moiuk

Anything I need to know about changing it? Do I need to empty the tank? I assume I need to make sure the pressure is released from the system at least ?

Prv should be 43psi Water pump should be 30psi ish. Not sure adjusting the water pump is going to make much difference? It's looking like a faulty prv ?

This is the prv

Not easy to get to it. I'll look up where the screw is online and see if I can find a way of getting to it. I have turned the water pump on whilst watching the outlet in the bilge, and it starts to seep just as the water pump gets up to its cutout. Seems that it's either a faulty prv or the water pump cut out is too high. Any other possibilities?

This is the water pump.

Yes there is an accumulator next to the water pump. I will check if the pump has any labelling and if it has its own pressure valve. Is there a standard setting for the prv at which it releases pressure ?

It's under the bed with easy access. The water pump looks newish as well. Could they have installed a water pump that is a higher pressure than the one they replaced? Or is there a way to check the correct pressure to see if it's the water pump overpressurising or a faulty prv?

I turned it to see if it was working, and it made a gushing noise for water flowing through it. But can't tell if water is coming out of there. Guess it has to be if there is only one flow into the bilge from the calorifier?

My water pump has been operating every 10 mins or so even when no taps are on. Can't find any obvious leaks and the leaky kitchen tap is just a drip so not that. Took a closer look in the stern bilge and far too much water there. Put a bowl under the stern gland and water not coming from there. Tucked up behind the engine though there is the hot water flow and return from the engine to the calorifier and another outlet hole which is pushing out hot water. So, it looks like hot water is coming out of the calorifier and into my bilge (and a lot of it). Any great ideas for what is causing this? Thanks.

I have emailed Beta and see if they can help with this - good idea

Hmm, so my best approach is a very efficient compressor fridge so that the compressor doesn't kick in very often overnight when the door remains shut ? The current one is on about 30% of the time when the door remains shut. Is that normal ?

Hi, The fridge I I inherited on our boat is a 12v compressor coolzone. The compressor is annoying with its noise when sitting or sleeping near it, so I am looking at replacing it. (The inside plastic is all broken too, so lots of reasons to replace it). My understanding is that the absorption fridges are completely silent due to how they work. The one I am looking at will run on 12v or 230v. So what are the downsides ?

My problem is that I have calculated my energy usage to be high (Round 300Ah a day) and in planning for winter mode aka no solar, I do need to be running the engine each day. In summer sunny days i should get all of that from solar . I work from home/boat so will be running my desktop computer and a couple of monitors. Add to this my much needed nespresso machine to help me work, charging my tablet and phone, girlfriends 2 laptops (she works from home/boat too). And then the TV and microwave and even my girlfriends hairdryer.... we consume a lot of electricity and would like to live like this on the boat too. I am trying to make the technology work for me rather than change how I work. I think it will work, but reducing down the number of engine hours each day will make a significant difference over the months.. Driving the alternator I have harder might not work, but I'll give it a go and report back. Backup plan a) is to upgrade the alternator . Plan b) is to upgrade the battery charger and get a generator. These are obviously less desirable than making my current alternator work a bit harder.. All your suggestions so far have been really helpful in me checking the air flow and temperature of the alternator and see if I can make it work.. thank you

This is really very helpful. My backup plan is to switch it out for the 175a alternator, which should be a straight swap according to the engineer who serviced my beta, but I would rather not have to. I also will be putting 480Ah of lithium in, but on days like today I don't want to run the engine for 5 hours, and so I really do want to charge at the max, which is around 90a with the 12/200 bms I have chosen. 3 hours vs. 5 hours is a big difference for me. Interested in your findings, and I'll share mine too when my electrics are upgraded at the end of this month.

A much better summary of my issue that I am trying to manage, thanks Mike. The victron bms allow me to 'set' the constant current being sucked out of the alternator, and I want to maximise this to reduce the amount of time I have the engine running. The lithium are being install at the end of June so I will be able to report back what I find. As you say, the alterna6 is not designed to run a peak for extended periods, and yet this is exactly what I will be wanting it to do. I'll monitor the temperature and belts carefully and adjust the current pull till I find something that works. Will also adjust the throttle to get that to the correct place as well. In case it is of interest, my alternative solution was to upgrade the battery charger and buy a generator. A 100Amp battery charger is for some reason very expensive and so the alternator solution seems to be the way to go.