Alarm, yes or no?

[toddster]

I just monitor my guages and listen to the engine. I have heard alarms going off on other boats that are just sitting in the slip. I was staying overnight a year or so ago at South Beach in SF Bay and this large brandnew ugly power boat thing had this high shrill alarm that was on all day and night. There were various mechanics crawling all over it to find out why but it still took til the next morning for the incessant noise to be shut down.

dvd

I went ahead and installed a light and buzzer for the sea talk "master alarm." Cause, like, there was a connector for it that I couldn't just leave open. Supposedly if any one individual alarm (e.g. depth, proximity, anchor, wind) gets ignored for a certain amount of time, the master alarm goes off. Then you have to figure out exactly why. It might be more useful if it tied in to Siri or something to provide more clues. Getting engine data into the network might be more trouble than it's worth though.

[ndutton]

I was staying overnight a year or so ago at South Beach in SF Bay and this large brand new ugly power boat thing had this high shrill alarm that was on all day and night. There were various mechanics crawling all over it to find out why but it still took til the next morning for the incessant noise to be shut down.

I think there might be a chance that without the irritating alarm Skippy the ugly powerboat captain would have cast off and poured the coals to her oblivious of any problem. It's possible this sort of captain needs such an alarm.

I'm in no way suggesting the description applies to anyone around here.

[yeahjohn]

I'm have thought about installing one... considering my oil pressure sits at 20 and I cruise at around 1300rpm. I think my alarm would always sound.

[ndutton]

John,

The oil pressure trip point on the Cole-Hersee alarm system (the Moyer product as well) is 2 - 6 PSI.

[Mo]

Yeahjohn,
Have you tried to adjust the oil pressure up? There's a chance you just need an adjustment.

Read this link: http://www.moyermarine.com//forums/s...ure+adjustment

[romantic comedy]

What about a water pressure alarm.

I have wondered about this. Do people use them? If a hose breaks or the engine loses water, what happens?

I dont use any alarms. Maybe I should. I have had all sorts of gauges on my cars, but never had a failure. As a mechanic, there are so few times when an alarm could have helped an engine failure.

I have a water temp gauge, and an oil pressure gauge mounted in plain sight, on the aft cabin. I dont get the point of the panels mounted down low. You cant see the gauges.

Maybe I will hook up an oil pressure alarm after I rebuild the engine. It is sure to fail then.

[joe_db]

There are water FLOW alarms available. I would think that more useful than coolant pressure.
Under power I am usually on autopilot and the gauges are not in my line of sight, so I like the alarms.

What about a water pressure alarm.

I have wondered about this. Do people use them? If a hose breaks or the engine loses water, what happens?

I dont use any alarms. Maybe I should. I have had all sorts of gauges on my cars, but never had a failure. As a mechanic, there are so few times when an alarm could have helped an engine failure.

I have a water temp gauge, and an oil pressure gauge mounted in plain sight, on the aft cabin. I dont get the point of the panels mounted down low. You cant see the gauges.

Maybe I will hook up an oil pressure alarm after I rebuild the engine. It is sure to fail then.

[PT26]

No alarms on PT26 just the gauges.
We do use the oil pressure safety switch that also shuts off the fuel pump.
Over time I have learned all the noises and listen for anything new... Nothing like a new noise followed by what the heck was that!
An alarm system would be nice to have though, I have caught myself saying "what was I doing"
I am adding this to the - things I want to work on over summer list

[HOTFLASH]

Just in case

I added mine, procured from MM, when I overhauled my engine. I still look at my gauges, but a guest helmsperson may not.
Mary

[ILikeRust]

I just monitor my guages and listen to the engine. I have heard alarms going off on other boats that are just sitting in the slip. I was staying overnight a year or so ago at South Beach in SF Bay and this large brandnew ugly power boat thing had this high shrill alarm that was on all day and night. There were various mechanics crawling all over it to find out why but it still took til the next morning for the incessant noise to be shut down.

Nothing a little pair of wire snips wouldn't cure.

Gotta wonder why they let it scream so long - pull the damn fuse or something!

[ILikeRust]

After all the time, effort and money I dumped into rebuilding my engine, I went ahead and added the Moyer water temp/oil pressure alarm kit. My gauges are not easily viewable - they're down about ankle level in the cockpit (I have this vague plan to someday rectify this), and my engine is down below out of sight (and mostly pretty quiet) when motoring. So I figured the kit was well worth alerting me if something goes awry.

[sastanley]

On the Mumm 30, it had the alarm and some idiot lights...We just kept wrapping the alarm with white tape until we couldn't hear it anymore..

[capnward]

I don't have the Moyer kit, but I have installed a temperature alarm. It has kept me out of trouble on several occasions. Someday I'll get around to the oil pressure alarm.

[alcodiesel]

Oil pressure alarm only. I guess I have to answer no on the survey.