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I am using these batteries right now I have also spoken to Jono the other day when I met him at west stockworth. He is restricting the charge on these batteries like I am, he like me is charging to 13.8 volts and in float at 13.6 volts, this restriction of charging to approx 80% prolongs the life of the battery in my case to 10000 cycles down to 80% of life. My BMS does nothing as the cells are staying in balance by restricting the upper voltage. Now this is practical experience gained by James, JohnV and myself, James has been using these batteries for over a year John and myself months. I would not go back to lead acid or any of the other batteries available as their performance is so poor in comparison to the LifePo4s I have

Silicone is made from droplets from the devil’s armpits.

This was one of the scare stories about the original marina plans, everyone thought that a 350 berth marina would cause the river/canal at that point to be emptied on a regular basis. The fact is that 90 plus percent of those boats never move anywhere. 10 years ago you couldn't have got away with it, new 'boaters' lifestyles says you can.

Jeez Dr Bob, you read 1/2 the linked article last time it was posted in March. Maybe you just need to read the other half. p9, post #203

That would be me. I think it'll make a nice pair with Yeo. While I won't be going to pick Prince up for another month I would be grateful if anyone could point me towards any history or photos of him (doesn't feel right calling Prince a 'her') as there seems very little I can find through a Google search.

But too many lead to excess gassing

Little snippet of wisdom from the link I posted: Wallet Burns: Since opening this article to the public I have now had what I consider a rather insane number of *LFP owners contact me who have ruined LiFePo4 batteries (not all marine based). In almost all of these cases of destroyed LiFePO4 batteries the resounding tone I hear come through is; “People on the internet made it sound easy.“

Valve adjustment. Take careful notice of the note below. 1.Remove the two rectangular covers with the oil fillers in them - 2 nuts each. It might be a good idea to get a pair of new gaskets first because they are very thin and fragile. 2. Turn the engine over by and until one valve is fully down. 3. Put a temporary mark on the bottom pulley and another on the engine that lines up with it. 4. Turn engine over by hand one complete turn so the marks more or less line up again. 5. Put a ring spanner on the locknut that is on the opposite end of the rocker to where the valve is. Get the correct feeler gauge (see note below) and push it into the gap between the rocker arm and top of the valve. 6. Try to move the feeler in and out. It should feel as if you are pulling it off a magnet. 7. If it is too difficult put a screwdriver in the slot in the centre of the locknut. Loosen the locknut and use the screwdriver to loosen/tighten the screw while moving the feeler gauge. 8. When the movement feels right tighten the locknut while stopping the screw turning. You will almost certainly find the feeler has gone slack or is now too tight so repeat until it feels just right. 9. Double check locknut. 10. Rub off marks and start again with a different valve - you only have four to do. NOTE- Some Listers have different push rods and all, I think, use a different setting for inlet and exhaust so make sure you can identify the type of push rod (under the adjustment) and which valves are inlets and which are exhausts - where the inlet and exhaust manifold fixes to the head gives the clue.

Desperately trying to keep the thread on topic while people swerve it off at tangents all over the place, Dr Bob have you read the following blog? https://marinehowto.com/lifepo4-batteries-on-boats/ This a yank with the most grating of posting styles, but having chugged through the whole blog I have to say he addresses almost all of the questions I have ever thought of about lithiums, along with a whole load of questions I hadn't thought of. ISTR last time I read it he went in to charge monitoring quite deeply but I've forgotten what he said. He NEVER says 'leave it to the BMS' in fact quite the opposite. He just doesn't trust them - with clearly stated reasons. I must read it again myself!

But don't forget there's the notorious/celebrated ledge upon which all Fairport fans meet.....

This still troubles me. Peter charges at 13.8v until 80% he says. Peter, how do you know when 80% has been reached? But in particular, when Peter drops back to 13.6v ‘float’, surely the charge current will fall to zero as terminal voltage remains at 13.8.

That's pretty much £70 in todays money. You could have had a "steak meal" and enough Watney's Red Barrel at the Foley to see you through the evening.

As said many times LiFePO4 is really for boats that are off grid in winter, in other circumstances you are not going to get the benefits from them as you should put the money into solar first. Wiring and installing isn't that much of a pain, if you can wire a shunt, you can wire for LiFePO4's - or even go for the drop in replacement ones with built in BMS like from the likes of Relion. You can move them from one boat to another if you so wish like you could do with a solar system or generator. The technology is sound already. The only real argument against them is that the up front cost us prohibitive to a good many of us.

But they are a better solution and work out cheaper long term. Why would anyone want LA if you have to replace them every other year and run your engine hours on end to charge them when there is no need?

He too poor for candles, He has to make do with making his own 'Rush Dips' from the left over used grease from the stern gland and the dried pith of rush plants.

Which is exactly why it doesn’t make sense for CCers who cruise a lot and have Solar to boot. Their LA batteries get fully charged anyway.

