Supertramp

Did nothing happen after lunch then?

Following a couple of comments on the article, - the author emailed me the link from CRT - saying this was the 'balance' http://www.mkweb.co.uk/News/Canal-River-Trust-comment-on-Milton-Keynes-protest-after-disabled-and-elderly-evicted-20140530135851.htm edited - The original story on their website seem to be removed for some reason, ? - anyone else having trouble with the first story

I can see that if you only had 'one' cassette, you might feel pressured into getting it emptied at every opportunity, however I think that most people with this type of toilet have 2 or more cassettes, (i have 3) and there is NO pressure to find an elsan more than once every week or even two sometimes. When cruising, we have to stop for water every week, so its no hardship to use an elsan as well. If you are iced in during the winter, or have an engine breakdown or stoppage,, a pumpout is your worst nightmare

The cost implications may affect some people thoughts. Pumpouts can cost anything around £10 - £20, maybe once a month or so. Thats averaging £200 a year. The cassette is almost always free to empty (some marinas do charge, but its easy enough to avoid those with a spare cassette). I'm also not sure I want many gallons of 'poo' stored under my bed.

I find it's the best time to clean the panels, when they have the early morning mist on them, or after a shower. A quick swipe with a rubber window cleaner (like a car windscreen wiper) removes the dirt and leaves them dry as well.

Lots of 'man with a van' services take away rubbish. Just be sure to see they have a permit to transport waste, otherwise you might be liable if it gets dumped. Most will be happy to show you a valid permit.

And a 'thank you' from the 'silent ones' who watch the thread and think - 'thats just answered my own question'. Im sure there must be many of us who have gained a lot of information this way. - Keep up the good work! Tony

Thats the one, they should still fit in your boxes with the lids on. Just need to get some leads made up, or hire a crimping tool, It's a job for a bank holiday weekend I feel, probably in May now as cruising at Easter.

Thanks Guys, its been good to get some real sizes, and I agree, it's going to be too tight. I'm thinking about the boxes Julynian has, they look great. May well go for the US 145 xc2 as they have a higher capacity.

Alan, - Those boxes look a perfect fit, I'm thinking it might be better to replace the tray. My only concern is the weight of the box once 2 batteries installed. The location means I have to slide the batteries in sideways from above the engine bay, not easy with one battery, but 2 in a box might be a back breaker

Thanks Nick and others, - I see the US batteries appear straight sided, so not an option. The Trojans may just have enough 'lip', I only need them to have 6mm each to fit on the tray, there is more room above the tray so they wouldn't be pushed over from above.

Having got the specs from both Trojan and US battery websites, can anyone tell me if the sizes quoted are top or bottom measurements? The reason its so critical is I have a battery tray that is 350mm deep, the sizes for the new batteries say 181m, (x2 = 362mm) However as most batteries have quite a large lip at the top, the actual base of the batteries may well fit inside a 350mm base? I dont want to order them, and find they dont fit. Can anyone tell me the actual size of the base of the batteries please? (T105's or US 105)

Thanks for everyone's input, this summers venture will be a ring on the southern GU, Oxford, then Thames down to meet the GU again. I think my only challenges will be the lift bridges on the North Oxford, and the Thames through London. Next year will be heading north to the L & L Edited for typo

Thanks for the comments, I prefer to work single handed and agree that often its a more efficient method. I doubt the MSC will be on my route, but you never know.

Are there any points on the canals & rivers that cannot be undertaken single handed? I see comments on here about lift bridges that wont stay up on their own, and also locking and mooring on some rivers looks 'difficult' to say the least if you don't have an extra pair of hands. Do some rivers require you to have crew aboard?

Thanks for the replies guys, I willt ry and look inside a spare panel next week and see what can be done. Im guessing some of the spikes and troughs will be floated over the backup battery and therefore not as damaging as otherwise.

Hi Colin, - I must have another version. The instructions in the manual below are for switching lighting loads on at dusk, for a controllable number of hours. The Tracer series controller is for off-grid solar system and control the charging and discharging of the battery, especially suitable for the street light system The default night length is 10 hours.The controller can learn the night length referring to the previous night so as to adapt to the different seasons. However, it will take some time to learn it. Notes: when the “OFF” time set at timer 2 is later than local sunrise time, the controller will turn off the load output at the sunrise time, which shows light control first!  Load Control Settings 1. Dusk to Dawn (Light ON + Light OFF) When solar module voltage goes below the point of NTTV (Night Time Threshold Voltage) at sunset, the solar controller will recognize the starting voltage and turn on the load after 10 minutes delay; When solar module voltage goes above point of DTTV (Day Time Threshold Voltage), the solar controller will recognize the starting voltage and turn off the load after 10 minutes delay. 2. Light ON + Timer (1-15h on) When solar module voltage goes below the point of NTTV (Night Time Threshold Voltage) at sunset; the solar controller will recognize the starting voltage and turn on the load after 10 minutes delay for several hours which users set on the timer. The timer setting operation is referred to as ―Load Work Mode Setting‖.

These controllers can also be used for things like road sign lights with solar panels. The load is often switched on at dusk. Ignore the terminals in your application

Good call Alan, Its a sad admission that our engineers seem to have lost the ability to think outside the box, If an alarm is faulty, its cheaper to swap the panel out rather than start looking for the problem. I fear many of them wouldn't know where to start. We buy the panels in, so no R&D in house. I need to get a spare panel to open up and see what happens to the input. Im guessing by the lack of 'gismo' answers, there isnt anything clever I can get from RS or Maplin to do the job

Thanks Paul & Andrew, Its a wireless system with GPRS signalling. I work 'in the business' and its one of our systems we fit in homes. Im sure it does convert to dc within the panel, but the input is ac. I had hoped to avoid the 12v - 240v - 9v route, as it seems such a waste.

My alarm system for the boat runs off a 240v transformer/plug with an output of 9Vac. Thats good whilst in the marina on shoreline, but I would like to wire it off the 12Vdc without needing a mains inverter. Is there a gismo that will convert 12dc to 9ac?

Having moored with them for a year now, I've found them far more efficient and accommodating than BWML ever were. They seem to have high standards for their facilities, and are mid range in pricing. Im at one of their own built marinas, so not sure what standards you will get at one they are taking over.

We turned in the Station curve last year, it was tight with the bushes and fishermen, but managed without too much bother

Thanks Clifford, I know some wifi routers have usb connectors, just not sure what their function is

Can this WiFi USB dongle be connected by cable to a WiFi router? - My marina WiFi is very weak, but usable outside the boat. I want to put a WiFi dongle outside cabled to a router inside, that can then transmit a WiFi network inside the boat for laptops, phones, ipad etc to use. Is this possible?