Author: fourcountiesmarineservices

***I have a kit with a 6PK poly-v crank pulley conversion so this alternator to be fitted to some other Barrus Shire.***

Narrowboat Funky Fish at Sherborne Wharf. Remove faulty obsolete Dometic 230V Travel Power replacing with a 12V 200 amp Bosch alternator, along with the full Mastervolt kit.

Modify the Bosch alternator adding a tacho feed and adapting the regulator to work with a Mastervolt Alpha Pro. Mastervolt modify the bolt-through Mercedes Sprinter version of this Bosch alternator and sell it for ~£1800- https://www.chmarine.com/mastervolt-alpha-compact-alternator-14-200a/ The version I fit has pivot type mounting/tensioning which is much more suited to all the engines I work on.

Setup really is awesome delivering over 250 amps under load. With the full Mastervolt setup alternator temperature is monitored and output backed off if necessary giving unstressed & reliable power. And there’s a small engine feature which limits alternator load below a preset rpm.

Fit 6* Leoch AGM 12V batteries and perfectly balance. Overall I’m really impressed with the Mastervolt system.

Winter work ’20/’21 on shared narrowboat ‘The Pride of York’ at Kings Bromley Marina. Boat had numerous recent repairs to the Dometic 3.5 Travel Power’s Powerbox by another company and it’s failed again. Syndicate have lost faith and decided to look at different options. Equipment on the boat is: 2.5KW Electric kettle; Washer/Dryer; Toaster; Microwave; Hoover.

I fit a 3000VA Victron Inverter. It’s permanently left switched on but setup to only work while the engine is running. All cable sizes are upgraded and a Mega Fuse and Blue Sea isolator switch installed for it.

I fit a 175A Mahle/Iskra alternator with freewheeling pulley to charge the domestic batteries/run the Victron inverter, and remove the domestic 95A Iskra. There’s a weakness in the Beta 43’s crank/front pulley setup and it’s important to limit alternator/Travel Power loads particularly at tickover. It was possible to upgrade the 95A alternator to a 175A alternator but in this setup we felt it best to use the Travel Power position which is closer to the crank.

No 12V alternator can compete with the performance of the 3.5 Travel Power so for reliability and to look after the batteries (particularly since it’s a well used share boat) some changes have to be made: 230V Kettle is removed as the boat has gas hob anyway. I fit a 1300W heater element to the Indesit Washer/Dryer & disable the dryer element.

All the other appliances can be used while engine is running but it’s important that they’re only used on their own. All new Victron equipment has a 5 year warranty which gives good piece of mind.

 

Engine had been recently serviced with a new alternator belt but it still squeals under high load. Problem is the 175 Amp Iskra/Mahle alternator with it’s solid pulley is too much for the 6PK belt running.

The alternator manufacturer fitted an 8PK solid pulley but engine mariniser runs it with a 6PK belt without the wrap achievable in other applications where idler pulleys/tensioners are used. Symptoms are chirping belt, need to frequently retension/replace and black belt dust. The 6PK freewheeling pulley I fit solves the issue.

Alternator bracket on the engine has to be modified to get correct alignment and everything shimmed to suit.

Customer can’t believe the difference and says it’s like a different engine.

My customers cruise in the Summer months and rely on a mobility scooter. This year it means less cruising and more time moored in accessible locations with a need to recharge the built in scooter battery from a 230V inverter.

We fit a 600 watt system with Victron 100/50 Smartsolar MPPT controller. System works well and in Summer keeps up with the high power demands of the scooters 230V battery charger. At customers request cables are routed inside the boat. At the same time I fit 4* Trojan 6 volt T125 batteries and rewire to suit.

Work on bespoke Narrowboat ‘Ploddinon’ to improve the charging system. Spec of this new Barrus 50 engine looks impressive on paper with a 240 amp domestic alternator. In reality the owner has found the factory setup not up to modern live-aboard demands.

Charging voltage & current low. Belt squeak and squealing under high load on initial startup or running equipment off the inverter. Alternator’s non adjustable regulator set at low 14.2 ish Volts and large battery bank just not getting charged properly (taking time to reach even 14.0+V). The theoretical 240 amps is unobtainable due to low regulator voltage setting. And the solid alternator (non freewheeling) with narrow 6pk alternator pulley can’t reliably transmit more than around 100-130 amps at 12V. I bring it up to the same spec of a Beta Marine 43/50 engine fitting a quality 175amp Iskra Alternator with a freewheeling pulley. Now ~120 Amp+ at tickover with standard 14.6V regulator and the engine runs noticeably quieter and smoother. Install Adverc system adjusted to 14.8V (sensed at batteries ) to suit the Trojan battery bank. Engine charging system totally transformed and customer happy.

