blackrose

Personally I think that's too big but it may depend on what sort of waterways you plan to travel on. Mine were about the size of half a large cantaloupe melon (about 6" x 3" as you suggest) and it was surprising how much water came in through the scuppers when the bow dived at the bottom of waves on the tidal Thames. I reduced my scuppers to about half that size and they don't get blocked with leaves, but I don't leave rags, sponges, etc on the deck. I agree that the golf ball size scuppers you often see are too small, but I think half a grapefruit is about the right size.

So you can only work on your system after the sun has gone down? It's not ideal. A PV isolator introduces 4 electrical terminals, so what about the cable terminals on your system. They're obviously a risk too? Like any other piece of electrical equipment, a PV isolator is only a fire risk if it's been badly installed. Loose terminals which increase resistance, water ingress or an incorrectly rated unit. Badly installed battery chargers and inverters have also caused fires. Would you also not have one of those?

Thanks, the hole dia is 25mm so I'm thinking I could use these. They're cheap on eBay, just got to get the right size.

Wouldn't pulling a fuse potentially do the same thing? I don't suppose you have a picture of the sort of grommets which would fit into my isolator box cable entries? Are we talking blind blanking grommets?

No I don't want to remove the isolator, thanks. My understanding is that breaking MC4 connectors is bad practice because they aren't rated for the sort of voltages that might be flowing though panels in series. I've never heard of PV isolators causing fires and can't help thinking that's bollox. Although a properly rated PV isolator may not be mandatory under BSS regs, to me it just makes sense to have one. Ok I'll just do that, thanks. That's right, a PV isolator isn't required under the BSS. I'm not sure why anyone was under the impression that it was?

I fitted one of these solar panel isolator switches but didn't fit any cable glands as it's a tight fit inside a cupboard. Couple of questions: The cables are well supported before entry/after exit from the isolator, but is this a BSS fail if the inspector happens to spot I haven't used glands? If I fit glands, could I put red and black cables though the same M25 gland top and bottom as that would help with the cable routing/space constraints, and if so would I need to use a 2 hole rubber insert to do that or can I just put both cables though the same single grommet?

I installed a Poynting omnidirectial antenna about 5 years for a B535 router ago which works well. It's only 3G/4G but there's no 5G signal around here so it's fine. I don't think the B535 router supports 5G connectivity anyway, so there's no point buying a 5G antenna.

Welded onto the hull where exactly? Are you talking about drainage below deck boards? As already requested, a picture would really help. Most mobile phones have a camera these days and it easy and free to post a picture.

You'd be surprised. They've been advertising for decades so they have plenty of marketing data. I work for a rival dairy company and they know what sort of increase in sales each new marketing campaign will yield.

Yes I am a big fan of built-in redundancy and that's a fair point. If the sun isn't shining I still get a fair bit of charge even on dull days in summer because my solar setup is very good. In winter when the sun is low and it's dull I run the generator a couple of times per week and charge the batteries at the same time as running the washing machine, so I have the generator as backup. Anyway, I wouldn't dismantle the buffer battery/B2B setup as it's done. My point was simply that I wouldn't bother doing it again because I don't use it. So for anyone in a similar situation seeking true drop-in lithium replacements without any faff, I recommend just taking the fanbelt off the domestic alternator and not bothering with the B2B setup because in my opinion the expense and hassle outweigh the benefits. *Other opinions including yours may differ.

I think you need to revisit my previous posts. I already said I generally go cruising in spring & summer when the sun is shining and the lithium batteries are being charged by solar. I am speaking as someone who has installed a buffer battery and B2B charger but wouldn't bother doing it again, so I'm also posting this for the benefit of others.

Exactly, see my edit above.

Yes at twice the price... 😉 By the time you've done all that you may as well have bitten the bullet and bought a proper Wakespeed Li alternator controller at about £700 rather than 2 x Victron B2B chargers representing a £500 botch.

Ok I see, thanks. So actually setting the B2B output at 50A is pointless if the input is set at 30A and my previous settings of 30A in /30A out were fine. Going back to my original point, the benefits of these systems are very marginal. In my case with a 70A alternator the result is 30 - 35A charging and even if you have a 150A alternator on your boat you're only going to get a maximum of 50A. B2Bs are quite expensive so as I said, I wouldn't bother if I were doing it again. Taking the fanbelt off is much cheaper and easier!

I was asking where that 15A difference comes from with the engine running/alternator spinning. When the engine stops the B2B has engine shutdown detection enabled and switches itself off. If the input to the buffer battery & B2B is limited to 35A and the output current to the LI batteries is set at 50A, I don't understand how that 15A difference is made up?