumption is like on gas but on petrol I have used 397 litres over 1029 hours and there is plenty of fuel in it as I write this. That works out at just under three hours to the litre or about 39p an hour. Connected to our sterling 24v/25amp charger, it takes about three hours to recharge the batteries from 60% back up to 100%. Certainly the fuel economy is far better than the cheapo genny that we used to have - largely because the Honda has a variable speed motor that produces mains voltage through an efficient self contained inverter - this means that the fuel consumption (and noise) is relevant to the load. When using it in the evening to watch TV etc. we are told that it make no more noise than our neighbours diesel fired central heating system.

 

Just checked out the link. WOW thats an astronomic price just for a 2kw genny.. My electric start 6 kw diesel genny only cost 600.00 new..

 

Economy, reliability and silence come at a price. Nevertheless, it should still be possible to get one for around £800 to £850.

[gary4lw]

Might be worth a try a Costco for a honda I'm sure they are a little cheaper 800 and something rings a bell could be wrong so check first. Gary

[Byeckerslike]

I've been very satisfied with our Kawasaki GA1400-A generator, it is bomb proof and runs totally trouble free.

 

Rob

[bag 'o' bones]

Can't help thinking that Hondas are a touch overpriced. I relise you have pay a bit more when something is obviously good quality...... but 900 quid? Hmm.

[Dutch]

Can't help thinking that Hondas are a touch overpriced. I relise you have pay a bit more when something is obviously good quality...... but 900 quid? Hmm.

They are very overpriced

[canalchris]

Hi there.

Any advice on what sort of portable generator to get?

 

 

Honda 2kw anyday, bloke i know crowed about buying a copy for a lot less, but after sending two of these back he ended up buying a honda. Expensive , yes but unbeatable.

Edited April 17, 2009 by canalchris

[Travis]

Overpriced and over here.

[NB Alnwick]

They are very overpriced

 

Sadly good products often command good prices - if they couldn't sell them, they would be cheaper

[chris w]

Connected to our sterling 24v/25amp charger, it takes about three hours to recharge the batteries from 60% back up to 100%.

You are kidding yourself if you believe that you can charge a battery bank in 3 hours from 60% to 100% with a 25A charger.

 

Even if you only had ONE 110AH battery and you could charge it at a constant 25A then that single battery on its own will take 3 hours to get to 100%. In reality you won't be able to maintain the 25A anyway owing to the rising battery terminal voltage.

 

Here's the sums: 60% of 110AH is 66Ah, ie: 44AH used. You need to put back about 1.5 times this figure because of the physics of battery charging (70% efficiency). So that battery needs about 66AH put back into it which, at a constant 25A, will be close to 3 hours. You will however never achieve a constant 25A of course for the reason stated above. A bank of say 3 x 110AH batteries will need 8-10 hours on your charger to go from 60% to 100% charge.

 

Gibbo and I mention this so often but people keep insisting that they can miraculously charge batteries faster than the laws of physics.

 

Chris

[blueprince]

What about diesel gennies?

[BlueStringPudding]

When using it in the evening to watch TV etc. we are told that it make no more noise than our neighbours diesel fired central heating system.

.

 

That loud!?!?!?

[mikevye]

Hi there.

Any advice on what sort of portable generator to get?

 

Justifiably everyone bangs on about the 2.0kw Honda. I have tried without success to buy one off ebay with one auction bid above what a discounted new one would have cost! If you just want a genny for battery charging and light usage the 1.0kw Honda is substantially better value for money with the same reliability and warranty.

Edited April 18, 2009 by mikevye

[NB Alnwick]

You are kidding yourself if you believe that you can charge a battery bank in 3 hours from 60% to 100% with a 25A charger.

 

Even if you only had ONE 110AH battery and you could charge it at a constant 25A then that single battery on its own will take 3 hours to get to 100%. In reality you won't be able to maintain the 25A anyway owing to the rising battery terminal voltage.

