Don't Pay The Ferryman ...

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I thought that the issue was fried batteries, not a fried charger???

Jim

I think the issue was that the owner did not understand what he had bought (or much about boats? )..........nor understood his role as an Owner vs that of a Skipper - principally that whilst you can delegate responsibility you can't delegate all of it - nor abrograte any of it!

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

I think the issue was that the owner did not understand what he had bought

I think the issue is that the owners are a special breed of a-holes but were in disguise in the beginning as decent honest people!

[atoll]

regardless of the issues involved it has been my experince on numerous deliveries where the boat has been sitting on shore power,with the batteries constantly held at full charge for batteries to fail or not hold a charge once they start cycling on a passage.

[River Cruiser]

I've never seen a boat with generator that didn't have a selector switch for generator, off or shore. Without such a switch power would backfeed to the gen when on shore power & most likely damage the gen. Most I've seen are manual rotary type switch, I've seen one older gen that had a on demand auto start gen. maybe this type could malfunction & cause a problem.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I thought that the issue was fried batteries, not a fried charger???

Jim

yes, but the question is how did the batteries see an overvoltage? Only if there was a problem with the charger. How did the charger develop a problem? Perhaps because it was fed from both a genset and shorepower simultaneously.

[captain58sailin]

With my system, I have three switchs, one for shore power, one for gen set, and one for main engine alternator. Only one can be energized at a time, so it makes no difference how many sources are available.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

With my system, I have three switchs, one for shore power, one for gen set, and one for main engine alternator. Only one can be energized at a time, so it makes no difference how many sources are available.

That is standard mechanical (usually a sliding bar) “Lock-out” switches so only one of the 3 options can be on at any one time

[Wotname]

Back to topic

As I sit on a windless flat very hot ocean somewhere between Darwin and Timor, I hear a rumour that Mr Boatman is sailing somewhere in Storm Bay or the Derwent River in cool green Tassie .

Rumour also has it that he will be in Port Huon on Wednesday so lock yer daughters and hide the rum, Boaty is about to hit port.

[simmo]

Nice one Geoffrey. Any unpaid delivery fee progress?

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by River Cruiser

I've never seen a boat with generator that didn't have a selector switch for generator, off or shore. Without such a switch power would backfeed to the gen when on shore power & most likely damage the gen. Most I've seen are manual rotary type switch, I've seen one older gen that had a on demand auto start gen. maybe this type could malfunction & cause a problem.

Should come and look at mine then. It is all controlled by the Victron Phoenix Multiplus. When I have finished the refit, the generator will be automatically started when the batteries drop below a certain voltage, and generator switched off again when it reaches another voltage. (will also be able to start generator manually as well. - all done by the Outback FM60 Solar Controller and MATE remote control. Both of these have temperature sensors as well to avoid that well cooked feeling.

[River Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Talbot

Should come and look at mine then. It is all controlled by the Victron Phoenix Multiplus. When I have finished the refit, the generator will be automatically started when the batteries drop below a certain voltage, and generator switched off again when it reaches another voltage. (will also be able to start generator manually as well. - all done by the Outback FM60 Solar Controller and MATE remote control. Both of these have temperature sensors as well to avoid that well cooked feeling.

I thought that the start on demand type had went out of favor for use on boats because of the danger of CO poisoning or starting with gas fumes present. With the right safety devices installed it should be a excellent way to manage your power requirements.

[ElGatoGordo]

Now that I finally joined up...let me just say I've ready both threads all along, and I sympathize with poor Boaty, mistreated for sure! But the entertainment alone has between truly worth the read. Of course the best part is the offended party is having a great sail while the owner's boat is tied up. Even given Boat's loss...I'm still jealous :-)

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by River Cruiser

I thought that the start on demand type had went out of favor for use on boats because of the danger of CO poisoning or starting with gas fumes present. With the right safety devices installed it should be a excellent way to manage your power requirements.

Fully installed diesel generator. Water cooled exhaust installed adjacent to main engine exhaust (and the water heater exhaust!)

[boatman61]

Ok... am in Port Huon and on line...
First let me explain... my 1st 'big boat' way back when just had shore and battery power... I started the engine whilst plugged in and blew the alternator regulator... techie told me thats what did it so I've never ever done it since.
Elle Bo had 12v, 24v, 120v and 240v capability... the engine charged House and engine batteries, the Genset charged House, 24v and powered the mains... to the best of my knowledge Shore did the lot...
Regardless I only ran on at a time... my knowledge is not expansive enough to play clever buga's so play safe instead.
Now when I ran the engine the batteries would over charge so I took to unplugging the alternator as it seemed to me the Balmar regulator was not cutting out and dumping the load... hence the gassing and overheating.
If left the guage would start trying to bend the stop at 16v.. so between 13.5 and 14 I would unplug if running the engine for an extended period... funny thing is the Genset would charge things no worries through the invertor so it must have been as I thought... followed that process all the way from Panama and the new batteries were just fine...
But enough of this...
Don't let Wotname wind you up about your 'Daughters'....
I prefer women like wine... mellow and matured....
Zimmers don't work to good in the Disco...

[cwyckham]

Yep, sounds like you definitely had a blown regulator or wiring issue. Mine did exactly that when the ground wire to the regulator broke. Freaked me out, but easily fixed when I noticed it.

I've never heard of such a complicated electrical system!!