Springtime Projects

[bobkat]

Ok, Spring is here and I finally crawled under the Winter covers to start on all the projects I have been thinking about and researching on this great Web site. I have a 2007 Parker 2520 SL w/ 250 HP Yamie. I would appreciate help with the following items:
1) Best recommendation for placement of my VHF whip antenna and radio unit. What is the thickness of the Pilot house roof , if I place the unit above the helm? Do I have to bolt thru, or can I use self tapping screws?
2) Recommendation for a solar battery charger (size, placement, hook up)
3) Best place for installation of a washdown pump, hose, intake valve and any instructions or pics of the process. Does the wiring harness that is present have the wiring hookup in place for the unit. Can you be specifia as to the best intake valve used for this purpose.

Pheww!!! Thanks for any help in these matters. These should keep me busy for a while. Then, I've been dreaming of a Windlass, but I'll keep that for a later post.
I love my Parker!!
Bob

 

[96TL]

1) Best recommendation for placement of my VHF whip antenna and radio unit. What is the thickness of the Pilot house roof , if I place the unit above the helm? Do I have to bolt thru, or can I use self tapping screws?

Use an antenna rail mount. Much easier, and works just as good. I even used one for my GPS antenna. No screw holes in the roof.

Also, mount the radio wherever you like. It really doesn't make a difference. Just pick a spot thats comfortable for you.

2) Recommendation for a solar battery charger (size, placement, hook up)

Can't help you with this, buy maybe someone else can.

3) Best place for installation of a washdown pump, hose, intake valve and any instructions or pics of the process. Does the wiring harness that is present have the wiring hookup in place for the unit. Can you be specifia as to the best intake valve used for this purpose.

These is a lot of good info and pics in this thread here.
http://www.classicparker.com/phpBB2/vie ... 71&start=0

I used a piece of 3/4" thick Okoume plywood covered in several coats of West System epoxy as a backing block for the seacock. I epoxied it to the port side of the bilge. I think I made it 4” x 4”, but next time I will probably make it smaller. I got the Okuome from Buckwood Craft in FL.

I then drilled the hole for a 3/4" Groco bronze thru-hull right through the backing block and hull. Be sure to coat the inside of this hole with epoxy. I mounted a heavy duty Groco bronze seacock onto the plywood with bronze lag bolts. I bedded everything together with 5200.

When that was all done, I painted the epoxy coated plywood with Parker color-matched marine paint I had mixed at Kirby’s Marine paint in MA. I mailed them a small gelcoat sample as a reference. They were really quick and the paint was a pretty good match.

I used a Shurflo Baitsentry 800GPH pump to feed my 26 gallon Kodiak PF-26 livewell. The Baitsentry mounts directly onto the seacock. This pump has a secondary outlet to feed a washdown pump as well, instead of using a Y-valve or secondary thru-hull. I used a Johnson Aquajet 5.0 washdown pump.

Everything was plumbed with 3/4" tubing and AWAB hose clamps. All of the fittings were double clamped.

 

[bobkat]

Thanks so much for the info! I also wanted to put in a livewell so I appreciate what you did and will probably do the same thing. That thread certainly has a lot of good info too. I haven't drilled the holes for the antella mount yet so I am definitely going to get the rail clamp. The location I was going to use was right atop the pilot house roof overhang so that I would not have any possible leaks inside the cabin and going through the bulkhead under the overhang would also minimize leaks. Thanks again for all your help.
Bob

 

[TunaJoe]

BobKat
I have a 2007 2520XL
I can help with your VHF antennae mount as I just did the install on my boat. The roof is about 3/4 inch thick. I would thru bolt ( I did, I have an 8 ft ant.)
I mounted the stainless heavy duty rachet mount on the forward starboard corner of the hardtop. The only thing I did wrong was to not put the ant. in the up position to gauge the angle of the ant. mine is slightly off kilt. ie, not perfectly vertical. The hardtop as a slight cant to it for water to run off. This causes the ant. to be slighlty tilted. The mount is adjustable, but unfortunatly, between notches for my location. I'll be constructing a wedge out of starboard to make the ant. be in a vert position.
Make sure you use the golf shaft trick to burn out the screw holes, otherwise you'll make a run in your carpet headliner.

