Richard10002
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Posts posted by Richard10002
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Strikes me that you would be in safer hands woth an experienced boater rather han someone with a bit of RYA paper. Some of the things they teach are plain stupid, like you cannot "work" the helm to assist turning and staying a set distance from the towpath even on bends. I would like to see one of their tutors on a full length working boat (but not mine)!
I did the course in 2006, and one of the things I learned was that pumping the tiller helped to turn the boat. I presume that's what you mean by "work" the helm. Don't recall having to stay a set distance from towpath either. Perhaps different instructors have different interpretations.
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I think you are over complicating this.
At some point you feel that you are no longer getting "value for money" out of your generator. If this is 10A, then set the tail current value so the generator stops at 10A.
At some point, you believe your batteries are emptied enough to want to start the generator. This will be around 50% to 60% SOC, do set the generator to start when the monitor shows this figure.
The Victron SOC will never be absolutely accurate, as it is working on vary comPlicated equation. But it will be good enough for what you need.
If you find the generator is starting too early, change the setting, if too late, change the setting.
If you are cycling between 50-75% SOC and "full", you will be doing OK. When I say "full", I mean the point at which the tail current setting stops the generator.
Most of us do this manually
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Hi Heidi,
I've sent you a PM with a number.
Thanks
Is it a secret? So far I've been able to DIY any electrical stuff, but there will come a day
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When I remove a cable from a battery, I tape the end up with insulating tape... Black for negative and red for positive. This way, they don't get the chance to short to the hull or other cables, or a battery - I think, and hope
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If you read the original post again, you will see that he is connected to a mains hookup
Roger
You are, of course, correct
But in a later post says she hasn't used the battery charger since March..... which confused me into thinking it wasn't permanent access to shore power. Seems she is choosing to rely on solar, and to not use the battery charger, whilst using shore power to run her 240V stuff.
It looks like the 135W of solar has managed to just about keep her going since March, butthe batteries have gradually drained, to the point where it is noticeable by the red light on the controller, with only a bit of 12V usage.
Unless I've missed something else, the immediate solution to the problem is to plug the battery charger in, get them up to 100% then either trickle charge from the charger, or use solar until they are about 50% depleted, then charge them up to 100% with the charger on shore power. Which is what you have already suggested.
I think she was also querying whether there is something wrong with the batteries.... The answer is maybe, maybe not. But if she allows them to continue depleting, there will be.
Chris: I agree that 135W of solar could provide about an average of 50Ah per day in late Spring, Summer, but the OPs usage could be up to double that. Which both you and Roger have suggested.
With a 440Ah bank, a deficit of say, 4 Ah per day would empty them in 110 days.... e.g. April May June July or so.
Like Mr. Micawber said. 50Ah in, 49Ah out = happiness, 50 Ah in, 51Ah out...........
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Thanks Chris, this is excellent information. I have no TV but use my laptop for a few hours every weekday evening. When I say red, amber and green lights I'm referring to those on the Morningstar controller. Yes I have 4 110Ah batteries and use normal stuff like LED lights and computer, pumps. No microwave, TV, toaster or hairdryer. I'll get a voltmeter as a first step.
Many thanks.
To be blunt, if you don't have access to regular shore power, you need to run your engine, or get a generator, to charge your batteries. Wind and solar are OK for topping up the last 10 or 15% but, unless you have an enormous bank of solar and/or wind, they will rarely keep up with normal daily use.
It's not good practice to use the engine regularly when moored, so a generator. IMHO Honda Eu are best, but you can buy a Kippor for not much money. A 1Kw would probably be enough for you.
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Deleted - repeated post ???
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"Full" is about 12.7/12.8V, so you would expect them to drop gradually from the charging voltage. They should settle around 12.7V and, if they do, they're pretty much full.
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Hello all I was just wondering if anyone is using interactive maps using gps, your views would be grate
Ly appreciated.
Which app do you men?
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Where is the boat? +1 for Steve Hands at Hands on Marine.
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Why would that be? (not being argumentative, just a genuine query)
If you are on board and need to let go in a hurry, it's easier if you have control of the lines from on board.
e.g. If said youths are attacking you, you may not want to get closer to them than you need to.
In a marina in bad weather where the pontoons are bouncing up and down, it may not be possible to get off the boat, (more appropriate in a tidal marina).
If you want to use a line as a slip line, it's easier to set it up from the boat.
On my boat, it's hard to get to the bow from the boat because of the cratch arrangement, so I actually secure the bow line ashore if I think I may want to leave in a hurry.
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I'm sure I read a thread here a month or so ago where the consensus was that using a centre line for mooring was dangerous. The consensus centred around the fact that the centre line would tip the boat in a variety of circumstances - one was if the water level rises significantly. I recall it making great sense at the time, and I stopped using a tight centreline for mooring, and mostly avoiding its use.
This current thread doesn't seem to consider the practice dangerous. I am now confused
Spooky - jelunga must have been typing as I was!
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If you leave your boat for, say, 4 days, and you average a couple of amps for 8 hours a day, you get 64Ah. Which is about 12% of your bank. If you can use a generator and/engine to get up to 90%, your bank will be full when you get back on board.
