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Blog EntryApr 18, '11 6:46 AM
by Colin for everyone
I wonder if anyone has any data on the Volvo Penta MD7a control panel alarm unit?

Trying to trace another fault, I now can't get one of the lights and the Sonalert buzzer unit to sound on turning the ignition key.

If anyone has any experience of generic alterantives to (expensive) VP original equipment, I'd be interested to learn details.

Photo AlbumOut with the old, in with the newMar 30, '11 4:50 AM
by Nicholas for everyone
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Although pampered since birth, my six-year old service batteries were showing signs of weakness, i.e. they were not holding their charge well. So I did what I’ve been wanting to do for the past few years: I bought a pair of 145Ah Deep Cycle AGMs. Although significantly heavier than the old ones (44kg vs 26 kg per piece) they fit nicely in the same epoxied plywood battery box under the chart table, which is securely through-bolted on two half bulkheads. Aside from having a floating design life of 10 years, AGMs have the added advantage in that they accept charge more rapidly and can be deeply discharged if needed (down to 70% or even 80%). This allows you to get an extra day or two out of them without risk of damage, if it’s overcast and/or windless, and the solar panels and/or wind generator are struggling. Normal, automotive-type batteries (which is what most chandlers sell) can be ruined if discharged more than 40% several times. The new batteries, combined with extra-low energy LED lights, a pair of solar panels and a zero-volt drop isolator have put me well on the way to energy-independent heaven.

Nicholas
Moments of Clarity #334


Blog EntryNov 28, '09 10:34 AM
by bram for everyone
Dear Ballad-exchange members

For about a year now, my Ballad #173 has a leakage through the wire hole in the port cupboard above the navigation unit. Obviously the first thing to check and change was the genua rail, which is in this area. This was dry and was fitted back properly. After that I checked and filled all holes of the rain cover as well as the top fitting above the sliding door. I also checked the windows with a bucket, but these seem fine.

The problem with these kind of leaks that it can leak in the front, but due to the sandwich system it comes out a complete different spot. Does anyone have similar experiences and can advise me where I should look next?

Your help will be appreciated.

Bram

Blog EntryAug 27, '08 1:03 PM
by patentnick1 for everyone
Hi to all:
 
This summer, in my quest for cleaner, cheaper energy and with an eye towards future longer-distance cruising, I splashed for a pair of semi-flexible solar panels .  The reason I chose semi-flexible panels was that they're lighter, thinner (3mm thick rather than 35mm) and far easier to store than their rigid counterparts. Also, since they would be installed on the middle and rear arch of the new bimini, heir slight flexibility could come in handy. Following quite a bit of research and advice from a friend who's in the process of building a 1MW solar park, I decided to go for two 45W Solara units. They're very neatly finished and robust (if fixed on deck they can be walked on). After sizing and playing around with some aluminium tubing, teak slats, bolts and wingnuts, I came up wth an arrangement which secures the two panels on the rear part of the bimini, away from shadows. In this manner, the bimini fabric can be half-folded or even removed completely while the panels can still use the arches for support. I also modified a waterproof junction box so that the panels' two cables would lead into one, which would require only one watertight socket on deck. After connecting the cables to the solar regulator, then to the batteries via a fuse, I let the sun do its job.  What really amazed me was their performance. They started producing usable current at 8am (about 0,7 amps), by 9:30am they went up to 1.5 amps and by noon they were giving 4-4.5 amps. Let me translate this into what really matters: for ten straight days, I kept the fridge running day and night, I used my 350W inverter whenever I wanted to charge the laptop or power a blender/food processor--for making sauces and dips--and listened to music whenever I fancied (as for lighting, all my interior lights are LED so their consumption is negligible).  The batteries never dropped below 12,6 volts (which was in the morning) and were up to 13-13.1 volts by midday.  Granted, this was during the height of a typical Greek summer, with clear skies and lots of daylight, but even Solara's official figures which are based on summer daylight in Germany were encouraging too.  Since I've very little storage space left, I'm including only one photo of the panels in position. If anyone would like a more detailed note on installation plus more photos, let me know and I'll figure something out.
 
