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Switch to LiFePO4

karkauai
 


Hi All, especially those who have switched to Lithium
I am going to take the leap when we get back to the Chesapeake in October.
I currently have:
**105A Magnun Charger/4000W inverter with remote control  panel
**80A Victron Skylla-i Charger with remote monitor
**Balmar 75 A alternator with Balmar MaxCharge MC-624 P-type multistage external regulator
**850 Watts solar panels in three series pairs, each pair with its own Victron MPPT 75 I 15 Charge Controller with Bluetooth dongle, and Victron Bluetooth network that monitors temp and voltage and sends to the MPPTs. The Bimini solar panel pair almost always has a shadow on one of the panels and doesn't produce much at all. I'm considering putting another MPPP 75 I 15 Charge Controller on that pair so each panel will operate independently.

I won't go to electric oven or use the batteries to run the AC, at least not yet, so my inverter use is exclusively to run small appliances and microwave. And I will probably make water with my 24v Desallator with the batteries. I do understand that I have to run beefier cables if I make the next transition to running larger 220v appliances.

I think I will use the Battle Borne batteries.  With above caveats, would you recommend 300, or 400AHr? Any reason I can't add another 100AHr later?  12v series pairs or 24v batteries? If 24v, how would you start engines is start battery failed?

So, other than buying batteries and configuring my chargers and charge controllers, what else do I need to make the transition to LiFePO4?

Can the Skylla-i and Magna MS-PE chargers be configured to work together so that I can charge with 185A when running the generator? How?

I am based in St Michaels, MD, across the bay from Annapolis. Do you know of an electrician in the area who can help me with configuring the system and installation of further equipment needed?  Have you worked with Peter Kennedy in Annapolis (PKYS)?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Kent and Iris
Kristy
SN 243


_._,_.
Re: File /disk brake A54 slipping shaky.mov uploaded

CW Bill Rouse
 

Ralph,

Well done. Good job.
CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School
Address: 720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
View My Training Calendar


On Wed, Aug 12, 2020 at 3:12 PM Ralph Heilig <ralph.heilig@...> wrote:
I installed the new caliper and it fit's pretty well. Thanks to SAV AMEL.

I have written a short replacement procedure instruction. I attach it as PDF. I'm sure some more will need to replace the old Twiflex caliper by a Coremo caliper over the years....
Re: A54 holding tank drain seasock

Sv Garulfo
 

Thanks all for your recommendations.
Yes the 54 has the same on the caps on the deck which we used after closing the valve.

A bit of vinaigrette did the trick:
- first white vinegar to dissolve the limescale then remove the debris
-followed by vegetable oil to lubricate the valve.

Thanks all
Soraya

GARULFO A54-122
Moorea, French Polynesia 


On 31 Jul 2020, at 08:31, Mark Erdos <mcerdos@...> wrote:

Hi Soraya,

At the first sign the valve becomes sticky, we use vegetable oil to lube the
valve.

With the holding tank empty and the valve closed, remove the deck cap and
pour about a 100ml of vegetable oil into the tank. Let it sit for a little
while. Then, work the valve back and forth. This will last for a few months
before it needs to be done again.

(I am assuming the 54 has caps on the deck for pump-out like the 53)


With best regards,

Mark

Skipper
Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275
Currently cruising - Tahiti, French Polynesia
www.creampuff.us

-----Original Message-----
From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io [mailto:main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io]
On Behalf Of Sv Garulfo
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 6:51 PM
To: Amel Yacht owners Group
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A54 holding tank drain seasock

Hello,

Any routine maintenance tips for the holding tanks drain seacocks?
Ours are starting to grip.

Thanks

Soraya
Garulfo
A54-122
Tahiti
Re: File /disk brake A54 slipping shaky.mov uploaded

Ralph Heilig
 

I installed the new caliper and it fit's pretty well. Thanks to SAV AMEL.

I have written a short replacement procedure instruction. I attach it as PDF. I'm sure some more will need to replace the old Twiflex caliper by a Coremo caliper over the years....

PDF
caliper replacement Amel 54.pdf

Re: Tips appreciated: Major frustration trying to pull cable through Mizzen.

