Plugged In or Not

[Roger Blake]

Reading the "battery chargers -- ProMariner Safety & FIRE Issue" post series brought me back to the issue whether you leave your boat plugged in or disconnected to shore power. When I bought my boat, it was always plugged in...and being a newbie, I kept it that way. After reading the many posts on this site, I decided to disconnect when I left the boat...and did that for a couple of years. I never have anything left on, other than the bilge pump (on auto), when I leave. After Spring commisioning one year, I found my bilge pump finally failed...well, the float failed. I replaced it with an identical part. Feeling please with myself, I went home for the week. Next weekend, came back and found the batteries dead...the bilge pump had been emptying the bilge until the switch cut off, then the water just came back down the hose, pump activated, stopped, water came back down, etc. Bilge pump was just cycling. I installed a one way valve (check valve), problem solved...I do check the valve every time I to the boat to make sure it is not clogged. Since then, I decided to leave the boat plugged in and the charger on...don't want a boat on the bottom. Also, was never satisfied the level of battery charge I had when I went on overnight trips if I hadn't left the boat plugged in. In the past, when I got to the boat, I was rigged and ready to go in under 30mins, no time for the charger to cram all the amps it could into the batteries which had not been connected for a week. Now, I never ran out of juice when I wasn't plugged in all the time, but didn't like the "reduced volts" I had available because the boat hadn't been plugged in. As Ron is found of saying, "your boat, your choice". Ron, does that also mean you are responsible for the actions you take regarding your boat???

[Ron Hill]

Roger : To answer your question, "Ron, does that also mean you are responsible for the actions you take regarding your boat???   That answer is ABSOLUTELY/ Hell Yes and you are also responsible for your actions - as Captain of your ship !!!!!

If you'd have installed a drip free packing gland or better yet "drip free Gore packing", your bilge pump wouldn't be draining your batteries!  We've had many many many posts/ Mainsheet articles on that packing and as I've said several times before, "why anyone would want that smelly corrosive salt water in their bilge is beyond me"??  People complain about it in their heads, can you imagine what it's doing to your bilge/pump/float switch etc. and the wiring??

There's another point that is seldom mentioned.  If you shut everything OFF and the Battery selector is OFF(batteries fully charged) you should expect to come back to the boat a week or two later and see 12.65 to 12.70 volts (that's 95%-100% charge). You now know that you do not have a dead short in all of that DC wiring.  If you stay plugged in you'll never know - that!!  


Roger, the bottom line like it or not is still - "your boat your choice" !  

[Roger Blake]

Thanks Ron...for the shot across the bow...it was a retorical question...as I suspect you know. I've taken my Captain responsibilitlies, whether on my boat or a charter, very seriously (note: not arguementative...just agreeing). And, I think, one is always responsible for one's own actions...something I learned from a recent trip to Costa Rica...they have a law, "you are responsible for your own actions". If you choose to cross a weak bridge over a gorge (which I was faced with), you are responsible for making that decision...no one to sue...if something bad happens. I like that...we need that here in the U.S. (sorry...getting too political...but when a person who wins a judgement against an establishment for spilling hot coffee in her lap, because it is hot and burns...well, that's a problem with our society...give me a boat so I can get away). So when I screw up, and I did do a stupid thing recently...like trying to impress the opposite sex with my sailing knowledge and forgetting to open the engine through hole (caught it soon enough...exhaust didn't sound right...put my thinking cap on and closed my zipper and discovered the problem), I acknowleged my stupity and move on...hopefully, learning from it...as I have learned from this site. Thanks to all...and keep the critisim coming.

[Roger Blake]

Oh...as a P.S. I had already put in a PSS dripless...after reading many posts on this site. It wasn't additional water coming in, it was the pump pushing water up the 7' hose to overboard...after the bilge got to a certain level, the pump would shut off...so the water in the 7' hose would just came back down...causing the pump to start up again...etc. Adding to the problem, but not the primary problem, was a leak I found, and fixed, when it rained. But during the week I was gone...no rain...so just recycling of the pump...just enough water to keep floating the switch over and over and drain the batteries. Perhaps there is an adjustment to the float switch which I'm ignorant of...any advice welcomed...but the valve seems to have fixed my problem. But as Ron has said, and I agree, your boat... Hey Ron, an open invitation, would like to have ya come aboard, see my boat, and discuss the must have improvements...sorry I missed the Hunting Creek raft up...maybe can do the next...maybe lots of beer, wine, or spirits will encourage you to help me improve my boat (how's that for enticement?)!

[Stu Jackson]

Roger, you raise very good questions, and it was interesting to see the response to the rhetorical one!  BTW, I'm the "your boat, your choice" guy, Ron promotes "A thought."  It is critical, as part of your C34 ownership / MB registrant experience, to exhibit the correct understanding of the sources of those quotes!

Over the years I guess I shoulda added tag phrases to "plugged in or not" discussions, but it's too late now.  You could look up searches on the phrase "batteries and the fridge" and that would turn up some earlier chats.

I did remember this one, titled "Battery Charging Techniques":  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4338.0.html  Most of it is self explanatory.  The height of standard float switches on my boat has never generated the conditions you describe, although I have seen discussions about it and ways to discover if you have it and how to design around it, some including multiple plumps.

I have the parts for a bilge pump check valve, but have never put it in 'cuz it's not a good idea.  I also recognize that an interim solution is to do a "big raise" of the outgoing hose, which actually seems to be your problem with the large backflow.  On our boat, the electric pump was aftermarket local dealer installed and was tapped into the line that goes to the manual pump in the cockpit.   Perhaps the best solution is a separate hose line run from the electric pump to a new thru hull with the existing corrugated hose remaining connected to the manual pump.  I'll look for some earlier discussions for ya.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Most of the earlier boats did not come with an electric bilge pump!!  It was an extra just like the sails!!  
If you were to add an electric bilge pump, the exit on the transom should be slightly higher (2/3"?) than the large low centered manual bilge pump exit.  
Also make sure you use a SMOOTH interior hose so the pump can pump water faster and easier.  
A thought

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Has anyone ever done a side discharge rather than a transom discharge? I guess there would be a problem with heeling unless you used a anti-siphon loop.

Mike

[Ron Hill]

Mike : I don't know of any, but I sure that in almost 1900 hulls somebody has done a side discharge. 
Like you said, it would definitely need a vented loop.