That's a hell of a lot of electrical power you got going there :-) I'm
thinking pretty big boat. I'll look you up for a tour next time I'm around
there, haha. The med or the atlantic?

"franc" wrote in message
...
James got it right. I have a 16KW generator and am adding a 5KW unit. I
mainly want it so I can load it at 75% when charging my batteries. Will
save me money on maintenance in the long run since running the big one at
max 25% is not healthy for the engine.
But, yes, I also want the second generator as a backup. Running my main
engine just to charge batteries is the last thing I want to be forced to
do.
The super-sound-proofed 5KW 1500rpm genset set me back 4K euros (slightly
used), should give me more than 15000 hours of charging. Adding another
one of these coolers would probably cost at least that too. Drydock, work
hours, etc. So sharing the cooler makes a lot of sense financially, I
think.

Al





James wrote:
Thje conclusion I drew was that he was installing a smaller 2nd genset.
I could see that as generators have a minimum fuel consumption based on
their maximum output. If you use a large one to just get a few hundred
watts you are wasting fuel because even at little or no load the
generator engine still has to turn a set rpm to maintain the 60hz
output. It will do it at a lower throttle opening but you are still
turning a bigger engine and a bigger alternator. There is a fixed
overhead load in the size. It is more efficient to run a smaller one if
all you need a little power.

"Rick" wrote in message
...

"James Sweet" wrote in message
news:i7Eoh.3238$2D.1367@trndny07...

exchanger was sized for a bigger engine (bigger than my
'big' generator) but I intend to run only one genset at
a time anyway.

Thx, Al


Your present heat exchanger, while it might be big enought to handle a
larger engine, it's probably not big enought to effectivly cool two
engines.



What difference does it make if he's only running one at a time? Did you
even read the post you replied to?

Why install a second genset and only plan on running one? Is it for
relibility?

If so does sharing a cooling system really make sense? How much do you
save over the entire cost of installing a genset????