Removing LaMarch Charger

[egaito]

A couple of questions for those that have done this:

With breaker off, the battery switches off, and the wires taken off the bus in the ER, and now the battery cables disconnected, I'm still getting voltage to the lugs on the charger. I assume there are capacitors that are continuing to feed the lugs, but have no idea how to discharge them. It only hurts when I touch the metal case, but unfortunately, the angle I'm hanging from requires me to do so ;-)

Once I'm past this, I then have to figure out how to get the old beast off the bulkhead. Anyone remember how/where it's secured? I don't relish reaching my hand into the guts of this thing to randomly turn screws at this point.

Oh yea, also, I'd appreciate it if all of you could avoid telling me how heavy this thing is until it's off the boat....

Thanks,

-Ed G.

 

[wsdemmer]

Glad you are doing it before me! Mine is next so I will be following this with interest. Currently have mine on a timer for several hours a day. Looking forward to putting a smart charger on the wall.

 

[Angela]

Anybody???? Anybody???? He's headed back into the hole to be "Sparky"!

 

[Genesis]

Be SURE you have the correct wires off the lugs in the DC panels. Note that the charger is typically fed OUTSIDE of the DC switch (around it) and as such is live (on the DC side) even with the disconnect switch off.

There are filter capacitors in a charger but if you're actually getting nailed by it more than once it's a near certainty that there is still energy being fed into it from somewhere.

I would take a lamp of the appropriate voltage and place it across the output terminals to verify; if it's a capacitor it will discharge quite quickly. If, on the other hand it's "hot" well.... you definitely need to take care of that!

 

[Angela]

Yep...that's what we already know. It's that "somewhere" that we can't put our finger on. We're missing one very important wiring diagram to this system. Drawings 395 and 396, as I recall. Geez...I have every other blueprint! Well...we'll let you all know what happens.

 

[Angela]

Assuming Ed lives through this, there is a very nice dinner in his future for his efforts! Filet mignon with bearnaise, fossil potatoes, salad of mixed baby greens with Sanctuary's raspberry vinaigrette topped with fresh mangoes, red/yellow bell peppers, feta cheese and roasted walnuts....ultimate fudge-caramel brownies with ice cream and caramel sauce. Well...his mottos is "will work for food." But it's gotta be good food.

 

[piripucha]

I am not familiar with the Lamarche charger, but the Sentry is held to the bulkhead by four self taping screws , one in each corner of the base. Just unscrew them a little and it will getoff the bulkhead. And the charger is heavy so get a good grip on it. Enjoy !!!

 

[MikeP]

I did this a couple of years ago but rather than removing the LaMarche I gutted the cabinet which remains mounted in the engine room with a couple of shelves and it now holds tools, etc.

The AC and DC connections were very straightforward. I turned off the breakers for the AC, disconnected the ground cable from the batts and disconnected the DC cables to the charger. There was nothing odd or unusual - if the batt charger cables are disconnected from the batts and the breaker power is off, there is no power in the system anywhere. As noted the LARGE capacitors will probably have a charge. You can do the screwdriver method to short them but use an old screwdriver and eye protection! A better way is to use a 5W 200 Ohm resistor across the terminals of the caps to bleed down the voltage with no drama.

 

[egaito]

Be SURE you have the correct wires off the lugs in the DC panels. Note that the charger is typically fed OUTSIDE of the DC switch (around it) and as such is live (on the DC side) even with the disconnect switch off.

It was the right wires...I love the way these boats are labeled. Both the wire number tape as well as the little placard on the bus bar are both still intact

There are filter capacitors in a charger but if you're actually getting nailed by it more than once it's a near certainty that there is still energy being fed into it from somewhere.

It had to be the caps....once I got the wires off (carefully, to avoid further defibrillation), they didn't show voltage between the hot and ground. Everything is taped off so I don't get any surprises pulling the wires through the enclosure.

Now, to get the thing off the wall and overboard.....I mean to the recycling center.

 

[34Hatt]

You have to keep it shorted Caps will self charge that's why you store them shorted.

 

[Angela]

So...I see him laying down there....asking about a come-along and talking about building an a-frame for getting this thing out...and he called me down there to pass down some lumber to support it...


Gotta ask..WTF????? The new charger - I can hold out in front of me with one hand...why does this original charger weigh SUBSTANTIALLY over 100 pounds? It's such a small box in the realm of boxes on this boat. What's in there?

 

[Angela]

I did this a couple of years ago but rather than removing the LaMarche I gutted the cabinet which remains mounted in the engine room with a couple of shelves and it now holds tools, etc.

No way...anything this evil - that heavy - is going OFF the boat. I see it sitting down there and we need muscle reinforcement to get it up an out. How much does plutonium weigh? It's just a little thing...but damn....

 

[egaito]

OK, it's off the wall and under the hatch with some creative tilting, twisting and sliding. For those wondering, it was secured at the top by three carriage bolts through the bulkhead, to what I guess is T-Nuts on the back side. I was impressed that they weren't lag bolts. The bottom was secured by three small square head screws...not load bearing.

So, who wants to come help lift it out of the generator room tomorrow?

 

[MarioG]

So, who wants to come help lift it out of the generator room tomorrow?

I'll come over sometime in the afternoon if that works for you.

 

[Boatnut]

So...I see him laying down there....asking about a come-along and talking about building an a-frame for getting this thing out...and he called me down there to pass down some lumber to support it...


Gotta ask..WTF????? The new charger - I can hold out in front of me with one hand...why does this original charger weigh SUBSTANTIALLY over 100 pounds? It's such a small box in the realm of boxes on this boat. What's in there?

To answer your weight question. The transformer in the charger is an iron core transformer, with many windings of copper wire. They are very heavy, especially in older units, like averything else technical, newer units are smaller and weigh less, but this type of charger is still weighty. The larger the capacity of the charger the heavier.

 

[Fanfare]

Look how long these chargers have lasted. One of the most reliable parts on the boats. Be interesting to see how many decades we get from the newer, smaller, lighter replacements.

 

[MikeP]

It is interesting to note that although we all complain about how bad the old Ferro chargers are, the original Rolls/Surrette batts on our 1980 Hatteras lasted 15 years with the LaMarche doing all the charging...

 

[jim rosenthal]

Years ago I took a similar charger out of my Matthews. I think it was called a LaMarche Constavolt, and they were so ubiquitous that chargers were generically called "Constavolts" for years, even though they might not have been that brand- kind of like Xerox or Kleenex. I remember getting it out of the engine room, lying there upside down, sweating buckets, and that it weighed easily forty pounds. And I was a lot younger and stronger then, and it was still harder than hell. PLUS I had to put it back in once it was repaired.....

 

[SeaEric]

I'd like Angela's Bearnaise sauce recipe.

 

[TopHattandTails]

I'd like Angela's Bearnaise sauce recipe.

Add in some truffle oil for the potatoes...and I'll fly down and take that LaMarche out!