I've been having some electrical problems. Nothing major, just my batteries weren't holding a charge well. I've been running my generator at least once a day, and sometimes twice a day. When I first left Baltimore, I only had to run it about every other day.
For those curious about my electrical setup, here it is. The pic is a cheapo two cycle, one cylinder, pull start generator bought online from Northern Tools. It's not the most environmentally friendly solution. I'd like to get some solar panels too, but that's still in the offing. A lot of sailboats have a diesel engine with an alternator which charges the batteries, just like a car. My outboard engine does not charge the batteries.
Recently, the generator has only been able to run with the choke closed. I disassembled and cleaned the carburetor this morning, but there doesn't seem to be much improvement.
The generator outputs alternating current to a 10/20/40 amp battery charger attached to two marine batteries: one deep cycle and one starter battery. I cleaned the battery terminal connections and coated them with vaseline. I checked the battery fluid levels. The starter battery was low. I poured almost a half gallon of distilled water into it. I'm hoping the low fluid was the main source of my electrical troubles. You may remember that I was having intermittent problems with my engine starter. I bet this will cure that problem too.
The batteries run a bunch of 12 volt lights, pumps and instruments. I also have a power inverter into which I plug a surge suppressor. The computer, cellphone, etc plug into the surge suppressor.
Most of my appliances, like the laptop, run off direct current from internal batteries. My sailboat electrical setup seems a pretty convoluted system for charging them. I imagine a lot of energy gets wasted in all the conversions between direct and alternating current, and between chemical and electrical energy. But I don't know of a simpler system.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Electric
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6 comments:
That much distilled water means one and only one thing..... you are overcharging the batteries. Look for voltage drops across each connection between batteries and loads on both hots & grounds. Bet you've got a poor connection someplace. Get a cheap plastic hydrometer to check sp. grav. in bats...... its the only way to really know battery condition. Again... you are overcharging trying to compensate for a poor connection that's giving you a voltage drop that makes you think your bats are low.
Hey Anon,
The charger is attached to the deep cycle battery. The deep cycle is attached to the starter battery. The water level in the deep cycle was fine. So I don't think it's an issue of overcharging.
But maybe there was a problem with the connections. As mentioned, I cleaned them. Other issues may be that the starter battery is a low end battery from Walmart, while the deep cycle battery is from West Marine. Also, I don't really know the physical characteristics which differentiate a deep cycle battery from a starter battery. Maybe there is an issue there.
In any case, I'll keep you posted on the electrical issues. The last time I used a hydrometer was when I used to make my own beer.
Wow - electrical problems can really become a major impediment to comfortable cruising. Sorry to read about these troubles. I guess your boat wanted to give you something to keep you busy now that the rudder cages are in route!
Whenever a battery gets that low on H20 then the plates become exposed to the air and can do irreparable harm to the battery. It's unlikely that this starting battery going to give you the performance you want/need.
Here's a link to a company site that sells all things 'marine-electrical':
http://www.fourwinds-ii.com/v2/?
Here's an RV based article that I've kept on my favorites list because it does such a nice job of summarizing battery info:
http://ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm
Maybe this is all 'old news' to you, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to pass it along.
Good to read that you may make it down for the next launch. I've heard that the view from a boat is really spectacular.
Ross
Hey Ross,
There's always some issue on a boat, as you well know. The electrical issue is minor. It's just been nagging and finally gotten to a point where I needed to address it. I'll check out the links.
I'm very excited about installing the new rudder cages tomorrow. And I need to get a move on. I've been here for over a week, and am itchy to keep heading south. More adventures await there, I'm sure.
Hey Scott -
When posting my 8:55 message your 8:41 message posted.
Look out for connecting your two batteries together because unless both are identical then they'll both be reduced to the level of the lesser one. This may be especially relevant if (as I suspect) the starting battery is damaged and has lost it's capacity.
Even if both batteries are new the best practice is to keep starting type batteries separate from deep cycle types. This can be done by using a battery selector switch.
FWIW - Ross
Thanks Ross,
Not sure what the issue is with the comment timing.
I do have a battery selector switch, but the batteries are also directly connected by short cables. I'll think about removing the direct connection and using the selector.
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