Stormbringer

Strange - our Zanussi 1300 runs fine on our Victron 3000 PSW inverter -i's not a combi though !

Big quiescent losses there - about 70Ah / day ! I turn my Victron 3000 on / off as required - but wouldn't want to have to run it 24/7 just for a fridge !!!

This ^^^ People will do what needs to be done, when it needs doing..... Part of the joy of canal life is NOT having a pre defined plan for anything ... I think you need to relax a little (not aimed at Martin BTW - - !)

I would say he will be fine as long as his replacement goes to plan, and he has a normal recovery. No way of really knowing unfortunately until the deed is done ! I went from hardly being able to walk to jumping around like a goodun when I had mine replaced, however It was only the one !! That was ten years ago and (touch wood) its still going strong. I do know a few double replaces and they seemed to fare better with the second one - presumably down to having the experience of learning from the last one ! Some had them both done at once - that sounds a big recovery job to me ! Hope it goes well for him anyway

Might of missed it but ... I've not seen any allowance mentioned for the requirement to put back way more power than you take out from a battery bank, nor the time this may take being dictated by the batteries themselves to a large degree, especially when above 80% soc ? So comments like ' you get 1 hours electric free with 1 hours cruising ' may be true at 60% soc but what about at 80 or 90%? I'll stick with my alternator/ travel power / charger / solar and gas cooking for now.. Interesting discussion tho ?

What about a run down the Trent & Mersey ? Lovely down there, if a little industrial at times. Have a play with canal plan to work out how far you could get ... Edit to add..hiya haggis x ? hope you are well ..Andy

Try giving the little plug and socket near the motor a clean, and check for anything round the shaft like hair...the plug thing fixed mine ... Andy

Bit confused here by your parts replaced - the C200 with integral water tank (yours) has a submersible pump but no electric valve. The C200 with pressured water feed (ie plumbed in to boat water system ) has an electric valve but no water storage or submersible pump - Anyway - Possibly the vacuum breaker - although I thought they were there to stop the whole tank emptying into the bowl (by syphoning) I suppose it could be jammed partially open ? But before you shell out for a new one try - Flush switch - it's just a microswitch type thing but is quite a crude - volt drop or burned contacts maybe? (With a bit of dismantling the switch can be bypassed as a quick test ) General volt drop to the circuit - the built in fuse in the cassette box is a possible suspect too - I have seen these providing poor contact, and hence volt drop, on more than one occasion.... Limescale in the flush nozzle ? Are the pipes in the flush tank making a good seal ?- if not you could be losing pressure back into the tank water - quite difficult to check - but free !! Is the pump located correctly in its cradle in the tank - too low and the inlet could be restricted - too high and the pump could draw air ?? Personally I would check the above before I spend any more money ..... Good luck !! regards Andy

A boat I have seen around has a caravan window mounted in the roof ! Complete with its original frame..... Seems to work ok and opens right up for escaping out of ! Not sure how secure it would be out on the cut but it lives in a marina ..... Andy

A mate of mine has just recently successfully challenged a surveyors findings in similar circumstances to yours. When he took it out of the water (about 18 months after he bought it ) it took about 4 days for the water to drain from the over plated areas of the boat !! A tame welder had a look and stated categorically that the welding was never done to anything like an acceptable standard when the over plating was done. Boat owner used this information to challenge the surveyor - who had stated that all the over plating welds were of a high standard !! Result - all the remedial work is to be paid for by the surveyor - he didn't even bother to come and have a look himself !? I think he did have to threaten legal action to get this result though ....... Good luck ! Andy

Thanks Top Cat - I've been looking at the Victron controllers and they do seem to be a good bit of kit - and not as pricey as I first feared. I would probably need a slightly bigger one to accept 300W (for future!). I like the 'no fuss' bit too !! Thanks for clearing that up for me Nick ! Obviously I need to do a bit more reading up !!! I didn't realise the bypass only came into play with the shade. Back to skool for me !! Cheers for the link Chewacka - I've put that in my reading list ! Much appreciated Thanks Phil Whilst I would love an Outback controller, and salivate at data logging etc ( I was a chemical process operator for 20yrs and love a good graph - can't beat it for analysing what is going on !!!) I think the cost will be prohibitive - certainly at the moment Maybe one day - or I might just build a datalogger with an Arduino !!! Hmmmmm

If that is the same timer shown then:- Press the SET button - Timer 1 time will be shown - then WITHIN 10 SECONDS Press the SET button - Timer 2 time will be shown - then WITHIN 10 SECONDS Press the SET button - Timer 3 time will be shown - then WITHIN 10 SECONDS Press the SET button - the display and backlight will turn off - this is manual mode From this point you can start and stop the heater manually You need to select the relevant timer each day I think as the timer is an ON switch ONLY When you turn the heater to OFF it remains in manual mode until you select a timer setting again I think that is how it works - I have never used mine on timer mode but that is my understanding from the vaguely written manual ! " Press the 'SET' button within 10 sec. periods until the program number associated with the desired preset time is displayed" Cheers Andy

