Recent content by Molteni

Thansk. Just locked in. Been told that by radioing in first you can use the freeflow at Milford Haven Lock to freely access the water by the fuel pontoon.

We're anchored upriver of Milford Haven at the moment and need fresh water. Just spoken to the restaurant which answers when you phone the Dale Yacht Club number. They say the shore pontoon no longer has fresh water! 1. Is this the case? 2. Is there anywhere else in the area with fresh...

Yes, that's how mine are wired. Total capacity is first calculated, but in practice the actual capacity will always be a bit less than the quoted Ah as the batteries age. These are the guages They're a far east copy of the Victron guage omitting just the bluetooth and alarm facilities. It's...

As far as starter battery efficiency is concerned, the periodic use of a starter power meter device can help. It shows the ability of a starter battery to do it's job of providing enough power to start an engine. Something like this

I've used a couple of these monitors (one for each bank of three batteries) for a few years and they work well, constantly reminding me not to drop below the 60% charge level. Make sure you get one with a shunt capable of handling the maximum possible current you're likely to ever use.

The new system will be using the large cockpit locker as a "heat sink" so air flowing past the alternator will be cooler than before

but rather cooler than before ;)

The fan is a Seaflow which I doubt could be heard above the engine.

Finally wired in the extractor fan, which will now draw air in past the alternator. Much better than the original system where the air was drawn in at the opposite end of the compartment and gave hardly any cooling effect to the alternator. The concern has always been for the alternator...

The alternator is a nearly new Prestolite rated at 90 Amps. Unmodified except that I've fitted a regulator with the negative field wire to connect to an external Sterling regulator. We were surprised to briefly see 84 Amps in the summer after starting the engine with heavily discharged batteries...

Strangely the pulley on my Prestolite has "radial" fan blades rather than those angled to draw air into the alternator casing. This was my concern, especially as the alternator would often be working much harder than a typical car unit. Mine was at 60 degrees with just short usage at 10 Amps...

Brilliant, thanks. Looks like the 85 degree one will do the job, and is rated to power the 5A fan without needing a relay. (y)

Just the once might be enough to destroy the alternator. I've seen 84amps on the meter, on what is effectively just a car alternator. I'm looking for a bolt-on/clip-on thermostat for the alternator to power a relay for the fan. Any recommendations please?

The alternator could be running very hot while the engine is at low speed. At full load (close to 1kw?) the alternator could run at well over 60 degrees C requiring additional local cooling.

Air gets into the engine compartment (for combustion) via an inlet by the engine instrument panel in the cockpit. This air enters the engine compartment via the cockpit locker The system recently plumbed in effectively uses the large cockpit locker as a "heat sink", with the inlet to the engine...