3 weeks away and now can't charge batteries...

[Guest]

be cool, people.

 

Sorry CT but I wasn't aware we weren't being....

[dccruiser]

No? How can I tell?

 

What hypocrisy.

 

Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have.[1] Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie.[1]

 

Hypocrisy is not simply failing to practice those virtues that one preaches. Samuel Johnson made this point when he wrote about the misuse of the charge of "hypocrisy" in Rambler No. 14:

 

Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory, as a man may be confident of the advantages of a voyage, or a journey, without having courage or industry to undertake it, and may honestly recommend to others, those attempts which he neglects himself.[2]

Thus, an alcoholic's advocating temperance, for example, would not be considered an act of hypocrisy as long as the alcoholic made no pretense of constant sobriety.

 

 

Nope, i dont see how that applies!!!

 

So, as a former forces trained and degree qualified electronics and electrical engineer, you can tell me i am wrong and something you say is best practice and when i question the logic in that, you tell me i am just being argumentative?

 

If you make a statement on here that could potentially cost someone who didnt know any better their boat (the difference between their bilge pump running for a few days or running for a couple of weeks), then surely you are prepared to explain why? as i have took the time to explained my point..... or is it that as i havent posted enough to be a long standing member that negates anything i may say , even if god forbid i do have a valid point that you dont have a valid answer for?

 

Rick

Edited April 29, 2012 by dccruiser

[Chris Pink]

Would you like me to look 'verbal diarrea' for you.

 

Gosh, you talk some crap.

 

The OP said her bilge pump was connected to her engine battery. Your bullshit just confuses the issue.

[cheshire~rose]

I sincerely hope that the OP does not lose the will to love when she gets back online to look at this thread. I hope that Cereal Tiller may be able to offer some practical assistance.

 

It is a wet and windy day, the sort of horrible weather that no one in their right mind wants to go boating. Lots of couped up boaters sitting at their PC's and they get a rewarded by opening the day with an electrical thread they can have a nice friendly discussion about.

 

Please try to play nicely children

[Guest]

I sincerely hope that the OP does not lose the will to love when she gets back online to look at this thread. I hope that Cereal Tiller may be able to offer some practical assistance.

 

It is a wet and windy day, the sort of horrible weather that no one in their right mind wants to go boating. Lots of couped up boaters sitting at their PC's and they get a rewarded by opening the day with an electrical thread they can have a nice friendly discussion about.

 

Please try to play nicely children

 

 

So do I - that would be dreadful...

[ditchcrawler]

I wonder if this could be another case where the battery volts are so low that the domestic alternator is not getting enough volts on the field to make it generate. That is if it has twin alternators, failing that it could be the split charge relay/arrangement has failed.

[dccruiser]

Would you like me to look 'verbal diarrea' for you.

 

Gosh, you talk some crap.

 

The OP said her bilge pump was connected to her engine battery. Your bullshit just confuses the issue.

 

You already do look verbal diarrhea mate you dont have to make the effort

 

Sorry stooping to your level ... once again i am not disputing anything to do with the OP, just you saying that your way is best practice , now if you cannot explain to me why , as i have explained my point and you can only try to wriggle out of stating your case by either being abusive or trying to confuse this with the OP which it is nothing to do with , then we have nothing more to discuss.

 

have a nice day

 

Rick

[Arthur Brown]

The OP posted in the early morning or was it late night! Since then all the relevant diagnostic questions have been asked and offers of help made, but the OP has not yet returned to answer, so the thread has now gone bitchily off topic.

[bottle]

Probably because the OP is asleep, after being on night shifts.

[ditchcrawler]

Probably because the OP is asleep, after being on night shifts.

or busy bailing the rain out

[Ratty's Retreat]

I'm a new boy this and keeping out of the battery connection argument but if you are worried about a bilge pump flattening batteries, you have a much more serious problem of a leak or faulty pump??

 

John.

[annaschu]

Wow, thanks all for so much advice, it's very much appreciated - I'll have a trawl through before work tonight and make a plan. As one of the two leisure batteries was new last spring I'm thinking that some assistance from an electrician is going to be my best bet though. I've spotted some conflicting advice and my knowledge is certainly not good enough to suss out which to follow!

 

Someone posted that it's not good to run the engine in gear whilst moored to charge the batteries - can I ask why? I've always done that whilst out on the cut if I've not actually been cruising for a couple of days but need power and have the fridge on. A number of boaters suggested it when I first bought her and I've been doing it ever since... hope I've not caused the problems myself!

 

Anyway, popped back to Grace yesterday morning to make sure she hadn't set off by herself downriver but all was well. Not too much extra water in the engine bay, well clear of the engine so didn't take long to bail out!

