Eynhallow

Hi, I was trying to keep the post simple, but there's a long history. Some of which I don't understand! The batteries are 420 amp hrs of Li Fe PO4 and they are fully charged. The heater will run, at full power, all day on paraffin, or diesel, if I replace the existing standpipe and manifold with a short length of plastic tube into a can, so I'm convinced it's not an electrical problem, or a blockage in the fuel line. And very strangely, it will also run all day when the main diesel engine is running, but won't run when the generator is running and charging the batteries, via Victron 120amp charger. I think that it is either air getting into the line some where before the pump, there are lots of joints, or the Eber pump is struggling to lift the diesel through a relative large boar standpipe ( 5 or 6mm ID, from memory). I've spent, or waisted, so much time already on this, I think the simple answer is another standpipe and a short hose direct tot he pump. But what the best ID for a standpipe for a Hydronic 10M? I see standpipes of 2mm ID advertised for 2 or 3kW heaters, but no recommendations for a10kW heater.

I'm going to fit a new standpipe in the main diesel tank, the current system uses 1 standpipe for the main engine, generator and Eberspacher, but I have difficultly getting the Eber to run. It seems to be a combination of the large diameter standpipe, and the distance from the standpipe to the pump. I can install the new standpipe at the other end of the tank, and reduce the pipe length from 2m or so to around 750mm or less, and size the stand pipe just for the Eber. The tank is 800mm deep, and I was thinking of installing a 700mm standpipe, but what ID should the standpipe be. The only one I can find online has an ID of 2mm. Is that big enough for a Hydronic 10, which can use over 1L per hour? Cheers Ian

Yes, I agree, but every car built in the last 15 year or more is CAN Bus controlled, in general they are very reliable, and you just have to get use the idea that when you lift the bonnet, you don't have the foggiest idea about how you might be able to fix it. I've had two Fischer Pandas, both totally unreliable, but neither had a single problem with the CAN Bus control. I didn't need a fitting kit, the Piccolo 5 came with tails attached, I built a plinth or table out of heavy duty plywood, 18mm I think, on a substantial 100mm x 50mm frame and bolted it down. Connecting it up was straight forward, the only real decision to make was the exhaust (initially for the Fischer Pandas). I went for a "quiet" exhaust system, which separate the the water from the exhaust gases. The wet exhaust drops down to a water trap, then up to a separator, the water drops down to a skin fitting under the water, and the gases to skin fitting, about 100mm above the waterline. The generator is almost silent from outside the boat. You don't need to do this, you could just run the wet exhaust to skin fitting, just like a normal diesel. The diesel supply was taken from a manifold with a common stand pipe for the main engine, Eberspacher, and generator. The diesel return line goes back to the tank, and is Tee'd into the main engine return line just before it enters the tank. The raw water comes from a tee on the main engine water intake, after the strainer. 12 volts to the start from the main bus bar, via a fuse and switch., and the 240AC goes into a selector switch, which selects between shore supply and generator. The most time consuming bit was the plinth, making it strong enough (it's a seagoing boat) and the correct height above the waterline. I hope this helps, I've been messing with generator for the last 10years, and have probably made every mistake it is possible to make!

I've just got the basic controller, on/off, because that's all I need. But the generator is CAN Bus controlled, so it will work with a modern inverter charger and start and stop automatically, depending on the load and state of charge of the battery. That's about all I know, I like to keep things simple, that way I might, just might, understand how they work!

Take a look at the Whisper Power Piccolo 5, it's a water cooled marine diesel, rated at 3.5kW continuous, into a resistive load, and 5kVA to allow it to start things like electric motors. I fitted one last September, it cost bout £4.5K for the basic generator, which was all I needed, because it replaced a Fischer Panda 5000i, so the exhaust system was already there. It's seems to be reasonably quiet, and delivers clean 240v 50Hz power that will run a laptop or TV without a problem. It's quiet small and relatively light. On my boat it is below the saloon and although you can definitely hear if running, but you can have a normal conversation, effectively sitting on top of it. The photo is it installed, but without the acoustic shell, which makes a huge difference to the noise. I run it for a couple of hours in the morning to charge the batteries, it's more efficient and quieter than running the main engine. One drawback for use in a canal, is the raw water pump, the impeller does not like silt in the water, it wears the impeller out quite quickly.