I let this sit for a few days to see if there would be more traffic,
but there hasn't, and the other places it's appeared have been
similarly stunned :{)) so rather than let it wait, here's the
responses:


From: Larry


Skip Gundlach wrote in
news:9724554c-5f6a-49a4-
:

energy-efficient equipment...)


Shoulda had the diesel genset rebuilt. Considering all the
power problems
of Flying Pig, it would have been cheaper and you could have
left the place
anchored out looking like a lighthouse...(c;

Heh. We took out the diesel genset because running it was akin
to having an operating Massey Ferguson in your living room.

We ran it a few times on our delivery (our initial trip, from Ft.
Lauderdale over to St. Pete, via Key West), and determined that
it was so oppressive that the only time we would use it was in an
emergency.

Given that its prime purpose was to power the Air Conditioning,
which we also made a value judgment to remove, the space
available in the ER was far more important to us than being able
to run more stuff.

See the next one, below, for commentary about running stuff.
However, as to power problems, as you should know, having been
intimately involved in their resolution, once a working
alternator, along with the proper sized (and shaped - I believe
the toothy look helps go around small corners and sheds heat
better) belt and pulley, was installed, our power problems
essentially went away.

A case in point was the dark and stormies, combined with no wind,
where we had to motor for 2 days in order to get somewhere before
it got truly nasty, recently. Despite the very high loads due to
all the incandescents in the motoring mode (lights were left
incandescent due to all the power generated under motor), the
computer running all the time (see original about *that* load),
the mikey and other profilgate use, we stayed at "ful" and
~14.3V on the monitor for the entire time.

And, FWIW, I noted in my log, a couple of starts ago, that our
current belt has just passed the 200 hour mark. In that time,
it's had two tightenings, the last being at 200 hours. No
indication that it might fail at any time in the foreseeable
future. I think I have a lifetime supply of belts, now, having
laid in spares in keeping with my prior experiences!

*******

Another poster said this about the Honda and other alternative
means of power generation:

"Roger that on the genset. When we first left we were pretty
dependent on our diesel generator. It failed 3 times in a year,
fortunately we had one solar panel and a low output wind
generator so it wasn't crippling but it was a pain in the ass.

I've got a lot of friends that depend on the Honda 2000
generators. They seem to be bullet proof mechanical marvels but
staying out for extended periods of time depends on how much
gasoline you can carry. Between the genset and the dink some guys
are floating around with 15 or 20 gallons of gas strapped to
their topsides.

We've been able to add 2 more panels and now we only start the
generator once a month to make sure the POS still works.

Angus

_________________
s/v Veranda
Veranda422.Blogspot.com "

*****

From: Bob


On Mar 15, 10:20 am, Skip Gundlach
wrote:
OT - Extremely long! - Energy Audit and budget


Skip,

I got lost about half way through.

How many Ah per day do you use away from the sock?

Bob

Hi, Bob,

I think you mean away from the dock?

As it works out, other than in the low wind, low sun days, we
are, indeed being self sufficient. In those cases, as noted, we
ran the Honda, accomplishing hot water and popcorn at the same
time. As I have not been as anal in measuring exactly our usages
as I might otherwise be, being in the middle of getting off the
boat for our shoreside excursions, I can't tell you exactly.

However, with the exceptions of the changes made and noted, we
expect we used about the number of AH/day as my original lists
showed. So, at anchor, ~110AH in Miami. That's because we
didn't need the fans - the breeze, even in 85+ weather was
sufficient for cooling - and our connection wasn't good enough
for Vonage, saving that overhead as well.

********


Those responses were typed as I was waiting for the lift; Flying Pig
is on the hard, now, and we're landside. My daughter's son was early,
but I got to be there for it, anyway, and I head off to my father's
85th at the end of the month. Before we relaunch I'll have had
another grandson and a graduation, so our seagoing posts (the upcoming
as-yet not posted logs of our last few trips excepted) will be sparse
for a while!

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
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