Running engines before 8pm

[JamesWoolcock]

I'm moored in Cambrian Wharf, Birmingham for a few days and I'm next to a well maintained craft that arrived yesterday afternoon.

The crew have kept themselves much to themselves but I have seen them around much of the day.

 

At 6.30 this evening, as I and no doubt all others here wished to sit down to a quiet evening, they start their engine to charge their batteries.

 

Now this is just an example of what happens every night all over the system a thousand times over.

 

My question is this: why? Boaters have all day in most cases to charge their batteries but it seems the done thing to disturb their neighbours by doing this in the evening. It is even worse when you want to sit out with that first drink of the day.

 

I charge my batteries in the morning. Am I odd?

 

James

Edited September 15, 2015 by JamesWoolcock

[Rufford]

They might be foolishly all electric and need to put the generator on for cooking?

[TheBiscuits]

There was one we were moored next to that started their engine at 8 having been on the boat all afternoon!

 

I said a bad word about them.

[Paul C]

Ok here's a scenario which explains why: a boat arrives at, say 3pm, having been cruising all day. Its batteries are fully charged and the domestic hot water is hot. Someone has a shower at 6:30pm. The hot water is now tepid; and the occupant(s) have been watching telly and using laptops, charging their phones, etc. So now the batteries are also a little discharged. Also the boat has central heating supplied by the engine coolant. It makes sense to run the engine for an hour 7-8pm to 1) charge the batteries 2) boost the hot water temperature and 3) heat the interior a bit. The third one is quite important - you'll have noticed that its autumn, and the temperature variation from day to night is quite large. So some kind of heating is nice in the evenings. Running the engine earlier would have put nothing into the batteries, nothing into the (because it was already hot before the shower) hot water, and either made the interior too hot or the central heating would have been turned off - ie completely pointless.

 

Basically, the engine as late as possible has done much useful for 1 hour's running - potentially put in 20-30A into the batteries; restored the hot water; and raised the interior temperature +5 deg C.

[Delta9]

I'm moored in Cambrian Wharf, Birmingham for a few days and I'm next to a well maintained craft that arrived yesterday afternoon.

The crew have kept themselves much to themselves but I have seen them around much of the day.

 

At 6.30 this evening, as I and no doubt all others here wished to sit down to a quiet evening, they start their engine to charge their batteries.

 

Now this is just an example of what happens every night all over the system a thousand times over.

 

My question is this: why? Boaters have all day in most cases to charge their batteries but it seems the done thing to disturb their neighbours by doing this in the evening. It is even worse when you want to sit out with that first drink of the day.

 

I charge my batteries in the morning. Am I odd?

 

James

Why is running it in the morning any better? what about the people who are having a lie in? Stop being so selfish, not everyone has the same timetable as you

[TheBiscuits]

Ok here's a scenario which explains why: a boat arrives at, say 3pm, having been cruising all day. Its batteries are fully charged and the domestic hot water is hot. Someone has a shower at 6:30pm. The hot water is now tepid; and the occupant(s) have been watching telly and using laptops, charging their phones, etc. So now the batteries are also a little discharged. Also the boat has central heating supplied by the engine coolant. It makes sense to run the engine for an hour 7-8pm to 1) charge the batteries 2) boost the hot water temperature and 3) heat the interior a bit. The third one is quite important - you'll have noticed that its autumn, and the temperature variation from day to night is quite large. So some kind of heating is nice in the evenings. Running the engine earlier would have put nothing into the batteries, nothing into the (because it was already hot before the shower) hot water, and either made the interior too hot or the central heating would have been turned off - ie completely pointless.

 

Basically, the engine as late as possible has done much useful for 1 hour's running - potentially put in 20-30A into the batteries; restored the hot water; and raised the interior temperature +5 deg C.

 

 

If you keep adding reasonable, well written logical thinking in to threads it will ruin this place

[Rufford]

How long until mandatory sound testing of generators and engines?

[Rob-M]

I couldn't understand someone at Fradley last weekend who were running their engine when we arrived on Saturday evening for quite some time and then when we got up Sunday morning their engine was going again. I did notice various electrical items (TV, stereo, microwave, etc.) as we went past so I expect they either didn't have sufficient batteries or the batteries didn't hold a charge.

