keypower stabilizer install

[magna 6882]

Weather has slowed me down a bit. Went down today and removed deck plates. Installed port and starboard control valves and the hydraulic cooler.

 

[magna 6882]

I have the hydraulics from the main valve, thruster valves completed and am working on the tank,supply line and return line. Its going slower than i was expecting. I am used to working in a shop environment and under estimated the hassle of running back and forth from the boat . I should have the hydraulics completed this week then its on to wiring.

 

[magna 6882]

I am not sure why some of my pictures upload sideways?

 

[DDW]

Different bits of software interpret the EXIF rotation tag differently. Makes it appear upright for example on your phone but sideways on the computer, or on a forum. There are tools that allow you to edit the EXIF data to fix, but it is fiddly.

 

[magna 6882]

I got the 5 gallon tank mounted and the supply line in early this week but had to stop since i needed a cummins gasket to mount the pump to the pto adapter .Gasket will be here Saturday (tomorrow). Once the pump is mounted i can cut and size the two hoses so should be done with this phase early next week. I also mounted the gyro control box.I only spent 4 or 5 hours this week due to being stopped with the gasket issue. I also ordered a garmin plug/cord for wiring the gps to the controller.
Sidepower provides all the wire but they wait for the customer to provide the lengths since all installs are different.I expect the wire next week so should be about right for timing. I will make the pump connections then do a run test to check for leaks before proceeding with the wiring.
The weather has been more forgiving here the week.

 

[DDW]

Can you refresh my memory, which Cummins?

I'm wondering if a pto adapter for a QSB is a "thing".

 

[magna 6882]

The qsb 6.7 has an auxiliary drive port ar the rear of the engine. This is typically used for raw water pumps. In my case i am using it for a SAE A 2 bolt pump which requires an adapter. I guess anything one might want to connect to this point would need an adapter.
https://www.sbmar.com/product/cummins-qsb-6-7-pto-a-pad-11-tooth-spline/

 

[DDW]

Thanks - appears to be a 6.7 and not a 5.9 solution.

 

[magna 6882]

I am not sure how these are handled across the line of products. I would think something similar.

 

[magna 6882]

The last item to get worked out was the pump. Got the installation done this morning. I had to try a few variations to get it to fit cleanly.The challenge was to keep 1 1/4 supply line and also use sweeping tube fittings. Going to fill with fluid tomorrow and test run the system.I will try and get photos of each section before closing things up. I think i have about 50 hours in so far.

 

[RedRascal]

When I double clamp something I set the clamps 180 degrees from one another as a best practice. This can prevent pinching in one spot where the screws are.
Not sure if this is something that needs to be considered with the clamps you are using but thought I'd mention it.

 

[twistedtree]

It's all looking really good!

 

[KnotYet]

When I double clamp something I set the clamps 180 degrees from one another as a best practice. This can prevent pinching in one spot where the screws are.
Not sure if this is something that needs to be considered with the clamps you are using but thought I'd mention it.

At any rate that's the low pressure return hose. I really like those bolt clamps, too.
I think they have a full circle design to prevent hose damage and leaks. Very nice!

 

[magna 6882]

All the hydraulics are done. Had a little grief getting the pump primed. I only brought 5 gallons of fluid and it needs almost 10. Pressured tested and no leaks. Cut the floor plates where needed for the hoses. Next up is wiring. Keypower supplied all the wiring color coded with very simple diagrams.Running pressure out of the box was 1500psi so i will reduce to 800psi.

 

[twistedtree]

Running pressure out of the box was 1500psi so i will reduce to 800psi.

Why reduce? Does the Keypower system want to run at a lower pressure?

 

[magna 6882]

Keypower said they set the pressure at 1000 once the system is installed but 800 will work. I have worked with hydraulic systems for 50 years mostly very high pressure jacking systems. I have never ran into a system where the static pressure is artificially raised.In this system a relief valve controls the pressure to make it constant. The stabilizer control valves have all 4 ports closed so when opened they immediately have pressure for control. I think the reason for designing this way is to reduce any lag time. I think what one would see is the pressure gauge setting at say 1000psi then bouncing down as the fins are being moved.
My only reason for reducing the static pressure is heat. Going over relief builds heat and the higher the pressure equals more heat. One nice thing with this system is the main control valve can be turned off allowing the system to basically coast in neutral.
For those with fins what do you see as operating pressures?

