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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 17:39:24 GMT
My tunnel light uses a car headlamp which, of course, has two filaments. There is a handy change-over switch so, that, if one filament fails, I can switch to the other quickly. Not sure if this is common or not? I had one of those, until a bas**** knicked it whilst we were moored on the Bridgewater at Dunham Massey. Rog
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Post by naughtyfox on Jul 2, 2017 12:45:37 GMT
We might have. In tha pub a t'moment, will look to see what ours is when we get back to boat in 15 mins.
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Post by Telemachus on Jul 2, 2017 20:22:17 GMT
Does anybody here have a Mastervolt Mass Combi 12/2500-100 Sine Wave Inverter/Battery Charger Combination ? (and would be prepared to message me to help me understand the basics of it and if I have a problem with its current state) Yes, and yes.
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Post by Jim on Jul 2, 2017 21:44:59 GMT
Re radio and sound system, I use my smartphone , a Bose Bluetooth speaker and BBC iPlayer or a Roberts duologic DAB radio. That has a DC input, also takes and charges U2 rechargeable batteries, so they can be replaced, unlike Li-ion batteries. I have couple of combined ciggy lighter sockets and 5v usb outputs off fleabay. Minimal power consumption and decent sound.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2017 22:06:46 GMT
Re radio and sound system, I use my smartphone , a Bose Bluetooth speaker and BBC iPlayer or a Roberts duologic DAB radio. That has a DC input, also takes and charges U2 rechargeable batteries, so they can be replaced, unlike Li-ion batteries. I have couple of combined ciggy lighter sockets and 5v usb outputs off fleabay. Minimal power consumption and decent sound. I used to use the Bose wave speaker with Bluetooth dongle but part of me wants to try to improve what is already there. I suppose I'm trying to keep the Les Allen as original as possible. The items I mentioned are all built into the top of a cabinet, probably when the boat was built in '89. The easiest thing to do at the moment is to replace the old DIN 1 car radio with a working modern equivalent. It means I can still utilise the perfectly good 4 x Pioneer car speakers fitted into the boat panels. I'll obviously leave the old amplifier unplugged (which I think might be the offending item fot the spurious current draw) but the car radio sits on top so I may as well leave it in place. Same with the CD changer, why remove it when it fills a hole? Maybe I'm just too lazy.
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Post by lollygagger on Jul 3, 2017 7:49:08 GMT
I would get some cable, Bluetooth IME is power sapping technology.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 21:24:31 GMT
Talking about electricity. I've always been a bit surprised about the capacity of our batteries. So I fitted a voltmeter to gauge consumption over the last year. Recently I noticed that the voltage would drop randomly to 11.8 to 11.9 volts from say 12.2v. So whilst the voltage was reading 11.9v I switched off each MCB in turn to see which circuit was causing the problem. The suspect circuit was the one which had the label 'bath, rad pumps'. When this switch was off the voltage returned to 12.3v. On inspection I found that not only the pumps were on this circuit but also the 3 way fridge (which is only connected to gas) and the HiFi system (despite there being another MCB labelled 'Radio TV'. In the end I disconnected the supply to all of the HiFi equipment (an old car stereo, amplifier and 6 CD changer). This cured the spurious voltage drop. Not only that, the general power consumption on the boat has been dramatically improved. I'm now wondering how much fuel I've wasted over the years due to this problem! So I'm going to treat myself to a modern car stereo with Bluetooth and DAB and leave the CD changer and amplifier unplugged. Just an update on this. I've fitted the new radio and the old CD changer and amplifier are completely disconnected from the 12v supply. All is fine but it seems the spurious voltage drop still occurs and remains until I switch the MCB off and back on again. . So the queston is, why would this voltage drop recover just by switching an MCB off and back on again. It can stay good for many hours afterwards. Weird..
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Post by Telemachus on Jul 4, 2017 21:40:17 GMT
Where are you measuring the voltage? If it's after that MCB then it's dirty/corroded MCB contacts. If elsewhere then harder to say but there must be a high resistance connection somewhere and perhaps it is just the vibration from operating the MCB that shakes it into submission, or possibly a brief current surge that makes a bit of an arc over the bad connection thus temporarily "fixing" it.
I suggest that next time you notice the voltage drop, measure the voltage at the batteries (which will presumably be un-dropped) and then work your way along both the +be and -ve wiring until you find the source of the drop.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2017 21:54:02 GMT
Where are you measuring the voltage? If it's after that MCB then it's dirty/corroded MCB contacts. If elsewhere then harder to say but there must be a high resistance connection somewhere and perhaps it is just the vibration from operating the MCB that shakes it into submission, or possibly a brief current surge that makes a bit of an arc over the bad connection thus temporarily "fixing" it. I suggest that next time you notice the voltage drop, measure the voltage at the batteries (which will presumably be un-dropped) and then work your way along both the +be and -ve wiring until you find the source of the drop. I'm measuring it after the MCB. Yes, good tips there. Maybe I'll swap the wires over to a spare MCB if the voltage is Ok at the battery next time iit happens. I have had a similar problem before which I thought went away when I tightened up the battery terminals. Oh well, at least I've got something to try. Thanks Nick.
