Benny

It wasn't something I intended to do often, just if need be

I figured the 4 was an optional extra 😃

Yeah terminal connectors bolted on. Unless the terminal blocks are a bit dirty but don't think this is the issue. That's interesting, thanks. I will shorten the leads to just what is needed, which given the close proximinity between batteries and charger, should be less that a metre.

Interesting, thanks. The cables are 10mm 70amp as advertised but they look more like 8 mm diameter and that includes the rubber casing. Also, I purposefully kept the cables long in case I wanted to charge a stand alone battery at a distance. Will that cause more volt drop? Should I shorten them? Didn't know this. I swear I read on here that not deep cycling enough also causes loss of capacity.

Ah ok thanks. The batteries do sit at 12.8 under load for a while when the chargers have stopped charging. They only gradually come down with demand. In fairness it has been harder cycling them down past 12.4 that charging them up.

I think Loddon's point has worked. The charger is now staying on bulk charge and reading 14.6 on high charge, it was only reading 13.8 before. Just got to figure out how the settings work a bit better. I'm confident the battery capacity is fine. They've been up at 14.4 all summer during the day and we haven't run them below 12.1 . They still supply plenty of amp hours in the evening/night Really appreciate your help. Think its just a case of not understanding the charger well enough yet.

Thanks for replies. The batteries were new in the spring and have been getting fully charged with the solars all summer. They still hold a great charge normally with the solar. I think the 'smart' part of the charger might be the issue. Thanks just looking through the instructions to see how to do this

Hi, My new victron charger thinks the batteries are full when they are not. It switches to absorption and float way too early. When I try to manually change it, it just flicks straight back to float. The batteries thus don't get a proper charge and fall very quickly. Am I doing something wrong regarding installation or do I have a faulty product? Only other thing I can think is that the solar panels are causing it to think batteries are full. If so, how do I get around this? Many thanks in advance

Who knows, but it's been 6 years and has remained consistent. Could part explain why I get such a build up

Is there a shallow water bilge pump or water pump that can start drawing at, say, 1 cm or less of water? Does anyone use automatic bilge pumps in the cabin bilge? Have been using a hand pump oil extractor for years. Usually get about a gallon a week max in winter. Space between hull and floor is very small. So soon reaches floorboards. Have a large access space at bulkhead though on both hull partitions. I believe problem is poor insulation (condensation) and a few minor leaks. I'm aiming to refit windows and vents this summer, perhaps insulate parts of the boat better. I still imagine I will need to keep removing water from the cabin though. So I'd love to fit something to make life easier and catch it before it reaches floorboards

Wow awesome

What other things might they be? ? We have to break out the generator to run the wet and dry , big hassle for a bit of cabin water. Been using a hand pump oil extractor thing for years. Do it about once a week in the winter, probably get a gallon out each time. Think it's a lot to do with shit insulation (condensation) and maybe an undetected window leak. I'll redo the windows this summer but I imagine I'll still get plenty of cabin water in the winter. I was wondering if there is a shallow water bilge pump? Something than can start drawing at a cm of water or so? Or some kind of electric water pump?

Awesome thanks.

I can't find the input wattage for the charger anywhere so thought I'd ask those with experience! Thanks in advance

Interesting thanks. How long do your lithiums last? Do they receive more charge off the panels in winter?

Actually it's only 1.2kw. https://nassboards.co.uk/product/4-stroke-4hp-1200w-instant-power-portable-inverter-generator/

Thanks for the info. I guess the key thing is that I don't mind having the generator on quite so much as the engine, so if I can get as good a charge, or better charge from the generator, then that could solve a few of my winter blues. It would be nice to quiten the generator down a bit though, I always feel dead guilty putting it on when someone is moored nearby - more so with the engine.

@Alan de Enfield Pedal power is a great idea! I saw someone using a pole to move a dutch barge after selling his engine - actually looked quite liberating. @blackrose 70 amps is impressive. Can I get that off a 1.6kw genny? What battery charger do you have? I think this is my best option for the winter. @dmr@Tony Brooks I'm ok with 2 years if that's the case. It is after all going to be a lot more expensive to pay for a mooring for the few extra watts of power a day we need. As I said, maybe I'll get a better charger for genny and improve things that way.

I have a battery charger but unless I put it on engine start mode (which you're not supposed to leave it on) then it doesn't come close to alternator. I would probably invest in a new one if it helped the situation. My genny is 1.6kw I think. Yeah I've explored different battery types but they'd need to last 10 times longer and I can't see that happening. Also, they'd need to not get stolen or damaged. Would be nice if we had better options in the market for those of us who want all the power without any of the work.

Haha option 4 looks good, although I'm not sure my partner would agree. Could probably do with getting fitter myself. . . Yeah there's no chance I want to spend 4 hours of every day with the engine on, and even less chance I'll end up in a marina. I have a generator so I could probably tolerate that for a couple hours a day in the winter but that won't charge at the rate the alternator, would it? I guess I'll have to keep buying cheap batteries, hopefully one day we will upgrade - boat wise - to something with a more sufferable engine.

Well I can't really charge them fully in winter. The engine is noisy and smelly and don't usually like having it on more than an hour. I don't know what the solution is, short of getting a new engine which I can't afford.

So I tend to ruin batteries within two years. I have two leisure batteries, I start my engine with them and use cheap solar chargers to charge them. I'm cool with that but I'd like to get 3 years out of them so I'm thinking higher capacity dual purpose. I'm torn between the following two options. Any thoughts? https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/hankook-130ah-leisure-battery-xl31-x-2/ https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110713838381?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=110713838381&targetid=1140298851333&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045594&poi=&campaignid=12125451044&mkgroupid=122515173971&rlsatarget=aud-629407027145:pla-1140298851333&abcId=9300480&merchantid=101724330&gclid=Cj0KCQjwp86EBhD7ARIsAFkgakgOhOeDTJyBCVLxFotShrKLuHrHy1NHShq7B7UYbnAJeKIiRHDaWp8aAhCDEALw_wcB

Ah yes. Did you need to drill extra holes in the tanks for the water inlet pipe and to connect the tanks together? What kind of attachments did you use? I'm strongly inclined to go down this route. Oh and also, did you use the syphon method with the existing bulkhead plumbing?

I would assume they could be removed (once empty) the same way they were put in for annual inspection of hull? Maybe with some kind of belt strap around to lift them out.

I like this idea too. I'm guessing it would be fairly removable too should I need to inspect hull every few years? Do you know any companies that make them to measure? Would the outlet still be raised up a bit like existing?