Official 400EC thread

Air O'Nautical said:
I believe my set-up is original.
A total of four group 27 battery's.
I have three group 27 batteries on the starboard side of the engine room.
The most forward battery, is the port motor starting battery.
The other two (middle and aft on the starboard side) are the house and starboard starting.
The only battery on the port side of engine room is for the generator.
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Interesting. I need to check to see if both engines and the gen are on the Starboard side (three batts) and the two on the Port are house.
Thanks for the info.
 
I have a 1995 40 ex. I have 6 battiers 1 for port--1 for gen---4 for house and star. when on the hook i can run refrig- stero fans for 16 hrs (grop 27)
 
capt karl said:
if you want email me and i'll tell you how i did it
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Well, email wont let everyone with a 400EC know where you put the two extra house batts.
I am interested but, happy with the current set-up....as long as the genny works.
 
I am currently on a cruise, my genset will run for about 45 min. when cold.. then it shuts down. I noticed that just before it quits the voltage goes up to around 140v. then the unit shuts down.... any thoughts?
EXPRESSBOY
 
Ok, back to the batteries and I hope somebody has helped expressboy!

My starboard side is my house batteries, I think. I turned off the 120V system to the boat. Turned on some things that run off the batteries. I then went and turned the Perko switch to off on the port side and nothing happened. I then turned the Perko switch to off on the Starboard side and all the lights went out. So I am assuming that the starboard is my house batteries.
I have three batteries on the starboard side and two on the port side. All the batteries are marked - starting types. The labels on the battery cables are all worn and unreadable.
So can it be that the house is right and the starters are left? If so, should I put three deep cycle batteries on the starboard side and two starting types on the Port?
Really need help here. Thanks.
 
Searaybio270 said:
Ok, back to the batteries and I hope somebody has helped expressboy!

My starboard side is my house batteries, I think. I turned off the 120V system to the boat. Turned on some things that run off the batteries. I then went and turned the Perko switch to off on the port side and nothing happened. I then turned the Perko switch to off on the Starboard side and all the lights went out. So I am assuming that the starboard is my house batteries.
I have three batteries on the starboard side and two on the port side. All the batteries are marked - starting types. The labels on the battery cables are all worn and unreadable.
So can it be that the house is right and the starters are left? If so, should I put three deep cycle batteries on the starboard side and two starting types on the Port?
Really need help here. Thanks.
Click to expand...

The difference in our boats are you have one extra batt. on the port side of the e/r.
My starboard side of the e/r has three batts. total.
One dual purpose for the port motor and the other two are wired together for the starboard motor and house use.
The genny has one battery on the port side of the e/r.
Total of four battery's on the boat.

You could just change all of the batts. to dual purpose and be done with it.
 
I have used Interstates Deep Cycle/Cranking combination batteries for 6 years now. Works well.
 
AON -

If I understand this correctly - it doesn't matter if they are "Starting types or Deep Cycle" or a combo of the two. If that is true I can put the deep cycle and a starter on one side and two starters or another deep cycle on the other side. I'll try it tonight and tomorrow when we are out on the hook I should be able to tell what is going on
 
Re: Official 400EC thread best cruise/fuel burn

As we have had the 400 for less than a year I am trying to figure where the "sweet spot" is in relation to speed vs fuel burn... as I boat on a river with current my numbers are all over the place. So to those of you with a 400ec.. what do you think the idea rmp/speed to get the best fuel economy ( i know speed,fuel economy and a gass 400ec should not be in the same sentence ) . I tend to run at about 3050/3100 on the floscan with a burn of 16.5 gph for each side... this gets me right about 20 mph ( it is in river terms ) this is about .62mpg.
Thanks
EXPRESSBOY
 
I think for that size boat you're going to be up closer to 3500 rpms for the best fuel economy.

You could also try using more tab to keep the bow down at lower rpms which may help with fuel burn as well.

Doug
 
Re: Official 400EC thread best cruise/fuel burn

expressboy said:
As we have had the 400 for less than a year I am trying to figure where the "sweet spot" is in relation to speed vs fuel burn... as I boat on a river with current my numbers are all over the place. So to those of you with a 400ec.. what do you think the idea rmp/speed to get the best fuel economy ( i know speed,fuel economy and a gass 400ec should not be in the same sentence ) . I tend to run at about 3050/3100 on the floscan with a burn of 16.5 gph for each side... this gets me right about 20 mph ( it is in river terms ) this is about .62mpg.
Thanks
EXPRESSBOY
Click to expand...

I wouldn't accept that. You're going slow AND burning too much fuel. The good news is that you already have the tools you need to find your optimal cruise. Grab a calculator (or better yet, give one to the Admiral so you can concentrate), and start charting the burn rate along the RPM scale. As you increment through the RPM range, don't record burn rates until you have verified that you're trimmed for the highest speed. If you chart the eco from 3000 to 3600 and can't get better than .62, then start looking for issues including, but not limited to: props, bottom growth, out-of-tune engines and uncalibrated instruments.
 
