Will this harm the boat?

[carlt]

I have always been led to believe that diesel engines do emit CO, but to a lesser degree than a petrol engine.

I believe it's something like 1% of a petrol engine but I can't find any figures though Wikipedia does say...

In diesel engines, conditions in the engine differ from the spark-ignition engine, since power is directly controlled by the fuel supply, rather than by controlling the air supply. Thus when the engine runs at low power, there is enough oxygen present to burn the fuel, and diesel engines only make significant amounts of carbon monoxide when running under a load.

 

...so, presumably, running the engine in gear is more hazardous than in neutral, when everybody is in the cabin waiting for the batteries to charge.

[Guest]

I believe it's something like 1% of a petrol engine but I can't find any figures though Wikipedia does say...

 

 

...so, presumably, running the engine in gear is more hazardous than in neutral, when everybody is in the cabin waiting for the batteries to charge.

Interesting! So contrary to my thoughts, the diesel is actually making more CO at full power. We live and learn.

1% or 2% would agree with the table in this link (compared to non-cat petrol engine):

http://www.lordgrey.org.uk/~f014/usefulresources/aric/Resources/Fact_Sheets/Key_Stage_4/Air_Pollution/26.html

Edited April 4, 2013 by Guest

[DaveC]

At normal canal speeds our Beta engine is only a very little above tick over so I would have no problem with it ticking over out of gear if I needed to charge the batteries.

 

 

 

Dave

[jonathanA]

When I do get the gennie, I'm going to need to spend some money on a 3stage charger too....the one I have can only do 200AH batts at any one time...

 

btw....I work on the theory that I should have many small inexpensive bits connected together to achieve the goal, rather than 1 expensive single bit that does it all (and would cost a fortune to replace unexpectedly)

 

Dean - I'm not quite sure i understand why you think your vharger can only manage a 200Ah battery. If thats what the seller told you he probably had bottles of snake oil for sale too...

 

The measure of a charger would be its output in AMPS e.g 20A charger. the size of charger is nothing to do with the size of battery bank, its about how long a charger of a given size will take to charge a bank of a given size. so a small charger will take longer to charge a bigger bank. so your current charger that you say is sized for 200Ah bank will charge a 400Ah back it will just take twice as long (simplistically)- which may be the issue of course if your relying on a gennie. (which you aren't 'cos you haven't got one yet)

 

Whilst i agree with your approach of several smaller/cheaper units its worth bearing in mind you are decreasing the time between failures becuase you increasing the number of units and therefore the probability that one will fail. (but the impact of the failure will be smaller hopefully)

[Timleech]

Dean - I'm not quite sure i understand why you think your vharger can only manage a 200Ah battery. If thats what the seller told you he probably had bottles of snake oil for sale too...

 

The measure of a charger would be its output in AMPS e.g 20A charger. the size of charger is nothing to do with the size of battery bank, its about how long a charger of a given size will take to charge a bank of a given size. so a small charger will take longer to charge a bigger bank. so your current charger that you say is sized for 200Ah bank will charge a 400Ah back it will just take twice as long (simplistically)- which may be the issue of course if your relying on a gennie. (which you aren't 'cos you haven't got one yet)

 

Whilst i agree with your approach of several smaller/cheaper units its worth bearing in mind you are decreasing the time between failures becuase you increasing the number of units and therefore the probability that one will fail. (but the impact of the failure will be smaller hopefully)

 

I think some chargers cut off after a set time, and may give a bad battery warning if the charge rate hasn't dropped to almost zero in that time. They are intended for a particular range of battery capacities, they will of course still give a charge into bigger banks but might not fully complete the operation.

 

Tim

[jonathanA]

I think some chargers cut off after a set time, and may give a bad battery warning if the charge rate hasn't dropped to almost zero in that time. They are intended for a particular range of battery capacities, they will of course still give a charge into bigger banks but might not fully complete the operation.

 

Tim

 

good point Tim,

 

but of course switching the begger off/on would reset it and it would start its cycle again. (and if it was clever enough to spot you doing that I'd throw it in the cut as being too clever for its own good)

[DeanS]

My charger is one of these.

 

On the back it says...for batteries up to 200AH

 

 

Yes, I imagine switching it off, then on again would reset it. Without a gennie though, I cant test it. I'm going to buy a clamp type ammeter from Maplin...(or Ebay)....so I can check exactly what amps the alternator is producing at idle, at 1000rpm, at 1200rpm etc

[dmr]

Most 3 chargers will go into float mode much too soon, especially when used on a liveaboard boat where the batteries are always on the threshold of sulphation, and turning them off and back on will not always help! Hopefully someone on this forum can recommend something that works well??????

 

..........Dave

[RLWP]

My charger is one of these.

 

On the back it says...for batteries up to 200AH

 

 

Yes, I imagine switching it off, then on again would reset it. Without a gennie though, I cant test it. I'm going to buy a clamp type ammeter from Maplin...(or Ebay)....so I can check exactly what amps the alternator is producing at idle, at 1000rpm, at 1200rpm etc

 

Sort of. If you let us know the make and model we can look up the output curves.

 

That's a start

 

Richard

[bottle]

My charger is one of these.

 

On the back it says...for batteries up to 200AH

 

 

Yes, I imagine switching it off, then on again would reset it. Without a gennie though, I cant test it. I'm going to buy a clamp type ammeter from Maplin...(or Ebay)....so I can check exactly what amps the alternator is producing at idle, at 1000rpm, at 1200rpm etc

 

and that will be a varying number depending on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery(s)

[smileypete]

ETA....I now have a small digital voltmeter on the wall in the kitchen, and the family has been scrutinizing it with MUCH interest over the course of the evening It has become the main talking point in our boat....every time the value changes, someone shouts...its 12.4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (under load)

Sounds like a 'damascene conversion' to the cause of battery monitoring.

 

When the voltage doesn't recover above 12.2V 'off load' then the bank is below about halfway, and should be recharged, tho the odd time lower won't hurt.

 

But until you're able to monitor charging current too it might pay to be a bit conservative with how much is used before recharging.

 

Most 3 chargers will go into float mode much too soon, especially when used on a liveaboard boat where the batteries are always on the threshold of sulphation, and turning them off and back on will not always help! Hopefully someone on this forum can recommend something that works well??????

Depends, what's the charge current when it drops into float? Maybe use a power supply/DC converter or a smaller 'non smart' charger to continue charging?

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited April 5, 2013 by smileypete

[smileypete]

BTW I posted this yesterday but had second thoughts:

 

http://www.buyincoins.com/new_en/details/new-5-digit-0-36-dc-0-33-000v-red-led-digital-voltmeter-voltage-meter-panel-product-26013.html

 

 

It's a 5 digit multimeter, I wouldn't advise it as the sole means of batt monitoring, but for £3 odd it looks like an interesting doohickey and might be worth a go. I hope it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited April 5, 2013 by smileypete

[onionbargee]

Seek out a convenient lampost. Moor next to it and when the coast is clear shin up it replace the bulb with a twin bulb adapter, shove the bulb back into one socket so the lamp still works, with your extension lead plugged into the other socket, stick the lead to the post camouflaging it with the same colour paint as the post. Now just be patient until lighting up time and you can do all your work and charging overnight. Sleep during the day.

 

you don't need to shin up a lamp post the wiring is in the base, just croc clip onto the fuse, and put the cover back on. you need to be off line when they light up, or your chosen lamp might not start, ( if it's sodium vapor) then it will flicker all night alerting the bods who replace the bulbs. Street lights are not metered.

 

all that is just a guess, i would never do anything like that !