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Portable Generator Storage

KTROBI_VALHALLA

Member II
I am curious as to whether anybody stores a portable generator such as the Honda EU2000 on board. If so where do you keep it and how do you secure it. The cockpit lazarette is the obvious storage choice, but I have my AC charger located deep in that compartment and I don't like the idea of storing gas fumed equipment in the same locker. Any ideas?
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Scuba compressor: same deal

The same problems occur for the SCUBA compressor, and the dinghy motor.

In protected waters, the compressor mounts on a cockpit bench, with a cover, and the dinghy motor hangs on the pushpit.

On a small boat, if taking heavy objects like that on a passage, I think they need to be stored as low in the boat as possible. Which means draining the fuel, drying the tank and carb, and lashing them down in the Q-berth or sail locker.

Another possibility: I have even less storage space than you, but my boat's cockpit is over-sized. On the project list is to deck-over the back of the footwell, aft of the rudder post, to make a vented flammables locker. It might hold some combination of propane, extra fuel, and small engines. But not all at once.
 

Bolo

Contributing Partner
Loud!!!!

I am curious as to whether anybody stores a portable generator such as the Honda EU2000 on board. If so where do you keep it and how do you secure it. The cockpit lazarette is the obvious storage choice, but I have my AC charger located deep in that compartment and I don't like the idea of storing gas fumed equipment in the same locker. Any ideas?

I have a Honda EU2000 that I've used on the job and sometimes to generate power for my house during the rare extended power outages. With lots of extension cables so it was easy to just place the generator on my deck and run the cables into the house. The noise was minimal mostly because the Honda EU2000 is quiet and the generator was parked outside. So I thought, why not take it on board to charge batteries at anchor or even (Hmmm!?) run the AC unit? I first placed the Honda EU2000 in the cockpit and fired it up. Well, the usually quiet generator (that was purring on my deck back home) turned into the noise monster because it was in the confines of the cockpit and the noise reverberated through the cockpit floor and into the boat. When I stared up the AC you couldn't carry on a conversation even below deck. (Bad idea)

So I relocated the generator to the fore deck and although the noise was less inside the boat it traveled across the water and I'm sure was disturbing the other occupants of the anchors boats around me. You know that thing about how well sound travels across the water? The only real place to store the Honda EU2000 was in the port side berth of my E32-3 and it wasn't easy to get it out or in. The Honda EU2000 works great on land but as a marine generator it's not a great solution. That's why they make gensets with noise insulating covers for bigger boats I guess. I'm going to probably install two solar panels or a wind generator eventually if we do a lot more extended anchoring. But for now, running the engine to recharge is the better option.
 

Baslin

Member III
Storage

I/m not sure of best storage while underway but I have seen photos of people suspending them from the boom while at anchor. I suppose this would keep the rattling to a minimum. I was considering trying to see if one of the small Honda generators would run my A/C....I use an 8,000 BTU window unit in the companion way.
 

Navman

Member III
Generator storage

I store Honda under the helmsman seat. I have built a level platform on top of the two longitudinal stringer there for my below decks autopilot. There is enough room there for the generator also. It is a little tight getting it into the compartment but is doable. I always make sure to close the vent on the cap tightly and have never had a leak. It even fell over while heeling and I didn't realize it until later that night ( i didn't strap it down) Not a drop was spilled and no odor was found. When in use I put a carpet scrap on the combing, put the generator on it and tie it to the pushpit railing on the starboard side. Works great, fumes are behind you and you are safe. Plug in the shore power adapter, hook up the shore power cord and all is well and charging. I am going down this weekend and will try to remember to take a photo for you.
 

Navman

Member III
Generator storage

I have been in construction for 42 years now and my experience with knock offs is that they are just that, knock offs, poor imitations. But it does the same thing you might say; and is "just as good", NOT. I have a 30 year old Honda 2200 generator which is still running strong and has only been serviced ONCE! The new 2000 series I am sure will be well worth the $845.00 I paid. It is not very often that quality, dependability and durability comes cheaply, but once the item is in your possession you will find it to have been well worth it. That's not to say I can or do buy the best of everything but when it comes to certain items I fell that is is wiser to bite the bullet .Just my opinion.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Why name a generator the "Predator"?

I mean, OK, you gotta name it something. But Predator? What committee came up with that? Give some dude in his RV at the KOA the image of an A10 pilot eluding radar machine guns to strafe, what, the nearest 7-11?

Predator?

I'm just sayin', Predator?
 

Bolo

Contributing Partner
Whats in a name?

Why name a generator the "Predator"?

I mean, OK, you gotta name it something. But Predator? What committee came up with that? Give some dude in his RV at the KOA the image of an A10 pilot eluding radar machine guns to strafe, what, the nearest 7-11?

Predator?

I'm just sayin', Predator?

Would have been better is they named it the "Rotaderp 2000". (Predator backwards) Even sounds better, like it was made in Bavaria or someplace like that. Could charge more for it.
 

