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wheels

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Everything posted by wheels

  1. In short answer, no you will not harm the batteries charging 24/7 or leaving the charger off for a few days. It is really only long term of both that will eventually cause an issue. Something seen in remote power sights for instance. This is why remote sites tend to use Gel banks. The Gel battery is better at longer term float charging, with the very rare event of being used in a power cut and then back to charge again. AGM,s do not like that as much and FLA's require too much maintenance to be left alone for long periods of time.
  2. More technically correct, the electrolyte is conductive, so when the battery is at reast, no load connected, the resistance of the conductive material causes it to self discharge. It's more about keeping those plates up to full charge and overcoming the self discharge. Production of any energy is via the chemical reaction. As soon as a voltage source is removed and the battery begins to discharge via that internal resistance, the chemistry is such that sulphate is created. Maintaining a float charge stops that from happening. However, a battery can slowly deteriorate even when i
  3. I should expand on the sulphate part a little. Although it will not help in regards to the Optima AGM situation above. I thought maybe someone might get just a little more knowledge from the following, if they are interested. If the Sulphate can no longer be reverted back to Plate material, the Plate is therefore diminished permanantly of that material and thus loses capacity in both Current and Storage. With an FLA type battery, the Hard material sinks to the bottom of the battery container and builds up. Deep cycle designs allow for this by having a deeper area under the Plates. Once tha
  4. It will be interesting to see how long that result lasts. The important point to understand is that Equalization charge is resulting in two very different things when it comes to FLA and GEL/AGM. With FLA, it is all about stirring up the Electrolyte via Gasification. Obviously that does not occur with AGM or GEL batteries. There are two different forms of Sulphate. The first form is a soft Sulphate and is part of the natural battery chemistry. It forms in the surface of the plates as soon as discharge occurs. The Sulphate layer increases as the battery discharges deeper and deeper. This la
  5. You have to understand how an ALT works in a normal situation and how one is controlled by an external reg. As I said above, there are two main ways of controlling. In a non external reg situation, the ALT simply produces a continuous current into a battery. But as the Voltage rises, which is actually quite quickly, the current also quickly (proportionaly) drops. So the actual regulation is caused by the Battery load itself. By using an external reg, the maximum output if the ALT is maintained no matter what the Voltage point of the Battery is. There are two ways of controlling the ALT in
  6. No it is not my Claim. Graeme has even demonstrated this to me on his test bed. It is not a claim that has been included within their information, however that does not make it false. I will reword my above comment slightly. The output of the ALT can often be increased by upto 10% for many Alternators. But not all. It depends on the ALT. It is one main factor behind why Graeme suggests certain Alternators be used.
  7. So what didn't you understand from my comment? Yes it works like some of the non sensing regulators. Not many or all, but some. There is an EPROM inside that has been programmed to control the charging. Why is it cheap? because they have saved costs by not creating an exensive box. They are not trying to recover the many hrs of R&D. Craeme and Son has a regular job and the Reg is something they have spent many hrs of their own spare time on. How do I know all this? because I have sat with Graeme for many hrs discussing the thing..... as well as many other subjects. The real proof i
  8. OK, the first thing to understand is that there are two different ways to charge a battery. Either have a power supply that is somewhat "dumb" and the Temp sense and Voltage points, control the steps a charger changes stages at. Or the other way is, have an algorithm that more closely follows the charge Laws of Battery Chemistry's. The later is harder to do for all sorts of reasons and so the initial way is more the norm for most all manufactures. Graeme is not the only one developing the Regulator. Graemes Son has done much of the physics and design of the algorithm they use. Many of you ma
  9. It doesn't need the temp sensors for either due to the algorithm. It is also how the thing can make the ALT produce more than it's rated current without cooking it. Larger Banks.....well we have one here that is controlling a 140A ALT charging 1000AHrs of Battery Bank.
  10. Go to Graeme's website and you will find all the info on there along with large easy to see wiring diags.
  11. I have never seen Acetic Acid in the info for Salt Away. I had looked for the make up of it some years ago but could not find anything apart from detergent. The detergent could well be simply Glycol. In thius case, detergents act mainly as a " wetting" agent. Reducing surface tension and allowing the Water to " attach" to surfaces. If acetic acid that is the case, I scratch my head as to how the "corrosion protectant" part is supposed to work. Plus Acetic Acid is a poor choice for cleaning crud in Salt Envirnoments. And in saying that, Phosphoric would work, but is not a lot better. Alt
  12. Don't get fooled. There is no Chemical that will disolve Salt better than Clean fresh water. It is head and shoulders above any other Chemical. Forget the Chemical "Protectants" like Salt-away and all the rest. They are nothing but a detergent and actually do very little. Certainly nothing as good as plain ole fresh water. Those products are all a rip off because they are just simple cheap forms of a detergent that are sold as some special miracle Salt eliminator.
  13. Yes it is styrene used to thin. You can cheat by using Polyester liquid resin mixed into the filler. But Epoxy works even better.
  14. Insurance is becoming a big issue for many older boats, no matter what material built from. Then add in the reluctance of insuring on a swing mooring. The "where can I get insurance" question is the main discussion I have on HFOA forum. There are only two places I can send people now. The Marina Shop in BOI. And Williams in Spain. The later I know nothing about and have heard some have had problems getting payment after mishaps. But apparently they insure with no questions asked. So if it is a case of needing isnurance to get into a Marina, but maybe never getting a pay out if Boat sinks, th
  15. As soon as you move CG from Safety to Policing, everything changes. Not saying that it would certainly follow the same here, but in both Oz and the US, the Coastguard have become a very harsh rules enforcement authority and not an organisation that is there for rescue, aid and education. However, I do think that the NZ CG could be given a tooth or two at least and be able to enforce some laws. Although, the difficult part of that is the authorisation of CG people to be able to stop, board and enforce. It's not all that easy. People with such authority require special training. Not somet
  16. It doesn't need to be a great cost....no. But that has never been the case with any form of rego in NZ. The problem is that whoever implements such a thing needs to be funded by it as well. There not as many Boats as there are Cars. So the cost is going to be overly expensive just to cover the infrustructure created to impliment it. In every Country in the World that use Registration, that registration has been skewed over the years to do two things. Revenue gather and regulate rules etc that actually have nothing to do with what the Rego was initially created to do. Over years, the Suits si
  17. Hempaspeed is a "Hydrogel" type AF. In other words, once in the water the surface becomes slimey/slippery to the touch. The idea came about due to the fact that Fish have a natural Hydrogel over their skin which prohibits Barnicles growing on them. Hempaspeed is designed to perform in a similar way. Please keep the forum informed on how you find the performance of this. As form smoothness, I have not used it myself, so cannot comment. It is designed to be applied by roller or brush, so I suspect that the type of roller might be important. One designed for applying Gloss top coats wou
  18. Spartite is a multi use pourable Urathane based Adhesive Sealant. It is available in a Kit which comes with a boot, to be used as you say, for between Mast and Deck and is designed to "chock" the mast in position. It can also be used internally as a seal. It is not the only Urathane bases Adhesive sealant available. Electrical Trade suppliers have a similar product for pouring aound cables to seal them. But I cannot say if it will be perfect for such a job, where as Spartite is purpose designed for the job. The main issue of course will be adhearing to the aluminium when it is gong to be
  19. Spartite is what you are looking for. A chandlery may sell it or ask a boat rigging business.
  20. Just the Kit? You mean a bag of plastic ball bearings and a couple of Races they sit in is $2K? I believe that even though they are " sealed" some have found they can be pulled apart (although it could be the LS series, or Drum type furler) and a good clean and lubricate has fixed the issue for some. It's going to have to be removed to work on of course. Worth a look. Even if it is the LS series I have heard about, I see no reason why the Flatdeck can't be dismantled. Unless some part is swaged, my view is that if it went together, it must come apart. Then just replace the Delrin ball Bearin
  21. wheels

