www.iFourWinns.com

While we're away from 278 and it's wet-slipped, I'd like to run the fridge. And probably the A/C on the dehumidifcation cycle. However, I am unsure how to leave the multitude of switches.

There is the battery selector at the stern: 1, 2 and both. Below that is a switch for "ships systems" and something else below that. Then, in the cabin on the main electrical panel there are more switches.

The way I left it was to turn everything off except the fridge breaker and "charger". My question is, what do I do with the battery selector and "ships systems"? Is that only when using battery power? Does it even matter since I'm hooked up with shore power? Do I need to leave "charger" on? I only assumed so because I wanted the batteries to be on charge.

I find this all very confusing and while we went over this during the sea trial, we also went over a lot of other things. That, and the excitement of the new boat leaves me with a lot of questions. Oh yeah, and they also gave me the wrong manual. The correct one is on the way, so I can't RTFM.

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SOLD! 2006 30th Anniversary Vista 278
"Conch'd Out!"

http://vista278.com

The position of the battery switch will not have an effect on the charging of the batteries. The charger should have two independant charging circuits, one for the house bank and one for the starter battery. The charger is wired directly to the batteries or to the battery side terminal of the battery isolator.

As to the ship systems switch. That should be the main breaker for the 12VDC systems on the boat. If that is off, the vapor detector, CO monitors, radio, etc should be in a de-energized state. If you don't have the boat on shorepower and the battery charger on, your house battery will eventually be depleted if the ship systems breaker is on. If the boat is hooked to shorepower and the refig/charger circuit is on, you can leave the ship systems switch on as the charger will keep the battery(s) charged and power the 12VDC systems.

Don't be afraid of leaving the charger circuit on. The chargers are "smart" and have 3 stages of charge. Once the batteries reach their full charge, the charger will go into a float mode that will keep them fully charged without boiling off the electrolyte.

One other thing you will need t do therough out the season if you are wet slipping the boat and leaving the boat on shore power is to monitor the anoded on your outdrive. They will keep the drive from corroding due to galvanic corrosion. Depending on the condition of the electrinc on the dock, the water type, and the condition of the electrical systems of the surrounding boats, anode corrosion can be rapid.

Hope this helps

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

ShanMan14... I'm in the same boat as you (pun intended).

We took delivery of our 318 last week and I just logged on to ask about the "ship's system" switch in the battery switch cabinet adjacent to the transom entry. I am connected to shore power and left my charger breaker on. I also left the "ship's system" on since I thought it shut down everthing, including the charger.... now I understand that it is, essentially, a "battery switch" for the 12VDC house system.

Thanks jvalich.


We will be spending our first night on her this weekend.... rain or shine.

That makes it a bit more clear for me, thanks. I suppose once my owner's manual (the correct one) arrives, I can better learn how all of this works.

_________________
SOLD! 2006 30th Anniversary Vista 278
"Conch'd Out!"

http://vista278.com

And make sure your anodes are actually attached! Our 348 threw off BOTH of it's prop shaft anodes last season. Inboards have one on each shaft. When we took delivery there was an odd wobble which turned out to be a loose anode on the starboard shaft. They tightened it. Later in the season when I was having the bottom cleaned the diver pointed out there weren't ANY anodes on the shafts! Suffice to say I paid him to install a pair of new ones. Those remained attached for the rest of the season, and all three still looked good when we pulled the boat last winter.

Check with your fellow slipholders and ask about anodes. See if anyone's having theirs get eaten through faster that usual. If so then get on the marina to fix their defective electrical setup. It may eventually turn out to be a problem with the dock wiring, or the wiring in someone else's boat. In either case it needs fixing. Otherwise you shouldn't leave your shore power wiring connected until the problem gets resolved.

There are some other types of sacrificial anodes you can use. A common one looks like a fish. You attach it to a ground on your boat (usually a rail) and it, as it's name suggests, sacrifices itself instead of your other anodes. There's no guarantee it will, and you do have to make sure it's connected to a good ground on your vessel, but if you're seeing lots of anode loss then it's something to consider.

But for most situations the regular anodes are more than enough. Just make sure they're present and working.