Kenneth K

1985 32-3, Puget Sound
Blogs Author
I keep my Honda e2000 stored in the galley. Wedged in on 3 sides (cabinets fore and aft, and the oven to stbd, there is only one direction it could tip (but it would be very easy to add a bungee to prevent that). With the gas cap screwed on tightly and the vent switched to OFF, I have NEVER had fumes fumes in the cabin. I routinely run 2 oil lamps in the boat while the generator is stored there. [Note-my fresh water foot pump is removed, so the generator fits in that tight galley space. With a foot pump there, I'd probably have to shorten the pump lever a few inches to still get it to fit.]

The E2000 has an Eco-mode, so it can run only as much as needed. It runs really quiet at low amperage draws (battery charger), but runs at full speed with a vacuum or blow dryer plugged in. Yes, noise carries on the water, but at the lower run speeds, it's barely noticeable from two to three hundred feet away.

If you get creative, you can also run silicone and stainless steel tubing from the exhaust vent, and pipe the exhaust roughly where you want it. I've run it the last two seasons under my boom tent during the winter (routing the flexible exhaust hoses out the side) and it's never set off the CO detector in the cabin.

Its a life-saver for year round mooring on a buoy.
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Generator Storage

I have been using a Honda EU2000 for many years to run our AC. It fits perfectly in the aft lazerette. When in use, I hang it slightly off the deck from the boom which dramatically cuts down on vibration and noise. I also carry a 6 gal. extended run fuel tank for the heat of summer.
 

David Grimm

E38-200
Hey Guys, As preperation for purchasing my boat 4 states south of NY I decided to buy the Harbor Freight Preditor. Not knowing the boat electrical draw or the age and condition of the alternator it just seemed like some good insurance. I kept it under the helmsman seat the whole trip. This winter I used it in the boat yard for a small electric heater while I was working on some things. It drew a crowd. Most stood in amazement as to how quiet it is. The entire case is well insulated and it sips fuel on eco mode. Max draw is somthing like 1800 watts but it had no problem running my 1500 watt heater and 8 amp battery charger for an hour. Christian you crack me up. It's only a Preditor to Honda!
 

Navman

Member III
IMG_2348.jpgIMG_2354.jpg I store my generator on this platform I made for my autopilot installation. I made the platform larger than I needed for the pump and motor specifically for the generator. The ram and pump have a SS hood over them ( not in photos) to protect them from items being thrown in. The SS sheet is one of a pair of very good doors from an old BBQ cooker. I salvaged almost all of the stainless from that unit and the door fit perfectly. I have used the salvaged material for custom over sized washers, backer plates, to make the shroud/ cover for the ram and pump motor etc. Now need to get the interior painted so it looks clean. I had some 5/4" mahogany left over from a rudder project which I used to make the leveling blocks mounted on top of the stringers. I then glassed them in place. Made a template from 1/4" luan underlament and the final substrate/ deck from 3/4" cabinet grade ply which I then epoxied. Then cut and installed the SS "door".
 

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
If I'm not mistaken... the Predator is a drone and the A10 is named the Thunderbolt like the old P47 or WW2 vintage fighter. But what's in a name?
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Not that it matters, but all Harbor Freight generators are "Predator" brand. Who knows if the different ones are even made by the same company? I have a couple of the larger (non-inverter) ones as stand-by generators. One for the house, one for the workshop and greenhouse. There was some confusion when I bought them (on sale) because they had identical "model numbers" but different SKU numbers. Looking closely, there are subtle differences between them, though they are functionally the same. They work fine, except they're noisy. Although since they sit idle, outside, for months at a time, if I want to use the electric start feature, I'm going to have to add some kind of charge-maintenance device to the batteries. They are pretty much at the limit of what I can pull-start. (After eating a bowl of Wheaties and doing 50 push-ups to warm up.)

Anyway, there is a long and amusing history of Asian companies formulating brand names to sell stuff to North Americans. They don't always choose wisely. Harbor Freight has a particular problem in that they are largely trying to sell Chinese stuff to rednecks. For example, they have long used "Pittsburgh" as a tool brand when it more accurately ought to be "Shanghai" or something.

Some of their other brands: (From circular that just arrived on my desk.)
Badlands: Winches
Fortress: Compressors
Diamondback: Power saws
Hercules: Tote bags
Earthquake: Cordless power tools

There are at least a dozen more like this, but they aren't in today's ad. You can almost smell the testosterone wafting off of it.
 

Tin Kicker

Sustaining Member
Moderator
I deal with batteries, solar, and electrical power in relation to electric vehicles so will offer that the electrical waveforms put out by HF brand generators are either surprisingly good or amazingly bad. For those who understand what an AC wave should look like, the bad ones are like a really ragged PWM square wave, rather than pure sine. Those can actually be bad enough to damage equipment, but the good ones are actually great values so you can find a bargain.

Suggestion if buying one is to do a lot of research on that particular model, Googling to see whether the particular model has caused problems in running TVs and computers. Those and some types of small motors suffer symptoms first. If you know somebody with an oscilloscope who can check the output waveform, that'd be best.

Oh - And I understand from a friend with a HF generator that they take something like 10-25 hours to break in so the output is stable.
 
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