buzz from the bow

[sam]

OK, another strange one.

When all is quiet I her an intermitent buzz emanating from somewhere forward, It goes "buzz, buzz" then quiet. Happens at about forty second intervals (but not consistent). Sounds like an electrical sound, but am very uncertain.

The boat is a 2008 43, with thruster and windlass. It sounds like it comes from the windlass area or the port side in the vberth.The admiral is developing a tick.

Ideas?

Sam

Longhawk

[Bruce Bogdanoff]

If you have air/heat on the boat and the unit is on, it can be the condensation pump for the air conditioner. If not, not sure.
If you do have air, then turn of air and seer if buzzing stops. And this is a sign of a new condensation pump.

Bruce

[Peter Obetz]

Could it be the condensation pump from the AC? We have such a pump in the rear unit (that I just replaced) makes just the sound you mention.

[Peter Obetz]

FYI the power to the pump comes thru the AC control brain mounted near the AC unit. Power still goes to the pump if the unit is turned off at the thermastat but not if you turn off the circuit breaker.

[sam]

i should have added more clarity / information. This happens totally independent from the air conditioner systems. It is not the condensate pumps. The sound has happened at a quiet anchorage with no 115 volt power ( no shore power and  generator not running). It has happened at dock with shorepower and no air conditioning running.

It sounds like an electrical buzz, almost like a computer cycling on or a charging circuit . I will attempt listening to relays on thruster and windlass agin, but so far i have not been able to find the source of the sound. I am open to witch hunting ideas and possibilities

[Mike Brown]

Sam, funny you should raise this question. We were hearing the same type noise about two months ago only hearing it at night. We were tied to a dock so no impact from anchor or windlass. It reminded me of the type of noise a small servo type motor makes, such as when a PC opens a disc tray. It definitely appeared to be somewhere in the forward cabin and not the salon. The AC was off which eliminated any impact from it. I'll add that the condensate pump for the salon hasn't worked in years so unless it cycles on its own I do not see it as a cause. This all occurred in March while we were in Key West. Haven't heard it since either at anchor or at a dock. I'll be curious to learn what it is.
Mike

[Vedat Midilli]

Sam, have you got a battery operated smoke alarm etc. When the battery is low, it alerts as just you mentioned.
Vedat Midilli

[sam]

Sadly, no. I have inspected every piece of known equipment. Every radio, handheld, etc.

Thanks for the ideas though. I am very receptive to all !

Truly baffling.

Sam

[Mike Brown]

Sam, since I too have a similar noise I'm thinking about how to isolate whatever it may be that's causing it. Have you tried turning the thruster battery off? Turning off the engine battery which should shut off the windlass? I'd try but as I said I haven't heard it in a while plus I'm not at the boat and won't be for a while yet.

Keep me posted.

Mike

[sam]

Just a thought- anyone know the brand or manufacturer of the water tank monitoring system? Is there a control box that may send test signals to the strips mounted on the tank?
Sam

[Aquamarine]

Scheiber control box

[Aquamarine]

And pix

[James Taylor]

When we were in Massachusetts last year I noticed a electronic syncopated sound  in cabins below on our  boat as we were at anchor. Looked all over the boat, could not find a thing. Once we left the anchorage sound stopped. This past winter in Florida it happened again, same sound. Figured it out! Some boats have installed ultrasonic anti barnacle systems on their boats and the low frequency sounds from those systems carries through the water and penetrates hulls of boats close by.  They sound like sonar pings except the pitch will vary based on each pingers operational frequency. They don't operate continuously, boat owners seem to run these systems for a few hours a day. Not sure how effective these systems are but there are more and more of them in use. Firm in Australia is selling these systems at reasonable cost so more people are buying them in hopes of slowing barnacle growth on hulls. I do not have such a system on our boat.

Hope this helps!