Urgent help needed to recover abandoned yacht NW Barbados

[Bleemus]

Go to defender.com and the bilge blowers range from 1.25 to 15 amps. Most over 2.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Go to defender.com and the bilge blowers range from 1.25 to 15 amps. Most over 2.

Bloody hell. The smallest I could find is 2.9 amps. But this is a 53 foot boat. It ain't gunna be the smallest one.

So adding up other assorted buzzers, ignition loss etc, plus the v low AIS consumption, plus normal loss it must be at least 3.5 amps eh?


Mark

[Bleemus]

I would say 3.5 would be minimum.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Electrical question relevant to this thread.

The engine was left in idle thus charging the batteries.
I expect with the fuel on board it would have run out by now.
All other electronics, refigeration etc was turned off except the AIS.

My question: The KEY would still be on. The alternator still connected and the battery banks (house and engine) still combined

Would this ignition situation cause the house bank to run down faster than if the key was off?

I.e. I am trying to work out if the 400 amp hours of battery bank should still be reasonably charged.


Thanks.


Mark

That should kill the starter battery. The AIS should be on the house bank.

[MarkJ]

Where does the engine room blower run off?
When I turn my key on the blower starts. That comes off the house bank?

And key on the battery banks are combined, sent they?

[Exile]

Do most people run their bilge blowers the entire time their (diesel) engine is running? Do we know for certain that AWW had his running when he left the boat? I only run mine sporadically -- hard engine running; hot day; running genset & engine together (rare).

[Exile]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Where does the engine room blower run off?
When I turn my key on the blower starts. That comes off the house bank?

And key on the battery banks are combined, sent they?

My blower is on a separate switch. Runs off a separate house bank indpt. of engine key switches. I guess there's no way to know the config. on any particular boat (unless AWW can tell you).

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Exile

Do most people run their bilge blowers the entire time their (diesel) engine is running? Do we know for certain that AWW had his running when he left the boat? I only run mine sporadically -- hard engine running; hot day; running genset & engine together (rare).

Yes, engine was on, in neutral, idle 600 to 800 rpm.
I didn't ask specifically about an Engine room fan, but normally they run as soon as you turn the switch. I will ask him tomorrow.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Paul L

That should kill the starter battery. The AIS should be on the house bank.

What about the draw from a 2nd alternator that charges a separate house bank?

[Exile]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Yes, engine was on, in neutral, idle 600 to 800 rpm.
I didn't ask specifically about an Engine room fan, but normally they run as soon as you turn the switch. I will ask him tomorrow.

OK, didn't realize that some blowers come on automatically with the engine switch. Mine is on a separate circuit. Definitely a big amp draw on my boat.

[Exile]

Mark -- I recall AWW mentioning early on that he also left his running lights on, or at least some sort of nav light(s). Maybe LED's? Might make a pretty big difference in your calcs. if LED's vs. incandescent.

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by Exile

Do most people run their bilge blowers the entire time their (diesel) engine is running?

We always did. It had to be put on manually but when the engine was on so was the blower.

[MarkJ]

He doesn't know. The boat is new to him.

Nav lights were not on.

So it all depends on the drain on the house bank while the ignition key is on but the engine stopped for lack of fuel.

400 amp hour bank.

Guesses?

[Scout 30]

Having a bilge blower tied to the ignition is not typical or desirable. Even with a diesel you would want to be able to run the blower without the motor running. In addition, with a diesel there is no safety advantage to running a blower when the motor is running. The only reason to run it with the motor is to reduce temps in the engine room.

[masonc]

A diesel at idle without load is going to run for an awfully long time on full tanks, as long as everything was setup right. The batteries won't last long if the fridge was on, if you ever get in that position turn off the fridge and any other large load.
If the only load was a electronics and there was a solar panel, it could run indefinitely. My boat has a wind turbine and two small panels, it can run forever without engine, even with the fridge on.
So, it's all about how long the engine ran for. Easy to calculate if we know the engine, the fuel tank capacity without human involvement.