blackrose

Yeah it's just a random diagram found on Google so the alternator connections are irrelevant in the context of this thread. It was just an example to show the primary battery connected to the red VSR terminal and the secondary battery to the other terminal. Here's another one:

Thanks, it seems to be doing its job. I found a load of wiring diagrams online showing the red terminal connected to the primary battery but they were all for other brands of VSR. The BEP diagram I found doesn't distinguish the terminals by colour but I'm assuming they all use the same convention.

On a single sensing VSR is it always the red terminal that is connected to the primary battery and the other one to the secondary battery? I'm replacing an old BEP VSR with a new one. The new one didn't come with any instructions and the old one doesn't have a red marked terminal and was connected the other way around in terms of terminal positions.

I don't have any industry association in mind. It's up to the boatyard industry to come up with solutions to bad practice within their industry, not me. Like other industries, non-members might find they start to lose business as consumers become aware and are advised to use only association members. That's how it works in other industries so I don't think it's such a contentious idea. I'm just an ordinary boater giving an opinion. If a boatyard industry association already exists then I'd like to know what they're doing to help the consumer and eliminate bad practice within their industry?

I didn't say it was up to the good boatyards to do that. I said it was up to the boatyard industry to do it. Other industries have member groups for example which collectively can change bad practice within their sector. Edit: If on the other hand boatyards aren't willing or able to work together to within an industry group to try to improve things then good boatyards shouldn't be surprised if their industry as a whole continues to have a bad reputation amongst consumers due to the cowboys.

Perhaps I missed it but I don't think anyone said all boatyards are dodgy by default? However, unfortunately enough of them are dodgy to make poor workmanship an issue for boaters including many on this forum who've described their problems over the years. I'm sure your suggestion that we as consumers seek references is a practical way forward, but it also demonstrates that even boatyard operators like yourself know that there are too many cowboys out there. So perhaps as well as putting the emphasis on consumers to seek references, it's also up to the boatyard industry to clean up its act.

Yes the mistake is to assume that people working in boat yards are competent and care about your boat. They often aren't and they don't. Nobody loves your boat like you do. That's why I try to do everything myself and if I have to pay someone else then I'll be there to watch what they're doing. I once put my Z750 into a bike shop in Balham to have new chain and sprockets and new brake pads fitted. When I picked it up and rode it away I heard a rattling from the front end. I stood up on the footpegs to look over the handlebars and saw the front brake caliper rattling around with bolts hanging out. They hadn't tightened the mounting bolts up! When I got back to the shop they just shrugged their shoulders and said "these things happen when you're rushing". As if motorcycling in London wasn't dangerous enough. That could have killed me!

Generally the start battery is separate so it can't be drained by domestic use. The domestic and start battery negatives would still be connected You might find some relevant information and wiring diagrams on the various pages of this website. http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/batt_con.html http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/evolve.html

What's wrong with solar charging? Before I had solar panels I used to leave my mains charger on while I was out at work or even away for a weekend and never had a problem. I did that for many years. The only time I switched it off was when we had really hot weather as the fan would kick in for hours even on float. Do you switch your fridge off when you leave the boat too? With 1kW of solar my batteries are still well charged and I rarely switch the charger on anymore. I thought the OP was asking about water heaters?

Going back to the original subject, someone's probably already mentioned this but when I bought my first narrow boat 25 years ago two old blokes in their late 70s living on a pair of traditional working boats at Batchworth on the GU, told me that it was very common for the old working boatmen to get into fights at locks when they both turned up at the same time and disagreed about whose lock it was. So in that sense the canals were never a peaceful haven and the angry impatient boaters of today are simply continuing in the tradition! I think that contrary to the popular belief that everything's getting worse, many things today are far better than they used to be.

"All electric"? Is it really? What does the generator run on?