Scott SV Tengah
 

After struggling with the mizzen for a while, we got it to work. On my main, we did as Oliver did and it made it super easy. To clarify further:

Inside each conduit there is a thinner line and a thicker line. The thinner line has the foam bits on it. So we tied a messenger line to the bottom of this thinner line and I pulled out the thinner line/foam bits from the top of the mast. The cable went through almost like butter after that. 

We ended up leaving just the newly fed messenger line in the main along with the original amel messenger line (without foam) as I've been told that others have done that without noise issues. If we get noise, I'll just try to feed the lines with the foam bits back down the mast later.

Hope this helps someone!


--
Scott 
2007 A54 #69
SV Tengah
http://www.svtengah.com
Re: Run 2500w inverter always even on shore power?

Scott SV Tengah
 

My boat is pure 220/50hz also and I didn't want to go through the trouble of retrofitting it to work for the short periods where I am in 60hz land. I have the Victron Quattro 5kw/120a charger/inverter and it does, in fact, run everything (scuba compressor/aircon/etc) in the boat but there is a big caveat.

On my boat, it replaces the Amel transfer switch. If the Quattro detects external power into either of its AC inputs, it will pass the external power through and turn off the inverter. I asked Victron and there is no way to disable this functionality.

The way I do it when in 60hz countries that feed 220v/60hz is that I plug in briefly to fill up my lipo batteries and then run everything off battery/inverter, which I set to supply 220v/50hz. There is very little voltage drop on lipo even with heavy draws.  I have a second 220v charger, so I'm feeding about 180-200amps DC in to the batteries, so I rarely plug in for more than an hour.  If I'm running aircon, I'll have to plug in for a bit daily. If I'm not running AC, 960w solar has been enough such that we haven't plugged in at all at this marina.

If you're contemplating spending a lot of money going dual voltage, you might want to consider putting that money towards batteries/solar/inverter because those items will benefit you at all times, not just in a 60hz marina.
--
Scott 
2007 A54 #69
SV Tengah
http://www.svtengah.com
Re: Onan shuts down under load without shutdown codes

CW Bill Rouse
 

And, I should have said, once you eliminate the cooling system, the fuel system, and each of the sensors, I suggest that it's time to get an Onan tech.

Good luck!

Best,

CW Bill Rouse 
Amel Owners Yacht School
+1 832-380-4970 | brouse@...
720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
www.AmelOwnersYachtSchool.com 
Yacht School Calendar: www.preparetocastoff.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html


   


On Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 9:28 AM CW Bill Rouse via groups.io <brouse=gmail.com@groups.io> wrote:
Mark,

I know that you probably know this, but "plenty of water coming out the exhaust" is not a measure of sufficient water, or of the colling system. The only measure of the cooling system is the temperature difference between the exhaust elbow and the engine block or oil temperature. The normal operating temperature of the block is around 80C and if the cooling system is working the exhaust elbow should be around 50C. To eliminate the cooling system as a problem, measure these temps. BTW, I cannot count how many times I have been told "plenty of water" when it was not enough water coming out.

Once the above is eliminated and the fuel system is eliminated (is the fuel pump within 8 years of age and the filters new), it is likely a sensor issue. Some model Onans have Normally Open (NO) sensors and some Onans have Normally Closed (NC) sensors. Once you determine (see below) which you have it is simple to bypass one sensor at a time by either disconnection one wire from the sensor for NO sensors, or jumping or connecting the two wires for NC sensors. Don't do this without monitoring the exhaust temperature and ensuring it does not rise above 60C.
image.png

Here is a common sensor issue (if you have the flow sensor installed). This sensor was partially clogged. Sometimes it worked and other times it shutdown the Onan. Also this sensor was found to be oriented where the debris would fall into the sensor. When it was reinstalled, it was oriented correctly (last photo):
image.png

Sensor oriented incorrectly. Sensor pipe should be turned 180 degrees:
image.png
CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School
Address: 720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
View My Training Calendar


On Wed, Aug 12, 2020 at 8:22 AM Mark Pitt <mark_pitt@...> wrote:

On my first sail trip of the season, my Onan MDKAV shuts down under load after 15 to 20 minutes.  No blinking codes.  Does not matter is the load is from the watermaker or AC.  It does not shut down from a charger load, or any load under about 15 amps.  I changed all the fuel filters but that did not help. Plenty of water coming out the exhaust.  Overheating should generate a shutdown code in any case.