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Post by Telemachus on Jul 4, 2017 22:31:59 GMT
Where are you measuring the voltage? If it's after that MCB then it's dirty/corroded MCB contacts. If elsewhere then harder to say but there must be a high resistance connection somewhere and perhaps it is just the vibration from operating the MCB that shakes it into submission, or possibly a brief current surge that makes a bit of an arc over the bad connection thus temporarily "fixing" it. I suggest that next time you notice the voltage drop, measure the voltage at the batteries (which will presumably be un-dropped) and then work your way along both the +be and -ve wiring until you find the source of the drop. I'm measuring it after the MCB. Yes, good tips there. Maybe I'll swap the wires over to a spare MCB if the voltage is Ok at the battery next time iit happens. I have had a similar problem before which I thought went away when I tightened up the battery terminals. Oh well, at least I've got something to try. Thanks Nick. Yes most probably a dodgy MCB then. The action of moving the contacts apart, then together again, has a degree of a cleaning effect especially with some types of breaker that have a wiping action for the contacts, as well as a coming together. Are these MCBs actually rated for 12v dc? You need a better quality of contact (less prone to corrosion, ie a better quality of plating) for lower voltages than you do for mains voltages.
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Post by tonyqj on Jul 5, 2017 5:46:29 GMT
Are these MCBs actually rated for 12v dc? You need a better quality of contact (less prone to corrosion, ie a better quality of plating) for lower voltages than you do for mains voltages. That's exactly the question that went through what passes for my mind. Not only a better quality of contact but greater separation and a 'snappier' disconnect mechanism.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2017 9:01:37 GMT
I'm measuring it after the MCB. Yes, good tips there. Maybe I'll swap the wires over to a spare MCB if the voltage is Ok at the battery next time iit happens. I have had a similar problem before which I thought went away when I tightened up the battery terminals. Oh well, at least I've got something to try. Thanks Nick. Yes most probably a dodgy MCB then. The action of moving the contacts apart, then together again, has a degree of a cleaning effect especially with some types of breaker that have a wiping action for the contacts, as well as a coming together. Are these MCBs actually rated for 12v dc? You need a better quality of contact (less prone to corrosion, ie a better quality of plating) for lower voltages than you do for mains voltages. Interesting! I can confirm the Crabtree MCB bank is rated for 240//415v (3 phase). I'm not sure how old it is (Model SB6000) or how long it has been fitted, but it does look like more than 10 years, maybe it was installed when the boat was built in 1989. I decided to switch that circuit over to a spare 16A MCB anyway. Initial signs look good but I've been here before! One entertaining thing is watching the voltage drop when the bass on the new stereo is driving hard. Maybe I shouldn't go to eleven?
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Post by Telemachus on Jul 5, 2017 9:17:55 GMT
Yes most probably a dodgy MCB then. The action of moving the contacts apart, then together again, has a degree of a cleaning effect especially with some types of breaker that have a wiping action for the contacts, as well as a coming together. Are these MCBs actually rated for 12v dc? You need a better quality of contact (less prone to corrosion, ie a better quality of plating) for lower voltages than you do for mains voltages. Interesting! I can confirm the Crabtree MCB bank is rated for 240//415v (3 phase). I'm not sure how old it is (Model SB6000) or how long it has been fitted, but it does look like more than 10 years, maybe it was installed when the boat was built in 1989. I decided to switch that circuit over to a spare 16A MCB anyway. Initial signs look good but I've been here before! One entertaining thing is watching the voltage drop when the bass on the new stereo is driving hard. Maybe I shouldn't go to eleven? I can't find any data for those (obsolete) breakers but I suspect they are not designed for 12v dc. Still, sounds like it's lasted quite a while. You can get second hand ones from eBay etc if you need to replace it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2017 9:21:43 GMT
Interesting! I can confirm the Crabtree MCB bank is rated for 240//415v (3 phase). I'm not sure how old it is (Model SB6000) or how long it has been fitted, but it does look like more than 10 years, maybe it was installed when the boat was built in 1989. I decided to switch that circuit over to a spare 16A MCB anyway. Initial signs look good but I've been here before! One entertaining thing is watching the voltage drop when the bass on the new stereo is driving hard. Maybe I shouldn't go to eleven? I can't find any data for those (obsolete) breakers but I suspect they are not designed for 12v dc. Still, sounds like it's lasted quite a while. You can get second hand ones from eBay etc if you need to replace it. Ok Nick, I'll take that as the next step if this spare MCB plays up...there might be a reason it's spare lol.
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Post by lollygagger on Jul 5, 2017 9:24:52 GMT
I had a 10" powered sub in one of my campers, it would flatten a 115ah battery in about 6 hours.
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