 

[96TL]

BobKat
Make sure you use the golf shaft trick to burn out the screw holes, otherwise you'll make a run in your carpet headliner.

Can you please explain what that is?

 

[UnWired]

Boat solar panels are easy.

We will have 2 x 32 watt panels on top of our pilot house on the 2520. They will be controlled by a Sunwise charge controller.

Just FYI, if you are interested Bobkat, we are a major supplier of solar panels and charge controllers in the US and worldwide. Let me complete our system first and test it out though... I'll be the guinea pig on our own boat first and if it works, I can put a little kit together for you.

It's a good idea to have some backup power charging.. only problem is going to be the reverse diode protect and getting both of the batteries charging separate, even when the battery switch is in the 1 or 2 or both position.
I'll post back in a couple of weeks and let you know. We wanted enough power to operate the radio and the emergency gear. 64 watts total is more than sufficient.

 

[Bryan 2530]

Just FYI, if you are interested Bobkat, we are a major supplier of solar panels and charge controllers in the US and worldwide. Let me complete our system first and test it out though... I'll be the guinea pig on our own boat first and if it works, I can put a little kit together for you.

Make sure you put together a very detailed (full of pictures) post on that subject!!!

That is something I have wanted to do since I got my Parker a year ago, also been thinking about soloar on the home too. If it works out I would also be mor than willing to buy from you guys so keep the info comming.

Very cool!! 8) 8) 8)

Didn't know we had a resident solar expert, Parker owner.
Explaines the Unwired screen name.
Do you have a link to your business????

 

[UnWired]

Hi Bryan,

Yes, we are a major wireless (WiFi and 802.11 based) system designer, integrator, etc... just so happens, we have alot of solar equipment.

I'm actually an RF Engineer, but solar and DC is very easy for me.

I'll include pictures of the panel here shortly and already have the charge controller ready to go.

website address is www.radiolabs.com
The panels are at:
http://www.radiolabs.com/products/elect ... pplies.php

But the panel I'm referring to is the 32watt rigid panel, which is fiberglass backed and nothing to corrode.

 

[TheOtherLine]

BobKat
Make sure you use the golf shaft trick to burn out the screw holes, otherwise you'll make a run in your carpet headliner.

Can you please explain what that is?

Old thread - see the 10th post down.

http://www.classicparker.com/phpBB2/vie ... highlight=

A better explanation, about 25 down:
http://www.classicparker.com/phpBB2/vie ... ght=#18227

 

[Bryan 2530]

Unwired - You are the man to ask!!! I have a small solar panel that I acquired a few years ago and wanted to set it up to trickle charge batteries. It has a red and black wire coming out of the panel but that it. To my understanding I need a diode to keep it from running the battery down at night, is that the case??? If so where can I get the right one. Anyone I have been able to ask doesn't know the answer. Can I order from you???

Here are the specs from the back of the panel

Siemens Solar Industries.
Model SM10
10 watts max power
rated current .61A
Rated voltage 16.V

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[tara11]

We have solar on our house, it is sooo cool, if you want i can take pics of our set up, we have 10 panels on the lower roof and 10 on the second story roof, it really is nice and we basically have the sun for our power source, had it put in about 4 yrs ago, Sorry to hijack your thread, just saw the interest in the solar for the house !

 

[UnWired]

No, it's really a $0.50 part.

What's your required voltage and current? If it 's a 10 watt solar panel, you need to get 2 x 1N4001 diode.. RadioShack part.

Solder it inline, with the band flowing towards your load.

It's too small of a part to sell to anyone... really, it's simple.

If it becomes complex, I can help you out.