 

Went out to charging/battery problems on a Stoke-on-Trent boat with Beta 43 and unusual Delco Remy 12V 150A alternator. Main negative lead from batteries taken to engine bearer so engine/alternator earthing through just exhaust/hull. An Adverc has been fitted but since the earth senses at alternator and postive at batteries it doesn’t compensate for any voltage drops on neagtive charge lead – charging voltage approx 0.5V down at 60 amps. Been like that since built in 2003 but problems develop as new owner is a livaboard. Moving earth to alternator casing solves poor charging voltages. New 600AH bank of Trojan batteries fitted with Adverc adjusted to suit.

Before and after photos. Before 3KW Victron Multiplus drawing from one end of bank.  Also fit a Victron BMV700 Monitor. If you look carefully I’ve switched start battery location in the tray to make fitting the Victron BMV Shunt neater and limit cable runs – using the negative start battery terminal to take most negative cables to. This is a useful way to minimise the number of terminals fitted to the Victron Shunt. They’re now properly balanced.  Use the best quality copper tube terminals with 50mm tinned cable.

Fit a solar power system for a livaboard continuous cruiser in Sheffield Basin.

Panels are neatly mounted flat with my custom made stainless steel brackets. Wired in series through a Victron SmartSolar 100/50 controller so the system can be monitored using the Victron Connect App.

Also fit a Nasa battery monitor and neat & efficient Victron 800W inverter and bring all associated wiring up to spec to suit all the new gear.

Ultimate charging upgrade for an Isuzu 42 with standard V pulleys. 120 amp domestic and 90 amp start alternators with custom pulleys/quadpower belts twinned with Victron Cyrix combiner. ***As of April 2020 I now have a 175A Poly V with Freewheeling pulley drive available for these Isuzu engines.***

1300 watt Candy 100f fitted from new but the original 70amp alternator doesn’t keep up at any engine speed and batteries take a hammering which always happens on the Aqualine boats of this era.

Now generates 1.1kw at 800rpm tickover and excess power just off tickover.

Swapped out the original faulty 1960’s Lucas alternator for a modern equivalent. No heavy demands but the boat has 3 battery banks with a dedicated battery to supply the bilge pump in the hold. An Adverc is also fitted to compensate for the voltage drop with the split charge diode and all the battery, starter and alternator cables are replaced at the same time. The original alternator had a battery sense connection which the Adverc replaces.

Winter work, 2018. Swap out the original 20 year old Perkins for a Beta 43. Beatrice is a popular and much loved trip boat on the Caldon Canal run by a great group of people and out pretty much everyday from April – October.

Old engine out. All the work was done at Park Lane Services on the Caldon. I’m well setup to do this type of work on the towpath with cordless power tools, genset welder, lifting tackle etc..

Tapering engine bearers modified and profile cut steelwork welded in ready for the much smaller Beta.

New engine partially stripped down to fit under the rear hand rail. Light as a feather compared to the Perkins.

Centaflex coupling and new smaller propellor fitted to suit the new setup. Rudder has to be dropped out and old prop/shaft pulled out backwards while a short shaft pushed in from the front. All done on the towpath with no need for a dock.

 

Heat exchanger fitted before the skin tank. This transfers excess heat from the engine cooling system to the existing cabin central heating system. Works really well and ultra reliable heating ideal for a trip boat. On Beatrice it will replace the ancient Webasto system. Hospital silencer also fitted. Blanking plate & bleed fitted replacing the original unreliable pressure cap on the engine as optional remote header tank fitted. Charity is really happy with all the work.

Called out to Pillings lock marina. Webasto playing up – not starting up and for some time has been taking longer to warm up.

Main fault is that water has got inside the power plug and damaged a terminal in the plug and burnt one of the pins. This fault isn’t that uncommon and Webasto dealers would be changing the circuit board and plug (£300+). If the heater timer is left on it’s possible fuel is dumped into the exhaust as heater continually momuntarily switches on and then off as voltage at the pin drops out under glowpin load.

Only proper way to fix is to solder leads directly to the pins – cables properly soldered to the pins, sealed using adhesive lined heat shrink and then silicon which is hard to see in the photo. This is a 100% reliable fix.

The problem with the heater taking longer to warm up than normal is down to fuel supply issue. The original installer had T’d into the engine feed after a pre filter which is most likely partially blocked. This is a really common error and done to save time in the installation.

Best to install the Webasto fuel supply properly with dedicated feed taking diesel from around 6 inches off the bottom of the tank. Heater now runs perfectly.

Customer contacted me after speaking to a boater for whom I fitted a solar power kit previously. They wanted the best quality equipment so I fitted 2* LG335 panels with my mounting bracket kit and Victron 150/45 Smartsolar controller. 6mm cable from panels to controller and 35mm cable to batteries.

A curved Liverpool Boat/Orchard Marine roof which my brackets fit perfectly. Saw 610 Watts and over 40amps at 12V in mid day sun which is very good for April. Also install a Victron BMV700 battery monitor. Customer very pleased with the job.

