Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
#1
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
On Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:16:27 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote: The inefficiencies of converting 12 volts to 110 are more than compensated by the quietness of not running the generator continuously. The lifespan of the generator is also greatly increased and we are not tied to a dock with shorepower like most motor yachts in our size range. The diesel fuel that the generator does use for battery charging is a drop in the bucket compared to the main engines, and when we are underway the engine alternators keep the inverter batts charged at almost no cost at all. For boats that already have propane for cooking there may be some advantages to also using it for refrigeration but I prefer to have no propane on the boat for safety reasons. I also like the convenience of having a single fuel boat. Down in the Caribbean people from the US are always juggling propane adapters to use the European butane fittings that are commonly available. What's the price of diesel *down island*? I've heard it isn't cheap. I've heard some places it might be around ten bucks a gallon. Propane, on the other hand, is generally much cheaper than that per BTU equivalent FYI, you don't get something for nothing. It might seem like the alternators charging a low battery bank don't cause the main engines to burn much more diesel but they do. As for being quiet and not running a dedicated generator that's a good thing but when using propane to refrigerate there is no noise at all, ever. No fumes either from a generator or the main engines charging up a battery bank so an inverter can do its thing and thus waste about 10% of the energy. Don't most diesel generators such as a typical 8KW version produce alternating current? If so, think what you do when generating using it. It generates 120VAC which is then transformed to 12volt DC via a battery charger to charge the batteries (10% loss). Then you turn around and invert it back to 120VAC to run the freezer (another 10% loss). Sounds very inefficient to me. Also, if you have a freezer full of frozen meat, for example, it could be worth a thousand dollars or more at today's prices. Your generator or main engines could break down and you just lost your meat. An adequate supply of propane will forestall that eventuality. -- Sir Gregory |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
On Wed, 02 Jul 2014 19:58:42 -0400, "Sir Gregory Hall, Esq."
wrote: On Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:16:27 -0400, Wayne.B wrote: The inefficiencies of converting 12 volts to 110 are more than compensated by the quietness of not running the generator continuously. The lifespan of the generator is also greatly increased and we are not tied to a dock with shorepower like most motor yachts in our size range. The diesel fuel that the generator does use for battery charging is a drop in the bucket compared to the main engines, and when we are underway the engine alternators keep the inverter batts charged at almost no cost at all. For boats that already have propane for cooking there may be some advantages to also using it for refrigeration but I prefer to have no propane on the boat for safety reasons. I also like the convenience of having a single fuel boat. Down in the Caribbean people from the US are always juggling propane adapters to use the European butane fittings that are commonly available. What's the price of diesel *down island*? I've heard it isn't cheap. I've heard some places it might be around ten bucks a gallon. Propane, on the other hand, is generally much cheaper than that per BTU equivalent FYI, you don't get something for nothing. It might seem like the alternators charging a low battery bank don't cause the main engines to burn much more diesel but they do. As for being quiet and not running a dedicated generator that's a good thing but when using propane to refrigerate there is no noise at all, ever. No fumes either from a generator or the main engines charging up a battery bank so an inverter can do its thing and thus waste about 10% of the energy. Don't most diesel generators such as a typical 8KW version produce alternating current? If so, think what you do when generating using it. It generates 120VAC which is then transformed to 12volt DC via a battery charger to charge the batteries (10% loss). Then you turn around and invert it back to 120VAC to run the freezer (another 10% loss). Sounds very inefficient to me. Also, if you have a freezer full of frozen meat, for example, it could be worth a thousand dollars or more at today's prices. Your generator or main engines could break down and you just lost your meat. An adequate supply of propane will forestall that eventuality. I believe that the "propane fridge" that you are talking about is the same sort of thing as the old "kerosene fridges" that use heat to work. If so isn't there a pilot light down in the bottom that is on all the time. If that is what you are referring to I saw one in a 50 ft boat in Malaysia once. The guy that owned the boat was changing out an old one and replacing it with another. It seems to me that he said that the fridge needed to be gimbaled to keep it as vertical as possible other wise the flame wasn't directed to the correct place. A lot of guys standing on the dock and making comments but he said that he'd had the old one for a number of years with no difficulties, other worrying about whether he had enough LPG to last till he got to a place to buy more. -- Cheers, Bruce in Bangkok |
#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
|
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
On Thu, 03 Jul 2014 19:53:15 -0400, "Sir Gregory Hall, Esq."