 

Here's the sums: 60% of 110AH is 66Ah, ie: 44AH used. You need to put back about 1.5 times this figure because of the physics of battery charging (70% efficiency). So that battery needs about 66AH put back into it which, at a constant 25A, will be close to 3 hours. You will however never achieve a constant 25A of course for the reason stated above. A bank of say 3 x 110AH batteries will need 8-10 hours on your charger to go from 60% to 100% charge.

 

Gibbo and I mention this so often but people keep insisting that they can miraculously charge batteries faster than the laws of physics.

 

Chris

 

I hope I am not kidding myself - the figures quoted are taken from Alnwick's SmartGauge and we always charge the batteries long enough to bring them up to the 100% mark - which then remains constant unless we draw power from the batteries. The SmartGauge shows 25.4 volts at 100% and 24.5 volts at 60%.

 

Are you forgetting that we have a 24v system?

[Phil Ambrose]

I'm about to buy one of these too - yes they are expensive but the cheap ones cannot be repaired easily so they are a false economy. They also sound louder than an aircraft taking off.

 

I was thinking about buying one from here as the price was so good. Also does anyone know if its worth converting to gas? Whats the consumption like?

 

Elliots

I have looked at changing to gas and think I will go that route as it save having to store petrol, I have been told they can be a little harder to start though. Check out www.edgetechnology.co.uk for genny and conversion kits

[Lady Muck]

Might be worth a try a Costco for a honda I'm sure they are a little cheaper 800 and something rings a bell could be wrong so check first. Gary

 

Bumped this thread because we went to Costco - £862 (inclusive of vat) - plus £20 for the membership, but I think I'll be back there somehow as they were selling a decent two man canoe (brand was Peilcan) for £316.

[Tom6]

I'm curious if there's any comparisons between diesel generators or others, such as the 'suitcase' types compared with solar panels? How long would a diesel (or other) generator have to run each day to charge a standard set of batteries to the same extent as solar panels? How much the fuel would cost (at today's prices). Given those standarisations then how many years do each last, i've heard solar panels might last 20years before needing replacing? Once longevity of devices have been factored in then does the total cost of running a generator for a full year (including an appropriate fraction of purchase price) compare well with the relative cost of running solar panels?

Edited May 31, 2009 by Tom6

[Lady Muck]

I have no idea but someone who does will be along in a minute. I use both methods.

 

We have both a suitcase genny and panels, but not enough penels to run the boat electrics. I think people (including us) have solar panels for convenience, rather than saving cash. Especially when you are boating and on a wild goose chase trying to find a petrol station in order to fill up. I fully intend to add more solar panels when I get the money. It won't be cheap though!

 

You can't really compare the two, because in winter solar panels aren't much cop at all, there isn't enough daylight and not that amazing in cloudy weather, so you'd need a genny. We can run our stereo off our little roll-up Sunlinq panel on a day like today. In cloudy weather? Forget it!

Edited May 31, 2009 by Lady Muck

[Tom6]

Ahah, that does make total sense. Thanks I've noticed that most boats, even moored ones, with solar panels tend to have them 'flat' on the roof rather than propped up to almost vertical and i know that this makes them only about 50% effective but is necessary because of other factors (eg wind potentially knocking them over etc) and wondered if that's what you do too. If yours are propped up and even track the sun then i guess we're not ready for solar power yet, given the costs.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Tom6

[Lady Muck]

Ahah, that does make total sense. Thanks I've noticed that most boats, even moored ones, with solar panels tend to have them 'flat' on the roof rather than propped up to almost vertical and i know that this makes them only about 50% effective but is necessary because of other factors (eg wind potentially knocking them over etc) and wondered if that's what you do too. If yours are propped up and even track the sun then i guess we're not ready for solar power yet, given the costs.

 

Yes we have wooden frames for ours which both rotate and can be angled. We move them around by hand.

[Tom6]

Oh no. I was hoping you were going to say they are usually flat on the roof like almost everyone

Edited June 1, 2009 by Tom6