Solar panels - can they drain/kill batteries?

[Robert Wilson]

Not sure what the starter battery is, I guess from memory it's something like 60Ahrs.
I do keep a sharp eye on the battery monitor and almost invariably start the engine with starter battery, run till it's back in the green then switch to house battery.
I think one problem is I try to motor as little as possible therefore putting a big starting load then relying on the solar panels to do the replenishing.
However, this last cruise I motored a great deal more due to wind and tide conditions around the Small Isles, across to Skye and then over to Loch Ewe. This was after I replaced the 110Ahr battery and the monitor shows levels just under the green area.
On the other hand I also had a huge amount of sunshine and long daylight hours - darkness is short up here even now :encouragement:

As an after-thought, I noticed at the beginning of the season that one of the panels seems to be losing some sort of clear "plastic" covering - it's patchy now.
Could that be a problem?

 

[Cactus Sailing]

Engine battery was low because the House battery had drained and I needed instruments and then to start the donk when reaching harbour.
Next effort to start with that battery was an almost failure.

bet you was relieved it started as options are a little lacking once all batteries are dead, it's not like you can "jump start" a boat using a hill like a car , i keep my starter battery separate and never use it for other purposes.

unless you have a hand crank?

 

[Robert Wilson]

Too true! Very relieved.
But as I was very close to Tobermory and some of the RHYC fleet were close by I reckoned I could "dangle a line" and get a tow in to the pontoon.
I also had my inflatable and outboard "for ready use"!

I tried to get a hand crank-handle to fit the multi-spline end on the crank-shaft (Kubota 13HP) but was told handles weren't available and that being a diesel engine would mean I wouldn't be able to turn it over by hand.
Not sure either of those statements are true fact.

 

[eebygum]

Diesel engines (if a flywheel and starter hand is available) can be easily started with the right technique (you have to lift the decompression lever to turn and drop when you have momentum on the flywheel).

I can hand start my YSE12 on the first spin most days; which is just as well as it doesn’t like starting when warm off the starter motor.

 

[Robert Wilson]

Diesel engines (if a flywheel and starter hand is available) can be easily started with the right technique (you have to lift the decompression lever to turn and drop when you have momentum on the flywheel).

I can hand start my YSE12 on the first spin most days; which is just as well as it doesn’t like starting when warm off the starter motor.

Thereby hangs a problem, my engine doesn't have a compression lever