Don't DC charge your batteries though, not a good idea. You need a small charge controller that Square wave charges your battery. Really a good idea, because plates start to break down under a DC load.

Solar panels will draw a reverse current during the evening. So, during the day, they will put out voltage... at night, or during lack of heat, they act as a resistor and burn the energy off as heat. 10 watts can use a simple diode, but it's best on your battery plates to use a charge controller because constant DC will cause electrolysis and eat the plates on your battery.

C-

 

[Bryan 2530]

Ok, a few more questions. Does the diode got in the - or + line or both?
What kind of charge controller? can you reccomend one?

My intention is to set-up this panel so it can fit in a rod holder and be clipped to a battery to charge. I have three different boats with 5 batteries between them and would like to be able to put this unit on the boat that is not seeing much use to keep the batteries fresh.

It may be too small of a panel, I haven't done the reseach on it yet.

 

[Bryan 2530]

We have solar on our house, it is sooo cool, if you want i can take pics of our set up, we have 10 panels on the lower roof and 10 on the second story roof, it really is nice and we basically have the sun for our power source, had it put in about 4 yrs ago, Sorry to hijack your thread, just saw the interest in the solar for the house !

That would be cool!! Maybe start another thread in the Projects forum on solar. Its something we should all start beccoming familiar with anyway.

Do you sell power back to the grid??

 

[tara11]

I will, I will take my camera home from the shop and take some pics of our system, yesterday we made 19 kilowatts, that is good, my son this year ( 9 yrs old ) did his science project on solar power, it was pretty cool, everyone was pretty interested ! And yes we do give back to the grid, but it all evens out, I will explain in detail why we did it and how it was done !

 

[UnWired]

Diagram attached. The band goes towards the positive terminal, however, if you use a charge controller, as you should do, they have it basically built in. It's also alot better for the battery... I don't recommend anyone using a panel like this, but if you must.... it will work. Just don't leave it on for a long time.

Bryan, as for the charge controller, a Sunwise controller is your best option... I would recommend one of these:
http://www.sunwize.com/catalog/images/c ... _steca.pdf

We use these controllers all the time. Very good... portable and light weight.

 

[Bryan 2530]

Thanks for the info!!!!

My panel looks identical to the one you posted. I think the dimensions are 14" x 14".

Are those charge controllers weather proof???
What about something like this???

http://www.solarhome.org/index.asp?Page ... ProdID=553


tara - Can't wait for your post!!!!![/url]

 

[bobkat]

I am so glad that this thread has shown so much interest in solar charging. My previous boat had a 200 HP Evinrude 2 stroke engine. I had gone through a host of electrical problems with that engine, replacing diodes and power packs. Someone told me that if the voltage of the batteries was not adequate, these sorts of problems are more likely to occur. Not being able to plug in to dock power for charging, I installed a small solar panel and hooked it directly to the batteries. I was told that a 2 Watt solar panel charger was all that was needed to keep the batteries fully charged even in overcast conditions. After I installed them, I never had a problem with the engine again. The hard cranking that I had become accustomed to, was gone forever. There was an inline diode that prevented current loss. I was surprised that every boat that did not have access to shore power, did not use this technology. That boat, by the way, did not have thru hull deck scuppers so any rain water would go into the bilge and require the pump to run thereby draining the batteries. What I was interested in finding out was now that I have the 250 Yamaha 4 Stroke, is this engine as suspectible to damage from low voltage as a 2 stroke engine is? By the way, West Marine has this type of solar panel 2 Watt for about $45. From what I can understand, a 2 W does not require an overcharge protector. But the larger wattage chargers do . They sell those too. Thanks to everyone who has responded to my post. Like always, ClassicParker members never cease to amaze me with the breath and depth of their knowledge. By the way, for our 35th wedding anniversary, my wonderful wife surprised me with a 545s Chartplotter and a Profish 700 Windlass. What a woman!!!
Bob