Any ideas?


Mark Pitt
Sabbatical III, SM419, Rhode Island, USA
Re: Onan shuts down under load without shutdown codes

CW Bill Rouse
 

Mark,

I know that you probably know this, but "plenty of water coming out the exhaust" is not a measure of sufficient water, or of the colling system. The only measure of the cooling system is the temperature difference between the exhaust elbow and the engine block or oil temperature. The normal operating temperature of the block is around 80C and if the cooling system is working the exhaust elbow should be around 50C. To eliminate the cooling system as a problem, measure these temps. BTW, I cannot count how many times I have been told "plenty of water" when it was not enough water coming out.

Once the above is eliminated and the fuel system is eliminated (is the fuel pump within 8 years of age and the filters new), it is likely a sensor issue. Some model Onans have Normally Open (NO) sensors and some Onans have Normally Closed (NC) sensors. Once you determine (see below) which you have it is simple to bypass one sensor at a time by either disconnection one wire from the sensor for NO sensors, or jumping or connecting the two wires for NC sensors. Don't do this without monitoring the exhaust temperature and ensuring it does not rise above 60C.
image.png

Here is a common sensor issue (if you have the flow sensor installed). This sensor was partially clogged. Sometimes it worked and other times it shutdown the Onan. Also this sensor was found to be oriented where the debris would fall into the sensor. When it was reinstalled, it was oriented correctly (last photo):
image.png

Sensor oriented incorrectly. Sensor pipe should be turned 180 degrees:
image.png
CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School
Address: 720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
View My Training Calendar


On Wed, Aug 12, 2020 at 8:22 AM Mark Pitt <mark_pitt@...> wrote:

On my first sail trip of the season, my Onan MDKAV shuts down under load after 15 to 20 minutes.  No blinking codes.  Does not matter is the load is from the watermaker or AC.  It does not shut down from a charger load, or any load under about 15 amps.  I changed all the fuel filters but that did not help. Plenty of water coming out the exhaust.  Overheating should generate a shutdown code in any case.

Any ideas?


Mark Pitt
Sabbatical III, SM419, Rhode Island, USA
Onan shuts down under load without shutdown codes

Mark Pitt
 

On my first sail trip of the season, my Onan MDKAV shuts down under load after 15 to 20 minutes.  No blinking codes.  Does not matter is the load is from the watermaker or AC.  It does not shut down from a charger load, or any load under about 15 amps.  I changed all the fuel filters but that did not help. Plenty of water coming out the exhaust.  Overheating should generate a shutdown code in any case.

Any ideas?


Mark Pitt
Sabbatical III, SM419, Rhode Island, USA
Re: Run 2500w inverter always even on shore power?

Arno Luijten
 

Except of leaving another hole of $2000+ in your wallet :-)


Arno
Re: Recommendation for Bonfiglioli gearbox rebuild in New Zealand

Germain Jean-Pierre
 

Hello Mike,

Not sure if Total Marine can complete your request but they made new gears for my BT.  Walk over and ask Cam if he can cut new gears...

However, these Bonfiglioli are not expensive and, AFAIK, they are still available.

Good luck, 

Jean-Pierre Germain, SY Eleuthera, SM007, Opua


On 12 Aug 2020, at 12:17, JOHN HAYES <johnhayes862@...> wrote:

Y es Mike I’ve used the bonfiglioli agent in Auckland found the excellent 

New gearboxes were not very expensive so brought new

If you need to overhaul the worm drive in your headsail furler comeback to me as there is only one company I know of

Bettany gears in paraparaumu about 40 km north of Wellington 

Best

John Hayes
Nga Waka

Johnhayes862@...


On 12/08/2020, at 11:00 AM, Mike Longcor (SV Trilogy) <svtrilogy53@...> wrote:

Hello everyone,

Can any owners recommend a good place to get the Bonfiglioli gearboxes rebuilt in New Zealand? Has anyone used the Bonfiglioli Transmission place in Auckland?