wrote: I'm not concerned at all about fires or explosions. === No one ever is until they have seen it happen. |
#6
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
On Sat, 05 Jul 2014 08:06:49 -0500, Rick Morel
wrote: On Fri, 04 Jul 2014 06:36:53 +0700, wrote: I believe that the "propane fridge" that you are talking about is the same sort of thing as the old "kerosene fridges" that use heat to work. If so isn't there a pilot light down in the bottom that is on all the time. If that is what you are referring to I saw one in a 50 ft boat in Malaysia once. The guy that owned the boat was changing out an old one and replacing it with another. It seems to me that he said that the fridge needed to be gimbaled to keep it as vertical as possible other wise the flame wasn't directed to the correct place. A lot of guys standing on the dock and making comments but he said that he'd had the old one for a number of years with no difficulties, other worrying about whether he had enough LPG to last till he got to a place to buy more. Yes, it is. It uses ammonia plus some other things as a refrigerant. They're standard in RV's. The reason they have to stay level, usually with 3 degrees front to back and 6 degrees side to side, is that the heat, from flame or heating element, boils the mix, then it goes through an orifice to expand and cool, then runs back down the tubing to start the process over. If not level, the mix pools up in the tubing and ruins it. The only choice is to replace the fridge. In RV's while driving and in boats constantly moving, it's a good thing, sloshing the mix around and allowing it to make its way back down. But a sailboat heeled over is not a good thing and will trap the mix. Power boats and multihulls are fine. In fact a cruising friend has had one for years with no problems. Very efficent when using propane or shore power, but at 12V, on those that have it, the current draw is about 10 Amps. Rick Yup, that is the type I say being installed on the guy's boat in Malaysia. Years ago now a guy worked for us doing oil well exploration construction work came in the office and asked whether they still sold "kerosene refrigerates" in Indonesia. I didn't know and sent one of the purchasing guys out to check and discovered that they were still being manufactured in Indonesia. Over the years we bought quite a few for jungle jobs". About the same time I saw a Johnson outboard motor that was a dual fuel engine - gasoline and kerosene. Apparently they sold pretty well in Irian Jaya (which now has a different name :-) -- Cheers, Bruce in Bangkok |
#7
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
|
#8
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
On Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:29:43 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote: On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 08:21:13 +0700, wrote: Years ago now a guy worked for us doing oil well exploration construction work came in the office and asked whether they still sold "kerosene refrigerates" in Indonesia. I didn't know and sent one of the purchasing guys out to check and discovered that they were still being manufactured in Indonesia. Over the years we bought quite a few for jungle jobs". === It seems like that would be ideal for a diesel powered boat. A lot of cruising sail boats seem to have inadequate diesel tankage however judging from the number of plastic jerry jugs that we see strapped to the lifelines. LOL! That really causes me a great deal of disgust seeing those rows of faded plastic jerry jugs strapped to a fore and aft board that is attached to lifeline stanchions along the side decks to the foredeck. It's got to be the stupidest *monkey see, monkey do* bad habit yet. It's ugly, dangerous, inefficient, lubberly, wasteful but mostly it is totally unnecessary. It shouts loudly for the entire world to see, "Hey look at meeee-I'm stupid and faddish." 1) if one's wont is to sail across oceans then even those extra containers will not avail. 2) if one is coastal cruising or island hopping then internal tankage is sufficient for the job at hand. 3) if, for some odd reason, one needs more fuel capacity due to special circumstances then install sufficient internal tankage. It's that simple. -- Sir Gregory |
#9
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Update Frigoboat - The Smoking Gun (or compressor)
On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 10:07:03 -0400, "Sir Gregory Hall, Esq."
wrote: On Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:29:43 -0400, Wayne.B wrote: On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 08:21:13 +0700, wrote: Years ago now a guy worked for us doing oil well exploration construction work came in the office and asked whether they still sold "kerosene refrigerates" in Indonesia. I didn't know and sent one of the purchasing guys out to check and discovered that they were still being manufactured in Indonesia. Over the years we bought quite a few for jungle jobs". === It seems like that would be ideal for a diesel powered boat. A lot of cruising sail boats seem to have inadequate diesel tankage however judging from the number of plastic jerry jugs that we see strapped to the lifelines. LOL! That really causes me a great deal of disgust seeing those rows of faded plastic jerry jugs strapped to a fore and aft board that is attached to lifeline stanchions along the side decks to the foredeck. It's got to be the stupidest *monkey see, monkey do* bad habit yet. It's ugly, dangerous, inefficient, lubberly, wasteful but mostly it is totally unnecessary. It shouts loudly for the entire world to see, "Hey look at meeee-I'm stupid and faddish." 1) if one's wont is to sail across oceans then even those extra containers will not avail. 2) if one is coastal cruising or island hopping then internal tankage is sufficient for the job at hand. 3) if, for some odd reason, one needs more fuel capacity due to special circumstances then install sufficient internal tankage. It's that simple. Certainly you are correct. although I wonder what you'd do for a say 6 month trip to the Chagos islands, in the Indian ocean, where there isn't anything at all. No nothing, except sand, coral and sea water. And illogical as it may seem I know people who have been spending about six months in Chagos and 6 months in Malaysia for years. -- Cheers, Bruce in Bangkok |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Compressor Revisited | General | |||
Compressor Revisited | General | |||
Air Compressor For Dockside Work | Boat Building | |||
Air compressor for hull cleaning | Cruising | |||
Need help with Aqua Bell Compressor | General |