LiFePO4's are safe. The reason to go LiFePO4's are because it's cheaper long term if your off-grid and charge via generator/engine. This isn't just due to the amount of cycles they can do, but due to the reduced time in charging them, which equals less generator/engine time.

Precisely. My lead acids take zero maintenance. I never revisit them after fitting until replacement at two plus years and 700 or more cycles. No rewiring and charging systems and monitoring that are cheap, simple and known to be safe. The picture on my telly and whirling of my washing machine work perfectly a prime example of its not broken so I ain't gonna fix it. Why the hell fork out thousands to work my telly it's as daft at present as buying an electric car then wanting to do my usual 500 mile run without parking up to recharge whilst a petrol car would have me at the destination. Let companies and the MOD etc spend their money on development then in around twenty years time they may well be worth looking at.

Multiple threads recently discussing this. Majority of peeps saying rigid panels are a better option. I've only ever had rigid panels but my materials experience would back up the statements by many that flexible panels can fail in a small number of years....they are just not robust enough. Heat of the roof is another potential problem which will reduce performance although in the blazing summer sun, the panels will have already charged the batteries to full. For me, more of a problem would be the corrosion under the panels. Not a problem on GRP boats but a real issue on sewer tubes. I'd always go for rigid panels.

If the boat is to have 12V and nothing else, then why do you want to install an inverter/charger? I installed a Victron Easyplus on my boat for the simplicity aspect. In retrospect this was a mistake for the all the eggs in one basket, going wrong and hard to upgrade reasons given by others. On a new installation I would now use separate modules for inverter, charger, consumer unit and solar controller. Would still buy Victron bits though. The question about it being DIY is impossible to answer as people doing DIY installations have widely varying existing skills, or motivation and ability to learn new skills. We can't know where you are on that spectrum. Only you can, or someone who knows you well. Jen

If you can wire a consumer unit, you'll be able to wire the separates. Probably best to raise another topic for that.

Certainly if it suits your lifestyle, that’s the way to go. I’m also aware of live-aboards who do not struggle with their LAs coupled with plenty of solar. They get in excess of 4 years from their batteries, at which time they can replace the entire set for less than half the price of a single lithium. Let alone worrying about matching a complete system of components. Horses for courses, as they say.

So the cooker flame failure fails, the gas comes out onto the galley floor and runs down hill to the stern where the engine is under a plywood box, if you have a reverse layout its not so far to go

If you can DIY that, you can DIY install separates. One of the advantage of going separate is that you can easily change and upgrade one of the items at a later date if required, as well as choose items now that suit your requirements better.

Agreed. Car body panels tend to be 0.6 - 0.8mm thick (depending on manufacturer) and they can take quite a beating, yes they can get crumpled and dented, but it takes a lot to actually 'rip' them. Now image a piece of steel 4x thicker. Take a piece of 2.5 or 3mm plate steel and try and bend it, hit it with a hammer or belt it with a hammer & chisel - its much tougher than you may think. The 'industry' has led everyone to believe that it has to be thick - it doesn't.

We had smoke issuing in the engine room in this heat with our air cooled lister after a lot of idling ( at braunston rally). I listened carefully to the engine and heard a slight chuff. Re set the valves, cleaned the ducts and washed the oil filler caps in paraffin. ( there is a hole in them under the rubber flap that can block) . No haze on 2 week bcn trip. I think there was carbon under the seats, causing low compression pressure in the rocker boxes and smoke..

Presumably with this urge to have everything according to the rules all the photos which the poster doesn't own the copyright and all the posters icon for which the poster doesn't own the copyright will be taken down for breach of the rules. Or is it just that some want a rule enforced because they don't like others "getting away with it" or don't like the content of the post/thread?

All of the above + do you have a dog on board ?I ask as dog hair can clog the mesh around the flywheel casing cutting down the air taken in to be blown around the rest of the motor

Air cooled SR2. Probably cylinder cooling fins gooed up with oily gunge and causing overheating. These engines have no fully compensating thermostat for load like a water cooled engine, the flywheel fan on the crankshaft stays at constant revs regardless of load so can easily overheat especially in this weather. Slow right down and it should stabilize/

I despair! A while ago the forum was up in arms over moderation being too strict and draconian. Now it seems some are begging for a return to strict and draconian. I have followed and contributed to the Brexit thread and I read most of the threads daily. Compared to what the forum was it is a pleasant well behaved place. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Let sleeping dogs lie.

Anyone volunteering for the role should automatically be discounted don't you think. Rog

We use bacon and eggs. Doesn't stick around for long either.

...or just don't bother reading controversial threads in the Virtual Pub. Why don't we have a separate bar and lounge in the pub. It he bar was not shown on "New Content", then people would have to make a conscious decision to go there. The rest of the forum and the lounge could be moderated with zero tolerance of political threads and postings, whilst the bar could be very lightly moderated. This way no one could be offended by political discussion unless they go looking for it. We could call the bar - Thunderbar.