Sunrise/Sunset

[Muirgen Afloat]

I know this is probably old hat to those of you who have been liveaboards for years, but I'm only on day 4 so I'm still soaking it all in.. hoping that never changes.
Still on KY time so I've been waking up before sunrise and sitting with my first cup of warmth enjoying it in the morning.
Getting a kick out of the cats watching the seals out the windows as their eyes pop out of their skulls at the monsters in the water.
Don't think I've felt this relaxed in years.. despite the fact we still haven't figured out why the water temp in the shower is still only lukewarm or why a circut breaker or something pops off if you use the coffee pot and microwave at the same time.
Normally I'm anxious after a move until everything has found it's place, but I'm just like whatever, I'll unpack that box later got to watch the seals or the sunset or even take a nap.. don't know what I was thinking to be land locked for some many years. Glad that got corrected!!

 

[O C Diver]

Know the feeling! Nothing like the first few days when cruising at a leisurely pace.

Ted

 

[STroutman]

Welcome to being a live aboard. I am 10 weeks ahead of you and my favorite time is sun rise with a cup of coffee. Sunsets are more social but that is my time. Enjoy the slow unwind. My coffee maker and toaster do not play well together. It’s to much of load on the circuit. Easy fix— coffee first.

 

[ofer]

why the water temp in the shower is still only lukewarm

oh yeah nothing beats that first and second cup of coffee.

you may want to check around your water heater it could have a temp control valve that's adjustable.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

My guess is the hot water is mixing with cold water somewhere at a valved bypass loop arrangement. Most easily diagnosed – other than by tracing the lines - by testing the temperature as it exits the water heater itself

Other than that, sounds wonderful.

 

[High Wire]

The coffee pot/microwave tripping is an easy one. In a typical home built in the last 50 years, the kitchen has to have a minimum of 2 - 20 amp circuits. The receptacles will be staggered so that the microwave will be on a different circuit than the coffee pot plugged in a few feet away. Even plugged into the same receptacle its possible a single 20 amp circuit can handle both CP and MW at the same time.
On a boat, the receptacles in the galley are most likely on the same circuit breaker. So 1200 watts of MW plus 1000 watts of CP equals much more than a single 15 amp breaker can handle for more than a few seconds.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

Know the feeling! Nothing like the first few days when cruising at a leisurely pace.

Ted

Excited to get cruising, but have a few boat outfitting and repairs to do first.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

Welcome to being a live aboard. I am 10 weeks ahead of you and my favorite time is sun rise with a cup of coffee. Sunsets are more social but that is my time. Enjoy the slow unwind. My coffee maker and toaster do not play well together. It’s to much of load on the circuit. Easy fix— coffee first.

Jealous of the 10 years.. but at least we are doing it now. Agree... coffee is first!! Sunrise is rapidly becoming my favorite too.

 

[H2O_Doc]

thanks for sharing those thoughts, Muirgen Afloat! I'm about 8 years out from hopefully doing the same. So good to hear that you made a good decision. We are a bit jealous. In a good way.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

oh yeah nothing beats that first and second cup of coffee.

you may want to check around your water heater it could have a temp control valve that's adjustable.

It doesn't unfortunately.. it's weird, it's warm, then cold, then warm again.. UGH!

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

My guess is the hot water is mixing with cold water somewhere at a valved bypass loop arrangement. Most easily diagnosed – other than by tracing the lines - by testing the temperature as it exits the water heater itself

Other than that, sounds wonderful.

hmm... will have to check that out. Scot doesn't think it's the problem, but since we don't know what is.. maybe.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

thanks for sharing those thoughts, Muirgen Afloat! I'm about 8 years out from hopefully doing the same. So good to hear that you made a good decision. We are a bit jealous. In a good way.

Hope you can.. it's wonderful!

 

[BandB]

oh yeah nothing beats that first and second cup of coffee.

you may want to check around your water heater it could have a temp control valve that's adjustable.

Wifey B: Don't drink coffee so can't relate. :lol:

 

[rgano]

Welcome to being a live aboard. I am 10 weeks ahead of you and my favorite time is sun rise with a cup of coffee. Sunsets are more social but that is my time. Enjoy the slow unwind. My coffee maker and toaster do not play well together. It’s to much of load on the circuit. Easy fix— coffee first.

