With thanks to John Weston, (Catalina 387 #46), here are photos of how a Panda generator was installed in the rear lazarette:
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The following are suggestions for where to store and run your Honda generator:
I use my Honda 2000 in the same way as everyone else, but store it differently. I made a starboard shelf that i attached to the starboard aft locker lid. I replaced the existing hinge screws with longer ones to secure the shelf with no additional holes if it did’t work. I keep it attached with a bicycle cable lock to the back stay and the railing. I run it in the same position. No fumes and less noise inside the boat. It doesn’t budge in rough weather.
This is the generator sitting in place ( taken yesterday from my dink in B.I.) You can see the bicycle cable that holds it in place. The shelf (next email picture) was made from a scrap of starboard that I had. It was not quite wide enough so I
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There has been considerable discussion recently on the use of a Honda 2000 generator to power AC units when not connected to shore power. Having just purchased one, here is my experience. Note that this was for a 387 with two CruiseAir AC units, a larger one for the main cabin and a smaller one for the stern cabin.
First, the generator had no problem running the stern AC unit. Unfortunately, the stern unit couldn’t deal with the whole boat when at anchor in the 90+ degree afternoon’s sun. We didn’t try it at night.
Second, the generator could run the larger AC unit as long as it was the first time you ran it that day. What you can’t do is to let the compressor stop and then restart it. That causes an overload on the generator.
(Updated: 8/19/2013 – I installed a Dometic SmartStart to the main AC
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