Recent content by Rich T

I had a Dolphin in a Folkboat for several years. Pre conventional gearbox so electrical FNR. Simple three way switch and start button. Boat was in a marina and provided you allowed a bit more time to go F/R it was no problem. If a little quick with the changeover it backfired slightly and blew a...

Strange, but one possible explanation is the greater contact area of the clips on the rubber is far greater than the tips of the probes, this helping conductivity and hence the reading you are getting. An actual ohms reading would be more useful than using the continuity setting. Also your...

Especially if you have the electric pump option ?

Yes, could not agree more. Excellent, simple piece of kit. Had one for 20 years plus, changed the lid seal once, that’s it. Have seen plenty of Jabsco’s give trouble with their valves, glands etc leaking. Probably would change to a Lavac if I bought a boat fitted with anything else. Like most...

On my wooden Twister the aft sling sits just forward of the rudder on the last 6” or so of the keel. This aligns just forward of the cabin/cockpit bulkhead. I wiggle the rudder to check the sling is not touching the rudder once the sling is “nipped up” prior to lifting. You could perhaps go...

Build quality on my Techimpex was let down by ferrous fastenings, both rivets and self tapping screws. Also the pan holder rail is not stainless but simply chromed mild steel. Pointless penny pinching. I had to replace all the fittings after the first season. Has performed satisfactorily and...

Yes, remember those halcyon days well. The annual Bangor to Port Patrick race often resulted in “walk across the harbour “ rafting. The only rule was leave a space for the lifeboat to exit (it now it sits in the outer harbour). Although not the same amount of visitors, rafting is still normal...

Have used one of these for years now, the smaller version to fit 13mm pipe, Beta 20 engine. I have it fitted just before the anti siphon T piece so it will detect any problem from the inlet skin fitting and right through the raw water side circulation of the engine. Not expensive and simply...

Well you say when the starter motor is “running”. The problem is the initial inrush of current. My pre engaged starter motor on my car has a pull in and hold coil , that, until the starter motor contact close will draw in itself 50 amps, this on top of the high, no back EMF, load of the motor...

Sorry cannot understand your point here at all... Of course the battery still has a voltage across it, it will drop depending on the load and the health of the battery. Connect a charger in parallel with that battery and depending on the relevant resistance of the cabling and the initial...

To be honest I never indicated “a flat battery would likely cause a battery charger to implode”, although if it (the battery) was unable to supply sufficient starting current a point might be reached where the charger could have problems trying to help and support the load and self protect by...

As doug748 shows in this picture you should be left with simply the brass stub. The remains of the anode may be waiting however to block the heat exchanger tubes. Betas can sometimes be a little on the limit when it comes to running temperatures so I would remove the end caps, heat exchanger and...

Completely different scenario. Discharged battery will have residual voltage and present some resistance to current flow. A starter motor is not “soft start” and will present a very high initial load, it is after all why starter motor fuses are rated in hundreds of amps.

Sorry Paul but I did not say the starter load of 100A was going through the charger. I indicated a PROPORTION of it was, the relevant amount being determined by the resistance of the starter motor cable from the battery and the resistance of the cable from the charger to the battery. Do not try...

Well if there is it’s been faulty from new ! Sorry to me it comes down to simple ohms law. You connect two sources in parallel as happens when the powered charger is on and connected to the battery a proportion of the load current must come from both sources. The amount obviously depends on the...