May 28, 2015

I spent the long holiday weekend in L.A., so it was a short work week.  The new Xantrex Echo Charge arrived, and I got it installed.  It works as expected:  directing charging current from the house bank charging sources to the starting battery.  The Echo Charge is the main switcher when unplugged, directing charging current from the solar panels and/or engine alternator. It is a “voltage follower,” so whatever the charge voltage going to the house bank is the voltage going to the starting battery.  (Maximum current is limited to 15 amps.)  The Pro Nautic charger and the Echo Charge both sense the condition of the batteries and the charging voltage, and react accordingly. So everything takes care of itself whether plugged in or not so long as the main battery switches are set to the house bank.  All the wiring is now essentially complete, secured, fused and identified.  No new starting battery yet as there was some miscommunication about the order.  Should be in next Tuesday.

No welding on the watermaker bracket yet either.  MAYBE tomorrow.  I’m also still waiting on the last of the watermaker parts.  Nonetheless, I got started on the installation.  A lot of measuring and head-scratching was needed to determine the best possible locations for the many components.  Considerations included ease of access, installation feasibility and the length of hose required vs. what was included in the kit.  So far the trickiest bit will be the placement of membrane between the high pressure pump and the control panel.  If I am lucky, it can be done with the supplied high pressure hoses, otherwise, I’ll have to get additional hose, which is a a bit pricey.  So far I have mounted two filter modules and the raw water strainer and shut off valve.  I had a few questions along the way, and the support from Rich at Cruise RO is every bit as good as everyone says it is.  Stay tuned to see how it goes….

 

May 21, 2015

I completed the installation of a new  battery charger and revamped the wiring on the starboard side of the engine room bulkhead.  The new charger decision was driven by the need to prolong the life of my expensive new batteries, although the irritating hum of the old Newmar charger will definitely not be missed.  I also wanted to eliminate the battery isolator diodes because they cause a slight voltage loss that is enough to result in the batteries never getting a full charge.  After a bit of research, I settled on a ProNautic 1250P from Amazon at $70 less than West Marine.  It is a modern computerized charger that has all the capabilities I wanted:

• 50 amp capacity (a bit more than the recommended 10% of house bank amp/hour capacity).
• Monitors and charges each bank separately as needed, allocating amperage accordingly.
• Uses multi-stage charging for maximum battery life.
• Programmable for a variety of battery types.
• Allows equalization charging for desulfating the plates.
• Includes a battery temperature sensor to avoid cooking the batteries.

Installation was reasonably normal: takes longer than planned and requires a lot of painful contortions.  I also had to drill out a stripped screw to remove the old charger, and modify the new charger's terminal lug cover to accept a larger size AC cable.

Next I’ll tackle the port side wiring and install a new starting battery.  When away from shore power, the addition of a series regulator (Xantrex Echo Charger) will direct alternator charging current from the house bank to the starting battery as needed without the voltage drop of diodes.  That’s the theory anyway.

One of the two missing parts for the watermaker arrived this week, but no welding of the high pressure pump mounting bracket yet.  Since I have plenty of electrical work to do before starting on the big watermaker project, it's not an issue.  I'm sure it will all work out.

May 14, 2015

We’re finally getting some badly needed rain as I post this week’s blog.  A nice change.  After returning from a tiring trip down to the San Diego area to pick up the watermaker kit and do a 13-mile outrigger race, I got back to a couple of ongoing projects.  When I found out that the high pressure pump for the watermaker weighed more than eight pounds, I decided to use up the last of the steel I had bought to strengthen the 18-inch-long arms that connect the pump mount to the engine mounts.  That entailed some additional cutting and grinding, but I’m glad I did it.  My welder friend has come up with some 220, but hasn’t had a time window yet, so no welding this week.  In the meantime, I finished up steps down into the engine room using the folding step I got last week, the new battery box and the new tool box.  It will make getting up and down a bit easier, no small matter given how many times I’ll be doing that to install the watermaker and finish upgrading the batteries and charging system.

May 7, 2015

It was a hectic week filled with multi-tasking, runs back and forth between vendors and painful bouts of boat yoga.  A couple of major milestones were reached, however, and one narrowly missed.  I had to go to the battery distributor twice to get the new batteries because they screwed up the paperwork (but I got a $16 discount for my trouble).  I also had to make a return trip via the bank to a local chandlery that was selling off inventory at half price  because they were only taking cash.  I spent a fruitless afternoon preparing for the welding of my watermaker pump bracket and making trips to the yacht club where my friend Jonathan was doing some welding.  Turned out that without 220 volt power, his welder didn’t have enough oomph for the ¼ inch stock.  We’re still looking for a source of 220.

I did manage to get the batteries installed (thanks to my friend Kevin) and wired up, and the new bilge pump and switch installation was completed and tested successfully.  The new battery cables were terribly costly, but they needed to be precise lengths and I didn't want the delay that goes with ordering them from genuinedealz.com.  Tomorrow I drive down to the San Diego area to pick up the watermaker kit and participate in the first outrigger canoe race of the season.  No rest for the weary!