Mystery Electrical Contraptions

[BEngo]

Since we seem to have established that none of the boxes actually seems to be doing anything except act as a terminal block it is time to ask the key question: Does it work OK?

 If the answer is YES then don't F about with it.  If ithe answer is NO then taking the boxes out ain't going to change much so  still don't F about with it!

N

[DHutch]

duplicate topics merged

[matty40s]

15 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Do you have two alternators - one to charge the starter battery, and one to charge the domestic bank?   Digging back in my memory to problems you had some years back, I suspect you do?
If so, it is hard to see why you would need a split charge relay at all.

Did the boat originally have an engine with a single alternator, maybe, that later got swapped to a newer one with two alternators?


 

It is most likely given its original history that it had a single alternator to start with. Most hire boats cruise most days so do not need more costly systems fitting. It is likely that the 2nd alternator came at time of sale into private ownership - or engine change.

[BlueStringPudding]

16 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

. 

Added. In post 19 the blue thing with fins and nuts might be a split charge pair of diodes, but without a photo it’s just a guess, and even if it is, it may no longer do anything depending upon how it’s actually wired.

It doesn't do anything. I bipassed it.

16 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Do you have two alternators - one to charge the starter battery, and one to charge the domestic bank?   Digging back in my memory to problems you had some years back, I suspect you do?
 

 

Yes

[BlueStringPudding]

3 hours ago, BEngo said:

Since we seem to have established that none of the boxes actually seems to be doing anything except act as a terminal block it is time to ask the key question: Does it work OK?

 If the answer is YES then don't F about with it.  If ithe answer is NO then taking the boxes out ain't going to change much so  still don't F about with it!

N

It's never charged brilliantly, rarely getting even halfway to maximum alternator output irrelevant of which alternator (the finned split charge relay burnt through four domestic alternators of varying sizes over the first few years on the boat. That's where I traced a fault to and once bipassed (touch wood) I've not blown up an alternator since. However it still doesn't charge very effectively whether with new or old batteries. 

Having said that, I'm still of the school of thought of non-f*ck-withery, coz a barely adequate charging system could end up becoming a not-at-all charging system or a costing-me-money-I-haven't-got charging system. I was just curious as to what all those little boxes were for. Thanks everyone. ?

[GRLMK38]

20 hours ago, Rebotco said:

The green box is a cobweb disperser.

P.S. Its bust!

Or it could be a Lucas SRB610 (33421) https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/file_uploads/srb600_data_sheet_1.pdf

 

If it's a cobweb dispenser it still works.  If it's a Lucas relay it's possibly redundant. 

[Chris Williams]

If it works, leave it alone.  Could get expensive.  Suggest fitting a smoke detector perhaps.

[BEngo]

Not really needed. If it starts smoking all the tarantulas will start coughing and wake everyone up.??

N

[Chris Williams]

2 hours ago, BEngo said:

Not really needed. If it starts smoking all the tarantulas will start coughing and wake everyone up.??

N

Love it!  Seriously, are there no regs for boat wiring?  Can any nerd do a bodge job?   180 amps needs heavy wires.  If there is an inverter, we may be talking 240v.  Not a job for the yard boy to do.

[Keith M]

Anyone can set them self up as a marine sparks 

No qualifications required

A very sad state of affairs

[alan_fincher]

10 minutes ago, Keith M said:

Anyone can set them self up as a marine sparks 

No qualifications required

A very sad state of affairs

With the exception of needing certifications for gas work, isn't that just about true for absolutely any professional you might engage to do anything related to a boat?

[Chris Williams]

1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

With the exception of needing certifications for gas work, isn't that just about true for absolutely any professional you might engage to do anything related to a boat?

Surely 'Professional' implies that they have had proper training, or am I being old-fashioned?

Many years ago, when I built my boat, It had to comply with Thames Conservancy regulations, mainly concerned with safety in locks. Gas, leccy, etc.

[jonathanA]

1 hour ago, Keith M said:

Anyone can set them self up as a marine sparks 

No qualifications required

A very sad state of affairs

Yes let’s follow the example of part p, hetas and gas safe because they are so great for the consumer.... NOT

 

 

Something in between the extremes maybe ? 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by jonathanA

[BlueStringPudding]

5 hours ago, GRLMK38 said:

Or it could be a Lucas SRB610 (33421) https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/file_uploads/srb600_data_sheet_1.pdf

 

If it's a cobweb dispenser it still works.  If it's a Lucas relay it's possibly redundant. 

Hmm... "not suitable for marine use" ?

5 hours ago, Chris Williams said:

If it works, leave it alone.  Could get expensive.  Suggest fitting a smoke detector perhaps.

I've lived aboard 12 years and nowt has caught fire yet. I've got two smoke alarms and three carbon monoxide alarms, so I practically have shares in AA batteries ?

2 hours ago, Chris Williams said:

Love it!  Seriously, are there no regs for boat wiring?  Can any nerd do a bodge job?   180 amps needs heavy wires.  If there is an inverter, we may be talking 240v.  Not a job for the yard boy to do.

No inverter here

[GRLMK38]

On 04/02/2019 at 19:03, BlueStringPudding said:

Hmm... "not suitable for marine use" ?

I've lived aboard 12 years and nowt has caught fire yet. I've got two smoke alarms and three carbon monoxide alarms, so I practically have shares in AA batteries ?

No inverter here

"not suitable for marine use" ? Mine has been installed since 1993 but granted it's in a narrowboat so not it's not "proper" marine.

[Chris Williams]

4 hours ago, GRLMK38 said:

"not suitable for marine use" ? Mine has been installed since 1993 but granted it's in a narrowboat so not it's not "proper" marine.

I would guess that 'Marine use' refers to salt water, which may include certain tidal river sections, where the air may be salty at times.

The term 'Marine' should not be applied to anything on fresh water, but it is far to late now.