Kearney,

How about Galvanic Isolators? Do all the Vista models come with the Guest Isolators? I assume the larger vessels do, I was just wondering if my 248 had it. I didn't peruse around the engine compartment enough yet to locate it as it wasn't high on my priority list.

The isolator should be located near where the shore power goes. It isolates the 120 VAC to ground. Mine is mounted behind the circuit panel in the cabin.

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

JV,

Ohhh I wasn't even thinking about what it does (AC) yeah I probably would have been looking for a long time in the bilge to find it

Can someone explain what a galvanic isolater is/does?

_________________
SOLD! 2006 30th Anniversary Vista 278
"Conch'd Out!"

http://vista278.com

Honestly, I don't know. I'd have to check, but then I'd also have to know what I'm looking for. I do have the correct owners manual (they gave me the previous year's model) and it's electrical schematics are included with it. I'll take a look at that over the weekend.

From what I understand, the Galvanic Isolator is a common intersection for all of the "Bonded" components. All of your thru hulls and anything else that is metal and touches the water is "bonded" (has a ground wire) and these bonding wires all run back to the Galvanic Isolator. This is also where the neutral AC ties in. There is another part to the isolator (it is not passive) and I am not sure what exactly it does...

From an advertisment

"The Galvanic Isolator blocks electrolysis currents from flowing in the ground conductor of your shore power hookup. It provides approximately 1.2 volts of isolation to isolate electrolytic voltages from the dock but yet pass safety currents to ground in the event of a short circuit, or power leakage on your boat."

Galvanic Corrosion from Wikipedia

"Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially when it is in contact with a different type of metal and both metals are in an electrolyte.
When two or more different sorts of metal come into contact in the presence of an electrolyte a galvanic couple is set up as different metals have different electrode potentials. The electrolyte provides a means for ion migration whereby metallic ions can move from the anode to the cathode. This leads to the anodic metal corroding more quickly than it otherwise would; the corrosion of the cathodic metal is retarded even to the point of stopping. The presence of electrolyte and a conducting path between the metals may cause corrosion where otherwise neither metal alone would have corroded."

So, the metals on the boat have different potentials and the water, either fresh or salt, acts as the electrolyte.

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Hey Gang,

Sorry to revive this old thread, but we just started slipping our new (to us) '06 Vista 258. We came from a Horizon and are used to a squeaky clean outdrive and hull. So, now that she's floating in the water all the time, I'm feeling a little antsy about corrosion, particularly outdrive corrosion. It's in freshwater, so I recognize it's not a huge issue, but we certainly want to make sure that we're doing all that we can.

So, with the long intro, does anyone know if our boat is equipped with a galvanic isolator? I suspect that it is, because I've read that the "fault" light on the circuit panel is associated with the galvanic isolator and will flash when away from AC shore power. We definitely have the "fault" light because I noticed it our first trip out.

The boat's in the water 45 mins away and I plan on checking in the next couple of days. Until then, does anyone know if the 258 has a galvanic isolator standard? Is it standard on all Vista models?

Thanks!

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2006 Vista 258
2007 Yukon Denali

What motor drive manufacturer do you have? Both mercury and Volvo have an isolation system. Mercury has the mercathode system. Volvo has one as well(I can't remember the name off hand). My 260 horizon has a Volvo motor and it has a galvanic protection system. It is a box that is usually mounted to inside of the transom in the EC. I would suspect that your Vista has one as well my Rinker cruiser did. But even so you could have corrosion issues. If you are at Brookville "Home Stretch" the 25 ft Doral has some corrosion (I saw when we put it in for the season).

The best protection is the anode and regular checking of its function. Ideally in fresh water you will have magnesium anodes. Most boats will have aluminum as standard. The problem with that is your out drive is aluminum as well.

So switch to Magnesium if possible and check regularly. If they are being eroded you know that you are being protected however if they are being eroded quickly you are protected but the marina or a boat near you may have a grounding problem.

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2008 Horizon 260 VP 8.1 Gi

Thanks for the advice, tennja! We will definitely switch anodes because I know ours is aluminum.

We are out at Brookville. I suspect "Home Stretch's" corrosion problem is more related to the acidic urine to water ratio that typically exists behind his boat near the outdrive....

Great to see another Brookville boater on here. Look us up if your ever up for getting together!

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2006 Vista 258
2007 Yukon Denali