I would like to have them stripped down and cleaned, zercs added, repainted, and rebuilt. Ideally it would be a shop that's familiar with them and has perhaps done the job successfully before.  The brass worm gear on our main outhaul has been stripped by the stainless worm drive. The main furler works fine but is overdue for some service.

Cheers,
Mike Longcor
SV Trilogy SM23
Opua, NZ

Re: Recommendation for Bonfiglioli gearbox rebuild in New Zealand

JOHN HAYES
 

Y es Mike I’ve used the bonfiglioli agent in Auckland found the excellent 

New gearboxes were not very expensive so brought new

If you need to overhaul the worm drive in your headsail furler comeback to me as there is only one company I know of

Bettany gears in paraparaumu about 40 km north of Wellington 

Best

John Hayes
Nga Waka

Johnhayes862@...


On 12/08/2020, at 11:00 AM, Mike Longcor (SV Trilogy) <svtrilogy53@...> wrote:

Hello everyone,

Can any owners recommend a good place to get the Bonfiglioli gearboxes rebuilt in New Zealand? Has anyone used the Bonfiglioli Transmission place in Auckland?

I would like to have them stripped down and cleaned, zercs added, repainted, and rebuilt. Ideally it would be a shop that's familiar with them and has perhaps done the job successfully before.  The brass worm gear on our main outhaul has been stripped by the stainless worm drive. The main furler works fine but is overdue for some service.

Cheers,
Mike Longcor
SV Trilogy SM23
Opua, NZ

Recommendation for Bonfiglioli gearbox rebuild in New Zealand

Mike Longcor (SV Trilogy)
 

Hello everyone,

Can any owners recommend a good place to get the Bonfiglioli gearboxes rebuilt in New Zealand? Has anyone used the Bonfiglioli Transmission place in Auckland?

I would like to have them stripped down and cleaned, zercs added, repainted, and rebuilt. Ideally it would be a shop that's familiar with them and has perhaps done the job successfully before.  The brass worm gear on our main outhaul has been stripped by the stainless worm drive. The main furler works fine but is overdue for some service.

Cheers,
Mike Longcor
SV Trilogy SM23
Opua, NZ
Re: Run 2500w inverter always even on shore power?

Oliver Henrichsen, SV Vela Nautica
 

Hello guys,

All these problems are over when you use a Victron Multi 120 5000.

Since we installed that device its 24h on and all appliences work. 

Its like shorepower on anchor. 

Oliver from Vela Nautica 
A54#39 
Martinique 

On Mon, Aug 10, 2020, 15:27 Arno Luijten <arno.luijten@...> wrote:
Hi,

You are faced with the difference in 50 and 60 Cycles from the mains power. Most appliances with a pump run bad or not at all when you are running at a different cycle-count as where they were designed for. So if your boat is build for European shore power (230V/50Hz) you will find that several devices will run poorly on US 240/60Hz. Normally Amel puts stickers on those devices. For our boat it's the washer, dishwasher, watermaker and micro-wave that can't run on 60 cycles.
So using the inverter to supply those with power can work, depending on the consumption and type of device. Typically the washer takes a bit too much from the inverter. If you have the 2500W Mastervolt Mass Sine, it's actually only 2kW continuous, really annoying. Our Siemens takes approx 2200W when heating the water and turning the drum. Devices with large start-up current (watermaker) will also have problems.
I'm not sure if the switching logic that Amel put in a 55 is the same as in our (late) 54. If so then the inverter does not provide power if shore power is attached. These are just a bunch of relays in our case,  nothing to configure. On our Amel we have basically the same problem as Saint Martin also uses 60 Cycles. I'm still thinking about a solution without messing up the original design too much. As there are a few other things in this area I want to solve I'm still in doubt between a bigger inverter or a inverter/charger instead of the 2500W inverter.

Cheers,

Arno Luijten
SV Luna,
A54-121

Re: Run 2500w inverter always even on shore power?

