FIRST SPRING PROJECT DONE: TBS Expert Pro Battery Monitor instal

With winter finally releasing is grip on the Isle of Long it felt good to finally start to make a dent in the spring outfitting ToDo list. I choose a fast and easy one. Last year I bought a new controller from Annapolis Hybrid Marine. Unfortunately, the new controller was not compatible with the old Xantrex XBM Battery Monitor installed ten years ago. So I bought a new TBS E-xpert Pro Battery Monitor that is compatble with the new controller. It was a quick replacement as both fit the same mounting hole and I just had to plug it into the new controller box. The old XBM Battery Monitor will still be used on board since my plan is to re purpose it's use as a battery monitor for my current house bank. But, that is a project for another day.

FIXING A HOLE: HEADLINERS AND HANDRAILS

Builders of production boats have tended to put decorative headliners into their design so they could make them all nice and pretty for some buyers. The sleek clean interior helps sell boats along with other useless things like three burner stoves and ovens. While headliners make things all nice and "purty" they can also cover up deck fittings that are leaking and also make maintenance of deck mounted items harder. As I found out several years ago when I decided to remove and remount the handrails on BIANKA. The boat builder drilled small little holes in the liner to access the screws that held the handrails to the deck:

They then covered the holes with small plastic caps. It looked neat but, it was a pain when I started on the project to remove the hand rails so I decided to...

RETHINKING PROPANE: The Final Piece

I've finished with the dismantling of the Hillerange stovetop and oven. I've also removed the Paloma on demand water heater. The remaining piece I need to remove from the twenty thee year old propane system resides in the propane locker. It is the gauge, regulator and solenoid assembly that connect to the propane storage tank in the propane locker to the hose that enters the cabin:

 These will be the final pieces of the old propane system that I will remove from the boat. The assembly is not that big or heavy but, it was somewhat of an energy hog when in operation. As I checked out in a previous post.   Gas flow required that the 12 volt solenoid be energized and used over one amp when in operation. The ability to cook on the Hillerange Seward stove or use the hot water heater depended on having a working 12 volt battery bank.  In the process of simplifying the propane system I have also created a more reliable system with which to cook. One not dependent on other boat systems working. That's a good thing.

UNPLANNED BENEFITS OF PROJECTS

After removing the twenty three year old Paloma water heater as part of my rethinking propane project. I opened up a lot of space for use. Looking at the cabinet area where it once resided. I saw an opportunity to move over the Brita water filter over into the water heater space.

If it would fit in the space behind the Paloma access door.

My first attempt was a no go. The cabinet door that help hide the heater would not allow the Brita water filter to fit. So I removed the door which was held on by hinges attached with square drive screws. Using one of the square drive screwdrivers I carry on board it was a quick job to remove the door.

Success! The Brita Water Filter would  fit in the space. But, first I had to add another shelf in the back of the cabinet to support the rear of the water filter:

Once this was done I was able to fit  the Brita right into the space

 and it looked like it was planned that way. But, the reality was it's just an unplanned outcome of my rethinking propane project. Another benefit of the move was the outlet water valve for the Brita is now over the sink instead of the counter. So any unplanned drips do not have to be wiped up.

RETHINKING PROPANE: Dismantling the Hillerange Seaward Stove Part Four

After the finishing clearing out the oven box I returned to the top of the stove where I will use the Coleman Burner Stove for my primary cooking.

 Now that the Hillerange burners and gas valves were removed I need to do a good cleaning of the basin that will contain the burner. I used my one gallon wet/dry vac to remove what I could. But, there was still some greasy and rust spots that needed particular attention:

 I used some white vinegar and baking soda, Simple Green a stainless steel brush and a  DBTech Multi-Purpose Pressurized Steam Cleaner.

The steam clearer really helps to get at the grease and grime that found  it's way into the crevices over two decades of cooking. It also helps to remove rust spots. It also helps to sterilize surfaces. It's a handy thing to have around for a job like this. A small  Stainless Steel Brush also came in handy along with the steam in cleaning some of the stoves rusted metal and stainless steel surface:

I also needed to remove a few things left over on top of the stove. One was the leftover piece of the burner gas manifold bracket that I had to cut using a Dremel tool with a cut off blade:

Using a small vise grip this was easily removed with the screw still firmly attached:

I also used the Dremel Tool with a cutoff blade to cut off the stainless steel feed tubes that previously fed the pilot light and oven burner:

Here is the before view afterI removed the gas manifold, burners and gas valves but, had not yet cleaned things up. You can see some of the  the rust where the iron burner brackets were screwed into the stainless steel surface and the gas feed tubes on the right :

Here is the after photo:

That's much better. I can now put the Coleman burner in it's proper place on top of the cleaned stove top. I'm pretty happy with the transformation. I've created more storage for my pots and pans in the oven box. Plus, I still have a well gimbaled burner with which to cook on :

So one project is out of the way. Next I'll move on to the next project which is  remove the hot water heater as I continue to rethink propane on board and how I use it.

