embis
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Posts posted by embis
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Thank you, I have all the information I need for now, I will come back if I need to so please dont worry!
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Thanks to all who have contributed, as usual, much very helpful information and plenty of food for thought.
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3 minutes ago, WotEver said:
Indeed.
Please lets not mix this up with my posting in a previous thread, lets assume I have a new bank of batteries and they have not been maltreated.
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A... W.... Doh!! You know what i mean!!
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3 minutes ago, Robbo said:
You were advised wrong. As long as you have a multistage (bulk/asorbtion/float) marine charger that can be set for your battery type and you on average don’t use more than 20w on the boat (so not taking more out of the batteries than the charger can put in), then the 20 watt is fine. If you use a genny to power the charger then that’s different tho.
Thank you, I will do the sums and see what we need.
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I have a bank of three leisure batteries with a total output of 400Ah. At the moment they are charged by a 20A charger and I have been advised to upgrade this to a 40A charger. It has been suggested that this might cost me about £400 for the charger and the same again for fitting. Searching online I have found a "Sterling Pro Charge Ultra " that seems to fit the bill and costing £300. I don't want to make any false economies but If I can source this more cheaply than my fitter then I will.
from the website:
QuoteThe latest in battery chargers with plenty of well thought out useful features. The units have 2 clear digital displays on the front which show information about the voltage and current supplies and a series of 32 LEDs also give plenty of information about your charging system. Easy to install & wire up thanks to their simple output screw terminals.
Standard features include:
• 11 pre-programmed battery charging curves - easy to select
• 1 custom set, can be set from charger, no need for computer
• 2 digital meters for current and voltage measurement
• 1 power meter to show what reserve power left on the unit
• Synchronised rectification output
• High voltage de-sulphation cycle
• Low activity, standby mode to increase battery life
• Battery health program
• Multi speed fan control to reduce unnecessary fan noise
• Primary (processor digitally controlled) & an emergency backup secondary (analogue controlled) high voltage trip
• 32 LED information panel
• Internal scan and systems check
• Includes battery temperature sensorAnyone have any views on this unit?
..apart from output I am not really sure what features are, essential, useful or spurious.
..What difference does the output of the charger really make anyway? the 20A unit seems to have given us good service so far, is it worth me spending up to £800 on this upgrade?
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Schoolboy error!
....Well I started this thread by saying I knew less about boat electrics than I might... I know more now!
I had understood our batteries to have been sealed units, they arent. So for the last year they haven't had the levels checked and of course were virtually empty.
Anyway, 3 Litres of distilled water later and a good long charge and they are back up to 14V. Everything is now turned off, including the battery charger so this time next week I will know if we will need a new battery bank or not.
Many thanks to all who contributed towards trying to solve the problem.
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Thanks all. I have an electrician coming down to look at it in the week. Will report back back to you once they are done with it.
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1 hour ago, WotEver said:
Whereabouts are you?
We are based in Thorne.
19 minutes ago, nicknorman said:Clearly there is something significant “up” - is the charger getting mains power? If so, why isn’t it charging the batteries? (Rhetorical question!). I think you should ensure the batteries are able to deliver adequate voltage to the inverter before deciding whether it’s defunct. It seems unlikely that there are multiple fault all arising at the same time, more likely just one but what?
what happens if you plug the table lamp into the socket that should provide shore power (where you select between shore and inverter? Really, one wouldn’t expect much between the shore inlet socket and that socket. If that socket is dead when shore power is on, maybe try another shore power lead or at least check for continuity of the L, N and E connections at each end (unplugged, of course!).
Are you sure the bollard is working? Could you try a different bollard that is known to be working?
Do you have an Isolation Transformer? If so, they sometimes have a breaker inbuilt.
electrical fault finding is all about logic and often the best way is to start at the source of power (shore power) and work along the circuitry until you find there is suddenly no power.
The bollard is working, haven't tested the cable for continuity but it's brand new and doesn't appear damaged. The bollard did provide enough power to charge the batteries from 8V up to 10v overnight, I then ran the engine for an hour this morning and that took me up to 12.8 V... But since then, despite plugging back into the shoreline as soon as the engine was off the voltage has been gradually dropping. Anyway, electrician will look at it Wednesday and hopefully then we will get the answer... And a bill!
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Thanks all.. Changed every fuse in sight... No difference.
Unplugged the lead into the inverter and plugged in a table lamp... It Doesn't work. Does this mean there is a problem with the inverter?
Despite being plugged into the shoreline the batteries are slowly losing their charge.
I have called out an electrician to come and look at it. It will be later in the week before I have an answer. If we don't already need new batteries we will do by then! Battery charge is gradually dropping.. Now down to 11.9V and the only thing using power is a 12V fridge.
I will let you know what the final diagnosis is after someone who knows what they are doing has looked over it.
Everyone's help has been greatly appreciated. What a good community this is!
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Switching between shoreline and inverter is done by unplugging a cable from one socket and plugging it into another. We cant get 240v power whichever source is selected...
..and as a footnote.. just turned the oil fueled heating on... the start up of the ebspacher drained more power from the battery so they were reading 12.1V and now the heating is off again that charge doesnt seem be being restored.
