To isolate or not and fuel additives

[Andy Bav]

First time we have done this, so be gentle !

As part of our preparations for the colder weather (she will be staying in the water throughout the winter) I'll be adding the usual heating and dehumidifying gadgets to keep her as dry and mould free as possible. I am not sure whether I should keep the shorepower connected and run these from the 240v sockets and consequently keep the batteries topped up, or whether I should electronically isolate the boat , dispense with the shorepower and use a camping mains lead, which has 3 standard domestic plug sockets, and run the heaters etc off that.

We will visit her once a month (at least) and re-connect the shorepower but would intermittent charging, rather than constant charging, of the domestic and engine batteries will do them more harm than good - indeed do I need to electronically isolate her ?

We are planning on keeping the fuel tank brimmed, but will be using her (hopefully) in the colder months, but do you think I should add a fuel additive bearing in mind that she is only just 3 months old ? The fuel pontoon at Brixham told me that they use the same fuel supplier as the fishing fleet and regularly send their fuel off for testing etc, so on the face of it the pedigree of the fuel is good. The fuel tank is metal (not sure if that makes a difference) but I would like to get this right at the outset so any advice gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

 

[wipe_out]

I'll be interested to hear what the more seasoned have to say..

My initial thought is that I don't see a need to disconnect from shore power but at the same time having the batteries disconnected for a month (provided nothing is using them and they won't drain flat) is fine to.. So really its up to you..

I leave shore power connected and have a 220v weather proof socket wired from the switch panel to the engine bay for the tube heater so I don't have to try and feed a wire in somehow.. Dehumidifier with humidistat in the boat to control damp so it switches on and off as it needs to..

 

[rosssavage]

Personally, I leave my electrics on and the batteries charging 24/7 - like you I use the boat in winter. My charger is a so called smart charger (4 stage) so it will supply a maintenance charge without over charging - not sure what you have?

You won't do any harm by turning off the batts and shore power, as long as you top up charge every month or so. Batteries will self discharge over time, especially when cold. Far from harming them, intermittent charging is the least you should do...

With the fuel, the additive isn't there to 'enhance' the fuel (so it doesn't matter that the marina supply good fuel to the fishers) but to stop the dreaded bug. Keeping the tanks brimmed definitely helps, but if you do get condensation in there, it can start the bugs breeding.

I use a fuel additive every time, and can't afford to keep the tanks brimmed! Touch wood, had no problems in the 8 yrs I've had the boat.

Winter can be a great time to use the boat - not many others around, misty mornings and crisp skies. Boating in the snow can be somewhat surreal, as it doesn't settle

Enjoy!

 

[rafiki_]

I think you would benefit from a Galvanic Isolator in series with your shore power. This will help to protect the anodes. I dont see any benefit from a second mains ring.

 

[Powersalt]

Reference batteries: Most marine charges are the sort that will control the charge and just float keeing the batteries in top charge condition. The down side of this is that it then uses more distilled water and so if you go down this route you will need to check on the batteries more often. I tend to leave the charge off for the winter and then just leave it on whilst down at the boat.

Reference fuel: fill the tanks to avoid condensation. Add a good diesel bug preventative treatment> I use Marine 16. PLus as good housekeeping you should drain of a sample of your tanks fuel from a drain hopefully at the bottom of your tanks and just check there is no water in the fuel to allow bugs to grow. If there is water, then drain off more till its all clear. You should do this periodically throughout the season as part of a maintenence programme.

 

[Andy Bav]

I think you would benefit from a Galvanic Isolator in series with your shore power. This will help to protect the anodes. I dont see any benefit from a second mains ring.

Many thanks.

GIs was another subject I was tempted to raise and I spent a couple of hours trawling the internet last week looking at them and it seemed, to my lay eyes, they come into their own if you have a rogue boat leaking current somewhere, so I was going to suck it and see with the anodes over the winter, as well has having a word with my neighbours and their experiences...

Looking at them, it appears that you have to spur off the mains coming into the boat and our mains board is in a pig of a place to get to as the Germans (surprisingly) seemed to favour appearance over practicality on our boat, but I found one on e.bay that plugs in between the shore power outlet on the pontoon and the shorepower cable - not sure how effective it will be but if its a "non-wired" solution I may be tempted.

Eldest son is working on them in aircraft at present, but tempted to keep him away from the boat as god only knows what I'll end up with. He wired up his grandpas "Christmas train set" last year, and he must have used around 20 points sets and 1km of telephone wire ?@! - it did work beautifully though !

 

[Andy Bav]

Reference batteries: Most marine charges are the sort that will control the charge and just float keeing the batteries in top charge condition. The down side of this is that it then uses more distilled water and so if you go down this route you will need to check on the batteries more often. I tend to leave the charge off for the winter and then just leave it on whilst down at the boat.

Reference fuel: fill the tanks to avoid condensation. Add a good diesel bug preventative treatment> I use Marine 16. PLus as good housekeeping you should drain of a sample of your tanks fuel from a drain hopefully at the bottom of your tanks and just check there is no water in the fuel to allow bugs to grow. If there is water, then drain off more till its all clear. You should do this periodically throughout the season as part of a maintenence programme.

