Detling
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Posts posted by Detling
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In the GU10 ones the transformer is in the Bulb so when you replace the bulb you replace the transformer. All LEDs run on low voltage DC at the LED element.
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When charging if you disconnect the lithiums when the charge voltage reaches a set point around 14 volts, depends on how hard you want to charge the lithiums, the still connected lead acid will then continue to charge as they do now until the volts reach 14.X and the tail current is below 1%. When you stop the charging, as the surface charge on the Lead is dissipated and their voltage falls below 13.6 volts you can reconnect the lithium to take over the running of things off the batteries. Provided you have a BMS that can be programmed to turn off at 14V and turn on at 13.6 it is all done for you.
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All the attention to aerials and gain etc are missing the factor of location. In Plymouth with a 3 mobile MIFI the performance varies dependant on the time of day and the day of the week. At 8 am on a sunday morning it is very good, but at 3pm on a Saturday in term time (loads of students locally) it can be appalling frequently dropping offline (more likely dropped by the server) and struggling to log on because the local system is way overloaded. As 5G signaal is 'line of sight' much more than 4G, location is going to be even more critical in built up areas where you are 'squinting' between building to see the mast. At present 5G coverage is almost non existant outside big cities.
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Another vote for captain tolly creeping crack cure.you just run the nozzle round the edge between steel and frame and it creeps in under capillary action then sets. It is like PVA glue but works well on tiny seeping cracks which it sounds as though you have. I have used it on a wooden boat and on my weeping window on my narrowboat. On both occasions the leak stopped for months.
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On 22/12/2021 at 17:56, David Mack said:
Fluid category 3
Fluid which represents a slight health hazard because of the concentration of substances of low toxicity, including any fluid which contains–
(a)ethylene glycol, copper sulphate solution or similar chemical additives, or
(b)sodium hypochlorite (chloros and common disinfectants).
So cider beer and wine come under category 3. Interesting.
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In the winter most checkers seem to patrol marinas and mooring areas with tarmac. Easy pickings. In summer they do indeed spread theirs wings or dust down the bike and travel much further, but generally into areas where there are several boats. So moor on a muddy towpath in the middle of nowhere with nobody moored within half a mile and if you get checked more than twice in a year you have been unlucky
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He should be glad they didn't use tractor to move his car, a big push on the side moves them the new doors are a bit pricy and the insurance company may refuse to pay. It wouldn't be the first and probably not the last.
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Today my 600 watt of solar produced 20 amp hours admittedly into full batteries so probably supplying pumps and lights. When testing them yesterday the were producing 30 watts at about 1pm into a short circuit(ammeter) Welcome to dull winter days.
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One marina a few years back defined high usage as over 100 nights on board in the marina don't know how they counted but it seems reasonable. If out cruising it obviously didn't count. High use added about 10% to the bill.
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Unlikely, but some fridges refuse to run if the ambient is to low, often about 10 degrees which is why they are a problem in a garage, because they often refuse to run to cool the inside, as it is to cold outside according to them, but 5 or 6 degrees above where the beer should be keot
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the water below about 6 inches is almost always above freezing and doesn't really go below 4 degrees, due to the laws of physics. In a hot summer the top few inches can reach into the 20's but more normally the upper teens. The air temperature inside the boat/engine hole on a cruiser stern can go low enough for the diesel in the filter to wax (about -10) as I found out a few years ago.
Insulation does not warm things up, it merely slows the rate of temperature change both up and down. For your batteries look at putting them on or wrapping them in carbon heat mats, sold to keep food warm, and seedling germination loads available a lot are 12 volt. Just turn on before you want to charge the batteries. Insulation outside to keep the heat in.
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Most tunnels have a horse route over the top, better than aquaducts which rarely have a foot path for those who have vertigo. My friends wife walks over tunnels so far crick is the only one without a direct path but an extra 1/2 mile no problem. But got the Llangollen she needed two taxis for the aquaducts.
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Whilton will probably carry on as normal
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Remember that up until 2017 there were many part built boats, from shell to almost complete, sold with the hull RCD only, and no certification of the self build fit out, also there are many boats modernised upgraded with no certification, so it is probable the RCD on over 50% of boats is dodgy / out of date. Lack of a full trail doesn't make it a bad boat. as theroretically even replacing the batteries with a different brand / size can invalidate the RCD and fitting solar definately will, so you must get a survey to see if the boat is in good order and well maintained. An RCD alone is not enough on an old boat, which may have sat on the bank somewhere for 5 years with no proper paint on it and now someone has slapped a coat on over the rust. Caveat Emptor remeber and there are brokers and brokers, just like there are used car salesman of all types.
