running engine to charge battery

[AIDY]

i was in yarmuff a few weeks back. chap next to me asked if i minded him running his engine for a hour mid afternoon to charge his batt's, I said it was fine it didn't worry me as i think you have to give and take a bit.

anyway it wasn't long after some military type bloke piped up on the opposite raft saying there was a designated time for running engines between 5-6pm. a bit of an argument started. which i ducked out off..

so what's you views on running engine's. should you and when should you ??

 

[colingr]

Unless there's a specific rule in a give marina then he did the right thing in asking. I would have done the same as you. An hour is not going to cause a problem unless his exhaust is aimed directly into your cockpit. Differeny if it was 3 in the morning though.

 

[Searush]

I never do it - it's not good for the engine to run it on no load, & anyway, a potter up & down the river or the Straits is much more fun. But I understand that other people are too idle to untie & retie a few ropes. Some also need hot water from a tap rather than a kettle.

I just wish they wouldn't do it when upwind of me. However, if someone was polite enough to ask (its never happened yet!) I would, like you, grit my teeth & bear it.

 

[Csail]

Any time in the day is ok but imagine all the boats firing up between 5 and 6!! In gear won't harm the engine.

 

[Searush]

(snip) In gear won't harm the engine.

True, but not a good idea on trots, or quayside moorings like we have. I've never seen anybody do it on purpose - and those who have made the mistake soon go back to neutral! Not everyone is tied bar tight to a secured but floating pontoon.

 

[Slow_boat]

As a matter of interest, how fast, or how many revs, do you need to run at to supply a reasonable charge and why is running in neutral a bad idea?

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

I never do it - it's not good for the engine to run it on no load, & anyway, a potter up & down the river or the Straits is much more fun. But I understand that other people are too idle to untie & retie a few ropes. Some also need hot water from a tap rather than a kettle.

I just wish they wouldn't do it when upwind of me. However, if someone was polite enough to ask (its never happened yet!) I would, like you, grit my teeth & bear it.

Not much fun if you are downwind, but if you are one of those Yarmouth visitors on the inside of a 5-deep raft I can imagine a lot more problem from wanting to pop out to run up your engine than staying put!

Far worse though last weekend in Yarmouth the local restaurant that decided to have a rock band or something on their outdoor terrace in the afternoon. Even if you liked their music, it virtually drowned out conversation over half of the harbour.

 

[johnalison]

In Stralsund this year during one of the hottest afternoons of a scorching summer a 50' Dutch boat of French build ran his engine for four hours - in spite of being connected to shore power!

I had just reached his finger to complain about the noise and smell when his German neighbour arrived and very firmly and politely put him in his place.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I run up my engine for a while if I have not been able to go out.I run it under load as I am tied to the pontoon.I asked my neighbour the other day if he was OK with it and no probs as he does the same.I can appreciate that it would not be applicable at all moorings.Just as an aside re bore glazing when I worked I asked our plant(construction) manager if the mixers used by the bricklayers which run all day nearly every day glazed up as they are run not under load for much of the day.He said he had seen no evidence of this when they were sripped down.I do not offer this as evidence that bore glazing does not exist just that it may be less of a problem than thought.

 

[Rob_Webb]

Generally speaking you need to spin the alternator in the 1,300-1,500rpm range to get full whack flowing out of it.

Neutral for long periods is not good cos diesels like heavy loads and dislike light/nil loads - causes glazing of the bores, leading to all sorts of performance issues and expensive problems later down the line. Having said I wouldn't be so paranoid as to never do it, there is a time and a place, just make sure you run it nice and hard 80%+ for a good period (30mins+) at next opportunity.

On some boats it is possible to run the engine in neutral and still present it with a fair load if you've got lots of extras running - many modern installations can involve the engine making water (running a watermaker), heating water, charging batteries and also driving fridge and freezer compressors. This combination will create a fair load even in neutral and so I'd be even less concerned with doing this, as long as you throw in a good hard run occassionally.

 

[Searush]

DC
A cement mixer full of sand, cement pebbles & water is running under the load it was designed for. Even when cleaning it its fill of broken bricks & water so the load is similar.

Or do your brickies waste time & energy starting them up & leaving them running when they don't need to? Not like brickies to do stuff they don't need to in my experience - they are more likely to avoid work than make work for themselves.

