Detling

Ed fitted a 90 amp on our boat 20 months ago did a great job despite the snow. Still running and despite common statements earlier on the thread this 90 A alternator chucks out its amps when the engine is on 600 rpm (tickover) I have an ammeter on the alternator and the current does not increase as the revs do, so it is a decent low rpm alternator, Ed described it as being designed for marine use and not for use in a car.

Check that you can use it in a mifi with multiple devices some deals are locked to one device and meant for use in tablets and not shared and don't like you using it as a wifi hotspot. Giff Gaff have some of these don't know about 3

I would not recommend having the starter current through the shunt, but if you do you need at least a 200 amp shunt and preferably a 500 amp shunt as starter motors an a stiff/almost seized cold engine will take well over 200 amps, how long before something gives. The meter with the overvoltage from the shunt or the shunt resistance melting.

My sense wire to the alternator is hard wired and doesn't discharge the batteries. I don't remove the fuse when I leave the boat so it is connected for weeks at a time with no problem.

Anyone any idea what current the central heating pump takes? It may well be 3Amps and if on all night there is another 36 amp/hours used.

Most of the wind generators I have passed this year on the canals (600+ miles) have been stationary due to insufficient wind. Many mooring places have trees on one side and or buildings close by making wind awkward. Rivers, especially near the estuary end, and the fens have big sky's and thus have wind.

Totally agree, no fan normally, if it comes on something unusual has happened. I have a 240v fridge my combi is in a cupboard but with vents top and bottom, and the fan only comes on when something requiring a lot more power than the fridge is running off inverter or I have just plugged in and the charger is in bulk or early adsorption stage.

As mentioned sites that use a mobile hoist or crane will be able to get the boat higher, and thus more accessible, than those who use slipways or dry docks.

My Webasto 7 day timer (black 50mm square) has several on / off pairs, I think it is 8 but am at home and the timer is on the boat. It allows each pair to have a separate start time, day/days of the week and an off time There are similar ones on fleabay just search for 12 volt electronic timers, some are available UK based and many come from China. One thing to remember is that Webastos do not like long periods of 'half rate' running they want to work flat out. We have ours timer set to come on for about an hour each time (every day) and then go off for a while before the next heat burst. My system with the water tank hot takes about a hour before the Webaso goes into slow down mode which it rarely leaves if you keep it running. The Webasto 7 day timer also has an override button which advances to the next event (on or off) ie if on, it goes off. The device can also be set to on, auto and off (off for the summer) auto when I need heating on timer and on for when the snow ifs feet deep outside. Most of the others I have seen are not as flexible but a lot easier to understand and read the screen of.

I can recommend Tracer MPPT controllers they seem to work fine and you can get them for reasonable money on fleabay, either from UK supplier or direct from china/Hong Kong. not sure about warranty tho from china.

Hope you are correct that it no longer needs a relay and not that the relay has fallen out, maybe causing the problem!

My guess is that at some time you will want more wires, I have added TV aerial, Radio Aerial and Solar panel wiring into my ceiling in the last two years next project is some form of external aerial for my internet wifi / mifi router so yet another wire needed.

If it is only a temporary set up you could just hang the hose over the side, preferably where it can be fixed down by tying to a cleat or even a suitably placed brick.

Mine states life of 5 years in the manual, It's to do with the gas sensor having a current through it all the time (which is why they are not 9v battery powered). Mine has only gone off twice, once when her indoors was using an aerosol polish (butane propellant) and most odd when I spilt some beer next to it.

Clipsal type used by caravans comes in Architrave size as well as standard socket size. It is polarized so you can't insert the plug the wrong way round. You can wire it up wrong though (It cost a few quid to learn that). Towsure seem to be the best supply but most caravan shops will have them and even occasionally midland chandlers.

I get the E03 code whenever I use a motor device ie a drill, or vacuum cleaner etc. I think it is due to spikes when you turn the drill off. A bit like a car coil,the back EMF from the motor windings cause a spike over 15V on the 12 Volt supply into the inverter and thus the E03. No harm seems to be done so I just ignore it.

Not a lot of use then as a freezer, not much use as a fridge, to safely keep food in. Chilled food has to be kept below 7 degrees and frozen food has to be frozen! it may be OK to keep beer and cider safely in though. Any house boat or other environment space may well drop below 14 degrees overnight and most of us going away in the winter turn the thermostat down to about 10 degrees to save fuel but prevent the pipes bursting.

Totally agree Dutch auction and to help those with poor internet connections set the step time to 30 minutes or so, giving everyone time to see the price and press the buy button. The auction may take a day or so but will be fair and honest and if as Delta9 says no money paid we carry on the auction then eventually the mooring will sell. ( If CRT wish they can change the mooring period to a year once the price falls below their preferred minimum as long as everyone knows that )

Paid 119.7 per litre of white diesel at Asda when I filled up the car today, I saw a few garages still stuck at 128.9 and suspect that many boat yards and marinas will also have the same problem, 'they have a huge tank full of diesel they payed for in September or August and the going rate is now lower than they bought at' so to sell they will have to make a loss on every litre. Or they can sit it out and see if they can sell it bit by bit to desperate users or wait till the price goes back up. Could make for an interesting few months in spring when we all start moving again.

Hope you don't get two bills.

As I understand it the latest proposal is to split EA up into navigation / infrastructure and Flooding / pollution control, with CRT having the navigation etc and a new EA having the pollution control etc. including on CRT waters. I am not sure where our friends in English Nature get to put their oar in. What relevance this has to moorings I know not. One thought though is it will need parliamentary legislation and what better place and time to change the system

I had my boat blacked there in 2013 seemed OK but it was only blacking. I had the signwriter come to the marina for his skilled work as they agreed their guys couldn't match what he had already done on the boat.

I agree with leeco go for more. Work out your daily amp hour usage, double it and use that as a minimum wattage, then in summer you will get days when no other charging is required If you go for over three times daily amp hours, then even cloudy summer days will charge your battery bank. With diesel at about £1 per litre on the cut and engines using at least that per hour solar is soon paid for.

Wind although blowing for 24 hours a day will only give a few amps output typically 3 amps on windy days. Solar on a boat is often 300 watts or more some people have over 1000 watts. on a sunny day even with flat mounted panels you will easily exceed the daily amp hours from a wind turbine. I have 300 watts and can exceed 20 amps on a good day although only for a few hour I regularly exceed 10 amps for most of the day. Solar is much easier to fit, quiet, and more reliable for unattended operation, you just need enough of it.

I use 3 data only sims either one month or the three month one depends how long I am on the boat for in my Mifi with external aerial . Most sims only last a specific time after activation and also have a data cap. The new EE one mentioned as I read the T & C's you have to use £10 calls and texts per month to qualify for the data, maybe I misread though. I have found discounted sims on both Amazon and E-Bay and have never bought in a shop.