Serenity Malc

Yello, It certainly looks like a good price for a product with that specification ..... the proof of the pudding etc. Particularly as it's supposed to produce a proper full sine wave. Liking their panels as well. Cheers Malc.

Throw away remark removed to save offending my fellow boaters north of Oxford / Brum. Malc.

Yello, Please don't take the bait Athy ...it was purely a reactive, throw away comment. I've spent a number of years installing IT for McD's oop North. Should I do the PC thing and edit my post ? Oxford is way north of Runnymede ! Malc. I had to Wiki vocative .... The answers's no.

Yello, Sweet Martin ..... I just can't get up the Oxford or north of Brum ... so my bad. But .... I can get to Bath, London, Godalming etc. Respect. Malc.

Yello, " 1) You won't be able to cruise most of the most beautiful canals in the UK. The Oxford, Whirley & Esseington, Peak Forest, etc etc 2) They are not nice to steer, compared to a proper narrowboat. You can't lean over and look down/along the side of the boat (eg when entering a lock) to see what you ar about to hit, or not, without letting go of the tiller. The boat is just too wide. 3) They are always cruiser stern, which means you'll have nothing to lean against whilst steering, and no heat coming up from below around your legs in cold weather. 3) Narrowboat owners will secretly point and giggle at your faux pas in buying one. 4) You'll feel embarrassed steering it, as you'll be outside and able to see how pig-ugly it truly is. Bt oif course none of this really matters if you are planning on holing up in a marina somewhere as using it as a house, like most widebeam owners Hope that helps, MtB " Well what a load of biased, inaccurate old cock ! I prefer not to live in a floating corridor ! Malc.

Yello Tony, My 3 in 1 was in my barge when I purchased it, so I didn't buy it by choice. If I'd have had a choice I would most definately gone for 3 separate components. Back in the 70's / 80's you could buy a music centre that gave you a cassette, radio and turntable. As soon as one of these functions went belly up, the entire unit was questionable as an uneconomical repair and also a big piece of broken kit that you needed to add another separate unit to, to retain the original functions. Hence I would always go for separate and higher spec'd pieces of kit which can be upgraded or replaced separately if neccessary. With the 3 in 1 unit, you compromise ALL the separate functions of the unit for a potentially cheaper solution, in the knowledge that should one particular item fail, you're back in the 'music centre' senario. With separate units, you can upgrade and tailor your installation to your changing requirements. Having said that .... I'd be VERY interested in purchasing your unit for spares for mine, when it goes wrong. As it no doubt will ! I'll give you a list of my problems with the unit very soon. Cheers Malc.

Yello, I have some piccies to post but can't actually see how to do it. Do I have to post them to a photobucket type HTTP: address first before I can upload them ? I would be most interested to continue this product discussion as I have a few questions as well. You are the first person I've spoken to who may have the same piece of kit as me. And Gibbo ... I would love to run a few programming issues past you at a later date .... rather that try to 'communicate' with Charles ! Cheers Malc. Hmmmm ..... seems I've cracked the piccies thing ..... just.

Yello, I have a Sterling 3 in 1 pure sine combi, but I don't know whether it's an Invertek or not ? Is yours blue with the programming instructions on the outside face and a touch sensitive panel and LED on the top ? Cheers Malc.

Yello, Totally agree with you Tafelberg .... anything else is wanton vandalism. Malc.

Yello, Given the amount of time, effort and money that has gone into restoring and resurrecting our canal system over the past few decades, it does make me wonder how anyone would treat the lock gates with such utter disrespect !! It's mostly simple laziness of the part of the boater ... it may have been acceptable to help the gates open in the days of working boats who had to meet a deadline for delivery, but I always thought leisure boats were perfect for taking thing easy on and enjoying the countryside. Just plain dangerous and totally disrespectful of the waterways we all enjoy so much. Malc.

Yello, Tip : Don't call first thing in the morning ..... or after lunch. Malc.

Yello, Hehe ! I was thinking just the same thought G&F ! Malc.

Yello, Just an opinion ..... and you know what they're like .... but I've found our Becton 7 with back boiler plate, a very functional and good looking piece of kit. Good luck with your fitout ! Cheers Malc.

Yello, Me Julie is diabetic and uses a 'pink' belt mounted pump which constantly releases into her tummy, rather than injections .... we live aboard my barge but use my parents address as a 'home' address for the doctors. Since Me Julie also needs to attend a diabetic clinic to allow them to calibrate the pump, have her toes professionally sorted and have her eyes regularly screened, it's a great advantage to have a home hospital to keep all your records together. I'm guessing that the OP may not have such a dependency on other diabetic services and will be able to take the advice already given regarding temporary doctor registration. Me Julie also has a cold pack which in the event of a refrigerator breakdown, will keep her insulin cool with the simple addition of a little water. It's a small pack surrounded with chemical beads that go cold with the addition of water. Cheers Malc and Me Julie.

Yello, Malc is liking the computer fan idea ! I have heard that all Ecofans need to be thoroughly lubricated with snake oil to achieve maximum efficiency. Malc.

Yello, As Phylis said ..... Barnes Brinkcraft at Wroxham have been my yard of choice. We had holidays from there for 8 years and always went back because of their friendly and thoroughly professional set up. They even used to give us free fuel because we were regulars. Wroxham is also a great place to start a Broads holiday, as you can cruise the whole of the Broads in 10 days. We repeatedly took out 'Omega' .... cracking boat and Barnes Brinkcraft come highly recommended by me. Malc.

Yello, Have you thought about renting the property out whilst you remarket it on the standard market Spuds ? You could do a 6 months short term contract. Just a thought ..... it might allow you to move aboard your boat and continue on to sell for a proper price. Good luck ..... Malc.

Yello, Excellent reference page ! ..... thanks Gibbo. Cheers Malc.

Yello, Ooooh ! ..... I'd have one in a heartbeat ! .... they'd make a wonderful liveaboard cruiser. Please keep the forum posted if you see any of these come up for disposal. Cheers Malc.

Yello, Good to hear you have a place sorted Psy .... I love MK and it's surroundings. All the very best ... Malc and Julie.

Yello, As it's been an errhmmm long while since I did my apprenticeship, can I run this sequence by the forum please ? Close all fuse board and isolator RCD'S. Switch off and remove 240V landline. Switch off 3 in 1 Sterling. Switch off both leisure and starter battery isolators switches. Then I should be safe to work on the Sterling ? or do they hold a charge ? Cheers Malc.

Yello, Thanks Gibbo ..... basically what I expected. The guy who wired 'Serenity' was a complete numpty. The 240 / 12 fuse board was cross polarity on the 240V feed, I've found 13A outlets on the same circuits as lighting ..... basically a completely lethal combination of utter incompetance. Fortunately I took an electrical apprenticeship years ago and will have to start from scratch now to basically rewire the barge. I knew those 4 x City and Guilds would come in handy one day ! Thanks Spuds .... I've been told by trade people that you need to catch Sterling after he's got over the hangover from the day before, but not after a liquid lunch. So the best time is late morning ! I saw the HTTP: based image upload but how does that refer to pictures on my hard drive ? Do I have to upload them to 'picturebucket' first before I can add them to the forum ? Thanks for your help. Malc.

Yello, Does anyone on the forum have one of these blue boxed Sterling 1500W 3 in 1 units please ? It's an inverter / charger / solar controller. I can't seem to find any info on the web, and Charles Sterling has a very strange concept of telephone customer support ! Mine seems very susceptable to cutting out or not starting when battery voltage is less than optimal. Ta ..... Malc. BTW .... how does one attach a photo to a post please ?