Friday, 9 June 2017
A
bit of better news – we’re covered for now
A skinny mechanic called in by “T” Caldwell the marina manager
here at Columbus Marina came today and tore into the generator. What at first blush looked to me like a crack
in the exhaust manifold was actually the engine side of the manifold backing
out of the engine due to loosened nuts on the studs which secure it in
place. BIG relief not to be looking for
that part, because it is unfindable for this 30-year old generator. T got busy with his parts supplier and in a
half hour found the necessary gaskets needed for when we replace the manifold
on the engine. While back there digging
around on the generator, the mechanic also found the starter had a burned up
positive lead on the solenoid; so the out came the starter and into the back of
the mechanic’s truck. This may have been
the source of the burning electrical smell we experienced the other day.
Next to the problem of no charging current getting to the
house battery from the alternator. The
battery charged up just fine on the inverter’s battery charge last night; so
that side of things is OK. Had the
generator been working, I could have charged the battery using the inverter’s
charger while underway, but that method was also not available. So the plan now is to install two Blueseas
automatic charging relays (ACR), one between the main engine star battery and
the house batteries, and one between the main engine battery and the generator
starting battery. T can make the battery
cables for me right here at the marina’s work shop.
Today at 1100 I moved the boat from the guest dock to a
covered, and I didn’t even have to lower the mast. So we are good for the time being while we
await further developments with the generator.
