tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535660355757508633.post2567396404351598890..comments2023-04-03T00:48:01.893-07:00Comments on mv.VikingStar: RTFM - True Cause - And yes, I am bored. . . . .Viking Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11269939254829503157noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535660355757508633.post-67593470628306332472010-10-28T22:19:08.119-07:002010-10-28T22:19:08.119-07:00This reminds me of our troubleshooting of Dave Lar...This reminds me of our troubleshooting of Dave Larson's "Tortoise" last weekend---we've had a long standing problem of the steamboat's burner failing to start or restart---turns out that the main problem we've never resolved is due to an obscure inverter parameter: Minimum Output AC Power. Turns out that this was set for 100watts, meaning that if the AC load drops below 100watts, the inverter could shut down, figuring it wasn't needed. In our case, this meant that if the only thing drawing AC power was the boiler's burner control electronics, after a delay, the inverter would cycle the AC off, then restart, then delay, then restart... We always figured it was due to old batteries, long cable lengths, poorly charged batteries, excess motor current draw, etc. Not so---or rather, sure, those are issues, but the big issue is that the control electronics use about 80-100watts evidently and so the burner controls "might" or might not stay on long enough for the motor to kick in. Changing the inverter parameter to 50watts saw the burner starting up every time. Changing it to 150watts saw it fail every time unless we kept an AC service lamp plugged in---which explains why we rarely saw this problem for most of the years we've operated the boat----we generally would leave an AC lamp plugged in for many years...only recently did we start turning it off on a regular basis. And it's funny---turn lamp off, walk away, system fails to start, walk downstairs, turn on light so you can see what's going on, system works fine, turn light off, 5 minutes later, system isnt working again...we had to look in the "advanced parameters" menu to find that parameter to adjust...lucky.<br /><br />Hope to see you both back in portland soon!<br /><br />-Myles TweteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535660355757508633.post-83856920584952376532010-10-26T16:53:35.398-07:002010-10-26T16:53:35.398-07:00Hey Skipper, Since I just responded to a newer pos...Hey Skipper, Since I just responded to a newer post from the First Mate, I thought it only proper to respond to the cap'n: I am glad you learned to RTFM!!!! Looking forward to a visit when you get back down river!Lowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00342527817990161943noreply@blogger.com