RETHINKING PROPANE: Dismantling the Hillerange Seaward Stove Part Three

I was away from the boat for two weeks as work got in the way once again. But, then it will allow me to pay the boatyard for dropping the morning back in the water. So it is a trade off. When I got back on board I continued on the propane project which entails partially dismantling the Hillerange Seward Stove that has been on board since 1986. Due to corrosion in the burner area and the expense of rebuilding it I decided to abandon it's use as a stove and oven and use alternative cooking plans. I was able to remove most of the burner, controls and manifold on my last visit to the boat. On this visit I planned to take a look at the oven and see what I could remove there. Since I've owned BIANKA since 1995 I think I've used the oven twice. Frankly, trying to start it was always difficult and somewhat scary. Which is why I won't miss it much. But, I did store some cooking items inside of it as shown below:

   

Though they were just covers and bowls and oven pans in the limited space available. So since I no longer  plan on using the oven I thought it would be good to remove the burner and whatever else I could take off the boat. First I removed all the "stuff" that was stored in the oven:

The area needs a good cleaning and there is some rust that needs to taken care of. First thing was remove the oven tray. I found this was just held in place by two screws located in the back of the oven:

Once the tray is removed I had easy access to oven burner:

A screw on the left side holds it in place:

Over on the right side is a nut that connects the pilot light to it's stainless steel feed pipe securing the right side:

Once the screw on the left side and the pilot feed nut are removed the whole burner assembly is easily removed:

Removing the oven tray and oven burner created a much bigger storage area in the now unused oven space:

It needs a good cleanup  and some rust removal and I think I'll do some re painting in the future. But, I am happy with that the space that opened up by removing the burner:

I was now able to store all of the pots and pans I use on board in the oven area. Including my cast iron frying pan and four quart pressure cooker.  I still need to remove some of the oven pans which I will no longer use too. With the unused oven burner parts removed and the additional storage space created, I'll turn my attention to cleaning up the top burner area.

REWIRING THE HEAD LIGHT: PART TWO

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Now that I had rewired the house wiring that connected to the light fixture with Anderson Powerpole connectors. It was time to rewire the fixture it's self. I soldered some wires to the connections for the switch and put Anderson Powerpole connectors on the other end of theses wires. I also soldered some wires onto the LED light being careful not to use too much heat while doing so to avoid any damage to the electronics of the light disk. NOTE: The LED light I used is not polarity sensitive so it did not matter which lead I made positive or negative. You need to check the wiring specs of the specific LED you may use as this is not always the case. 
At the other end of these wires I put on the appropriate colored Anderson Powerpole connectors.
Once all the connectors were on the proper wires. I used cables ties to make things secure, reinstalled the fixture into the head area and connected it to the house wiring:

I put some white electrical tape behind the LED just to make sure it would not short out to the light frame. Using the Anderson Powerpole connectors will allow for the easy addition of more LED lights or changes and modifications in the future. For example one thing I might add in the future is a red LED light for nightlight use and to prevent loss of night vision when sailing at night. Only thing remaining is to put the cover back on the fixture frame and this project is done for now:

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INSTRUMENTATION PART 10: CURRENT METER INSTALLATION

With the battery voltage meter part of the instrumentation project finished. It was time to move on to the important current meter part of the project. BIANKA already had a Xantrex XBM battery monitor but, to see it required that I move away from the helm and lift a cockpit hatch and bend down to see it. It was awkward and inconvenient to look at while underway.

I went looking for another meter that could measure the current being drawn from or charging the battery bank. But, the catch was I did not want to have to put in another shunt for measuring  current in the battery circuit like the XBM battery monitor already used. I wanted to keep any extra connections to a minimum. To do that I needed to use a hall effect type of current meter.  It determines a current value by measuring the magnetic flux around a piece of wire with current flowing through it. I found exactly what I needed with a company called Devicecraft. They had a hall effect current meter with a transducer that would fit the 2 AWG wires that connect to  BIANKA's 48 volt electric propulsion battery bank.



