Thanks for the info, Larry.

I was hoping to use the Honda EU1000i. It weighs 29 pounds, so even
with my aging back I could take it on the boat for week-long cruises,
then bring it home as a backup during power outages. Might have to go
to the EU2000i - 47 lbs. (The EU3000 is over 130 lbs.)

How would your EU1000i do when running an air conditioner that draws 7
amps? Will it die when the compressor comes on? Any chance it would
run a 9 amp unit?

Another possibility - there is at least one 12v DC marine air
conditioner. If it were running off the battery - and the generator
were running the inverter's 100 amp charger - then all the surge
problems get handled by the battery and a 1kw generator works just
fine.

Yes, CO is one of the serious problems with this idea. I would
consider ventilation and maybe extending the exhaust when running it -
and of course have a CO detector on the boat.

- Walt Bilofsky N6QH

Larry W4CSC wrote:

Walt Bilofsky wrote in
news
Has anyone had experience trying to drive a Xantrex inverter/charger
with a small gas generator?


Why go to all that complexity, when you can buy an inverter-powered gas
genset like the Honda EU3000is, getting rid of the heavy 60 Hz alternator
iron in the first place?

http://www.hayesequipment.com/eu3000is.htm

I've got one bolted to two brackets on the back door of my service stepvan.
You can hardly hear it running as it runs so slow (around 1200 RPM until
you get 1800 watts on it when the computer opens the throttle for more
power). I also own the 1000 watt model, but the 3KW runs slower than the
tiny engine in the 1KW EU1000i and makes less noise because of it.

It's the finest small genset I ever owned....electric start, has an AGM
starting battery inside it...Hayes has an aftermarket remote starting panel
if you want to mount it. Cranks right up even in the coldest weather.
Hey, it's a HONDA 6.5 hp 4-stroker. Has 12A at 12V for charging batteries
separate from everything else. There's two 20A wall outlets and a 30A
twist lock 115VAC outlet to plug the boat into. It will produce
continuously 23A, 25A intermittently. I'm powering two 6000 BTU wall A/C
units in the truck plus my service desk in air conditioned comfort. It
WILL run as advertised...3.4 gallons at full load for over 7 hours! 20
hours at 1/4 load (average?) on the tank with the Econo Mode ON, reducing
the engine speed to minimal.

As the 60 Hz is generated by a 3KW inverter I have yet to be able to
destroy. The alternator is a very high frequency set of coils that looks
like the stator in an outboard motor around the flywheel of the engine.
There is no "alternator" sticking out. The three-phase, high frequency AC
is simply rectified into a few hundred volts and fed to the huge 3KW
inverter as DC for its use. Output is even certified to run computers and
is ROCK STABLE at 60 HZ and 120VAC right up until the computer finds out
you overloaded it and it simply trips out electronically to protect the
inverter. A yellow LED warns you of impending shutdown, which then simply
turns red when the power is cut off. Indestructable!

Of course, it's a gasoline engine with all the CO coming out of it with the
cooling air exhaust, whos heat should help RISE away from the boat being
blown by the fan....not just left to cool and fill the hull with CO gas to
kill everyone. But, you be the judge of that....

I paid $1500 for mine because I was lucky enough to stumble on a guy
bringing it back to my Honda dealer to trade up to the 7KW RV genset. This
3KW wouldn't pull the two huge A/C units on his 5th wheel camper. It had 3
hours on it....in the box....warranty and all...(c; Street price is about
1800-1900. Retail is $2495

Did I mention you can hardly hear it running??.....(c;