Nicholas
Moments of Clarity #334
 
 
 

Blog EntryMay 28, '08 10:13 AM
by Jesper for everyone
Please have a look at the pictures showing how I recently fitted a through hull transducer near to perfectly lateral. Click this link

Blog EntryFeb 26, '08 6:45 PM
by Jesper for everyone
We are considering buying a Standard Horizon CP300i chart plotter. I ahven't been able to find many reviews on the net. Does anyone here, have any experience, good or bad with Standard Horizon chartplotters in general or the CP300i  or the CP300 (witnout internat GPS antenna)?
 
Jesper Milling

Blog EntryFeb 5, '08 1:20 PM
by ulrikkejser for everyone
Hi,
Is it possible to split at single gps signal without amplification for 3 different devices needing NMEA data: Navman 7100eu, Raymarine C70 Chart Plotter and Raymarine ST60+ Tridata?
Cheers,
Ulrik
 

Blog EntryFeb 5, '08 1:09 PM
by ulrikkejser for everyone
Hi,
I need some advice on where to place a Raymarine C70 Plotter. 
Visible but not taking up too much space in the cockpit.
Anybody done this?
Cheers,
Ulrik

Blog EntryDec 10, '07 6:26 PM
by Jesper for everyone
Hi Jonah
 
I am opening this discussion as a reply to your question, but in the correct subforum, which "Electricit" in the "Technical Section". the Forum "Help" is intended for the help needed for using Ballad Exchange.
 
Dynastart? I dont think my 1976 Volvo MD7a has a Dynastart. It has a generator with a device giving first priority to the starting battery, and swittching to the household battery, when the first one is full. Sorry I don't remember all the rigth terms just now, but I just don't think I have a dynastarter. You might have one though.
 
Jesper.

Blog EntryApr 27, '07 12:54 AM
by ballad775 for everyone

Since Jesper suggested that the discussion about wiring diagrams should have taken place in the Technical section "Electricity", I've been meaning to place a link to take anyone looking for diagrams to the thread in the Small Talk Cafe, where they will find links to diagrams. Dick's post just reminded me to do it. Here, I hope, is the link that will take you to the discussion   Wiring discussion

Tim


Blog EntryMar 14, '07 2:58 PM
by lumina1976 for everyone
Hi everyone,
 
I've planned to install a new cranking battery in my ballad and I'd like to know what is the right size that I should buy.  Is it ok, for example, to use a 450 cranking Amp?  Is it better to use a more powerful battery?
 
My engine is a Volvo Penta 2002, 18hp.
 
I also want to buy a power pack to start the engine in case of emergency.  Is someone know what is the minimum power that I should have to start my engine?
 
Thank you!
 
Pat
Lumina, Ballad #819.
 
 

Blog EntryNov 15, '06 1:30 PM
by patentnick1 for everyone

Hello fellow Balladers:

 

To all sailors, healthy batteries mean having enough juice for starting an engine, powering navigation lights and instruments, and having a few on-board comforts. To some of us, it also means being less depended on marinas, being able to spend several days anchored in beautiful, remote locations and picking a really cold beer out of a well-stocked fridge. 

 

Last year, when I finished my re-wiring and battery relocation project, I installed an analog voltmeter on the switchboard. However, I frequently found myself checking the batteries with a digital meter just to make sure they were not being discharged too deeply.  However, as the difference between a fully charged battery and a discharged one is a mere 0.6-0.8 volts, I had trouble reading the analogue meter. On top of that, the batteries most of us use don’t like being discharged to more than 50% of their capacity, which means that precision to 1/10th of a volt is a necessity, not a luxury.

 

 After about a year spent looking around and reading reports, I decided to splash out on a Nasa digital battery monitor which I installed I couple of weeks ago. It’s a brilliant piece of instrumentation which shows not only voltage but also current (amps going in or out of a battery), state of charge in %, and time to full recharge depending on the energy source.  As  a bonus, you get to see the amount of power each piece of equipment consumes and whether your alternator and battery charger are working efficiently. The icing on the cake is that it’s very easy to install. (Photos enclosed.)
 