[bizzard]

If you had no electric fridge, but a gas fridge and an instantaneous gas water heater but no washing machine, no micro-wave, no toasters, electric kettles ect ect and leave off the laptop and that wretched Facebook the moment you stop and read a book, sing songs, paint a picture or just sit and think instead and you should be able to go a good few days without starting the engine at all.

[jenlyn]

I'm moored in Cambrian Wharf, Birmingham for a few days and I'm next to a well maintained craft that arrived yesterday afternoon.

The crew have kept themselves much to themselves but I have seen them around much of the day.

 

At 6.30 this evening, as I and no doubt all others here wished to sit down to a quiet evening, they start their engine to charge their batteries.

 

Now this is just an example of what happens every night all over the system a thousand times over.

 

My question is this: why? Boaters have all day in most cases to charge their batteries but it seems the done thing to disturb their neighbours by doing this in the evening. It is even worse when you want to sit out with that first drink of the day.

 

I charge my batteries in the morning. Am I odd?

 

James

I start mine at 1800. Then I have a full charge for the evening and night. I cc, and have to say that it's quite common seeing this sort of schedule. Its also within the rules.

[dogless]

I generally give my engine an hour after 6pm, particularly as the nights get colder (unless I've been cruising all day).

I like to think it gives the batteries a top up, heats the water a little for morning use, and puts some warmth in the engine bay to assist (as winter draws on) with preventing any freezing. (Yes I know it's too early yet)

 

Besides, how are we to know when , between the hours of 8am and 8pm, is best going go suit you and anyone esle in the vicinity ?

I cannot see how this can be considered unreasonable or even worthy of query.

Rog

[Arthur Marshall]

If you had no electric fridge, but a gas fridge and an instantaneous gas water heater but no washing machine, no micro-wave, no toasters, electric kettles ect ect and leave off the laptop and that wretched Facebook the moment you stop and read a book, sing songs, paint a picture or just sit and think instead and you should be able to go a good few days without starting the engine at all.

You've just described my boat...

[Starcoaster]

I have a big (for my usage) solar array that allows me to go for several months of the year without running the engine at all other than when moving.

However, as the nights get shorter, I will need to supplement my power with either the engine, a genny or shore power for about an hour to ninety mins. a day, and obviously as the solar is charging the batteries and supporting my usage during the day, the window between when it gets dark and the 8pm cut-off is the optimum time for me to do this.

 

I also agree with Delta9 that not everyone keeps the same hours too, sometimes I sleep late and an engine on at 8am would wake me up-but I accept that hearing other people running stuff at any time between 8am-8pm is part of life on the cut, and it is what it is!

[mayalld]

I'm moored in Cambrian Wharf, Birmingham for a few days and I'm next to a well maintained craft that arrived yesterday afternoon.

The crew have kept themselves much to themselves but I have seen them around much of the day.

 

At 6.30 this evening, as I and no doubt all others here wished to sit down to a quiet evening, they start their engine to charge their batteries.

 

Now this is just an example of what happens every night all over the system a thousand times over.

 

My question is this: why? Boaters have all day in most cases to charge their batteries but it seems the done thing to disturb their neighbours by doing this in the evening. It is even worse when you want to sit out with that first drink of the day.

 

I charge my batteries in the morning. Am I odd?

 

James

The 8 until 8 rule is a two way street.

 

It means people aren't allowed to run generators or engines whilst moored from 8 pm to 8 am, EVEN if they personally think running earlier or later is OK.

 

It also means that people ARE allowed to do so from 8 am to 8 pm, even if the bloke on the boat next door thinks 7 pm is too late.

[dmr]

In winter, on days when we don't move, we always run the engine 6pm to 8pm to charge the batteries etc. This gets the back cabin nice and warm ready for bed, and the engine works like a night storage heater and holds some heat till the small hours. Still cold first thing in the morning though.

Another slight advantage s that as power consumption is minimal overnight the batteries are spending longer at a higher state of charge.

 

.............Dave

[The Bearwood Boster]

What is the problem? Running an engine any time between 8am & 8pm is fine,keeping to the rules.If the OP doesn't like engine noise-maybe he/she need to go & isolate themselves deep in the heart of the countryside where they are away from other boats.