 

[jhr]

anyway it wasn't long after some military type bloke piped up on the opposite raft saying there was a designated time for running engines between 5-6pm. a bit of an argument started. which i ducked out off..

The only rule I'm aware of in Yarmouth is that no motors are to be run when stationary, between 2200 and 0700.

But it was decent of the guy to ask, imho.

 

[l'escargot]

I sometimes run my engine to charge my batteries if I am staying put for several days. I do it mid to late morning based on the principal that there are usually boats moving about at that time, it seems to be the time that people choose to scrub down, fill water tanks etc. or they have had their breakfast/lay in and wander off for a coffee or a mooch around town prior to lunch. I would think early evening could have the potential to be a bit anti social with people sitting down for tea or a pre dinner drink.

 

[vyv_cox]

I believe that etiquette in the past called for battery charging in the morning and not the evening when people were settling for sundowners. I confess that there have been occasions when I realised as the sun went down that the batteries might be somewhat low by morning, so forget etiquette and turn it on.

 

[Quandary]

We were tied up in Tarbert one balmy evening many years ago. We had put our kids to bed and were sitting in the cockpit waiting for them to get to sleep, another boat came in and rafted up to us, pulled a petrol generator out of a locker, started it in their cockpit and then cleared straight off to the Frigate. We were suffering miserably when a guy from a boat in the trot in front came across our deck with a big bucket, it took two bucketfuls to permanently silence it, but in 1/2 hr. the cockpit was dry again, all evidence gone and we were having a drink with our new friends.

 

[Loggo]

Just a thought but I, occasionally, move in lorry driving circles. There the received wisdom is quite the oposite and drivers will happily leave an engine on tickover for an hour or so (although recent fuel price increases has downturned this a little)

The typical engine would be circa 9.5L and around 300hp or 12L around 420hp

Lorries typicaly do 500 - 1000k miles with little more than regular oil/filter changes (call that 15,000 - 30,000 hours very aprox)

Thoughts ?

 

[Goldie]

I was of the understanding that the etiquette is to run engines/generators in the morning. The only written reference I'm aware of is in Hiscock's classic 'Cruising Under sail' in which he states that charging should 'take place in the forenoon rather than disturb the peace of the evening.' Unfortunately, battery demands have increased since Hiscock's day, but it still seems a sensible idea.

 

[Pye_End]

I had a neighbour who ran his engines who produces an almighty stench fron old engines, to the point that I had to vacate my boat till at least half an hour after he had finished. He should either have plugged in, or gone to sea. He applogised afterwards, everytime, but never stopped him doing it.

On the other hand, most engines are fairly quiet, and do not produce the so much stench, so as long as it doesn't make me leave my boat I do not have a problem.

 

[Searush]

Just a thought but I, occasionally, move in lorry driving circles. There the received wisdom is quite the oposite and drivers will happily leave an engine on tickover for an hour or so (although recent fuel price increases has downturned this a little)

The typical engine would be circa 9.5L and around 300hp or 12L around 420hp

Lorries typicaly do 500 - 1000k miles with little more than regular oil/filter changes (call that 15,000 - 30,000 hours very aprox)

Thoughts ?

The proportion of idling time to full load working must be tiny. Thus the effect would be negligible.

 

[vyv_cox]

Just a thought but I, occasionally, move in lorry driving circles. There the received wisdom is quite the oposite and drivers will happily leave an engine on tickover for an hour or so (although recent fuel price increases has downturned this a little)

The typical engine would be circa 9.5L and around 300hp or 12L around 420hp

Lorries typicaly do 500 - 1000k miles with little more than regular oil/filter changes (call that 15,000 - 30,000 hours very aprox)

Thoughts ?

If it's glazing you are talking about, many industrial diesels run on tickover for weeks, just waiting for a power or drive requirement. Very common in remote oilfields. I believe the difference where yachts are concerned to be temperature. Starting an engine from cold and letting it tick over will lead to condensation of combustion products on the cylinder walls. There is a good parallel for this in reciprocating compressors, in which low dew-point gases will condense in the cylinder, introducing liquids and causing valve problems. Truck and industrial engines left on tickover would already be at operating temperature and the problem would not arise.