Carver Owners Forum

Open question to those that may know........are there any regs that would prevent installing a diesel powered generator in the engine room of a gas engine boat ?

No, nothing that prevents it as long as you do it "right" with all the appropriate fittings, bonding, etc.

However, you would need to insure that the genset itself is ignition-protected or ignition-safe. Since a diesel unit would normally be installed in a diesel engine compartment it doesn't have to comply to the same requirements as a gas unit. It may, or it may not.

You also (obviously) would need to install a separate fuel tank for the genset and provide for the fill port. You should do everything you can to avoid any confusion on the fill ports between your gas tanks and this diesel tank.

No criticism or judgment but why not a gas one in your gas boat instead of the odd fuel storage and installation concerns of the diesel one.? Is it fuel burn/hr?

g36 wrote:Source of the post No criticism or judgment but why not a gas one in your gas boat instead of the odd fuel storage and installation concerns of the diesel one.? Is it fuel burn/hr?

The CO factor is a big concern to many, especially down south where one may want AC all night long.

I am not doing this but have thought about it before. Now considering the shortage of gas gennies, especially 1800 rpm versions, maybe the option of a LOW rpm diesel may be a choice. Maybe these aren't viable either.

Just wondering if there are any Coast Guard/ABYC regs that speak to this particular scenario.

I mean they don't use much fuel, fume issues are greatly reduced ( safer) so the tank would be small, there are obvious considerations to take into account to be sure.

There are definitely folks who have done it, for all the reasons you're thinking.

Kohler, Fischer Panda, Mase, Phasor and Next Gen, all make ignition protected diesel generators.

I am late coming to this thread, but I have a similar need. No gas gen sets to be found. I looked at some of the newer boats on the market and noticed a couple of things. Outboards are becoming the preferred engine option and gas boats are coming with diesel gen sets with a separate tank. So I may have to go that route. Anyone had experience with installing separate diesel tank on a 350 Mariner?