A fellow on one of the caravan forums described a similar idea, though he
built the enclosure from timber. One idea that may be useful to you is
that he used a 12v computer fan to help keep the genny cool while running

Cheers

David

dene wrote:

A couple of months ago, somebody in a boating forum described using a
modified cooler to house a honda 2000 genny. I passed on those posts to
my talented stepson and today we came up with a proto-type, that he may
eventually market for roughly $150 on E-bay. This is the first one with
more improvements envisioned before it goes to market. This cooler is a
Coleman 5 day, 100 qt. we got on sale at Walmart for $35. Only problem
with it is that it's not high enough, forcing us to cut a hole into the
top of the door.

Here are some pictures with comments in the captions. Please share all
opinions.

http://tinyurl.com/2kqwjd

Outlay was as follows....

$35 cooler
$10 ventilation pipe/exhaust
$30 padded cooler cover

Plus an hour or two of labor.

Results....this modified cooler cut down the sound about a third. Most
of the remaining noise comes from the exhaust. Also pertinant, the
gen-box looks good on the back of my upper swim platform and it
provides waterproofing for the genny, which will allow me to use it in
the rain. (We get a little here).

Again....don't hesitate to be critical and/or creative.

Thanks!

-Greg Schoenberg
"She Said Yes"
2002 Regal 2465
Kalama, Washington

Spent the part of the day on the transient dock, experimenting with
this prototype. Bad news is that after 20 mins. of running on a medium
load, two of the four inner cooler walls were unacceptably hot....hot
like a Texas sidewalk in July. The following link reveals some
pictures along with captions which further explain the problem.

http://tinyurl.com/ynjwkh

Good news is....

1. Neither the boat, nor the genny, blew up
2. The sound and vibration was dramatically reduced. When sitting in
the cabin, we could barely hear the gen.
3. The bosum mate likes the look of it on the swim platform.

So....I intend to ventilate further with larger holes on all four side
and also connect a DC fan to the gen., which will run the entire time
the gen runs. I hope to order it tomorrow.

Experimentation continues.....only this time it will be in a parking
lot with the eco-throttle off. Stay tuned.

If this doesn't work, then I may purchase the Rubbermaid Action Packer
box that another boater successfully used and modify it. He simply has
a large hole on each side....one for the cords and one for the exhaust.
He claims no problems. Is it possible/likely that this heavy duty
plastic box does a better job of difusing heat than a cooler would?

-Greg
Portland, Oregon

As I said before, it's the temp of the inverter board, alternator, and
cylinder head that's critical. Measuring the temp of the air in the
enclosure or radiant IR heating of the enclosure walls is meaningless
for determining this.
It's like when your automatic trans starts slipping. The clutches are
red hot inside, but you have no sense of this from the drivers seat.
With the temp of the enclosure as you describe, the internals of the gen
are probably near meltdown. At the least the heat stress will damage the
electronics and cause early failure, and the hot intake air will fry the
engine. At worst, it will boil the fuel into a nice 14.7:1 ratio and
blow your boat out of the water.
JR

dene wrote:

Spent the part of the day on the transient dock, experimenting with
this prototype. Bad news is that after 20 mins. of running on a medium
load, two of the four inner cooler walls were unacceptably hot....hot
like a Texas sidewalk in July. The following link reveals some
pictures along with captions which further explain the problem.

http://tinyurl.com/ynjwkh

Good news is....

1. Neither the boat, nor the genny, blew up
2. The sound and vibration was dramatically reduced. When sitting in
the cabin, we could barely hear the gen.
3. The bosum mate likes the look of it on the swim platform.

So....I intend to ventilate further with larger holes on all four side
and also connect a DC fan to the gen., which will run the entire time
the gen runs. I hope to order it tomorrow.

Experimentation continues.....only this time it will be in a parking
lot with the eco-throttle off. Stay tuned.

If this doesn't work, then I may purchase the Rubbermaid Action Packer
box that another boater successfully used and modify it. He simply has
a large hole on each side....one for the cords and one for the exhaust.
He claims no problems. Is it possible/likely that this heavy duty
plastic box does a better job of difusing heat than a cooler would?

-Greg
Portland, Oregon



--
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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

On 22 Jan 2007 00:30:52 -0800, "dene" wrote:

Is it possible/likely that this heavy duty
plastic box does a better job of difusing heat than a cooler would?

-Greg
Portland, Oregon

So just how is it that a guy from Portland, Oregon has a boat
documented in Punta Gorda, FL ?

Wayne.B wrote:
On 22 Jan 2007 00:30:52 -0800, "dene" wrote:

Is it possible/likely that this heavy duty
plastic box does a better job of difusing heat than a cooler would?

-Greg
Portland, Oregon

So just how is it that a guy from Portland, Oregon has a boat
documented in Punta Gorda, FL ?

Boat was purchased and transported from Florida, 3 months ago. Haven't
taken the decals off yet.

-Greg