How many batteries

[martin]

Finally decided to investigate lecky onboard as keep running out of juice after one night away from marina..found I had two starter battery's and only one domestic....(I had assumed it was the other way around until I checked the wiring) so decide to fit second domestic battery....then think hang on...£100 for second ..may need third..£200..(kids aboard and all that go wiv them!).what about a Genny! Have chatted to chandlery and quote is at £3K for a small diesel one...is this really the only option or am I missing something?

 

[byron]

Personally I think you cannot have enough domestic batteries. I would if I were you check that your domestic battery is a deep discharge one and not an ordinary car battery. This could be the reason it is going down so quick. As regards new batteries, go to your local tyre/battery company and order up what you need. They can get it in a day or so, I replaced all mine and the cost was 50% less than what a chandler wanted. As regards a gennie, those new Hondas that weigh next to nuffink are superb I cannot praise them enough.

©2001

 

[Guest]

Re: In praise of gennies

Ooh yes get a genny. Then you can be at anchor, or at that marina with the wrong power, or that pontoon with no power.

 

[martin]

What gennie

Can see benefits of Gennie...then whats best? Checked out the Honda page all V nice and cheap! but run on petrol.. so need to keep seperate fuel then.....what do you guys do? Is it best to install in engine bay (venting and starting could be difficult) or stick it outside? what about noise??

 

[tripleace]

I would agree that first get loads of battaery capacity which is probably around £100 per 100 amp/hour. This will be far cheaper than a gen.

Then for approx £400 / 500 buy a 500 watt inverter. then you can use tv, and low power 240 volt products, all without the noise of a gen.

I have a mastervolt inverter: excellent.

Check charging system. you may need to buy split charging diodes for charging multiple batteries. In this way the bats can be discharged sepeartely and thus always let the engines be started.

 

[stefan_r]

Re: What gennie

get it in the engine bay for noise, smell etc (you can have a remote starter on it anyway....but the fuel thing is an issue - mine is diesel so no probs.

you may have to advise your insurers if you have a petrol tank on board too and new extinguishers near the tank and all that other crap so think it through if you really are going to go for petrol



mailto: stefan@athito.com

 

[Guest]

Re: ah

I *thought* £3k sounded expensive, but of course it's a disel genny. It should be in the engine bay with all the rest of the hot complicated stuff. Never seen a petrol (landbased, yes?) genny on a boat, and it would make a big racket without the water cooling. Not really sensible, unless a sub 28-foot boat, say, that you planned to demount from time to time, and can repel anyone in the marina when you fire it up.

With diesels gennies, the unit is cooled by raw seawater, so it has a filter, that you must ask the chap to put where you can get to it to clear it (its reuseable) without ricking your back, as I did. The exhaust will use your existing engine exhausts where it dribbles out (unless filter blocked and since often no temp guage look out for steam = blocked filter ).

Your fitter chap or other panel members (!) will know all the rather clever arrnagements of what should be connected to charge which battery, so that the genny battery isn't dead if the main engines won't start after a lot of ironing or kettle-boiling or whatever.

As for the noise, best to fit it as far aft as possible. The whole thing should screwed down on rubber mounts and then a litle jacket with deadening foam fits around it, so it just rumbles, rather than the deafening racket of landbased ones which would make everyone in the marina go mad. I suppose you could play loud music if you need more noise, and keep tight lines with minimal fenders to a rafted up boat for good transmission of vibration ;-)

 

[martin]

fink i\'ll go with batteries first

So if I understand it correctly... cheapest by far to fit a sh%^ load of batteries on the domestic circuit and leave em on charge all the time when in the marina. That way save space, money, agro and buying yet anuver thing that can go wrong. vs loads wonga up front but cheap running costs..

I think i'll go with loads of batteries at 50% from local garage as per suggestion.

 

[alanhanson]

if you dont mind me askinf where did you get the quote for 3k for the geni i am looking & that sounds a lot better than i have been quoted cheers alan

 

[jfm]

Re: gennies (and photocopiers)

Definitely agree genny is the solution, diesel not petrol. But also agree with Alan (you were great on motd last week btw) that £3k is very cheap. I wonder if that is just the basic unit, so fitting, the u/w exhaust, plumbing it to the mailn diesel tanks, fitting remote starter panel, etc, are all on top? Also what wattage was it, you would need 4kva ish absolute minimum. Refer to earlier post for additional kva needed if your boat's photocopier is the collating variety)

JFM

 

[Guest]

Re: fink i\'ll go with batteries first

Try a.r.peachmans at brundall they hundreds of battery's £40 for 110amp deep cycle.

shaun

 

[david_bagshaw]

You dont say the size of boat, but Onan do a V quiet 7,5 Kva genny then you need a large charger- about change from 10k including decent fitting with water removing exhaust & sound proofing.
David J B

See my web site www.yachtman.co.uk

 

[Guest]

Re: fink i\'ll go with batteries first

I'm guessing that your boat is not very big if it only had 1 domestic battery? I have a 32' with petrol engines anyway but I bought a secondhand portable Kawasaki 4-stroke generator - it is 700w and light enough to plonk on the marina pontoon up by the bow for charging although I am thinking of a more permanent location - wondered about a 'box' on the bathing platform or in engine compartment? Anyway, it is very quiet in use ... the other option is solar panels which will 'top' the batteries back up?