360SS Electrical Upgrade

[tomschauer]

Darn, that is a whole lot of work and money. I hope it works well and suits your cruising needs.
I believe I could run my genny 24/7 for 5 or more years for less $.

[KyleR]

I believe I could run my genny 24/7 for 5 or more years for less $.

Not me. 24/7 for 5 years comes to 43,800 hours. Assuming 20-30% load, which wouldn't be great for the generator, mine would consume 0.3gal/hrs of diesel, for a total of 13,140 gals of diesel. At $4/gal average, that comes to just over $50,000!!

Add in oil changes twice a month or more, new alternators, raw water filter cleanings, new belts, fuel filters, etc. Not to mention the fact that I've never seen a generator with 40,000+ hours on it!!

I know you were probably just kidding, but these generators aren't cheap to run and I am definitely fascinated and interested in the overall results of this mod.

[Carverlvr2]

So, if I remember from the beginning, your generator was working or at least serviceable. You’ve just had bad experiences with them and wanted a “latest tech” solution. What did you do with it after removal? Same for the chargers. I’m betting many folks out there could use some of those parts and pieces (me included) to keep from spending major $$ on total refits. Maybe help you recoup some of that $$ ?

[Alanna Mo Cree]

Got back to our home slip last night. One shore power ran the entire boat overnight and charged what little depletion there was between engine shut down and hooking up. I didn't rush to hook up shore power like I used to because the admiral wasn't sitting in a quickly heating boat, so it was a good 30-45 minutes between engine shut down and shore power hook up.

Looking at the power logs from the trip, at one point after we got underway from Green Cove Springs the alternators were providing 14.2KW to run the boat and charge the batteries back up. This charged the batteries from 66.7% SOC to 98.2% in one hour. After the batteries are charged the alternators only have to provide about 1.8KW each (3.6KW total) to run the boat. The new air conditioners would have made it possible to downsize a generator to 5KW instead of the 7.3KW that was originally on the boat, if I had gone the generator route.

Source of the post So, if I remember from the beginning, your generator was working or at least serviceable. You’ve just had bad experiences with them and wanted a “latest tech” solution. What did you do with it after removal? Same for the chargers. I’m betting many folks out there could use some of those parts and pieces (me included) to keep from spending major $$ on total refits. Maybe help you recoup some of that $$ ?

Thank you, I appreciate the offer to help recoup some of that $$. The generator was sold, or more like traded in, on the overall upgrade. I'm sure I could have gotten more for it if I got it working first. I didn't think about the chargers. I wasn't thinking there was any demand for 20+ year old battery chargers that don't have modern chemistry settings.

Source of the post Darn, that is a whole lot of work and money. I hope it works well and suits your cruising needs.
I believe I could run my genny 24/7 for 5 or more years for less $.

I'm cursed in thinking that very little in boating is done with an ROI, so I probably don't consider cost enough when weighing options. If I did, I would still be rowing my little aluminum boat that I started with in Wisconsin. Heck, we went through about $700+ in gasoline between Jacksonville and Sanford. I do wish I had diesels!

Source of the post generators aren't cheap to run and I am definitely fascinated and interested in the overall results of this mod.

We're cleaning the boat up today so I can get some final pictures. Then I'll post a final wrap up with my early thoughts on benefits, pros/cons compared to generator life, and ideas for others who might be considering a similar upgrade.