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Please start to study answers you have already been given and if you can't understand come back and explain what you do not understand. I note that you seem to have taken my guess at 110Ah domestic battery as an absolute recommendation. IT IS NOT.

 

You also refuse to supply photos when requested.

 

We all now how difficult it is and what a steep learning curve a new boater who is not very technically aware faces and want to help but you must do your part as well by answering questions when asked and taking some trouble to understand the answers you are given. If you go on a syou seem to be then you will get labelled as a Troll and no one will bother trying to help.

 

1. Turning a red switch OFF and then managing to start the boat apparently by using a battery makes no sense at all. It suggests all may not be well with your boat.

 

2. We still have no proof or confirmation that you actually do have a split charging system. There is every possibility both/ all your batteries supply both the domestic system (lights, water pump etc) AND starts the engine. You have been asked for photos of the batteries and wiring but so far have failed to send them.

3. I and others have explained that a battery bank size depends upon two things: your electrical demand and the your ability to fully recharge. Then you have to juggle the charging process to get them to balance. Again I have pointed you to stuff that sows how it can be done. If you ignore this you are likely to: Ruin batteries in a short time or run out  of electricity. You have failed to provide any idea about how much electricity you use each day  and what your charging regime is so you are still asking questions that are impossible to answer. No one who has knowledge is likely give you figures when they know so little.

 

4. You have been asked for the MAKE (now provided) and MODEL of the outboard so even if you do not know its charging output we can look it up. At present what you have given us is 20hp. That is not a model and it will be all but impossible to find the charging output without a year at least, even then it will be difficult.

 

5. I am NOT going to have a guess at the size  of the other battery because if I do it seem you will ignore everything else and take it as gospel. a domestic battery.  Remember it is not even clear that you do have a start battery and a  domestic battery, they may both do both jobs.

 

If they are separate then we need to know how the charge is split so we can advise on the optimum system. Again photos of all the electrical switches and "gubbins" near the batteries and engine may be required.

 

6. To be honest I strongly suspect that you may intend to live aboard this boat and if so I can be fairly confident in forecasting ongoing battery problems and endless  cost.

 

PLEASE can we get the basics sorted. We must know if its two battery banks or one battery bank of two batteries. Then we need your electrical consumption and charging details.

 

At present I feel very reluctant to waste any more time trying to explain things to you and then be ignored or you doing a pick  mix job.

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Hi, as a newbie I wonder if I can join this discussion with some very general questions - and they might also help the OP?

 

I am very familiar with car electrics; am I correct in guessing that boat electrics must have a lot of commonality? Perhaps someone could explain where the differences lay; perhaps a boat is more like a car & caravan. Any links to good write-ups would be great.

 

Thanks

M

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2 minutes ago, Mariner said:

... perhaps a boat is more like a car & caravan. 

Yes it is. You have the engine electrics (think  1960’s cars) and then you have all the caravan stuff, usually with its own battery bank.  

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Is it the case that although the systems are fairly simple, that the detail and the layout vary quite a lot from one boat to the other, and that on many boats, there's no record been made of how things have been set up, so you just have to unravel it for yourself? In fact, if a new owner hasn't been given an electrical plan, figuring it out and getting it on paper would be a good thing to do?

 

M

Edited by Mariner
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25 minutes ago, Mariner said:

Is it the case that although the systems are fairly simple, that the detail and the layout vary quite a lot from one boat to the other, and that on many boats, there's no record been made of how things have been set up, so you just have to unravel it for yourself? In fact, if a new owner hasn't been given an electrical plan, figuring it out and getting it on paper would be a good thing to do?

 

M

Yes, there is no ONE way of configuring a system that contains more than one battery. Good photos and a good explanation of how you start the boat and run any other electrical appliances is a good start.

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46 minutes ago, Mariner said:

Is it the case that although the systems are fairly simple, that the detail and the layout vary quite a lot from one boat to the other, and that on many boats, there's no record been made of how things have been set up, so you just have to unravel it for yourself? In fact, if a new owner hasn't been given an electrical plan, figuring it out and getting it on paper would be a good thing to do?

 

M

Yep. 

 

With any modern boat boat that was built to the RCD it will have a full wiring diagram within the manual. However, boaters are inveterant tinkerers so by the time the boat has changed hands a couple of times the wiring diagram might well differ in many details from reality. 

Even though such changes should be written up in the manual. 

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10 hours ago, Mariner said:

Hi, as a newbie I wonder if I can join this discussion with some very general questions - and they might also help the OP?

 

I am very familiar with car electrics; am I correct in guessing that boat electrics must have a lot of commonality? Perhaps someone could explain where the differences lay; perhaps a boat is more like a car & caravan. Any links to good write-ups would be great.

 

Thanks

M

Spot on, except when a boat has a low charging output, hand startable engine may well only have one battery bank for both starting and domestic (caravan) use. This is the problem I have with the OPs questions. We don't know what she has and she avoids giving clues that may help.

 

Have a look at the   electrical notes on tb-training.co.uk, apart from BSS requirements you may well already know it all.

10 hours ago, Mariner said:

Is it the case that although the systems are fairly simple, that the detail and the layout vary quite a lot from one boat to the other, and that on many boats, there's no record been made of how things have been set up, so you just have to unravel it for yourself? In fact, if a new owner hasn't been given an electrical plan, figuring it out and getting it on paper would be a good thing to do?

 

M

Again spot on but there is probably far more variation when you consider many boaters are inveterate tinkerers and to a degree bodgers. The older the boat gets the more likely there is to be very odd wiring and even faults. For instance the OP stated in another thread she turned a "red key" switch off and then started the engine. Red key switches are typically taken to be battery isolator switches so taking the OPs word she isolated the battery and then started the engine using the starter. That makes no sense unless the boat's electrics are a mess and just waiting for a BSS inspection fail.  Although many especially older boats use a single master switch in the negative lead to isolate both battery banks turning the switch off should totally isolate all the electrics so the engine should not start.

 

I agree that drawing a wiring diagram would be a good idea but I have the gravest doubts that the OP has the knowledge to do it. This is why I and others have asked questions and for photos so we have something definite to work from so we can help explain to the OP.

9 hours ago, WotEver said:

Yep. 

 

With any modern boat boat that was built to the RCD it will have a full wiring diagram within the manual. However, boaters are inveterant tinkerers so by the time the boat has changed hands a couple of times the wiring diagram might well differ in many details from reality. 

Even though such changes should be written up in the manual. 

And this boat is so old there is no question about the RCD, it was never built to it's standards. It's possible being a production GRP cruiser there might have been a diagram in the handbook but its probably long since gone.

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On 04/05/2018 at 20:49, Mariner said:

Any links to good write-ups would be great.

Good basic overview here

https://www.thefitoutpontoon.co.uk/electrics/wiring/

And if you look at Tony's profile it will give you a link to his well respected notes Here

http://www.tb-training.co.uk

Edited by reg
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