Battery Charger location - 37CC

[ccarmody]

Any suggestions on where to install the battery charger on a 37CC? The previous one died last week and upon reading the installation instructions for the replacement it states specifically NOT to mount it above the battery bank(s) -- which is exactly where the old one was installed!

The battery banks are behind the companionway steps and the old charger was mounted to the bulkhead above them.
Thanks!
Chris

 

[Régis]

The mine is located under the sink in the kitchen. To the right of the batteries and it works great!

 

[ccarmody]

Thanks Régis,
What type of charger do you use? We just got the Xantrex 4012 with temperature sensor - supporting 3x125Ah 12v as house and 1 starter battery.

 

[RAD]

You read the instuctions!!!!!! ........just kidding.....on my 32 the little sister to the 37 my battery's are in the engine room and the charger is in the same place as yours.....under the sink to the right of the cabinet door

 

[Régis]

I have a smart charger 30 amps. I think it's a Mariner. It supports two battery banks. I also have a 85 watt solar panel and a small wind turbine Ampair 100.
The Xantrex 4012 is really a good charger. Good choice!

 

[ccarmody]

Thanks guys... seems a reasonable location.

On a side note - thanks RAD for your bimini posts previously, we just finished ours and I'll post some pix soon.

Thanks Regis as well - on another side note - either of you guys repower yet? our westerbeke 30 / four-11 is running but the transmission is shot.

 

[RAD]

Thanks Regis as well - on another side note - either of you guys repower yet? our westerbeke 30 / four-11 is running but the transmission is shot.

That transmission is a brute and can be adjusted, is is slipping?? in forward or reverse or both?? I have the Westerbeke 30 (four 91) and its a great engine

 

[ccarmody]

Thanks RAD - the tranny shifts confidently into forward every time, but shifting into reverse is a gamble. Usually it will go about 15-30 secs after you put the lever in position - which makes docking extra fun! I've changed the fluid multiple times and spent hours playing w/ the linkage trying to find a sweet spot, but no go. The fluid also seems to get fouled (milky pinkish) pretty quickly which makes me think water maybe finding it way in somehow?!?

 

[RAD]

First let me tel you if your tranny is a SAOD type then reverse doesn't click into place you have to apply pressure to the shift lever and there is an adjusment.......your getting water into the tranny from where? stuffing box leaking a lot of water?, is there a gasket under the cover I made a nice gasket from some rubber gasket material from the auto parts store. is the deck leaking onto the tranny? mine is right below the steering pedestal
If you need a tech manual for that engine and tranny let me know cause I have it in my pdf library

 

[RAD]

BTW here's a picture

 

[ccarmody]

Thanks RAD,
we have the hurth short profile sailing gear trans - as for the water, the current observations are as follows:
-The engine is mounted at about 8-10deg angle, so water shouldn't be flowing up from the stuffing box.
-There's no visible sign of leaks from the base of the cockpit to drip down (even checked w/ scuppers plugged in the rain).
-No sign of water in the engine oil (no milky discoloration)
-Changed engine oil, after several hours of runtime no discoloration
-After a fresh trans. fluid change, signs of water in the transmission fluid after running the engine for a few hours in gear
-No sign of head gasket failure (no significant white smoke in exhaust on startup or after warm up and thermostat open)
-There is a pint or so of new water in the engine tray after a several hour run.

The current theory is there must be a small leak in the heat exchanger to the engine block - small enough that the amount of water in the oil is not enough to significantly discolor it after a run, but still enough to accumulate in the sump after cool down - b/c the engine is on an angle its enough to get past the 30yr-old main seal and into the tranns. (where the small amounts of tranny fluid involved are easily showing the signs of water).

 

[RAD]

Interesting.....I'm convinced about the rear main seal leaking but not into the tranny and a few tablespoons of water will milk up oil thats been sucked through an oil pump and water is heavier than oil so it'll be below the seal, I'm not to familiar with the Hurth so I can't input

 

[RAD]

Oh I wanted to tell you that a few years back while under way out in the ocean I decided to stick my face into the engine room while motoring about 6 knots and the stuffing box was throwing a lot of water upwards...enough that when I pulled into port I adjusted the box, another thought was maybe something dripping and getting behind the bell housing?

 

[ccarmody]

We're heading out to the boat to spend the night tomorrow and I'll be doing another fluid flush on both engine and trans to get another baseline.

As for the stuffing box, thats funny (scarey), ours is dripping properly but I've a friend who had the same issue but his was to the point that the stuffing box leak was overwhelming the bilge pump one day on the way back in - water up to the cabin floor as they made it back and shutdown.

 

[RAD]

Make a cover out of a plastic bag and go around the whole tranny

 

[Richard9563]

A little late, but I mounted a Freedom 10 charger/inverter in the engine room. It kept 3 4Ds going for 10 years. I have since installed smaller batteries.