On Sat, 07 May 2005 21:44:17 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

e.. I can start this little engine with a portable emergency
battery. It's even been done with a handful of flashlight batteries.
So, if I want a dead ship except for the bilge pump, I have to decide
which battery to use. That means that a long run of pumping with the
charger off, as could happen with the boat unattended in a storm,
would drain one battery down. I also would only have half the battery
capacity for bilge pumping under the same circumstances. That is not
ideal. Worse, if one battery did die, I would have to get into the
panel and switch the bilge pump. That's not good.

Roger, I haven't read all this thread, so this may be repetitious, but
why not abandon the starter battery altogether? Your set-up sounds
like a good idea for these "crankable" starters

http://www.startwell.com/

http://www.springstarter.com/index.htm

http://www.dieselproducts.com/spring...r/pentham.html


To my mind, I would use this as the primary starter on a small marine
diesel (40 HP or less=over 50% of rec. sailboats), and keep the
"traditional" solenoid-style starter vacuum-packed in the bilge.
Subtract the requirement to turn over a cold diesel or even an Atomic
4 like mine (which I hand-crank once a year to keep in practice...),
and you can rethink a lot of your electrical needs.

Food for thought, anyway.

R.

"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
"Gordon Wedman" wrote in
news:Rmrge.61526$tg1.47034@edtnps84:

I wish this was true. I have new batteries and my Xantrex / Statpower
20 amp chargers are connected directly to my house and starting
batteries. I still get terrible static on my SSB and shortwave
radios. Nothing on FM fortunately so at least I can listen to music
in the evenings.


This is caused by the RF radiation of the unshielded switching circuits in
the chargers.....not by them actually pulsing a good, clean battery
circuit. They radiate like hell on HF radio, a regular transmitter unto
themselves. The wiring in the plastic boat is their antenna.

You can minimize this radiation by stopping by Radio Shack and buying some
ferrite chokes for the AC and DC cables to run through. RatShack has them
in what's left of their depleted parts department. Get the square-looking
one that opens up to put the cables through and put them as close to the
charger as you can keep them. Looping one turn around them makes them
work
even better.....

The best cure is if you have an old, reliable ferromagnetic or simple
hand-
controlled charger....KEEP IT! They don't radiate any RF signal at all,
even at 40A of load....


Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have a look for those ferrites.

RatShack has them
in what's left of their depleted parts department.

Even worse up here since Intertan lost the rights to use the Radio Shack
name. Went in a store the other day and the shelves were almost bare.

"Gordon Wedman" wrote in news:fsNie.1426$wr.1275@clgrps12:

Even worse up here since Intertan lost the rights to use the Radio Shack
name. Went in a store the other day and the shelves were almost bare.




You can order ONE of any old thing, even one resistor, from
www.mouser.com....if you're willing to pay the shipping. Mouser has all
kinds of ferrite products:

http://www.mouser.com/?Ne=100&handle...category&N=167

http://www.mouser.com/?handler=data....Ne=100&N=81016
(need metric diameter of the cable....less than $1 each?)

Mouser online ordering is VERY responsive....Great company to buy
electronics from.....I've been doing business with them for years after the
parts stores in Charleston mostly closed up.