An engineer had fitted a Webasto Thermo Top Z as a replacement for an Eberspacher D5W. The photo shows how badly the install was done – notice they’d used the original 24mm Eberspacher exhaust (Webasto 22mm), Eberspacher fuel pump (which has different pulse rate to the Webasto and heater running way too cool never getting up to temp), and connected Eberspacher 4mm fuel line to 5mm Webasto burner. Also see the header tank feeds outlet side of heater (not low pressure side of waterpump) and this always is a bad idea and making bleeding v difficult. The Thermo Top Z’s were fitted to Rover 75’s and Land Rover in early 2000’s. People will tell you settings are different  – running temp is slightly higher and cut off voltage is higher but this has no affect on how it will run if properly installed in a narrowboat. Only problem with the Thermo Top Z is control units can fail and they’re now nearly 20 yo.

I properly install a Webasto Thermo Top E kit. Steel upstand welded to the swim and heater mounted on rubber mounts. New isolation ball valve and Webasto copper fuel line kit. Hard to see in photos. Customer very happy with the work and noise from the heater through the boat kept and minimum.

**175 Amp conversion now available**

Called out to a 2010 narrowboat in Penkridge with battery problems on an Isuzu 42 engine. For the 12 months of ownership there’s always been a problem with fridge cutting out in morning. New set of batteries recently fitted at boatyard but problems still persist. Poor output from alternator. I fit this 120amp alternator:

With a 60mm pulley and Gates Quadpower belt.

Also fit a Victron BMV700 battery monitor and rewire/balance the battery bank. The new alternator keeps up with the Zanussi washing machine. At the same time resolved problem with solar install. Customer delighted.

The most popular alternator upgrade job that I do – I’ve fitted this kit to ~ 200 Barrus Shire engines all over the canal network.

It replaces the original factory fitted 80 amp alternator which is expensive, unreliable and has poor performance providing nowhere the rated 80 amps. The kit I fit is far better in every respect. Charging performance is transformed with tickover output significantly improved.

The shims and a high speed pulley have been made for this specific job and this marine alternator fits perfectly. I use a longer Gates Quadpower belt which increases wrap around the pulley and brings the alternator further away from the exhaust manifold.

Cable sizes should suit the 90 amp output. Notice in the photo with the original alternator the cable size is 10mm. I upgraded the charge circuit to 35mm including the battery link leads and earth.

Have to be careful with the fixings for the terminals – with heat the insulating washer on the B+ terminal shrinks and can cause the nuts to loosen off which can destroy the alternator. I fit spring washers and locking nuts to prevent this. Also the insulated return negative terminal is only M5 and with the original nuts sustained high current can be too much for the contact – fitting good quality copper tube terminals and extra nuts helps this.

Charging has been totally transformed and customer very happy with the job.

 

 

 

 

The boat has an Alde Compact gas boiler fitted from new. My liveaboard customer doesn’t want to be reliant on expensive and inconvenient gas. I installed a Webasto Thermotop C diesel boiler into the Semi Trad engine bay. All my installations are done to the very highest standards. It’s very hard to hear the heater running from inside the boat.

Originally customer was expecting to remove the Alde boiler but we retained it and the 2 systems work perfectly alongside each other with no compromise. Also fitted the latest Webasto Thermocall module and the heater can be remotely controlled using the Webasto smartphone app.

Customer delighted with the work.

It’s very important the fuel supply and central heating circuit inside the boat are installed to Webasto’s specifications to ensure that the heater performs efficiently and is reliable long term. These are points and basic standards which you might assume every Webasto fitter installs to. Many engineers, boatyards and even main dealers don’t install to these fundamental standards. Above the basic requirements my installs are always neat and tidy and well thought out. The standard looms shortened, clipped and supported properly. Exhaust systems are supported and installed neatly and where necessary extra lagging is used – the lagging sock supplied by Webasto are not great. Fuel pipe is properly fixed and supported. I pay great attention to refinement and add extra features so the heater runs quietly. Sometimes the heater can be mounted on a welded steel upstand on the swim. This is a neat way to install, keeps fuel pipe lengths short, and helps maximise refinement inside the cabin.

Trojan T105 batteries have become much more popular in the last 3/4 years. They are high quality, have a capacity closer to what they are advertised at, are good value and have a long life if looked after.

Typically 4* Trojans will replace 3* standard 110AH leisure batteries.

On this job 3* Crown 155AH batteries were replaced with 4* Trojan T105’s. 50mm link leads. All loads taken across the bank (which is sometimes hard with the standard short studs with less room for the terminals). Crown batteries are excellent quality but have only lasted 3 seasons of light use which is pretty poor. I think this is partly down to the original fitment of a Beta Alternator controller (on Beta 43). I removed this and fitted a standard Iskra regulator which gives higher charging voltage over a longer time.

Smartgauge also installed – simple to fit and use, and relatively accurate battery monitor.

I had to completely replace the loom after what I assume must have been the ignition feed to optional 110amp alternator shorted out on the engine bearer. Completely destroyed the wiring loom and could have caused a fire.

Most engine mariners fit a fuse at the starter motor to protect the ignition/engine loom but for this engine they didn’t. Well worth checking yours if you have an Isuzu fitted.