Filling The Generator

We were recently out overnight, at anchor, with 4 adults a 16 month old and two dogs in 100+° temps. This would have been a nightmare if it hadn't been for the air conditioner which allowed us to keep our cool. Of course the air conditioner is dependent on the generator. The generator is a Honda EU3000i mounted on the roof of the boat just in front of the air conditioner.

There's more about the generator and air conditioner(s) here.
http://72land-n-sea.blogspot.com/2011/07/roof-air-conditioner-eu3000i-generator.html

Over the course of the 30+ hours we were aboard, the generator ran for all but 3 or 4 hours. We used about 10 gallons of gas in the generator and to keep from carrying gas cans I've installed a generator fill system which pulls gas from the main boat tank.

The system consists of a valve which directs the gasoline from the boat's main tank to the generator fill system instead of sending it to the motor.

The generator fill is via an electric fuel pump mounted on the firewall in the bilge (make sure you use a marine rated electric fuel pump). From the fuel pump there's about 15 feet of approved fuel hose - enough to reach topsides to the generator fill port. The electric fuel pump is fed from it's own fuse via a 5 minute wind up timer. The timer feeds wires that run the length of the fuel line to rocker switch a foot or so short of the end of the hose. The switch has an 'on' indicator light. There's a tight fitting plug in the end of the generator fill hose.

To fill up the generator:
Open the engine hatch.
Switch the valve to send the gas to the generator fuel pump.
Wind up the 5 minute timer.
Take the hose topside to the generator.
Remove the plug in the hose.
Put the hose in the generator fill port.
Move the rocker switch to on, and monitor the flow of gas into the generator tank.

It takes less than 5 minutes to fill a completely empty generator tank. If the generator is filled before the tank is empty, you can get a good idea of how much gas it takes by the expired time on the timer.

The timer is just right of center on top with black arrow to show wind direction. The 'motor or generator' valve is below the timer. The fuel pump is to the left of the valve, just under the recepticle (the recepticle is not hot unless the engine hatch is open and it is switched on from inside the boat).

This is the terminal end of the fuel fill hose showing a "T" handle plug (which is captive to the hose clamp) and the rocker switch. Wires to/from the switch are held to the hose by spiral wrap.

I suppose there's a lot of ways to get in trouble with a system like this, but I wonder if they're any worse than trying to pour gas out of a gas can into the generator while the boat is rolling...then finding a secure place to store that gas can and making sure it's not leaking?