I have a 70A inverter charger - if I let the batteries fall to about 12.1V, I can get about 140Ah during about a 3 hour run of the generator. This probably leaves about 60Ah bring needed to bring my 330Ah bank up to 100%, which I'm hoping my 100W panel will achieve in 3 or 4 days, after I've fitted it next week. In fact, I probably won't let the batteries fall so low once the solar is fitted.
Winter might require a bit more thinking, but solar is almost certainly an improvement for trickle charging whilst not on board.
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AFAICT you can buy a lot of nice narrow boat for £45k to £50k. In fact, I think you can buy a new, albeit basic, boat for about £1,000 per foot.
For almost £50k in a second hand boat a bit over 50ft, I would be expecting almost new, 4 or 5 years old, and pretty much perfection in terms of condition and fit out.
You can always turn your money into boat..... Much harder to tun your boat back into money.
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The advice given was "Check fuel tank for crud that will block filters and if bad pay to have the fuel polished" which is good advice.
Cheers
Howard
You are, of course, correct. That'll teach me to read the question fully! Apologies!
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Ah, but Alan and Mel have just bought the boat, unless it's brand spanking new, they'll have no idea whatsoever about the state of the fuel in the tank
Finding out it's dirty in the middle of a river is no place to find out!
And unless they get a good heavy anchor, chain and rode in the next few days - they shouldn't be going on the river at all!
I agreed about the anchor and chain for rivers.
Given that they have mentioned Shipley as an alternative for their 1st trip, it seems that getting to Ripon quickly may not be crucial, even if it is their home point, and they will want to get there eventually.
If my assumption is correct, and the trip to Shipley is on "normal" canals, where the worst that can happen if you breakdown is you tie up and fix things, then Shipley might be the sensible option.
Does everyone who buys a 2nd hand boat need to get the fuel polished? I've heard it mentioned if a bug problem or similar is suspected, but never as a precaution, without evidence of an actual related problem.
I agree about setting out your stall, but where do you stop?
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Just a guess, as I do not know the instrument, do the terminals have numbers?
If they do.............................. it is just a matter of reading numbers, looking at the colour of the cable in the terminal and tracing where the cable should go.
What do Mastervolt say? Given the time that's gone by, it must be worth a call to their technical help line... Whatever they might call it.
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Two rather frightening posts - cant recall ever considering having fuel "polished" in about 25,000 miles offshore over the years. Agree about the anchor and chain on rivers.
Is there an alternative route that is less demanding and less frightening?
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Sterlings options on my inverter charger for AGM are:
AGM 1 14.1A Absorbtion 13.4A Float
AGM 2 14.6A Absorbtion 13.7A Float
Open Lead Acid 14.8A Absorbtion 13.3A Float
Calcium 15.1A Absorbtion 13.6A Float
He also says that these are merely options and you should ask the battery supplier and choose the option that fits the closest.
I'm pretty sure you wont come to any harm by charging at a lower max voltage, you merely won't get charged as fast as you would at the higher voltage.
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I proves that they dissolve in water. Not surprising really, many metals oxidise in water when unprotected
Richard
Agreed. But how long would a typical anode last if it is merely dissolving in the water - rather than wasting due to electrolytic, (??), action.
If they are merely dissolving in water, surely they last a very long time, and you only get conned once every long time?
Mine weren't new when I bought the boat, and I didn't replace than as they looked OK. I'll see how they look when we lift in a year or so.
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In my opinion, what the hell's going on is that the English canal community has been conned into dissolving lumps of metal into the cut for no good reason
Richard
Isn't the fact that they dissolve some kind of proof that they are protecting something. If they aren't protecting the boat, but something in the canal, surely they would last "forever"?
I don't know the answer and, as you say, they can't do any harm.
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Seems to me thar RCR gave you a good service,im pretty sure the AA or Rac would have said tough your membership has expired,had this been a car and you would have had a far bigger bill for a driveplate replacement then.
Ian.
+1
You can't please all the people!
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We have it because it is included in our insurance policy but we have never used it and would avoid using it if we possibly could.
Which insurance company & product?
Might be worth considering when we renew in September.
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Turn left at Waters Meet for Worsley and Leigh, and you won't have to go anywhere near the farce, as you call it.
If you want to go to divert to Castlefield on your way to Liverpool, nothing is stopping you, as long as you agree to the possibility of being searched on "closed" days. You wouldn't want to moor in the restricted area at any time.
All in all, pretty much a none restriction, AFAICT, although you are the second person to have a winge about it.
Be sure to wave as you pas The Watch House!
shall I buy springer 20ft.
in General Boating
Posted
Before doing something rash, don't forget that you can always turn your money into a boat, but it is much harder to turn a boat into money.
There are plenty of other boats for sale, so you don't need to feel any pressure to buy your friends boat - a broker might tell you anything to get a sale, ( although overplating ought to last for many years). If you are concerned about petrol, then so will your buyer when the time comes. In addition to being hard to find, it's much more dangerous than diesel.
How much have you got to spend? Have you researched the market to see if there is a small diesel engined boat that might suit you?
If you've already considered all of this, and your friends is the best buy, (rather than the easiest), carry on