Trina

[Wanderer Vagabond]

I'm moored in Cambrian Wharf, Birmingham for a few days and I'm next to a well maintained craft that arrived yesterday afternoon.

The crew have kept themselves much to themselves but I have seen them around much of the day.

 

At 6.30 this evening, as I and no doubt all others here wished to sit down to a quiet evening, they start their engine to charge their batteries.

 

Now this is just an example of what happens every night all over the system a thousand times over.

 

My question is this: why? Boaters have all day in most cases to charge their batteries but it seems the done thing to disturb their neighbours by doing this in the evening. It is even worse when you want to sit out with that first drink of the day.

 

I charge my batteries in the morning. Am I odd?

 

James

I'd tend to agree with others that, since the 'offending' boat is complying with the rules there isn't really a case to be made against them. If the OP is moored in Cambrian Wharf, I assume that is the Cambrian Wharf in the centre of the city of Birmingham. When I moored in Brum quiet wasn't really something I expected or got. It is a city, cities tend to be noisy, if one is averse to noise perhaps it's not really the place to be.

 

In terms of running one's engine in the morning, I tend to find that if I run the engine to recharge the battery on the days when I remain stationary the afternoon/evening (not after 8pm ) would be my preferred time. If I'm not moving it is often because the weather is rubbish so may well be staying on the boat all day, therefore using power. If I were only to recharge in the morning then it would mean that I would have to replace the power consumed throughout the day and during the evening which would probably knock my batteries down to about 85% so would take a long time to recharge. If I recharge during the afternoon (whilst I'm possibly also using power) it doesn't seem to take as long to recharge and the batteries rarely go below 90%.

[dmr]

Anyway, more seriously he's moored in Cambrian Wharf so is right under the Flapper which is Birmingham' Heavy Metal pub.

He's gong to be very very unhappy at the weekend!!!

 

A surprisingly good and friendly pub, two real ales, and they let the dog in (she coped surprisingly well).

Good quiz (on Wednesdays?) but the music can be very loud!

 

............Dave

[steveiom]

never mind running engines....my problem is people running engines and in gear....

I thought it was not allowed..

[JamesWoolcock]

Why is running it in the morning any better? what about the people who are having a lie in? Stop being so selfish, not everyone has the same timetable as you

Anyone who know's me knows that unless I'm moving off, you'll rarely see me out and about before 10.30! I'm no early riser.

Edited September 15, 2015 by JamesWoolcock

[nicknorman]

Just a minor point but I think it is considerate to let neighbours know how long one intends to run the engine for. Someone did this to us recently (ie told us that he would be running his engine for an hour and then turning it off) and I found this made it much more bearable (well it wasn't that unbearable anyway, it was fairly quiet). In other words, a good part of the upset is the not knowing when the neighbour is going to stop their engine, once this becomes a known thing, the whole issue tends to disappear.

[johnmck]

We cruise quite extensively. But, if we intend to stay at a location for a day or so, we often top up in the evening, always off before 2000 of course.

 

Heats the boat via the heat exchanger,the hot water,and of course tops up the batteries meaning less charging the following day.

 

I thought our regime was fairly typical.

[b0atman]

never mind running engines....my problem is people running engines and in gear....

I thought it was not allowed..

and the reason why so many banks are collapsing

[ditchcrawler]

I'm moored in Cambrian Wharf, Birmingham for a few days and I'm next to a well maintained craft that arrived yesterday afternoon.

The crew have kept themselves much to themselves but I have seen them around much of the day.

 

At 6.30 this evening, as I and no doubt all others here wished to sit down to a quiet evening, they start their engine to charge their batteries.

 

Now this is just an example of what happens every night all over the system a thousand times over.

 

My question is this: why? Boaters have all day in most cases to charge their batteries but it seems the done thing to disturb their neighbours by doing this in the evening. It is even worse when you want to sit out with that first drink of the day.

 

I charge my batteries in the morning. Am I odd?

 

James

I don't think you did to well on that one James

[MtB]

You've just described my boat...

 

 

Me too, except I have an electric fridge run by the solar panel.

 

When I got the boat back with the Skandia installed, they hadn't fitted a vee belt to the alternator. It was two months before I found any need to get one.

 

All this evening engine running by moored boaters really pishes me off, especially on quiet countryside moorings.