Nicholas
"Moments of Clarity" #334

Blog EntryOct 14, '06 4:32 PM
by Jesper for everyone
How many watts do you have if you have 4 Amps and 12 volts? it so darn simple, but I can't seem to remember it.
 
So I found this little handy web-calculator, which is also very exlanatory:
 
 
Click and be amazed!
 
Jesper Milling

Blog EntryJun 21, '06 5:40 PM
by Jesper for everyone
Here a little something for those who sail in the dark, or maybe just sometimes visit the boat in the dark. It's an LED light mounted under and inside the dodger/sprayhood.
 
 
 
Here are the parts I used:
 
I made the aluminum bar myself, and the wiring of course, other than than it is standard electrical parts.
 
Remember to cut the holes in the fabric, without removing any fabric, just leave excessive fabric as tounges or flaps, that get stuck between the alu bar, and the switch and the lamp. Use a rest of fabric to test and modify the exact size of the wholes in the alu bar, to create a tight fit. 
 
And here is how nicely it works:
 
The green ligth is our GPS, of course. The light is strong enough for reading a map, but not too strong as to be blinding.
 
If it's a pitch black night at open see, we may choose only to use the red lamp in the port side:
 
 
 
I hope you like it. We did when returning from Flensburg Fjord last year in December.
 
Best regards Jesper Milling.

Blog EntryJan 29, '06 6:49 PM
by ballad9x7 for everyone
Our echo sounder, which is probably the age of the boat, stopped working  when we laid up, our log stopped functioning a little while ago. As a result I'm going to replace both the sounder and the log. I am wondering, where is the best place on the boat to install the transducers? The previous sounder had an internal transducer, now I'm going for an external one. The paddle wheel for the log was just forward of the main bulkhead, i.e. in the bilge outside of the 'toilet.' I have looked at other Ballads and the transducers seem different on each boat. Does anyone have 'the ideal answer'?

Blog EntryNov 18, '05 4:41 PM
by aballport for everyone
Hi, does anyone have the poblem of water dripping from the openings of the conduits running through the deck? I have a bad one in the sliding cupboard behind the stove, and lesser ones in the head and hanging locker.

Thanks,
Tony Allport

Blog EntryOct 29, '05 8:45 PM
by aballport for everyone
I just spent many hours rebuilding the switch on one of my cabin lights. The plastic base had melted and cracked making the contacts loose. ( I know, I have to get a life) It actualy turned out very well and I can detail the process I used if anyone is interested, but I was curious if anyone knows whether these lights are still available commercialy before I get to carried away.

Tony Allport
Pleiades #191
Anderson Island, WA

Blog EntryApr 19, '05 4:29 PM
by vcjones for everyone
We're in the process of re-wiring the AC  side of the boat (DC was done last year).  I am also thinking of grounding the boat to protect from lightning strikes.  Has anyone done this?  If so, how did you connect the grounding wires to the keel (and therefore, to the grounding shoe?)  What kind of grounding shoe did you use?  Thanks, Cathi Jones

Blog EntryApr 7, '05 8:16 PM
by geir1954 for everyone
This echo sounder an Yazaki A822DY came with the boat.
 
 
 
I have no manual for it. Would like to install a new sounder,
but a little hesitant to rip out the transducer now, as it will
involve taking the boat out of the water.
Need to know what operating frequency the sounder works on.
Or, does any of you have a manual I can copy ?
 
Geir 
 
S/Y Sirdalsrypa of Flekkefjord,NORWAY - Ballad 1195
 

Blog EntryMar 30, '05 1:12 PM
by joetighe for everyone
Hello,
 
I bought a Ballad this last summer.  I want to replace the old electrical system.  I plan to move both batterys from the v-berth to the quarterberth.  My main concern is running the wiring for the mast.  Has anyone done this?  Is there an internal conduit for the wiring, or are the wires and halyards unseparated and thus subject to fouling?  I've thought of installing an external conduit (pvc) for the new wiring, but I don't like the excess windage from such an installation.  Any help?
 
Thanks.
Joe Tighe   

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