I cruised from 3200 to 3400. The boat felt far more stable than 3000. I can't imagine why you're getting .62. That's what I get now and my 400EC was far more fuel efficient.
 
Re: Official 400EC thread best cruise/fuel burn

expressboy said:
As we have had the 400 for less than a year I am trying to figure where the "sweet spot" is in relation to speed vs fuel burn... as I boat on a river with current my numbers are all over the place. So to those of you with a 400ec.. what do you think the idea rmp/speed to get the best fuel economy ( i know speed,fuel economy and a gass 400ec should not be in the same sentence ) . I tend to run at about 3050/3100 on the floscan with a burn of 16.5 gph for each side... this gets me right about 20 mph ( it is in river terms ) this is about .62mpg.
Thanks
EXPRESSBOY
Click to expand...

I dont think a 20,000lb (18k+fuel and gear) gas powered boat has a sweet spot.
The more throttle the more fuel burn.
I have found in five seasons running my 400, a steep bell curve between speed and fuel consumption.
The faster you go the more fuel you will burn.
Its best to be just on plane with some tabs down at around 3000-3300 rpm.
This will have to vary with current weather conditions.
There isn't a sweet spot (that i have found) in the case of a 400EC gas powered boat.
The boat just doesn't get up and on top of the water where a sweet spot would occur.
Wind, waves and current .62 doesn't sound that bad to me..
 
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i having the same thing,there's 3 sensors on there water, low oil press,overspeed it sounds like overspeed $245.00
 
Re: Official 400EC thread best cruise/fuel burn

Air O'Nautical said:
I dont think a 20,000lb (18k+fuel and gear) gas powered boat has a sweet spot.
The more throttle the more fuel burn.
I have found in five seasons running my 400, a steep bell curve between speed and fuel consumption.
The faster you go the more fuel you will burn.
Its best to be just on plane with some tabs down at around 3000-3300 rpm.
This will have to vary with current weather conditions.
There isn't a sweet spot (that i have found) in the case of a 400EC gas powered boat.
The boat just doesn't get up and on top of the water where a sweet spot would occur.
Wind, waves and current .62 doesn't sound that bad to me..
Click to expand...

I'm trying to remain aware that my perspective, from a fuel-injected, v-drive boat, has some significant differences. However, nearly all of the data I've seen for planing vessels show non-linear consumption curves. Boattest.com is a good source for such graphs.

I should have phrased my earlier post differently: I don't accept .62 mpg. I had to cruise slowly in lowered visibility for 14 miles this wkd. I didn't mind going 19 knots as much as I minded getting less economy than I do at 25 knots. I was gritting my teeth until I could push the throttles forward and make some time AND watch my range figure increase. Sundancers have to overcome weight in the stern that EC's don't have to contend with, so maybe an EC IS most efficient at slow speeds, but I wouldn't assume that - particularly when that speed is returning such poor numbers and you have meters that can remove the guesswork.
 
Re: Official 400EC thread best cruise/fuel burn

Great Info. I didn't realize that going slower meant using more gas. I need to get some type of a fuel usage indicators installed.
 
Re: Official 400EC thread best cruise/fuel burn

RollerCoastr said:
I'm trying to remain aware that my perspective, from a fuel-injected, v-drive boat, has some significant differences. However, nearly all of the data I've seen for planing vessels show non-linear consumption curves. Boattest.com is a good source for such graphs.

I should have phrased my earlier post differently: I don't accept .62 mpg. I had to cruise slowly in lowered visibility for 14 miles this wkd. I didn't mind going 19 knots as much as I minded getting less economy than I do at 25 knots. I was gritting my teeth until I could push the throttles forward and make some time AND watch my range figure increase. Sundancers have to overcome weight in the stern that EC's don't have to contend with, so maybe an EC IS most efficient at slow speeds, but I wouldn't assume that - particularly when that speed is returning such poor numbers and you have meters that can remove the guesswork.
Click to expand...

It has been interesting trying to get the sweet spot on the boat figured out.. part of the issue is where I boat there is a current that has to be figured into the equation.. and it isnt very consistant. sometimes 2.5kts, up to 8+kts depending on where you are on the river.. the 400ec gets on plane very nicely for a 40'gas boat.. and it seems to do that at around 18kts. I will run it a touch faster to see if the gain of speed surpasses the gph on the flo scan. I knew getting into this boat she was a fuel pig.. but the deal offset the fuel use. The other thing has been it's rough water ability.. it goes through head seas like butter
EXPRESSBOY
 
Re: Official 400EC thread best cruise/fuel burn

Expressboy - did the Flo scan's come with the boat or did you have them put on? I agree on the speed but getting mine on plane seem a bit iffy at times. I just took a ride in my friends 38DA 2008. We were way out of the water at the swim platform area. My boat tends to keep the swim platform in the water. Doesn't appear to lift the butt out of the water. Does your boat do that or is it lifting?
 
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