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TD’s will engage hard if you set the idle speed to high and yes it does affect their longevity.

There are also a lot of 50amp and somewhere between 200V and 220V pedestals. Helps to have a step up transformer to preserve voltage sensitive equipment as well.

Even T Bolt clamps shouldn’t be the spot welded ones because they corrode and fail around the weld, that’s why I don’t use them, plus on a lot of fittings you can’t get two on because of their width. I use the spring ones on heat affected hoses on the engine to retain the tension. I have been...

I am convinced boats are held together by hose clamps and zip ties. I started in the bilge and I have been changing all the hose clamps (and a lot of the hoses) on our boat from perforated to stamped. They were all stainless steel of various quality but I have so far found five that had failed...

You can also just manually control the latest Blue Seas ACR from the switch on the top if you don’t want another switch in the cockpit to accidentally leave in the wrong position.

The MSH can only take one 120vac input so if you have a 240VAC generator you are always trying to find loads for the other leg to balance it. Also you can’t link it to another Inverter to boost your output. That said if 3000/125 is enough for your setup and you can spend the time going through...

Raritan Elegance is great the only downsides are the fittings to mount it to the floor that are very fiddly and they have “captive nuts” inside that aren’t, so getting a good solid mount can take some time. Also I found the tall to not be that tall so I made a plinth to put it on to bring it up...

I notice the lower voltage because the digital thermostat controllers play up and flash if the voltage is too low. Luckily I have step up transformers to get the power back up to a nominal 220-240VAC. I take more care now to check it before I power up. Most dock hands think 50amps is 50amps so...

Not sure about the disparity but if your oil feeds and drains into the top of the coolers it holds some up there when the engine shuts down. I think that is the reason to check them running.

He didn’t quote ABYC as the reason I just mentioned it to validate his opinion. I think the reason was the potential for resistance across the bridging cable when a high start current was present versus the relatively low internal resistance of one unitary battery but I was too busy paying to...

I like Fusion but sadly the Apollo is not true multi zone multi source like a Sonos. I know because I bought an Apollo setup and it just isn’t stable and Partybus isn’t the same as Sonos. If you are really keen you can rewire the power supplies to take 12VDC on Sonos but don’t expect a warranty.

Soundown also make a lot of mounts etc but you might find your exhaust set up transmits more noise out of the sound shield than the mounts.

The main issue I have seen with hydraulic fittings from non marine outlets (and a lot of marine ones) is that corrode so I go around and put lanolin grease on mine every now and again.

Coastal Explorer (with C Map and/or NOAA) is great offshore or in simple areas but if you are working shallow water and or the ICW you want Navionics Sonar Charts. I run them back to back and Navionics has by far and away the best depth resolution. I understand that Garmin has now caught up...

It is a layer on the chart. On my old NSO you turned on “Fish and Chips” from memory

If you are ever near Stuart Florida and want to upgrade your Cat Alternators go to Vic’s DC. He has heaps of alternators and parts and stocks all the bits to convert them to external regulation including the Balmar fittings. Regards Paul

Desired amperage output can also on the battery manufacturer recommendations. Lifeline want you to go hard on the bulk phase and then taper off. Cat alternators can be pretty robust. Have you looked at upgrading them and then using external regulation. Some setups use one for the house bank...

Without hijacking the thread too much, I had two 6v batteries in each main engine start bank and I was told by a very experienced ABYC marine electrician to replace them with one 12VDC 8D and not to use 2 x 6VDc. One set had failed anyway so no great loss. Has anyone heard this from other...

If you have a BMK, unplug the power for about 15 mins and see if it clears it. Otherwise it may be a new unit. I have had to replace mine. Magnum technical support are pretty good during working hours. They may suggest taking the unit apart and cleaning it because sometimes bits of dirt get...

Also make sure that the ends of the heat exchanger tube are in good condition and not chipped at the edges. It makes them very hard to seal. Also don’t forget to make sure the holes in the outer tube are the right way up when you reassemble it. You will find that the back seal is the hardest...

Apparently there was a modification to put the black water out through the exhaust. Whether it caused the issue is still under investigation.

Even the high one could be a little taller so we mounted our Elegance on a shaped wooden plinth (built by a very cooperative and skilful German carpenter in Gaylesville) which also helped with the mounting over the old holes from the previous toilet. The only downside I found with the Elegance...

I have used Soundown under carpet insulation and am very happy with it. Seems ok protection the floor as long as you clean and dry the floor before putting it down. Our carpet is wall to wall but loose fit and it doesnt slide on the Soundown. It comes in 54” wide rolls. Regards Paul

Steve, Maybe I misunderstood about the number of keel cooled NL’s but what he told me is that the installers pull the heat exchanger tubes out of the generators and run them with coolant. I think the spare heat exchangers were called “pull outs” in the trade and that is why they are available...

Interesting solution to a dry exhaust through a fibreglass hull. It does exit above the waterline but it is routed in a trough through the hull to allow the water to cool the pipe. The exit point below the waterline is insulated from the hull.