dmr

Yes,the calorifier takes water direct from the engine not via the thermostat. This is not a big issue for us as liveaboards as the calorifier is always fairly hot, in fact I assume it helps the initial engine warm up. However for an occasional leisure boater I imagine it would delay the engine warm up. .............Dave

That doesn't really work for me; late in the charging cycle the engine has already got the calorifier hot so the immersion heater won't work. I use the immersion heater to get up to temperature quickly (after waiting a few minutes to get the engine a just little warm). I have thought about a heating element bolted to the boat to provide some extra load later on but that might be getting a bit obsessive. ...............Dave

Its got an 82 degree thermostat but when cruising runs at 79, or thrashing along a nice big river will get to 80. I assume (know) that it only takes a hint of thermostat opening to control the temperature. If just charging batteries or cruising very gently it might drop to 76, and if someone has a shower whilst battery charging it gets right down to about 66, though I try to use the TravelPower and immersion heater to get it back up to temperature as quick as I can. I would think its possible to have the bores running colder then optimum even with a correct water temperature well you did ask! ........Dave .

I have heard a fair few reports of them doing these high hours in tractors. My manual for the 3029 specifies a slow idle speed of 850rpm, whilst in my boat it spends 80% of its time doing less than this, so I wondered if this gave any reduction in life. .............Dave

Does anyone have a Beta JD3 that has done highish running hours, more than 5000 ???? Ours has now done 6000 hours with no trouble at all and zero oil consumption. However It has now just started to use a bit of oil. A few people (who want to hate the JD3) have suggested that the JD3 might be prone to bore wear or glazing due to the slow revving. Any forum experience on this?? ................Dave

Only one word for you: "Self Tappers" (oops that was two). I assume yours is the silver box version. Ours is the old black box style with a substantial cross flow type fan. The box is done up with several self tappers which always feel "not quite right" so maybe this box was originally riveted and the self tappers where put in during a repair. ............Dave

Nice One! Did you here about the man with CDO ? its like OCD but in Alphabetical Order. ..............Dave

I might have observed a related manifestation of this. At the end of the cruising day I usually glance at the charging current (on the Adverc DCM) and with the engine at a fastish tickover it might be something like 4 amps (not bad for 3 year old Trojans!). I usually then slow the engine to minimum tickover (390rmp) before turning it off and the charge current sometimes jumps to about 8 amps. I have been thinking about investigating this but have got a "round tuit" yet.. The alternator output consists of obvious current pulses (the nature of rectified AC) at at very low speeds I suspect these upset either the alternators internal regulator, the Adverc controller or the Adverc DCM.. I have set a test for the grammar pedants in this post! ............Dave

This is very true We came down the Kennet in April to find the Thames on yellow boards and thought "thats good we can relax a bit now!" Just came down the Thames on Sunday with almost no flow, we are now thrashing up the Kennet, getting pushed sideways at the lock landings etc etc, and its not even up for the winter yet. ............Dave

In response to the last few posts. I think an alternator is only about 65% efficient so mechanical input is a fair bit more than electrical output. 80 amps at 14v = 1120 watt, at 65% efficiency input power = 1720 w or 2.25 Horsepower. A 110 amp alternator on a single 12/13mm belt will indeed be marginal. I have just fitted a 100 amp jobbie that delivers about 85amps and I am struggling a bit, I need to set the belt just a little tighter than I would like to avoid belt slip. However I have a large (13inch) crank pulley and a small alternator pulley so get reduced wrap and reduced contact area on the small pulley. I would suggest that a bigger crank pulley would always be better than a smaller alternator pulley.??? For some reason a twin V belt setup can handle MUCH more than twice the power of a single V belt (forum to respond......) ..............Dave

In "theory" is the important word here. In practice most alternators are not designed to produce their rated output current continuously and so charging a big battery bank that is well discharged will most likely cause excessive alternator temperature. It gets a bit more complicated (I was going to say complex but after reading Tonys post I think would should not allow mention of inductance or any other "complex" quantity on a family forum!). Nick is correct that the "soft" nature of the regulator often prevents the alternator from producing its rated output except for a brief time. This is probably why Beta Marine advise against using external regulators with their range of high output alternators. ............Dave

One reason for the popularity of the notorious Elecsol Batteries was a very positive test review in a caravan magazine (where Elecsol also placed adverts). When a number of complaints were received about Elecsols I believe the magazine admitted that their "test" consisted of reading the publicity material that Elecsol supplied. However I have not seen the Practical Sailor article .............Dave

I suspect that many modern alternators are designed to run at much higher temperatures than this. Switching the controller off at 100 would significantly limit their output, though might still be a good idea. If using an infra red thermometer with the more modern "open" (compact or internal fan) alternators you will be looking at the actual winding temperature rather than the case, so will see a much higher temperature. ............Dave.

