tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1894348935602167743.post857114207893012357..comments2023-07-26T21:39:44.198-07:00Comments on Loopy Kiwi: Karma??...maybeLoopykiwihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01345361910464994333noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1894348935602167743.post-48678094394157160662012-08-07T06:31:13.904-07:002012-08-07T06:31:13.904-07:00Yes Chris, that is the setup on the 453. The refri...Yes Chris, that is the setup on the 453. The refrigeration is all subzero residential appliances at 115VAC, which is why I fitted the inverter in the first place. They are much more energy hungry than most AC/DC marine fridges that I have used or seen in the past...about 4 to 6 times as much. The concept of having to run a generator 24/7 when you are not connected to shore power just to keep the beer (and other things) cold is quite alien and unacceptable to me. I had hoped that if I left the system as it was I could get through a night without running the batteries so low that they couldn't start the engines, but that was not the case. The original RSM31 deep cycle batteries have been replaced at some stage with type 31 "diesel start batteries", so this makes the situation worse and will ulimately kill them as cranking batteries don't take kindly to being run flat and recharged all the time. At the moment my leaning is towards separating out two of the start batteries per engine as per the Volvo manual, and replacing the other one with as big a deep cycle as I can fit in the space. This won't give a lot of storage but it doesn't worry me as much to have the genset running to charge the house batteries as it does to not have the engines start when I want or need them to. The engine alternators will charge them and the start batteries via charging isolators, and the converter/charger will just charge the house. I figure the start batteries will get enough from the engine running to not have to be charged continuously.Loopykiwihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345361910464994333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1894348935602167743.post-7140210847855745622012-08-07T05:20:31.242-07:002012-08-07T05:20:31.242-07:00FWIW, we carry two folding bikes, one by Downtube ...FWIW, we carry two folding bikes, one by Downtube and one by West Marine. The former has a front suspension and is therefore more comfortable over rough surfaces, and it also has an 8-speed internal hub with twist-grip shifter... but the fastening hardware isn't 316 stainless so rust can be an issue. The latter is the less expensive Jetty Express model, with a 3-speed derailleur with twist-grip shifter... quite adequate, and better fasteners. I believe the sturdy luggage rack is the most important feature.<br /><br />About batteries: yep, Silverton often used 3x batteries per side, and each main bank runs approx half the house, plus either bridge electronics (starboard bank, on ours) or bridge electrics (our port bank). As delivered, I think Silverton told me the batteries were automotive Group 29s for our model. I changed to 3x Marine Group 31s per side, and also to AGMs, to increase available amp-hours and to reduce the maintenence requirements. The Sears Platinum Plus PM-1 AGMs have become popular with Silverton owners (especially when they offer sale prices); they're essentially Odyssey PC-2150s, with 1150 CCAs and the typical 100 Ah rating per battery.<br /><br />If the generator starting battery is near one of the other banks, you could also consider adding one battery to that main bank, jumping the charger properly, and thereby gaining some Ah on that side. At the expense of dedicated genset starting, but you also have a parallel switch so you could always briefly tie all 7 batteries together to start the generator if necessary (and the gennie requires fewer CCAs, anyway).<br /><br />Changing incandescent bulbs to LEDs could buy you a little improvement (at some expense), especially the anchor light. Another thought might be about your fridges. If they're combination AC-DC models and you're running them on AC provided by the inverter, you might be losing some slight amount of efficiency within the inverter/converter processes. Our fridges (NovaKool) say they run on either AC or DC, but the compressor actually only runs on DC... so the AC input is always converted to DC first. If you're inverting from DC to AC, then the fridge is converting AC back to DC, you'll be losing a bit in the processes.<br /><br />I know several members in the Silverton Owners Club have installed a separate house bank to feed the inverter. I haven't, but that's mostly because we don't particularly use AC appliances all that much when underway or at anchor... without just using the generator at the same time (e.g., cooking, while charging batteries). Because of that, the inverter idea is just further down my list of nice-to-haves.<br /><br />-ChrisChrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12574345922051202283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1894348935602167743.post-39781544815831440942012-08-06T17:56:49.903-07:002012-08-06T17:56:49.903-07:00Glad you met Qs End. This is their second Loop. ...Glad you met Qs End. This is their second Loop. Fine folks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1894348935602167743.post-44298576165787436542012-08-05T17:02:30.189-07:002012-08-05T17:02:30.189-07:00Happy Birthday! Safe travels, we found that on La...Happy Birthday! Safe travels, we found that on Lake Michigan its best to be off and tied up by 1-2pm at the latest. Enjoy the journey!Sweet Peahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06921610611113471379noreply@blogger.com