Engine question ??

Sorry if my sense of humour caused any misunderstanding. It is good to have you with us OB.

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa .

It's all good!
What a stimulating conversation with a bunch of smart people.

The OP asked about a generator on a 56' Neptunus, the title of the thread is about a 56' Neptunus, if you read it. The title of the sight is Yachtforums. And, while most people like to dream about superyachts and big boats, the majority of the members are boat and yacht owners of 100'< . While it's great to post information about these very large generators,posting in someone's thread asking about a generator on a 56' Neptunus which would be under 20KW is not the place. I also agree 100% with Olderboaters post.

You should have gone to Specsavers or stopped posting about thing you know only enough about to be dangerous.

Perhaps you should post about your large generators in your own post and not in a post titled "Engine ???" and about an initial post asking about main engines on a 56' Neptunus, specifically 6v92's, 3406's, or 3196's, nothing to do with a generator or C18 powered generators for that matter.

As for your little stab. Yes I have dealt with large generators. As for your C18 generators, the computer does everything automatically, they sense a loss of voltage, automatically start the generator, run it for a very short period, and then auto-transfer the power. I have also dealt with 3406 and other generators that you had to manually press the start button and get it running, manually adjust the governor for rpm/hertz manually with a hand sized knob to get it into the ballpark, then adjust the small knob for the fine setting of rpm/hertz adjustment, manually transfer over power and then possibly adjust the small knob setting a little more on the governor a little to maintain hertz/rpm with the load. It aint brain surgery. It's an engine, that turns a generator end either 1800 or 1500 rpms for either 60 or 50 cycles and the generator end produces it's rated KW's.

I know enough to run and do general maintanence on CAT 250 KW +/- generators and some other brands. Now there are some engineers who would also laugh at your 250KW generators and call them kids toys as well........such as generators on cruise ships and running islands that produce megawatts of power. I'm not about to open the valve covers and do the maintanence specified for the manufacturers rep to do.....ie (adjust valves, torque head bolts, and things of that nature).

Brain surgery it might not be but given your recent inability to understand the difference between actuate and atomise I would say your engineering skills are similar the a wet paper bag's resistance to a hurricane but you continue to post stuff you don't seem to know much about.

Where does your fixation come from about 250kW gensets, is this 250 ekW or 250 kW mechanical? Could you tell the difference without google assist?

I am not afraid to remove valve covers, cylinder heads, pistons and liners, crankshafts etc as required on anything up to and including the biggest diesel engines made. I am a diesel mechanic who went to sea and now I am a fully qualified Chief Engineer who can work on any size ship afloat.

It may also be of some interest to note that it was not me who posted all the big genset pictures.

I could rebuild an engine as well with a book with the torque specs in it, etc. etc. Measuring tolerances and torqueing bolts isn't anything that special. I have rebuilt engines in the past. Including race engines. I choose not to be stuck in a hot engine room turning wrenches and lifting 250+ lb C18 cylinder heads in soiled coveralls. Considering your vast engineering skills and being a CAT guy, you admit to never having worked on or being familiar with a 3196 CAT, seriously? There are lots more of those in the marine market than 3406's from what I've seen. Anyways, I feel no need to toot my own horn or resort to insults.

I entered this topic because what the OP is looking into I am extremely knowledgable about. I am very knowledgable of Neptunus (having run, managed, and maintained many Neptunus), 6v92's, 3406's AND 3196's. Which if you read the thread posted by the OP, it has nothing to do with generators.

Hours are a bit low for the year, generally you'd like to see 100 hours a year, but I change my opinion for boats that are winterized and in heated storage out of the water. For a Northern boat that's winterized the hours are probably ok. Have the engines and boat surveyed. Another thing, with 3196's you want to call CAT with serial numbers and make sure all of the aftercooler updates/recalls have been done. Most all of the 3196's (aftercooler issues) have been sorted out by CAT for free. They're good running motors which I "think" morphed into the C 15's. Is this a Northern boat?

The worst thing you can do to a Marine engine is let it sit for long periods of time without being run, especially in saltwater. As the boat rocks, most boats have water in the exhaust that goes in and out of the boats exhaust and it pushes salty air/condensate up into the motor to whatever cylinders have open exhaust valves. While usually not an issue on a boat that's used, not good over a long period of time if the motors aren't run for months.

What's your price range? Neptunus builds a good overall boat with a good ride. I would say a 52',55' or 58' late model Searay sedan bridge would be worth looking at. 59' Marquis as well, very good layout but quality and ride a step below Neptunus and SeaRay. Also the Sunseeker Manhattan 60 is a very nice riding boat, just check the teak deck thickness and look for gelcoat cracks.

Wow ... I had no idea a beast like that existed! It is very impressive. The economics behind that type of UPS probably only fits a small user base though.

With regard to the earthquake start, does it use a magnetic clutch to provide a "soft start" feature otherwise I think things would break considering the inertia forces involved.

Rube is probably grinning from ear to ear! Thanks for posting the pic.

You also have to get it home from Lake Michigan. I wouldn't recommend going over your budget as you're going to spend a good chunk of change on initial maintanence, spare parts, changing stuff, and on and on. Any boat you're looking at ask them to start the motors (make sure they're cold) and look at the exhaust for signs of smoke and color of it. Some brands are notorious for smoking at cold start up like DD's, but should clear up within a minute or so.......An engine survey is a must.....ask to see maintanence records as well. A well maintained 1999 diesel with 2000 hours can be in much better shape than a poorly maintained 1999 diesel engine with 500 hours.

I am also looking for purchasing boat , Have you knowledge about which one the best . No issues related to price , but it must important that engine was good .