Sam, how big is your shorepower charger?

Sam, you mentioned you have a power consumption problem. The generator won't help that. All that will help that is to use less power.

And in other news.....

Yamaha's generators are every bit as good as Honda's though not any cheaper. I had one for a number of years and, as with all things gas nowadays, if you use fuel stabilizer it would never let you down.

Sam,
As Stu mentioned, the size of your charger is a very important data point. One other thing to consider is that the 1k will not run your W/H, which has a 1500W element. If that is a concern, then go with the 2k. I've had a Honda 2k for 3 years and love it.

I have had the Honda 2000 for 3 yrs and love it. Just changed it over to use propane & gas. One pull and it starts meets all the power needs on my 36 MKII

[QUOTE=TomSoko;20673]Sam,
As Stu mentioned, the size of your charger is a very important data point. One other thing to consider is that the 1k will not run your W/H, which has a 1500W element. If that is a concern, then go with the 2k. I've had a Honda 2k for 3 years and love it.[/QUOTE]

Ditto... Honda 2k will also run hot water heater (but not when charger running too..)

Sam. Have you determined how much energy you use per day when away from shore power? We installed a Victron monitor and discovered that even when we keep the fridge cooled to proper beer temperatures, and use the invertor to watch a little TV, 100AH/day is a pretty good budget. At 100AH/day your battery bank should give you close to 2 days of electricity before you need to recharge. What if instead of adding a separate gasoline portable generator you invested the money in a 90 amp alternator and digital regulator. Charging time for your battery bank using your engine will vary depending on a number of factors, but on average running the engine between 1-2 hours per day may keep you pretty much topped up. We find that when out cruising we usually wind up motoring a fair amount of time so rarely need to run the diesel for the sole purpose of recharging. I understand the argument against putting hours on the engine just to charge the batteries, but if the actual engine time used for that purpose is only a few hours per season it may be a better option than having to give up locker space for storage of the generator, not to mention the issues related to gasoline fumes.

Sam,
That's the easy part. Buy a 10-15' extension cord (heavy duty: 10 or12 gauge, not a cheap skinny one), and cut the female end off. Buy a 30A twist connector and attach it to the extension cord. Finished. Off-the-shelf parts at most hardware stores or big box stores.

Sam, whose belt are you using? If it's Gates/Napa with bottom cogs you should try a Daycog Topcog belt, that is what Universal originals are. I have twice shredded Gates/Napa belts in less than 10 hours, but I have 3 seasons and 195 hours on the Dayco Topcog belt currently installed and it is showing minimal wear. I'm turning a 90 amp alternator and don't use any kind of amp cutback programming in the regulator. Since installing solar and wind power though our house bank rarely goes below 70%.

[QUOTE=Capt. Sam;20731]thanks for the good comments. Yes, Mike I have calculated my consumption and I've upgraded to a new Balmar 80 amp alternator with smart programmable regulator. The problem is that when the house bank gets depleated down to 70% or less and the regulator tells the alternator to go to bulk, it tends to shred the belt pretty quick. So, I've had to use the "Belt Saver" mode to take it back down to 80% or so which leaves me short of sufficient charging to get them back up with only a couple of hours idle when at anchor.
Question,, those of you who use the Honda 2000si, do you plug it directly into the 30 amp ac receptacle on the transom? If so, where do you get the cord? Thanks
Sam[/QUOTE]

Belt shredding can be caused by many factors and should be dealt with. An 80A alt will NOT put out 80A for very long so even a 3/8" belt should handle this with ease.

[U][B]Problem Areas:[/B][/U]

Alignment
Alternator Pivot Hole Sizing Incorrect
Clamp bolt on adjuster arm slips and loosens
Rusty Pulleys
Wrong Size Alt Pulley
Improper Belt Tension
What Type of Belt (Dayco Top Cog I find best)

I repeat this mantra over and over again but no one seems to pay attention to it...... [B]If you want 80A of charging DO NOT buy an 80A alternator.[/B] Instead you need to buy a 100 or 120A alt and then de-rate it with Belt Manager. This will allow the alt to run at exactly where you want it to and it can do it all day long. It will also lead to significantly longer alt life as it is working less hard to supply that 80A than an 80A alt is while supplying 65A when hot...... Over the long term a 100A or 120A alt for 80A of output will cost you less than an 80A alt asked to do 80A.....

