Do they make a small 110v water cooled marine generator?

[rs2k]

I want a system that can run a small cabin A/C over night. I found I can put together a small battery bank to meet my needs for around $700. Are there any generators that can provide the same thing? If so, how much do they cost? How small are they? I have room to the side of my starboard engine that can hold either a small generator or a nice battery bank.

 

[toolsinbox]

Re: Do they make a small 110v water cooled marine generator?

Kolier makes one

 

[JB]

Re: Do they make a small 110v water cooled marine generator?

I think that is Kohler.

Any particular reason you want water cooled, rs2K? Seems to me a portable air cooled unit would be a lot more flexible.

 

[arks]

Re: Do they make a small 110v water cooled marine generator?

They make marine generators as small as 3.0kW, BUT.....

I installed a Kohler generator 2 seasons ago in my Silverton.
There is no way you're going to buy and install a proper marine generator for anywhere near 700 bucks. I spent more than that just on hoses, wire and fittings!
Installation is way more involved than most people think- AC transfer switch, properly sized tinned wire, thru-hulls and hose for intake and exhaust, water lift muffler, sea strainer, fuel valve and tee, fuel/water seperator, etc, etc, etc.... I could go on and on.
After shopping around, the best price I could find for a new 5kW Low-CO model was $7600, with the optional sound shield adding another $200. Add taxes and it cost $8K not including all the "little" stuff.

When it was all said and done I spend $9100 total. And remember- I did ALL the work myself. It AINT cheap!

As far as running A/C with only batteries, it's been tried before and just doesn't work for more than a few minutes. The battery bank you'd need would be enormous.
Maybe you could get by with a swamp cooler: http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling/evaporative.html

Whatever you try, good luck.
There's absolutely nothing better than ice cold A/C when on the water!

 

[rs2k]

Re: Do they make a small 110v water cooled marine generator?

Thanks for all the info!

I really think all I'm going to need would be a 5 - 6 cell bank of 150 AH deep cells and a decent inverter. That will be enough to A/C my sport cruiser's small cabin overnight. It will be heavy, but that's okay, this boat has plenty of power to spare.

My quick and dirty calculations (I know your not supposed to use watts like this):

5000 BTU takes about 1000 watts to run

6 batteries * 150 AH *.80(only drain to 20%left) = 8640 watts available.
(8640 capacity / 1000 AC watts per hour) * .80 (figure 20 loss to go from 12 volts to 115 volts) = 6.9 hours of continuous use.

Two 100 amp engine alternators should be able to apply enough power to charge the batteries and run a small 5000 BTU A/C while cruising or trolling.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Do they make a small 110v water cooled marine generator?

I'm probably gonna get heat for this but here goes.

Get a Honda EU generator. Strap it down where you want and enjoy the A/C. The 1K watt version and run on less than a gallon of fuel for for 8 hours and weighs 30 pounds!

Then you have the 2K version more practical I think.

Check out the specs here.