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On 05/12/2021 at 09:14, Tony1 said:
I've never had a low temp thermometer in the engine bay, and I have no real idea how low the temp gets in below-zero weather,
Neither have I but a few years ago it got cold enough to turn the diesel in the bowl of the webasto filter into wax, This was just under the deck boards so well away from the canal water warmed baseplate. I think that waxing occurs around -10C melting of said wax doesn't occur easily till over 20C degrees which is how I found out trying to work out why the wabasto was sulking.
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Another cost overlooked by the Heat Pump promoters is that about 75% of home built in the last few decades have combi boilers and no hot water tank so conversion to heat pump requires retro fitting of one, and in many cases there is no suitable floor space available without major building work. Fitting in the loft seems the common option but roof trusses were designed to be 'adequate' without tens of kilo's load adding.
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Thanks Everybody I will look at derwent lock on the way to Nottingham that will give me some idea before I rock up at Beeston.
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At 1.6m on the gauge I am not surprised looking at historical data that seems about when they close the flood lock. But what the current is then no idea from above it would suggest 3 or above mph which makes life awkward..
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Thanks Jen-in-Wellies I was being lazy and hoping to find out before I got to Beeston. I will of course look at the board there and the info that it means what is says is good. I had heard that the last 2 miles was the hard bit, just before the junction where it gets easier again. Obviously it all depends on the rain over the next two weeks.
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The boat is currently in Nottingham and we would like to transfer to Mercia over the christmas period. As there is a river section Beeston to Shardlow not long, but we are going uphill, so the current is going to make a big difference. There are two web sites that show the height at Shardlow,
https://riverlevels.uk/river-trent-castle-donington-shardlow
https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/station/2100
But these are for flooding and probably use the same guage, but they don't show the red/amber/green as used by CRT (and insurance companies) I wonder if any of you know how the heights relate, obviously anything over 1.5m is way to high (I suspect top of red) but what about 0.75m or 0.5m etc.
Any local tips welcome.
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3 hours ago, blackrose said:
That's expensive, I'm paying £19/month for unlimited data on 3 and Julian's only paying £15.
10 x 6 = 60 + 20 x 18 = 360 total 420/24 = £17.50 per month so less than you are paying. The £15 one was available years ago and they allow you to renew the contract but you cannot buy or change it in any way, my son in law had that plan for about 5 years before he emigrated to New Zealand.
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1 hour ago, blackrose said:
That's quite a long cable run to your batteries, assuming they're at the stern.
If as you should be, you are using an MPPT controller the loss of a few hundred millivolts on the run into the controller has no effect on the output from the controller. The voltdrop between controller and batteries is important though, which is why controllers should be near the batteries. If you have a PWM controller, since those 'regulate' by chopping off the topend of the volts there will be no difference unless your panel voltage is only just above your charging voltage.
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Whatever the volt drop is it will fool the controller into thinking the batteries are fuller than they are, and thus going into float earlier than it should. The higher the volt drop the earlier this will happen so the 0.75 volt drop mentioned above would cause the controller to stop charging the batteries when they are only about 80% full which is not desirable, continually udercharging is the fastest way to kill batteries. You need at least 16mm and preferably 25mm cable for that length. Use the volt drop calculator at https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/voltage-drop-calculator.html to help you, but at 3 meters you are going to struggle to get the batteries over 90% without changing a lot of settings on the controller to make the float voltage high, but then in summer that will overcharge the batteries.
I would put the panels in parallel not series as this will reduce the impact of a bit of shade on one panel, even a rope across a panel can halve its current, and if the panels are in series that will halve the total available power, in parallel you would only lose a quarter. People say that in series is better for low light but a solar panel reaches 90% volt output with only a few milliamps available so naff all power really. the EPever controller will not track the maximum power point until 1.5 amps comes out of it into the batteries, below that it runs in PWM mode chopping off half the available power, parallel wiring gets the thing working properly earlier. (other MPPT controllers don't have this problem but EPever / Tracer and it's rebranded versions all suffer from this 'feature', other than that they are good.)
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Looking at the paintwork inside is skimpy and looks a rush job, but being indoors will probably do a few years. Outside looks similar a few tins of paint slapped on after a quick sand. If it is intact and watertight and not peeling in 12 months I will be very surprised, winter is very cruel to paint. Just to add Red fades more than any colour, so touching up will rapidly get difficult.
Advice needed on kitting out a narrowboat
in New to Boating?
Posted
If fitting / using kingspan you have to really seal the inside to prevent air circulating behind it from the bilge etc as that will lead to condensation on the side of the steel. Spray foam leaves no gap there, and narrow boats do rust from inside as well as outside.