Thanks everybody for taking the time to pass on your thoughts - it's very much appreciated. I wouldn't really like to rule out another panel in the future (although we are not big users) so it looks like MPPT would be the way to go. I suppose that this decision will force a re-think regarding my method of connection too - I was envisaging parallel connection but if using an MPPT controller I guess series connection is preferable - have I got that right ? Thanks for the interesting stuff regarding blocking / by-pass diodes too. What about the volt drop across the diodes ? Does that not 'cancel out' much of the benefits of connecting in series? I'll be using 6mm cable from the panels and they are directly above my battery bank - so the runs are short? I would have thought those 0.7v would add up to a fair power loss ? So - is anyone really happy with their MPPT controller and, if so, would you like to share the make and model if possible so I can start to look at some alternatives. I am keen to buy a decent bit of kit at a decent price, if that is possible these days ! Thanks again - the discussion has been very helpful indeed ! Cheers Andy

Hi There is a manual here for the thermo top T (which is different to our TTC) - but there is a section in it regarding the digital timer - which looks the same as mine... HTH Andy

Hi all I've just picked up a couple of 100w solar panels to fit on the boat .... Just wondering what people's experiences are regarding controllers..... I have done a load of research on t'internet and watched far too many youtube videos - and now I am more confused than ever the panels are 2 x 100w 20voc - I guess these are nominally what is known as 12v panels? they will be feeding a 420Ah / 12v domestic bank What is he best way to set these panels up ? From my research it is suggested that PWM charge control is kinder to my bank and that MPPT gains are small on a 12v panel system. Is this correct or have I missed the point somewhere? So .... main questions are Is it worth the extra for an MPPT controller - and if so would I wire the panels in parallel or series ? If yes - what controller would you recommend ? (I am aware of the fake Chinese controllers which proclaim to be MPPT but have no DC-DC converter so are obviously not !!) Oh - and what will my Smartgauge make of it all ?? Thanks for your thoughts and experiences Cheers Andy

[quothe=TheBiscuits" post="1639241" timestamp="1440711457] I have seen some that need power for the flame failure devices. No electric means no gas. Uncommon, but like MtB says, check the actual installation manual. Really?..... I thought all the flame failure devices worked the same way.... ie..thermocouple junction produces tiny current, energising the coil of the electro magnet that holds the gas valve open .against a spring.. Flame goes out, gas valve shuts..... Or am I behind the times ? ...... Cheers Andy

Very likely ! Especially if its getting on for beer o'clock !! Edited to apologise to the Alan (the OP) for the slight derailment OT !

The adoption of the (as you correctly say) European Standard has been in force in this country (along with the standardised 30mb regulator) since 2003 ! So hardly a new development ! ALL new caravans built in the UK have had this set up since 2003 / 2004 Cheers Andy

Yes - the hand wheel fittings are nice ! However they are the same thread in the propane bottle valve (as the 13kg ones)so could possibly be used on a boat set up - the different 'ends' are only on the bottle end of the HP pigtails, the regulator end is common to all types.... Most butane cylinders (certainly in the caravan sizes) have those push fit and lock type of fittings at the bottle but again the regulator end is the same as the propane Cheers Andy

Is the correct answer ! 37mb for Propane in the red bottles 30mb for Butane in the blue bottles IIRC Butane has a higher calorific value (volumetric) and so requires less pressure to the appliances to give the same thermal output (kWh) On caravans now they just use a bulkhead regulator set at 30mb for both fuels so I don't know how much affect the difference has in 'real life' .... Cheers Andy

Maybe alls time we ALL stuck together as boaters and made our case to 'the management' as ONE voice ? We will never have any say whilst we are 'divided and ruled'.... Sustrans (or whatever the towpath 'improvement' sponsors are called) seem to get plenty of say for their money.... Eta...beaten to the bikey bit by several faster posters .lol ...

A lot of the domestic stuff will either shut down, or melt the control knobs if the fan isn't running, especially the grills. Don't ask me how I know .......lol

A bit off topic, but we used to test out our race sidecar on Wiggs island in the late 70s... I wasn't really interested in boats back then so unfortunately don't have anything constructive to add, but thanks for the nostalgic views of my home town (widnes) I guess the ships were how the Evans's and Krailius's made a start on the 'ugly sisters' that once greeted visitors that ventured over the bridge... Andy

Have seen 10psi mentioned as a safe starting point for the accumulator pressure ...... Possible also that there is some issue with the pump pressure switch or non return valve (if fitted) sticking ? Sort accumulator pressure first though ......as described in the above posts andy