Thanks all -
It looks like if I go this route I'll either spring for the 2000, or check out
the "power sharing" feature.

BTW, I'm thinking about this because every year I find myself hanging out in
some anchorage for a week or so, running the engine for an hour and a half every
day, wishing I had a wind generator or lots more solar panels. But then I work
out the pricing and the hassles, and I start thinking that a neighbor in the
anchorage would probably appreciate a windmill running 24/7 less then an
ultra-quiet genset running 2 hours a day.

Ironically, when we bought the boat, we had a choice of twin diesels, or twin
9.9 outboards. One of the major factors was that the diesels could generate a
lot more juice, and adding a proper genset would almost equalize the weight and
cost issues The builder however, said that I should just keep a portable Honda
in a locker and pull it out when needed - now it looks like we might be doing
just that. (For the record, I'm still glad we got the diesels - I just hate to
run them for charging alone!)


--
-jeff www.sv-loki.com
"I like sailing because it is the sport which demands the least energy" Albert
Einstein




"Chris Newport" wrote in message
news:3120722.S4CdkZmr6U@callisto...
On Thursday 27 May 2004 7:26 pm in rec.boats.cruising Jeff Morris wrote:

I have a follow-on question:
What will happen if I hook a Honda EU1000 to a Heart 2000 charger, which
would
like to charge at 100 Amps? Will it settle at some compromise charge
rate, or will it roll over and die?

100 amps at 12 volts is 1200 watts, but add some ineffiency and the load
will probably be about 1400 watts. This type of overload is nasty - it is
too small to blow a fuse or trip a breaker.

What happens will depend on the actual available power of the engine.
If the engine is only just good enough for 1000 watts it will slow down
and may eventually stall, but it will almost certainly overheat.

If the engine has power in reserve the generator becomes the weak point.
Once again a sustained overload will cause overheating, in this case
the enamel insulation in the windings will be damaged causing internal
shorts. This leads to the escape of the magic smoke, requiring expensive
repairs or consignment to the rubbish heap.