    New Genoa

    Only problem with Chinese is ensuring the quality, specifically the UV quality of the material. The place I work out of are Canvas workers and they struggle big time compeating with Chinese made product. It is a fraction of the price. Often the fully finished Item retails less tht just their Buy price of the NZ supplied material. The difference is, if the item is for outside use, the customer might at best, get 18months from it. Usually it is severely faded in 6months and falling apart in 12. If it is something that is brought inside after use, they tend to get 3years from. Sadly the Chinese s
  22. wheels

    New Genoa

    How worn out is your old one, what is the size and how much would you want for it? Oh and is it furling? I have a mate badly needing one for my old Boat, just to get him around for now, till he can eventually afford a new one. His came unfurled in a storm while he was not aboard and was shredded. Oh and when you get a new one, please let me know what it cost you.
  23. Poor electrical connections tend to be the most common cause of such problems. Internal issues with an ALT is less likely, especially on a newly rebuilt unit. Not impossible, but the least likely. Do you know how to use a multi meter in both Voltage and Ohm's mode?? There could be a clue to a problem in what you have decsribed with the Tacho and turning engine off and on again. The ignistion Key may have a faulty/dirty/worn connection internally. That internal switch is sending a "sense" voltage to the ALT. If that switch has become "noisy" as in a poor connection, the ALT will be getting
  24. Two small things to check first. Any chance the belt could be slipping? I know you will likely hear a slipping belt, but there can be times when it slips and it does not squeal. Which brings me to the next thing to check. A slipping belt means that under high load, the ALT may not be spinning fast enough to produce full output. The same thing happens if the engine is idling too low. Does the light go out if you raise the Revs? High Load will be if the batteries are very low in charge state when you begin Charging. So also check that the Batteries are in OK condition. If they are not accept
  25. Wild Violet has the proper solution. Wooden Dowel and glue. Next is to use epoxy filler. Kneadit does not have much in the way of "wetting" ability. Epoxy with a little more "excess" of liquid will soak into the timber fibres better.
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