Bruce Bergman wrote:
Only problem I can see is the only brochure up shows they are 240/330V 3PH 50
Hz or 480/5XX 3Ph 50 Hz 3,000 RPM. Doesn't even list a Single Phase 120/240V
option, let alone 120/208 3Ph.

And you might want to take the performance hit of 1800 RPM and a 4-pole
SP/6-pole 3Ph generator rather than listen to it straining at 3600.

There are lots of small diesel units for sailboats available. They are
priced like most anything else for sailboats - on the assumption that if
you can pay for a sailboat, you have money to burn...I was looking into
them for my cogeneration system when I thought I was going to be
off-grid and trying to run a shop (no compact florescent lathes, so real
power still required) but it turned out that the crash of 2008 and the
expense of doing a good offgrid system right combined to get me on the
grid after all.

The practical approach on a boat that already has an inverter is to just
use the generator to make DC for the batteries (and run refrigeration
compressors, if desired, and make hot water with its waste heat) and let
the inverter worry about making any 120/240 required. At sailboat prices
you can even get an alternator/throttle controller that will 3-stage
charge the batteries and run the motor slower as less power is called
for.

The Hatz units are loud. I've met a few in person, and I'd be surprised
if the "silent pack" is anything but a misleading name (but I haven't
met one of those, specifically.) They are, however, a pretty reliable
engine, by such reports as I've heard. Some of the other sail-boat units
use tiny watercooled Kubota engines which Kubota doesn't normally import
to the US (thus, I suppose, greymarket as well as with the sailboat
premium price attached.)

What I ended up buying, used, at a more obtanium price, was a Northern
Lights (not to be confused with north star) 3 cyl liquid-cooled diesel
with air-cooled generator end. They come a bit smaller - a friend with
an actual boat has the 6KW version. They are 1800 rpm units, which are a
lot less annoying to be around, and also more likely to make the long
haul than 3600 rpm units. My understanding is that they are domestic
production still, and they have a good reputation for working. Given the
overall reliability of the grid around here, I'm keeping the thing, even
though I got on-grid in the end.

--
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