 

[twistedtree]

Keypower said they set the pressure at 1000 once the system is installed but 800 will work. I have worked with hydraulic systems for 50 years mostly very high pressure jacking systems. I have never ran into a system where the static pressure is artificially raised.In this system a relief valve controls the pressure to make it constant. The stabilizer control valves have all 4 ports closed so when opened they immediately have pressure for control. I think the reason for designing this way is to reduce any lag time. I think what one would see is the pressure gauge setting at say 1000psi then bouncing down as the fins are being moved.
My only reason for reducing the static pressure is heat. Going over relief builds heat and the higher the pressure equals more heat. One nice thing with this system is the main control valve can be turned off allowing the system to basically coast in neutral.
For those with fins what do you see as operating pressures?

Makes sense, thanks.

 

[magna 6882]

Not much news. had to jump on another project but thankfully wring is whats left and all my cutters,crimpers,hot knife ect will be on board.Most connections are molex and i grabbed a bag.
I did add up the hose cost and it was around $1600.00 . I think i will wire friday saturday.

 

[Comodave]

That is a bunch of hose, glad I am not buying it.

 

[magna 6882]

I got the main runs done today. The engine room wiring is fairly straight forward so i decided to tackle the worst first. i needed a wire to the overhead for the display then a power run to the dc panel on the port side of the helm and a gps basically the same location as the power. This required some disassembly.I have all the runs done and most everything put back but i need a helper to get the ceiling panels put back. One panel has two speakers that are heavier then one would think and i cant get the panel up accurately. The wife is going to come down with me and help with the panels.

 

[magna 6882]

Got the ceiling up and all the bridge wiring done .Down below i got the actuator valve and starboard valving wired. tomorrow i have the port valve,tanks sensors and fin position sensors. One nice thing is keypower sent me all the correct wiring color coded to match the components and the wiring diagram.My wife has been making up the molex connectors and the connections to the stabilizer valves in the salon where she can sit in a recliner then just drop them down to me.Hope to be done tomorrow.
I need to add more hydraulic fluid. I was thinking 5 gallons but it will be closer to 10.Its on the boat just have to drop it in. The aw32 i am using is clear so i am going to dye it blue to see leaks if any in the future.

 

[magna 6882]

Got the wiring completed and started up the system without the engine running. I am struggling with the gps connection. With the help of our members i got some direction on another thread but need to research more. The nmea 0183/rs stuff is outside my knowledge base.Between the wiring its also settings in the garmin and sentences required.

 

[magna 6882]

So the garmin, in my case the 8600 series, output the nmea 0183 data via rs232 .I needed to reconfigure the connections to the rs232 port.I confirmed this via voltage test . the 232 is apparently lower voltage then the rs485.I got around 2 volts from the garmin.
Once the wiring was correct i set the port to standard and turned off all sentences accept VTG.
Once done i got heading on the display but cant confirm speed since i was at the dock. I also set the system pressure to 1000psi.
Next step is to run thru some operational test and power bleeding which keypower has a button for.

 

[Comodave]

Your install is looking very nice, keep the photos coming.

 

[magna 6882]

Did the bleeding and preliminary setup today.



https://youtu.be/72eSJyxr510

 

[Comodave]

What is your projected completion date?

 

[magna 6882]

everything is completed except i want to make some covers for the sensors on the actuators. The only thing left is to sea trial the system. Running to the boatyard tomorrow to haul and swap the bow thruster props. About a 45 minute run so will run the system underway and continue to confirm no leaks. I will get some good video performance ,good or bad who knows,on the next trip. Tomorrow it will be just tweaking the parameters and making sure hoses are solid and no chafing or interference i may have missed.The wife will be running the boat so i can spend time down below just watching.

 

[Comodave]

Sounds great, best luck then.

 

[twistedtree]

If I recall correctly, your hydraulic pump runs off an engine PTO? You have probably already done this, but be sure to keep the original PTO cover and bolts so you can easily remove the pump and cover the PTO pad. If you have any sort of major hydraulic failure, or even just a loss of fluid, you need to stop turning the pump, and the only way to do that is to decouple it from the engine. A lot of people zip tie the cover plate to the hydraulic hose right by the pump.


Good luck with the sea trial!

 

[magna 6882]

went up and got the bow thrusters corrected. Weather was pretty snotty but no big deal.The boat ran good. I did get abeam to seas on the way back and the fins seemed to keep us stable but i think i lots some speed. Will be able to check with flatter water. Top speed of boat flat out was 12 maybe. Today i could get about 10.5. cruise at 7 or 8 seemed unaffected. I am wondering if trying to push the fins through the water take a non linear path of energy.I still haven't changed any default settings.

https://youtu.be/6neCAKVZl6s