[jelunga]

Wow, thanks all for so much advice, it's very much appreciated - I'll have a trawl through before work tonight and make a plan. As one of the two leisure batteries was new last spring I'm thinking that some assistance from an electrician is going to be my best bet though. I've spotted some conflicting advice and my knowledge is certainly not good enough to suss out which to follow!

 

Someone posted that it's not good to run the engine in gear whilst moored to charge the batteries - can I ask why? I've always done that whilst out on the cut if I've not actually been cruising for a couple of days but need power and have the fridge on. A number of boaters suggested it when I first bought her and I've been doing it ever since... hope I've not caused the problems myself!

 

Anyway, popped back to Grace yesterday morning to make sure she hadn't set off by herself downriver but all was well. Not too much extra water in the engine bay, well clear of the engine so didn't take long to bail out!

Running the engine in gear whilst stationary damages the canal through erosion. There is also a risk of ropes getting stuck around prop but slight. The mooring ropes may be stressed and cone adrift. There is no need to do it. There remaibs this myth about "bore glazing" if an engine is run lightly loaded fjr extended periods. It wastes fuel.

IT IS ALSO AGAINST BW regulations.

Please do not do it. There is no need

[annaschu]

I understand the erosion issue, where I am now I'm tied up to steel lining sheets so minimising damage. How do I then charge batteries if stationary for a while? I can't afford the expense of a generator!

[Chris Pink]

Unless you have a (usually vintage) gearbox that doesn't like it you should run your engine out of gear to charge the batteries.

[NB Willawaw]

You could try Jon Ody on 07766546645. He's at Oxford, but knows his stuff.

 

 

As one of the two leisure batteries was new last spring I'm thinking that some assistance from an electrician is going to be my best bet though.

[blodger]

I understand the erosion issue, where I am now I'm tied up to steel lining sheets so minimising damage. How do I then charge batteries if stationary for a while? I can't afford the expense of a generator!

You have to way up the expense of wear & tear of the engine compared with alternatives such as solar/genny. The latter go pretty cheap second hand on ebay or a 50 watt panel for under 70 quid inc p&P

[cheshire~rose]

Simply run the engine, but not in gear

[Arthur Brown]

Possibly the best option would be to drive the boat to a place where you can access mains power, and simply plug it in and leave it for 24 hours. Alternatively think about taking a battery home, for a week on a slow charger, then swap for the other one.

 

The word fridge frightens me! they are a very significant load and probably consume up to 80% of the electricity generated on board, use the off function unless you are living on board and cruising.

 

A solar panel will help a lot especially in the summer and may keep the batteries usefully charged without attention.

 

Be realistic about battery life, a battery left flat for four weeks may be dead whatever it's price or brand.

 

For the price, a cheap jump start battery and a small bilge pump may be a good plan to be absolutely certain that flat batteries don't cause the failed bilge pump to let the boat sink, that is a very expensive problem.

[mayalld]

I understand the erosion issue, where I am now I'm tied up to steel lining sheets so minimising damage. How do I then charge batteries if stationary for a while? I can't afford the expense of a generator!

 

You run it out of gear.

 

There are various reasons why you might be advised to run in gear, to reduce the wear on your engine, but running in gear causes damage to the banks (even steel sheeting, where it will cause scour at the base of the sheets, and cause them to collapse), so running in gear is simply protecting YOUR property at the expense of somebody else's.

 

"I can't afford to do it right" isn't a valid excuse for causing damage.

 

As others have said, running the engine for a couple of hours to get some power back in on a regular basis will mean that they have been bumping along the bottom, never fully charged, and as a result, you will have pretty much killed them.

 

You will need to buy new batteries, and you will need to keep them charged.

 

That will mean working out how much you use, and recharging at least twice that amount every single day.

 

It is very unlikely that 2 hours a day will be enough, and doing it every other day or when the lights go dim is certainly not frequent enough.

[Chris Pink]

 

You will need to buy new batteries

 

 

There is not enough information to make this diagnosis.

 

There is enough information to say "may need" or "possibly need", even "probably need". "will need" - no.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Chris Pink

[bizzard]

Your fridge is the battery killer,i'd turn it off until you get your batteries charged up and the bilge pump working.The weather is cool,if you do a regular shop every couple of days or so you do not need it on.Just put the milk and stuff in the shade on the boats base plate somewhere.

[mayalld]

There is not enough information to make this diagnosis.

 

Based on the available information, I am 85% certain that new batteries are needed.

[Chris Pink]

As I said in post #20 "fault finding is a question of working through the symptoms systematically to a solution".

 

Making guesses based on assumptions (with a precision that is laughable) isn't helpful.

 

It yet to be established that the alternator is working. I would place this number one in any fault finding based on the OP

[bizzard]

Based on the available information, I am 85% certain that new batteries are needed.

It sounds like it,i'd disconnect out all the cabin batteries but the one known youngest one and concentrate charging that one until the others are tested and or renewed.And leave the fridge off.

Edited April 30, 2012 by bizzard