[B]Generators:[/B]

Please bear in mind that these generators use a floating ground. This means the neutral and ground are NOT bonded together at the "source". This is NOT the way proper source grounding for a marine application is done.

[quote=Honda]
[B][U]GENERATOR GROUNDING[/U]

Honda portable generators have a system ground that connects
generator frame components to the ground terminals in the AC output
receptacles. [COLOR="Red"]The system ground is not connected to the AC neutral
wire.[/COLOR][/B][/quote]

[quote=Honda Warranty Exclusions]

[B]Exclusions[/B]

Exposure of the product to........... bird droppings, [B][COLOR="Red"]sea water, sea breeze, salt[/COLOR][/B] or other environmental phenomena.[/quote]

If you ever upgrade to an ELCI main breaker, which is part of the current safety standard, you WILL have issues with an isolated ground generator and it will not work with a floating ground generator. Honda does not advise bonding Earth and Neutral at the generator and will not give any specifics as to why they do not advise this. Please bear in mind these are NOT marine units and were never intended for marine use... Also be considerate to your neighbors down wind...;) We've been on the receiving end of these "quiet" generators all too often.....

Sam, we're running a 100A alternator with the 3/8" belt. I use Small Engine Mode, rather than belt manager.

Small Engine Mode - discussion with link to the picture of the toggle switch: [url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4454.msg27149.html#msg27149[/url]

This one is a much looonger discussion which includes some about both features, particularly Reply #4 and page 2.

Alternator heat, Regulator Controls, Small Engine Mode

[url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4454.0.html[/url]

You really may NOT need a larger belt.

I also have a 100+ amp alternator, part of an Ample Power system installed in 2001. I use the standard Universal 3/8" belt. Current belt is about 3 years old. I do plan to upgrade to a Top Cog belt, but haven't remembered to buy some (maybe this spring). My system does not have any small engine or belt manager modes, and the belts have survived just fine. I broke one several years ago, but otherwise have not had any problems since the system was installed. The vendor also specified the need to go to a 1/2" belt; that would require changing the crankshaft pulley, which does not look to be easy.

So in my opinion, changing to a 1/2" belt would be best practice, but my experience, and apparently Stu's, have show that it isn't absolutely necessary.

There are two types of Honda 2000i generators. One has a 30 amp connector like for shore power so no adapter needed. The other has the standard outlet like in your house. For this one there is an adapter pigtail you can get at West Marine.

I am still confused on whether the 30 amp connector model puts out more amperage (whether burst or constant) than the standard outlet model.

My 2000i has trouble starting my A/C but charges the batteries just fine. I thought a 40 amp Pronautic was overkill but think I should have gone bigger now. BTW, I love the Pronautic charger it's taking great care of my lead acid batteries.

[QUOTE=KnotDoneYet;20773]There are two types of Honda 2000i generators. One has a 30 amp connector like for shore power so no adapter needed. The other has the standard outlet like in your house. For this one there is an adapter pigtail you can get at West Marine.

I am still confused on whether the 30 amp connector model puts out more amperage (whether burst or constant) than the standard outlet model.

My 2000i has trouble starting my A/C but charges the batteries just fine. I thought a 40 amp Pronautic was overkill but think I should have gone bigger now. BTW, I love the Pronautic charger it's taking great care of my lead acid batteries.[/QUOTE]

They have the same 1600W continuous rating. They also claim up to 30 minutes at 2000W but mine will go for about 10 minutes at 2k that's it...... They all vary very slightly as to output performance but the factory ratings are still 1600W continuous and 2000W peak. For the AC, depending upon size, you would likely need a soft start capacitor...

[QUOTE=KnotDoneYet;20773]There are two types of Honda 2000i generators. One has a 30 amp connector like for shore power so no adapter needed. The other has the standard outlet like in your house. For this one there is an adapter pigtail you can get at West Marine.

I am still confused on whether the 30 amp connector model puts out more amperage (whether burst or constant) than the standard outlet model.
[/QUOTE]

Jim,

You can go to the Honda website and find out. IIRC, they're both the same output, just different plugs. One's called the "Companion".