[C38] Cruising without inverter

[Patrick Harpole]

I greatly appreciate this information.
While checking out the battery I discovered an incredible amount of 
oxidation on battery terminals.  Cleaned it off.  Haven't had chance to 
re-connect inverter/charger.
I'll check out the WEB site.
Patrick




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "les" <hlhowell at pacbell.net>
To: <listserve at catalina38.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 9:25 AM
Subject: Re: [C38] Cruising without inverter


> There are many kinds of inverters out there.
>
> One of the most popular does what you say yours does.  It performs both
> the charge and inverter operation.  It is connected in parallel with the
> engine charging system (alternator/regulator).  However, if you are
> relying on the charging capability at the dock, you will want to check
> if the inverter is working in that instance.
>
> The next time you tie up, before you connect AC power, check the voltage
> on the battery terminals.  It should be somewhere between 11.5 and
> 12.73V, depending on the state of charge.  Wait about 1/2 hour, and you
> will probably see it drop.  This is because you likely used the engine
> to get into the dock.  Write down the number.  This is the state of
> charge of the battery.  There is a nice table on the Trojan website that
> you can print to show the state of your battery in terms of charge
> percentage.  More about that in a minute.
>
> Now plug in the shore power cable.  It should rise.  Depending on the
> battery type, to about 13.x volts.  The x is due to the slight
> differences in AGM (absorbed glass mat), wetcell, or other technology in
> the battery case.  You will want to make sure when you change batteries
> that you either keep the same kind or that you set the charger
> appropriately (and the alternator regulator as well) to the setting for
> the new battery type.)  If you see the voltage rise you know the battery
> charger is still working on your inverter/charger.
>
> Back to the battery charge percentage... Batteries wear as they are
> used.  The wear causes the state of the acid to change.  A float gauge
> will show you the state of the fluid in wet cell batteries.  As it ages,
> the acidity (PH number is a measure of acidity) changes and the float
> will change how high it rides in the fluid.  The total battery capacity
> changes as a result of this change (and somewhat due to other changes.)
>
> The voltage measured earlier will reflect the state of the total
> capability in percent.
>
> To give you a concrete example:
>
> new battery     1 year old      3 years old
> capacity 120AH            110AH          90AH
> measured        12.73v            12.73v          12.73v
> avail cap      120AH            110AH          90AH
> measured        12.1v            12.1v          12.1v
> avail cap       60AH             55AH           45AH
>
> This is for a deep cycle battery that is very heavily discharged each
> cycle.  The deeper you discharge the battery or the higher the current
> you draw, the faster the battery looses capability.
>
> Checking the cycle specs on the batteries you have will help you choose,
> and also keeping in mind the necessity of having the charger systems,
> solar, alternator and AC all set properly.  Most have a simple switch
> that says AGM or some thing like that on one side and wet cell on the
> other.
>
> Here is the link to the Trojan User manuals and other information.
> http://www.trojanbattery.com/Tech-Support/TechSupport.aspx
>
>
> Regards,
> Les H
> On Tue, 2011-10-18 at 06:37 -0700, Patrick Harpole wrote:
>> Larry,
>> First of "thanks" for you response.  Great community we have
>> My inverter tops off batteries when I am plugged into shore power.
>> Patrick
>>
>> I assume it will run fine without inverter
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Larry Malmberg" <Larrypi at roadrunner.com>
>> To: "'Catalina 38 Listserve'" <listserve at catalina38.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 6:04 AM
>> Subject: Re: [C38] Cruising without inverter
>>
>>
>> Patrick, I'm a little confused here.  Inverters convert, usually, DC to 
>> AC
>> or AC to DC.  That said, I would suspect your alternator will keep you
>> batteries charged as long as you run the engine to keep them topped off.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Larry Malmberg
>> Team Hassle
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
>> [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] On Behalf Of Patrick Harpole
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 5:35 AM
>> To: Catalina 38 Listserve
>> Subject: [C38] Cruising without inverter
>>
>> My inverter needs repair.
>> Can I sail without it, that is, does the engine of a generator or 
>> alternator
>> to keep batteries topped off?
>> Patrick
>>
>>
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