Permanent fix- separate the load by either finding another outlet using a different breaker of wire another outlet nearby with a separate/new breaker. If using the outlet near the galley sink, it should be GFCI which can present its own issues.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

The coffee pot/microwave tripping is an easy one. In a typical home built in the last 50 years, the kitchen has to have a minimum of 2 - 20 amp circuits. The receptacles will be staggered so that the microwave will be on a different circuit than the coffee pot plugged in a few feet away. Even plugged into the same receptacle its possible a single 20 amp circuit can handle both CP and MW at the same time.
On a boat, the receptacles in the galley are most likely on the same circuit breaker. So 1200 watts of MW plus 1000 watts of CP equals much more than a single 15 amp breaker can handle for more than a few seconds.

We will probably up grade on the amp thing.. it's a work in progress. We are use to juggling power requirements in our RV when we are hooked up to 30 amps. But this seems a little quick to pop off.. so we will see what come of it.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

Permanent fix- separate the load by either finding another outlet using a different breaker of wire another outlet nearby with a separate/new breaker. If using the outlet near the galley sink, it should be GFCI which can present its own issues.

We've seperated them further.. but haven't checked yet to see if that fixed the issue.

 

[slowgoesit]

Breaker tripping

From Hubby Muirgen: (as opposed to Wifey Muirgen) Re/ breaker tripping, just to clarify, this is not an individual breaker for microwave/water heater, etc tripping, it is the 30 amp breaker on the boat, just prior to the isolation transformer that is tripping. Microwave, each water heater, etc are on separate breakers, but that is not what is tripping. The pedestal breaker is not tripping, only the first breaker current goes through on the boat. I suspect either loose connection, weak breaker (although both the isolation transformer and main breaker are less than 2 years old), improper sized wiring, or incorrect install. The shore power line is fine, no arcing, or damaged terminals. That's one of the first things I checked. Just need to chase down why the 30 amp breaker is tripping . . . . .

 

[rgano]

So, you don't also have the high-draw gear like water heater, hair dryer, etc. running when this 30-Amp boat breaker trips? If that is the case, then yes, I think you are on the right track.

 

[slowgoesit]

So, you don't also have the high-draw gear like water heater, hair dryer, etc. running when this 30-Amp boat breaker trips? If that is the case, then yes, I think you are on the right track.

Rich, it will definitely trip if the water(s) are on, so they are typically left when we are using any other high draw appliances like clothes dryer, microwave, etc. Just comparing it to our Class A motorhome, where we can run water heater, microwave, and roof top AC unit (only one at a time) plus smaller loads on one 30 amp shore power.

 

[Wonderfullife]

I would say the warm then cold then warm then cold is from your water pump cycling. When it cycles on you get a momentary increase in cold water then it gets warm, repeaters every time the pump cycles on and off. Installing an accumulator tank on you water system will eliminate this problem.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

I would say the warm then cold then warm then cold is from your water pump cycling. When it cycles on you get a momentary increase in cold water then it gets warm, repeaters every time the pump cycles on and off. Installing an accumulator tank on you water system will eliminate this problem.

It does have an accumulator tank.. maybe we need a larger one?

 

[Alaskaflyer]

FWIW, during our recent week on a 30amp boat, the water heater definitely made power management squirrelly. Even with dual 30 amp legs plugged in to shore, anything on the same leg with the water heater would trip that leg. I’d turn on the water heater and watch the meter creep up to 29 amps, then 30, then 32 and pop. Turn everything off on that leg besides the water heater and it would manage, bouncing back and forth as the elements energized.

Fortunately the Webasto was plumbed to the hot water too and kept it pretty warm, so I gave up on electric water in short order.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

FWIW, during our recent week on a 30amp boat, the water heater definitely made power management squirrelly. Even with dual 30 amp legs plugged in to shore, anything on the same leg with the water heater would trip that leg. I’d turn on the water heater and watch the meter creep up to 29 amps, then 30, then 32 and pop. Turn everything off on that leg besides the water heater and it would manage, bouncing back and forth as the elements energized.

Fortunately the Webasto was plumbed to the hot water too and kept it pretty warm, so I gave up on electric water in short order.

Hope your trip was great. We have hydronic heat, but it doesn't seem to be lasting any time in the shower. Not sure what's up with that. Keep feeling like we are missing something. Wish we had two legs or at least an amp meter like we have in the motorhome so we could see the usage.
All part of the learning curve I think.. but I'm still so happy we are on the boat.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

It was great, kids loved it. Sucia and Stuart are still the gems of our trips, though I know there are Canadian islands that are even more amazing - maybe next time. And the 4788 was a good boat to charter after years on steel and aluminum workboats and then 37-42 Grand Banks and similar, I came away with more polished opinions about my likes and dislikes for the eventual purchase.