We have a battery charger seperate to the inverter.
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13 minutes ago, WotEver said:
Oh no they’re not. Not even close. Starting at 8V you’ll need somewhere between 12 and 24 hours to fully charge them, but if they’ve been low for a number of days, which seems likely, then they may well be (probably will be) irretrievably damaged.
Ok maybe they are not fully charged.. but they were reading 12.8 V which i took to be fully charged. They were plugged into the shore supply from 5.00pm yesterday and charging until now.
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1 minute ago, BruceinSanity said:
The inverter is a 700W Sterling Pro Power S according to the OP.
..and we are attached to mains power again now.
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Thank you. Ran the engine for an hour and the leisure batteries are now fully charged. However the 240v system seems not to be working, no power to any of the sockets. The batteries appear to be holding their charge. The consumer unit has two RCB's neither of which are tripped. Interestingly the button that is pressed to test the RCB's doesnt trip them.
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First of all lets say it loud and clear, I know less about boat electrics than I should!
I arrived at the Marina last night after being away for two weeks to discover the leisure batteries were down to 8V and the power had tripped at the pillar. All electrics had been left turned off when we were last on the boat.
I reset the pillar and left the batteries charging with all power to the boat turned off. After about 4 hours we were up to 9V. I tried turning the inverter on, there were no appliances plugged in or turned on. Immediately the voltage dropped off to 8V, likewise if I turned the water pump on.
Overnight the leisure batteries have charged to 10V.
The inverter is a 700W Sterling Pro Power S. There are 4 lamps on the inverter which display as below:
Power: LIT
OLP: OFF
OVP/UPV: OFF
OTP: OFF
I have the engine running now and have unplugged from the pillar, The Inverter lights display as above. The voltage is now showing 13.5 Volts, however even with the engine running, there seems to be no power to the 240V system.
This may be a red herring but, since we bought the boat a year agot the Nav lights had never worked, they tripped immediately we turned them on. When we were last on the boat, two weeks ago they suddenly started functioning. Like I say, might be a red herring... but something drained the batteries and something tripped the pillar although the Nav lights were turned off when we left the boat last. The Bilge is bone dry, so the bilge pump hasn't been running.
Anyone got any clues? failing that, anyone know of a reliable marine electrician in the Thorne area?
If I am slow to say thank you for any replies, its because my laptop battery has died, not because I am ungrateful!!
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I have been looking at nonslip tape to put on the gunnels, any views on this ?
Also wondering if you can paint over it satisfactorily?
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On 2017-6-11 at 22:33, Tim Lewis said:
We did the trip via Trent Falls both ways in 1992 as part of an exploration of Yorkshire waterways based around that Years IWA National Rally
Click on the image below for some (Not very good) pictures:
Tim
Great pics, thanks Tim. Looks like a great trip!
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2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:
I would also make a fone call to insurance company to ENSURE you are covered. .
Yes, thats a very good point, but it does seem a particularly hazardous passage so I think I will just enjoy reading about it! rather than undertake it myself.
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3 minutes ago, PhilAtterley said:
The fact that there has not yet been, as far as I am aware, any really serious mishap with a narrowboat in this area, doesn't mean that they are suitable or safe vessels for use in these waters. You can get away with walking across the M1, but it doesn't make it a safe or advisable thing to do.
Edited October 2, 2014 by tony dunkleyThanks Tony, That is what I was after, and now I dont think its a trip I will make!
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8 minutes ago, rusty69 said:
Think mrsmelly was suggesting if your boat is shorter than 70ft the other route option is possibility less demanding.
Ahhh, yes I see. I realise that there is another way around. But what I am interested in are the particular challenges of this route.
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9 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:
I take it you boat is over seventy feet long or you are just a masochist?
My boat is 55ft, whats the advantage to a longer boat in these circumstances?
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Wondering if there were many people who had negotiated Trent Falls, in either direction, in a narrowboat? Looks like a challenging day out with the potential for becoming a suprise trip to the North Sea. I looked on YouTube but there were very few videoes which made me think it was possibly an uncommon trip. Any experiences anyone would share? I'm not planning to attempt it at the moment, just curious.
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On 22/04/2017 at 18:10, Chewbacka said:
To give you an idea about the amount of ballast you might need. My boat is 56ft long and after fitting out had a lean of about 5.5 degrees which is annoying. I got some tractor weights to put along the side of the boat and needed almost 200kg to be level.
Wow, I hope it doesn't come to that!.. now I wish I had weighed, or calulated the weight, of everything before it started going in.
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Thanks all, I will lookout for some hefty bits of scrap steel, I have already found 2 x 28lb weights lurking in my Dads garage so I am on the way, might even be able to get rid of a few of those bricks if I find some more..such an obvious solution!
Electrical problem
in Boat Building & Maintenance
Posted
As an end note:
Checked the batteries yesterday after more than a week disconnected from the shoreline, they seem to have held charge well so hopefully, if I now look after them properly, I might get a bit more use out of them. Some valuable lessons learned though!
..and thanks again to everyone who chipped in with something helpful.