I reckon 2 easy days Oxford to Reading, and three days Reading to Teddington. I know a few people have done Oxford to Reading in a single long day. The nights are drawing in and finding a mooring can sometimes be tricky, especially if you don't know the river. Its obviously a lot easier in October (you might have the river to yourself, well except for us) but I would aim to be moored at least an hour before the end of daylight. A few locks might be on self service which might slow you down a little bit. Also weather for Saturday looks crap. ............Dave

Unless they have a proper base I imagine that like the more switched on self pumpout users that they are away of a few manhole covers conveniently close to the cut. .............Dave

I'm with Dom on this one, the mobile pump out is almost certainly a loss making service to help out boaters (customers) and not to help other people run lucrative businesses. However maybe he should pump them at a special "business rate". .............Dave

If you are an off grid liveaboard then getting the leccy right is quite a challenge. If you can afford it the get a Smartgage and some easy way of measuring charge current. Despite what Nick said a while ago in this thread, my own experience is that some sort of external charge controller, like a Sterling or Adverc, makes a very significance improvement to battery charging, but this will depend upon what alternators (voltage setting) and batteries you have etc. ...........Dave

I have seen cable ties used in Brum to clamp the rope to the bollard, and I use a chain if moored on a river in an urban area, but in general I think its best not to do these things. Getting untied on the canal is no big deal and if it gives the locals some sort of pleasure then let them do it. Chaining and cable ties is rather sticking two fingers up at them and going for confrontation, this can only temp them to start cutting ropes or carrying bolt croppers which is not good. There was a spate of untying on the river in Bath (not good) and rumour has it that boaters started to chain so the offenders did start to bolt crop. ............Dave

We've been untied twice in Brum, once at the NIA end and once up beyond the bar (opposite the very uninspired hotel). Have also seen lads on the roof of a boat up that end. Getting untied is really no big deal but I would not want lads on the roof. Have also seen a group of Chinese girls on the front of a boat posing for a photo, again no big deal. There was a spate of pushbike thefts this summer. If mooring in the middle of a major city a bit of low level trouble is inevitable but needs to be kept in perspective, we have spent many many trouble free nights in Brum. Had a BBQ and lifering stolen in Newbury, untied and rope stolen in Thrupp! ..............Dave

I suspect Liverpool comes in first. Ely on the Great Ouse takes some beating but its not really a city. Bristol is rather good too, lots of open water. Reckon Brum is only second or third! .............Dave

Quite a few companies "make" this charger It looks very similar to the old Sterling Pro-budget. Maybe Sterling discontinued it and sold the design to China? Maybe its an illegal Chinese copy of the Sterling unit?. Maybe Sterling purchased cheep chargers and just put his name on it???? Its ok but the fan fails very frequently and without the fan it can only produce a fraction of its rated output. Like most chargers it goes into float mode MUCH too soon. No ability to adjust output voltage Its little graphic display sometimes says "equalising" but I don't believe it. ..............Dave

I think my needs are maybe a bit different to the OPs. I have a bank of Trojans that I charge off the bigger alternator and the Adverc brings the voltage up to 14.8,maybe 15 in winter (I adjust it). The smaller alternator does the starter battery at about 14.5v. If we are doing a big cruise I don't even engage alternator paralleling. If running the engine just to charge the batteries I will join the alternators to help with the bulk charge then hopefully disengage later to reduce water loss in the starter battery. I might automate all this at some stage but I quite enjoy looking at ammeters and turning things on and off, I am a sad engineer. We have lived off grid for a number of years now and it works for me. The Trojans are three years old at the end of this month and I will put a progress report on this good forum. ..............Dave

Yes, I knew somebody would point that out. It also puts a bit more resistance into the harder working domestic route. My installation is particularly bad because I turn it on manually so the relay switches the heavy current too. Its a cheap and cheerful Durite relay and has lasted 3 years so far. My big concern would be loosing the charge to the starter battery which is why I have done it this way. The starter alternator is quite a little thing, I might put a bigger one over the winter, and this well prove your logic to be correct! ...........Davei

I much prefer to have each alternator connected to its own bank, then use the relay to join the banks, that way if the shorting relay is not engaged for whatever reason the starter battery still gets a charge. It also allows different absorption voltages on the domestic and starter banks if required, though you have to turn off the relay after bulk charge to do that. I assume this is the stuff that the Smartbank does. ..............Dave

Alternator paralleling can be very effective and you can do it with just a big relay and a switch, but you MUST remember to turn it off when you stop the engine. I am sure there used to be a huge pinned thread on this topic with all sorts of circuit ideas, I have just looked at the pinned alternator paralleling thread and its much much shorter than it used to be, does anybody know where all this useful stuff has gone??? ..............Dave