The Generator

Asunto carries a small little 5kva generator on board. Small is a relative term in this case.

When we were originally looking at the “Beluga” the generator was listed as an 8kVA unit. This worked out well for us as we were planning on putting in a scuba compressor and liked having the extra starting power of the 8kva unit. As it turns out, our generator isn’t the 8kva unit we were expecting, but instead is a 5kVA machine.

We were very suprised by this because of the size of the genrator, and upon closer inspection it turns out our generator is actually an 1800 RPM unit. For those of you who are not generator savy, a generator either comes as an 1800 RPM or a 3600 RPM machine to out put 60 Hz, (1500 or 3000 RPM for 50Hz output). What this means is that you will get considerably more engine life out of an 1800 RPM unit because you are essentially putting half as much wear and tear on the cylinder every minute the unit runs. The down side of the 1800 RPM unit we have is the sheer size of the machine. The engine is larger to get the same HP as the 3600 RPM machine, additionally the alternator is larger as it is a 4 pole alternator instead of a 2 pole alternator for a 3600 RPM unit.

Our generator is Westerbeke generator that has a converted Mitsubishi engine and a “Westerbeke” back end, but I am not sure if they have just labeled someone else’s generator end. It only has a single phase 120V output that can not be re-connected to 240V, which is ok, considering we do not have any 240V loads on the boat, however it would have been nice to have the option especially when we connect our scuba compressor or future water maker motor loads.

The generator is located in the cockpit lazerette, and is installed with a traditional raw water cooling system to a heat exchanger and a water cooled muffler. The unit is covered in a stainless steel metal frame, that has  a lead lined sound enclosure. The sound enclosure does a pretty good job all things considered, however a fully enclosed modern box would  be a lot more effective.

Similar to the engine, I’ll be adding the maintenance / service intervals for reference.