The hook up is farely simple.


The display required a supply voltage and three wires that go to the hall effect transducer.  I needed to run the transducer wires about eight feet and used some   Twisted Servo Hookup Wire,   normally used in things like model cars and planes:

Like I did for some of the wires for the battery voltage meters part of this project I enclosed the transducer wires in a  Techflex General Purpose 1/4-inch Braided Cable Sleeve.  This was to keep the wires together and also protect them from chafing.

The 100 amp Hall effect sensor will fit over the 2 AWG cable that is used in the my electric propulsion system but, would not fit over the existing lug. So I needed cut the existing battery cable. I used a ratcheting wire cutter like a Klein ratcheting cable cutter which cuts heavy duty battery cable easily:

and makes a nice flush cut:

I took the opportunity to trim some other 2 AWG  battery interconnections that were a little too long from my initial electric propulsion installation five years ago too.  The Hall Effect transducer has a polarity in terms of it's display. That is if you a drawing current from the battery the display should show a negative sign in the display. Likewise when charging the battery it is useful to see the current flow as positive (no minus sign) on the digital display.  In order to make sure I got the polarity right I used some of the trimmed battery cables and a jumper to check the polarity of the meter.

Once I had established the proper orientation for the sensor I put it on the battery cable and crimped a new lug on the end and reconnected it to the battery. I then ran the sensor wires up through the cockpit wire conduit I made and into the helm area using one of the  Fiberglass Wire Pull Rods    I carry on board:

It was then just a matter of hooking up the sensor and power wires to the current display and the instrumentation project was finished:

I mounted it the box temporarily at the helm and used it on my fall cruise up the Hudson River and back. I still need to make a permanent platform for the box at the helm location but, that is a project for another day.

HELM INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART NINE CLICK HERE

HELM INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART ONE CLICK HERE

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART EIGHT: Wiring the Panel

The instrumentation project is pretty simple setup whose purpose is to give me real time access to battery voltages and battery current readings while at the helm. Boats with a diesel usually have an instrument panel to monitor the internal combustion engine in the cockpit. On a boat with electric propulsion it's also good to monitor what is going on down below too though they are different parameters. So the initial setup for the project included a digital voltmeter on each battery, a total pack voltage meter and a current meter to monitor how much current the battery was providing (or how much current was flowing into it if charging).

The above schematic shows the DC Voltmeter wiring. Installing and wiring up the panel was not difficult. The hardest part was deciding what to use to connect the batteries to the panel. I decided to use Anderson Powerpole Connectors.

As this would allow the panel to be disconnected easily for repair or storage as needed. I've started to use them elsewhere on board with good results. They are quality connectors with wiping contacts that hold up very well in my experience.  I already had several  4PDT Heavy Duty Toggle Switches on board that I was originally was going to use for the solar bimini. But, after finding some 48 volt solar panels I no longer needed  to use the switches for charging. So I used it to switch the four digital panel meters for the individual batteries on and off. I installed the switch first since it is rather large and I wanted to make sure it fit correctly:

Then I found a location for the eight Anderson Connectors that connect to the fuses on the batteries:
One nice thing about Anderson Connectors there are various mounting clamps available to install the connectors securely in panels or enclosures like I am using for this project:

With the switch and the Anderson connectors installed it's time to wire the panel up:

I did a bench check of the DC Voltmeters using triple connection jumper. This allowed me to check three meters at a time.:

The second small switch on the side of the box is to turn the whole  pack voltmeter on and off. I did make one mistake with this whole pack voltmeter. I wired it just like the other four meters. The meters I bought can read up to 99 volts but, in order to measure a voltage over 30 volts the meter needs a separate lower voltage power source. If you are just measuring 12 volts you can tie the meter supply and measuring leads together and it will work. I did this for all the meters and tested them using a 9 volt battery. But, when I installed it in the boat the pack meter failed because the 48 volts was too much for the meter. I'll need to replace it and provide a separate voltage to power that meter to measure the whole pack voltage.

Another Anderson connector was installed to provide power for the current meter from the helm power distribution bus. So with the panel wired up and bench tested. It was time to move on the final connections from the battery to the helm. Which I will do in the next instrumentation post.

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART SEVEN CLICK HERE

INSTRUMENTATION PROJECT PART NINE CLICK HERE