Duane Siegfri
 

Because I use a CPAP and wanted to be able to run it off the house bank through the AC outlets, I installed an 1800 watt inverter and wired it to a switch in the compartment above the sink.  The switch selects "OFF", "Mains/Gen", "Inverter".  The switch is then wired to the breakers for "Microwave" and "Outlets".  Those two breakers were isolated (by cutting the bus bar in the breaker panel) from the 30 amp power supply for the AC breakers.  Of course the switch was also wired for supply voltage to the 30 amp breaker for the AC panel.  Except for the inverter I had an electrician install everything.  I also labeled those two breakers "Inverter" so all would know that shutting off the 30 amp breaker for the AC panel would not necessarily shut off power to those breakers.  This also permits use of the microwave anytime when the switch is set to "Inverter".  This is a good safety precaution for the microwave because one can forget that the boat is on US current.

Duane
ex-SM owner
Re: Super Maramu Hull #440 New Owners Introduction

JB Duler
 

Hello Rafael & Taty, is your SM in Rosas/Empuriabrava?
JB
Re: tb/AMEL owner or AMEL familiar professional near COOMERA QLND AUSTRALIA/AYOG

Teun BAAS
 

In addition to below Email I am just reading that AUSTRALIA NORTHERN TERRETORIES have closed their border for INTERNAL traffic until 2022 that is 20twentyTWO.

Sounds drastic to me but I had the same opinion in March when Air New Zealand canceled my return until August and then again in July vanceled all together.

T

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: "Teun BAAS via groups.io" <teun@...>
Date: 8/10/20 08:59 (GMT-06:00)
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] tb/AMEL owner or AMEL familiar professional near COOMERA QLND AUSTRALIA/AYOG

I am looking for an AMEL (54??) owner or a person familiar with AMEL (54) in the COOMERA QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA area.

 

Reading that QANTAS will not take any international reservations prior to March 2021 I think this indicates that it will be unlikely that AUSTRALIA will allow foreigners back into the country before March 2021. I am not a pessimist but realizing that my expectation of a return date has repeatedly moved forward from February to March to June to August to around Christmas to now March 2021 I can even see it taking longer than March 2021.

 

AMELIT has been on the hard @ THE BOAT WORKS YARD in COOMERA since December and I would like somebody to supervise/inspect if the additional preparation for longer storage is correctly being done as well as from time to time check on her. I have some arrangement with an outfit on TBWY but I want to make sure things are truly being done.

 

AMELIT was inspected this weekend and found to be in perfect shape but that person happened to be visiting BRISBANE but lives too far from COOMERA to do on a regular basis.

 

Any suggestions/advice is much appreciated.

 

Best Regards Teun

SV AMELIT  A54  #128

 

I am stuck riding my motorcycle all over USA

AMELIT is in storage on the hard in COOMERA (near BRISBANE) QLD AUSTRALIA

August 10, 2020 08:58:29

 

USA cell: +1 832 477 8842

AUSTRALIA cell: +61 5951 8909

 

You can follow AMELIT via this link: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/AMELIT

 

 

 
Re: Run 2500w inverter always even on shore power?

Billy Newport
 

I didn't have the inverter on, RTFM. The manual specifies the priority system. The gen overrides the inverter, but the inverter overrides shore power. So, if my 2500w inverter is on then it's independent of shore power. You're point in capacity is interesting. My old boat had dual victron 3kw inverters. I could run all 3 AC units on one of those inverters, 2 x 9k BTU and a 16K BTU, all cruisair units. The 16k had a smartstart on it. The main problem with that was actually voltage drop under high load, 12V didn't help. The victron had 4.5kw peaks.
I'm just happy the washing machine isn't broken, I was already looking at how to change the drain pump so I can defer that. I'm instrumenting my AC bus with Shelly AC monitors this week so I'll have data on the washing machine draw soon.

Thanks
Re: new Rigg on SM2000

Matt Salatino
 

I’ve also been told that the best wire comes from Korea. 

~~~⛵️~~~Matt

On Aug 11, 2020, at 11:38 AM, Denis Foster <deniswfoster@...> wrote:

Hello,

I thought almost all SS câbles came from KOS of Korea and has good reputation with riggers.
What is the brand of the German cables ?

Fair winds

Denis
Ex Meltem 32

Envoyé de mon iPhone
Re: new Rigg on SM2000

Denis Foster
 

Hello,

I thought almost all SS câbles came from KOS of Korea and has good reputation with riggers.
What is the brand of the German cables ?

Fair winds

Denis
Ex Meltem 32

Envoyé de mon iPhone
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