I bought a reconditioned Webasto Thermotop 5 kit from eBay for £375 including most of the ancillaries and installed it myself about 3 years ago. I also fitted a CAV/Delphi water/sediment trap in the fuel line to the heater. Of course the usual forum advice was not to buy a recon unit from eBay, that it wasn't a marine unit and operated at different voltages, that the exhaust would leak CO and kill me, etc, etc. In fact it's a great bit of kit that's performed well. I knew it was a unit from a road vehicle and was aware that it required slightly higher voltages but it really hasn't been an issue because I never let my batteries drop that low. As far as the exhaust goes you can seal it with a 6mm bolt or just buy a Webasto marine silencer. It's a relatively cheap solution compared to buying a new marine webasto but it's obviously a bit hit or miss depending on whether you receive a decent reconditioned unit from the eBay seller. I took a punt and it worked out.

A relatively thin coat of concrete wash used to inhibit corrosion is an entirely different kettle of fish compared to several inches of poured concrete ballast.

Why does it have to be a choice between one or the other? They aren't mutually exclusive. Many people see looks as part of the enjoyment of canals and rivers, but inevitably also see them as obstacles to be overcome. In fact I think that probably applies to most boaters. The human mind is capable of more than one perspective simultaneously. As to why people go boating, again there are lots of different reasons and one person's reason has no more validity than anyone else's.

Out of interest why don't we size AC fuses based on the current draw of the appliance as we do for DC systems? I know the fuse is there to protect the cables but the cables themselves are should be adequately sized to reduce voltage drop based on return length and current draw and the fuse is also rated based on the current draw of the DC appliance. So why is it more critical to get that right than it seems to be for AC appliances?

I tend to agree. I was never in favour of universal winter fuel payments to rich pensioners, some of whom are landlords and own multiple properties. I never understood why relatively poorer younger people were subsidising richer older people? It was just another example of taxpayer's money being wasted on a universal benefit which should have been targeted at the poor pensioners who really need it - ideally with higher winter fuel payments. The counter argument was always that it would be more expensive to means test the winter fuel payment than to maintain its universality. However the Chancellor has blown that argument out of the water with the (admittedly small) £1.3 - £1.5 billion/year that it's saving the Treasury. I don't actually know if she's got the means testing and cut-off point right - it's possible that WFPs are being cut from too many pensioners, some of whom are less affluent and should still be receiving it, but in principal I agree with the policy of not subsidising the rich by taxing the poor.

Ah, well it had been going ok with a 5A fuse for the last 15 years or so. I guess it eventually gave up.

Yes, sorry, it was the 5A fuse. I changed it to a 13A fuse as that's all I had - is that ok?

My washing machine stopped mid-cycle and is now completely unresponsive - no lights. I've switched it off and back on again on the machine and at the mains socket but nothing. I was running it from the mains at the time and shore power is working fine. I've tried restarting it with the inverter but it doesn't seem to make any difference. About 15 years ago the same thing happened with the same machine but I didn't realise and opened the door with a drum full of water, flooding the bathroom - so I don't want to do that again. Does anyone have any tips on how to reset it? I will check the fuse in the plug...

I'm trying to imagine how you'd use plates, brackets and bolts without having to drill through the roof? There's probably a way but getting it welded sounds a lot simpler.

If you can find metal fabricators, etc, located on river and canal banks they will often do jobs much cheaper than a boatyard. I once had a steel gate & trailer fabricator on the river at Staines knock me up a second skin tank for my boat to my design, based on a plywood profile of the curve of the swim plus a drawing I'd sketched with all the dimensions. There was no bottom or outside to the tank as these would be the baseplate and the swim of the boat. They charged me £70 for the tank and then I asked them if they would weld it in for me if I moored my boat on the river outside their yard. That was another £60. I'd previously bought the hose fittings and bleed valve from Uxbridge Boat Centre and plumbed the new tank in myself. When I asked them about making a second skin tank for my boat I was quoted £500 plus the cost of the dry dock which I think was another few hundred quid. He said the tank couldn't be welded in with the boat in the water which was bollox because in the end it was.