Thanks for this advice. The local VP agent will be coming to do our first service - next week hopefully - and has offered to show me the less common service / maintenance checks I need to do, so I'll add this to the list, as I know where the filters are but not sure where the drain plug is...

 

[P4Paul]

Hi Andy,

I can only comment on my experiences but I have reduced our anode depletion over the winter months by running a completely separate shore power system to run heaters and dehumidifier. Mind you, we tend to be aboard ever two weeks or so for a couple of nights so batteries get a regular topup charge from the original shore power connection when we are onboard.

From my understanding, the anodes can only be depleted by sneak feed electrolysis if you are earth bonded to the shore.

Take care
Paul

 

[rafiki_]

Many thanks.

GIs was another subject I was tempted to raise and I spent a couple of hours trawling the internet last week looking at them and it seemed, to my lay eyes, they come into their own if you have a rogue boat leaking current somewhere, so I was going to suck it and see with the anodes over the winter, as well has having a word with my neighbours and their experiences...

Looking at them, it appears that you have to spur off the mains coming into the boat and our mains board is in a pig of a place to get to as the Germans (surprisingly) seemed to favour appearance over practicality on our boat, but I found one on e.bay that plugs in between the shore power outlet on the pontoon and the shorepower cable - not sure how effective it will be but if its a "non-wired" solution I may be tempted.

I have bought the "plug and play" version for the Snazi, as access to the main board is quite difficult, but it works in exactly the same way.

 

[Andy Bav]

From my understanding, the anodes can only be depleted by sneak feed electrolysis if you are earth bonded to the shore.

Cheers Paul - that was my understanding as well, but I wondered if it was worth spending £100 or so just for insurance ...


I have bought the "plug and play" version for the Snazi, as access to the main board is quite difficult, but it works in exactly the same way.

Cheers Rafiki - at least I know it works. I'll see how much anode I have lost in a couple of weeks time to see if I'll splash out on it.

 

[Jurgen]

Hi Andy, hope all is well with you and the family.

We keep the shore power on all the time and also have a GI.

As suggested used a diesel bug product and keep the tanks full. This should ensure no bug problems.

Another member extolled the virtues of winter boating, agree 100%. Have had some fantastic winter cruises, just wrap up warm and keep a bottle of something medicinal on board

Regards

Andy

 

[oceanfroggie]

Reference batteries: Most marine charges are the sort that will control the charge and just float keeing the batteries in top charge condition. The down side of this is that it then uses more distilled water and so if you go down this route you will need to check on the batteries more often. I tend to leave the charge off for the winter and then just leave it on whilst down at the boat.

Reference fuel: fill the tanks to avoid condensation. Add a good diesel bug preventative treatment> I use Marine 16. PLus as good housekeeping you should drain of a sample of your tanks fuel from a drain hopefully at the bottom of your tanks and just check there is no water in the fuel to allow bugs to grow. If there is water, then drain off more till its all clear. You should do this periodically throughout the season as part of a maintenence programme.

+1

 

[Bandit]

Electrics
I run a dehumidifier year round through boat's 240 v system and heaters on stats when it gets cold. 6 years now on this boat no condensation or mildew boat dry as a bone, 12 v system turned off at breakers but battery chargers on.

Diesel
If you have a drain plug or a sump strip water out of fuel on a regular basis as required, I always use a biocide treatment Grotamar 87 with all re fuelings, check fuel pre filter elements and water trap drains on a regular basis.

 

[Andy Bav]

Electrics
I run a dehumidifier year round through boat's 240 v system and heaters on stats when it gets cold. 6 years now on this boat no condensation or mildew boat dry as a bone, 12 v system turned off at breakers but battery chargers on.

Diesel
If you have a drain plug or a sump strip water out of fuel on a regular basis as required, I always use a biocide treatment Grotamar 87 with all re fuelings, check fuel pre filter elements and water trap drains on a regular basis.

Thanks for your replies.

Do you think its too late to add any treatment now the tank is brimmed ? That said if we can get out next week, we will top up anyway - so may have an opportunity to add it during a fill - and really would like to get out on a crisp but flat winters day as by October 1/2 term we have usually winterised and forgotten previous boats ...

 

[rafiki_]

Thanks for your replies.

Do you think its too late to add any treatment now the tank is brimmed ? That said if we can get out next week, we will top up anyway - so may have an opportunity to add it during a fill - and really would like to get out on a crisp but flat winters day as by October 1/2 term we have usually winterised and forgotten previous boats ...

Yep, you can squeeze some additive in. You actually don't need much, as I think 50ml of Marine 16 will look after 1000 litres. Up the dosage if any evidence of the dreaded bug.

 

[Bandit]

If you are adding it after fueling I would mix it in with half a gallon of diesel ie take a gallon can, add biocide, add half a gallon of diesel and give it a good shake( with the lid on) and then pour into your tank it should mix well and disperse that way.