Island Time

Ok, that pic is not entirely accurate. It's an English prussic. I've found they can slip on occasion. So I changed to a French prussic, which only locks in one direction, but you can't fall up!

Mine way more high tech! But the secret is big loops and decent footware. Lift with your legs.... don't try to climb with your arms!

Volts are not a good indication of state of charge, unless the battery has been at rest (no charge or discharge) for 10 hours. That is unrealistic. Battery monitors can be good or bad. Even the same models. Depending on setup and understanding of the user. Apart from the new balmar SG 200, which is quite clever, and learns the battery over a few cycles, the others all must be setup properly, or won't tell the truth! I like the Victron BMV-712 - smart. It has a shunt to measure amps in/out, but you must program actual capacity, Peukerts number, fully charged volts and tail curren

Got any pics?

These guys import cheap Asian products that often don't meet AUS/NZ standards. They either don't know or don't care. They wont have access to garmin parts as they are not garmin service agents. Be aware that any radio frequency equipment that does not meet the standards is illegal to use in NZ. Seems you can sell it, you just cant use it legally. To do so (although the risk of being caught is very low) is to risk a large fine.

No one does repairs as far as I can find out. Garmin are not interested in anyone doing so either. I tried to get a service agency, just a straight out NO, we have enough agents. Garmin (marine support at least) seems non existent in NZ. There are only resellers, no electronics tech support. Post up here if you find anyone who can help!

Pic uploads working again. These are Bad Kitty's strut pics...

Hmm, you might like to consider this from the Facebook Marine Electrics forum admin, Rod Collins. I consider Rod one of the world experts in this field (bold and underlined by me); WE are now allowing used electrical gear to be sold in the group.. WARNING:Only legit Marine brands EG: Victron, Magnum,Outback, BLUESEA SYSTEMS Ancor Balmar, Mastervolt Sterling Power, Pro Mariner.etc. No Pop-up/phony"brands" that masquerade as quality products such as Renogy, Scamzon electrical parts etc. etc..No Noco products. No used LiFePO4 batteries unless a quality brand such as Lithionics, Mastervol

Nope, would not upload for me either. Sent message and files to editor. Happy I don't have to do this any more!!

Good job Steve. There would be a few here who would be happy to discuss this with them. They could even create a user just for that? I'd believe it after it happened though!

Ha ha, yep, its the time it takes that gives the poor reputation these systems have. If your prepared to learn and do it yourself, they are great and reliable once sorted, but if you pay for this, it takes time and is therefore expensive!

Just keep this in mind. Some installs Ive seen, the alternator charges the start batt, DC-DC charges the LiFePo4. Technically OK, BUT you loose the main (IMO) advantage of LiFePo4 in that most DC-DC chargers dont have anywhere near the output of a decent alternator, so you bank charges much more slowly. Better, (also IMO) is to use a proper good alternator, with ext reg and temp sensing - for the ALT! to charge the LiFePo4 and then DC-DC to charge the Start and Accessory (Thrusters, winches etc) batts. This is a very good doc on LiFePo4 - incl some basic setup diagrams https://marinehowt

TX valves are not simple (except mechanically!), as they adjust superheat. Superheat is a concept many struggle with. Here is a good article on the subject https://www.achrnews.com/articles/96890-understanding-superheat So, in this case, what I was talking about is that the TX valve also regulates how much refrigerant can pass, and effectively slow down or speed up the flow rate in the system. The frosting on the return line is where the liquid refrigerant is getting to before reverting to gas. If the flow rate is too fast, liquid can get back to the compressor - cant compress liqui

Think about this. The LiFePo4 battery does not want (or like) to be kept fully charged. The Lead Acid MUST be kept fully charged for decent life. Standby voltage for a LiFePo4 batt is around 13.4v, which conveniently is pretty close to the float voltage of an AGM. So a VSR is OK, but normally I put a switch in their circuit so they can be manually disconnected when needed. Most DC-DC chargers have an input and output, so no, not bi-directional.

Vsr's dont care where the voltage comes from, if it's high enough they will engage. They are available in single and dual sense (single watches one batt voltage for switching, dual watches both/either.)