 

[SteveK]

It does have an accumulator tank.. maybe we need a larger one?

Have you checked the air pressure?

 

[rslifkin]

Hope your trip was great. We have hydronic heat, but it doesn't seem to be lasting any time in the shower. Not sure what's up with that. Keep feeling like we are missing something. Wish we had two legs or at least an amp meter like we have in the motorhome so we could see the usage.
All part of the learning curve I think.. but I'm still so happy we are on the boat.

If you've only got a single 30 amp leg, you may find yourself wanting to change that at some point. If there's room to add a second inlet and wiring, it wouldn't be too hard to make it twin 30s and just move some loads off to the other leg.

 

[OldDan1943]

We will probably up grade on the amp thing.. it's a work in progress. We are use to juggling power requirements in our RV when we are hooked up to 30 amps. But this seems a little quick to pop off.. so we will see what come of it.

I too have a 30amp boat. I had installed an amp meter installed in the galley area so I can monitor the amp draw as I cook. I am THE master of the '30amp dance'. VERY seldom does a breaker trip. I had a few questionable breakers and surprisingly, the tripping disappeared when I replaced the questionable breakers.

Of course, if there is a heavy load due to electric stove or oven and or microwave, the first load to shed it the HW heater.

Per the problem with the shower temp...... could be time to replace the single lever mixing valve or perhaps the electric heating elements??
Do you also have the ability to heat the water with the main engine? If so, do you have the same tepid temp in the shower? That would lead me to believe it is the shower mixing valve.

 

[Muirgen Afloat]

It was great, kids loved it. Sucia and Stuart are still the gems of our trips, though I know there are Canadian islands that are even more amazing - maybe next time. And the 4788 was a good boat to charter after years on steel and aluminum workboats and then 37-42 Grand Banks and similar, I came away with more polished opinions about my likes and dislikes for the eventual purchase.

So glad you had a great time. Neat that you got to experience different boats for awhile so you can get your wants and needs down. It really helped me when we went on a catamaran to know that wasn't the type of boat for us.

 

[slowgoesit]

Soo-Valley, Accumulator pressure was 32psi. Could be bumped up some.

OldDan1943, We're intimately familiar with the 30 amp "Happy Dance" from our years with motor home, but it's easier when you have a amp meter!

rslifkin, Electrical system upgrade is planned for the next year or so. Some of the items include:

• installation of Victron Quatro 5k inverter/charger
• Installation of a power management panel in the salon, with real time, two leg amp draw monitoring.
• 1k amp hrs Battleborn Lithium batteries
• upgrade engine alternator to charge lithium batteries. This one is up in the air, as anytime the engine is running, driving the hydraulic pump, the 12kw hyd driven 110v generator is running, so we could still charge using the Victron. Haven't decided on this yet.
• upgrade to 50amp service. Not that much more involved than adding a 2nd 30 amp leg, so 50 amp will give us a total of 100 usable amps over two legs vs the 30 on one leg we currently have.
• installation of 1600 watts of solar panels on a new hard top bimini

We don't have the capability of augmenting the two current 12 gallon water heaters with engine heat, but as mentioned above, if the engine is running we can power the water heaters from the 12kw generator anyway. The PO elected to use the 2nd heating loop in the water heaters to run the hydraunic heated water through. It seems a sensibly thought out solution, but in practice it appears to have some hiccups. Tracing of all the water lines is on the list. We don't know yet if the two water heaters are in series or parallel. I seem to recall the PO stating they two water heaters are in parallel, but can't be sure.

With two 12 gallons water heaters, electrically heated, or heated using the hydraunic heat, we shouldn't be running out of cold water as soon as we are. A check on individual heating elements is in order as well. . . . . It's on the list . . . . Sometimes I absolutely HATE the list!

This is all small stuff. We'll work through it all in time. It's all part of the joys of our indentured servitude to our new to us boat. . .

 

[plittle2005]

Messing about in boats

As the Water Rat said to the Mole: “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing–absolutely nothing–half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”



And coffee and OJ on the aft deck at 7 am, and a nice little list of "messing about" projects for the day!


Life don't get no better than this!