Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

amanphoto

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Jun 21, 2008
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I would like to mount a Honda EU20001 companion generator (30 amps output) in the trunk of my Monterey 250CR boat. The thought is to be able to run the generator in the space over night to provide heat in the cuddy. The trunk should isolate some of the sound from it running. The generator should run about 8 hours on a tank of gas. I can refill it the next morning from the boats gas tank if needed. It will also charge my batteries for the next day.

The thought is that the generator is about $1,000 and to add a diesel fuel heater will cost double that.

Thoughts?

6861095.jpgl_vp2957549_3.jpg$(KGrHqFHJDME63ZMTz2pBO5!STESVw~~60_12.JPG

I'm going to cut a hole for exhaust to exit.
 

amanphoto

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

Ignition protected - its on the back of the boat where the grill is. No fumes around.

I can install a fan to circulate the air and cool the area.

I have two CO2 dictators in the cuddy.
 

Slip Away

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May 11, 2010
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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

I have seen the install you are considering done before. It can work.
11_3.jpg
 

amanphoto

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

Slip Away is that your setup? How is the exhaust plumbed? Any more info?
 

Slip Away

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

Not my set up. I would never want something like that on a boat I owned. It was a set up a neighbor at our old marina had.
 

H20Rat

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

It's going to build up a LOT of heat in a confined space as it is air cooled.

So with the suitcase generators like that, they have a fan at one end, and it discharges in the same area as the exhaust. With a duct adapter like the OP has shown, any heat created by the generator itself is kicked out along with the exhaust gas. I personally have a very similar setup for backup power at home. The generator is in a fairly tightly sealed and insulated box, far more insulated than a compartment on a boat. Heat buildup is not an issue. With the generator running full bore, I can barely hear it 10 feet away when the lid of the box is closed.

Protected ignition on the other hand... That isn't automatically an issue, but I would absolutely install a flammable gas detector. Many also have a relay output, so if the detector goes off, it could be set up to turn off the generator immediately.
 

amanphoto

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

I want to move my shore power hookup to the trunk so that I don't have to fight with the camper top to connect to shore power. East fix. Generator would run everything nicely.
 

smokeonthewater

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

personally I would never have a genny on a boat that doesn't have water cooled exhaust... I want those fumes to be as cool as possible and falling ...... less chance of ending up in the cabin (hot gasses rise)
 

UncleWillie

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

... ask your insurance agent what happens if you do by some weird chance have a fire on the boat and this non-marine genny is involved. I'm betting you won't like the answer.

He won't like you asking but...
If some Drunk(1) drives the wrong way on a freeway(2) at 100mph(3) an smashes in to some one head on(4);
Is his insurance preemptively canceled because of the four, stupid, preventable, actions of the driver? No!
They may cancel his insurance tomorrow, but the victims will get payed today; and his totaled car will be payed for if he had collision.

Insurance Covers Stupidity Everyday!
If it didn't, it would never pay for anything!
 

amanphoto

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

Can I run the exhaust into the water?
 

JoLin

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

Look, I'm not saying it can't be done but there really is a reason there are marine rated gensets. Safety being the biggest one. Just a suggestion, ask your insurance agent what happens if you do by some weird chance have a fire on the boat and this non-marine genny is involved. I'm betting you won't like the answer.


I'm with Bubba on this. You'll do what you want to do, and you may never even have an issue. But, it isn't in compliance with standards defined by USCG, NMMA and ABYC. And IMO, THAT means it wouldn't be considered a safe installation. As for using it to power a heater while sleeping? You're placing risk upon risk.

Plenty of people use those things, strapped to a swim platform, OUT IN THE OPEN where there's much less chance of an accident that will harm the boat and its occupants. And there's plenty of debate as to whether even that's a safe practice.

My .02
 

H20Rat

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

You may not understand it but most do, there is a difference between dumb and knowingly doing something that is unsafe and against regulations. If you think insurance companies don't deny claims in that situation you haven't delt with them enough. ;)

Used to work in insurance... We covered all kinds of stupid things, including where the owner probably knew it was a bad idea and it happened anyway. It was VERY rare to have claims like that denied, as in nearly impossible. The only time it becomes a question is if we could file insurance fraud right after denying the claim. And those were the dumb people, the smart ones admitted they screwed up, and it no longer is fraud. (want to burn your house down for insurance money? The dumb people would dump gas and then light it up, and claim they were gone. The smart ones lit a candle, then tipped it over the counter with some plausable flammable objects below it (magazines). Completely covered by insurance!)


Anyway, in the case above, if it caught fire and burnt, it would have absolutely been covered by insurance.
 

H20Rat

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

I'm with Bubba on this. You'll do what you want to do, and you may never even have an issue. But, it isn't in compliance with standards defined by USCG, NMMA and ABYC. And IMO, THAT means it wouldn't be considered a safe installation. As for using it to power a heater while sleeping? You're placing risk upon risk.

Although it is nitpicking, those standards apply to OEM builders, not the owner... There is no legal recourse for violating those for an owner. The majority of rebuilds shown in the forums on here would not meet the same standards, but they don't have to. (ever see an oem use pool noodles for floatation? yeah, those aren't approved materials)
 

JoLin

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Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

Yup, it's nitpicking. Portable devices (generators, barbeques, camping stoves) used in the open are one thing, a permanent install is another. If the 'permanently installed portable generator in a compartment' was a safe option, manufacturers would be falling all over each other, lobbying to change safety standards so they could offer it. At 1/4 - 1/3 the cost of a marine genny it'd be a REAL popular option they could tuck away into almost any boat they sell.
 

agallant80

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Oct 25, 2010
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2,328
Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

I have to agree with the people above. This is a bad idea. With fumes, gas vapors, c02, hot exhaust you are just asking for something to go wrong. There is plenty of debate about attaching it to the swim platform never mind putting it in an enclosed space.

The idea of mounting a portable generator to an enclosed compartment should have been added to the video below
Dumb Ways to Die - YouTube
 

amanphoto

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
336
Re: Adding Generator to Monterey 250cr trunk

Ok - so No generator running in the trunk. I will make a mount for it to run on my swim platform. Thanks for the advice.
 
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