Simon D

Thanks for the advice. Fenny might be convenient for the station, but actually Cheddington fits my cruising plans and I don't mind a 15 minute walk, so I will probably end up there. Best wishes

I need to go to a funeral in about ten days time, when I planned to be travelling South of Milton Keynes, I note that there are some railway stations close by, any of which would get me where I need to go. Fenny Stratford Linslade Cheddington Tring I don't know the area at all, so can anybody with local knowledge advise on places to moor, or not to moor, reasonable walking distance from a station, where I could sensibly leave the boat unmanned for 36 hours. Thanks Simon

Thanks Tony,I queried the RoadLine paint you linked to as it was listed as for concrete type substrates only, and I was not sure how well it would work on wood. But your second link looks perfect. I am grateful. Simon

Tony, when I clicked your link it went through to an info page on Chlorinated Rubber paint, and a link to road marking paint at £42 a tin. If you can link me to something suitable at £19 I would be eternally grateful. Simon

Tony, Many thanks, Chlorinated rubber paint looks excellent for the task, but is very expensive. £50 to £60 a 5 litre tin. That's a lot of paint for a small battery box. https://www.paints4trade.com/teamac-chlorvar-chlorinated-rubber-paint-263238-p.asp?gclid=CjwKCAjwspHaBRBFEiwA0eM3ke4jqcjHuiBTtbps-DNVn5zd6y-WqJ3roI7mOeB5eUuiIsr7Uxo9ihoCp_8QAvD_BwE Chlorinated rubber anti-fouling (blacking) Paint is a lot cheaper, about £20 a tin, but I wonder if it would work so well on wood. https://www.paints4trade.com/chlorinated-rubber-hull-boat-paint-262596-p.asp?gclid=CjwKCAjwspHaBRBFEiwA0eM3kTMOXTN1EhWC2xztRZ3BzDhjd7h0qM-D_WrvFvIAqBhNcCtSxWe4pRoChXwQAvD_BwE This needs more thought, and I might still go back to OSMO https://www.newventureproducts.co.uk/26-osmo-polyx-oil-original-effects-tints

Thanks. Interesting thought. Do I need to specify any type/grade of OSB, like water resistant or whatever.

One quick bit of advice please. I am about to make a new battery box for the starter and domestic batteries, to go in the engine space of my cruiser stern. It will probably be made of marine ply, as that is what the old one was, and other battery boxes I have seen.But what is best for wood treatment once made. Can anything protect it from the occasional acid spillage/seepage. I was wondering about using OSMO oil, the stuff used for kitchen wooden work surfaces, as that seems to last well and repel most liquids. But as always - any advice gratefully received. Thanks

Thanks for the chart - very useful When on float/maintenance parked alongside in the winter, it is entirely possible that the charger unit will be in a cupboard next to the hot water tank, and be at about 30C, with the batteries outside at close to zero, that's half a volt difference by your chart. So am i right in thinking that the charger would run all it's battery maintenance algorithms half a volt too low, which might not be good news for battery life long term. I wonder if I may need to spend a bit more money on a charger with a remote temperature sensor? Or have those people who have used the IP22 found it to not be a problem?

Final Question (hopefully). I am thinking about the Victron IP22 to replace a failed Phoenix multi charge unit. There are lots of good things about the IP22 (including the price), and it has some good reviews here and elsewhere, but one thing that worries me is that the temperature sensor is inside the unit, not local to the batteries. On my boat the batteries are in a cruiser stern, and the charger in a cupboard inside the boat, close to the domestic hot water tank, so the charger temperature will always be much higher than the battery temperature. How much of an issue is that likely to be? I wouldn't mind if all that happens is a slower time to full charge, but I would be concerned if the temperature control algorithms risked damaging the batteries in the long term. I am going for a 20 or 30A charger on 4 X 110 ah batteries so guess I am unlikely to overheat the batteries. Thanks for any advice or experience.

I found this thread as I was thinking about the Victron IP22 to replace a failed Phoenix multi charge unit. There are lots of good things about the IP22 (including the price) but one thing that worries me is the temperature sensor is inside the unit, not local to the batteries. On my boat the batteries are in a cruiser stern, and the charger in a cupboard inside the boat, close to the domestic hot water tank, so the charger temperature will always be much higher than the battery temperature. How much of an issue is that likely to be? I wouldn't mind if all that happens is a slower time to full charge, but I would be concerned if the temperature control algorithms risked damaging the batteries in the long term. Thanks for any advice or experience.

Thanks Sam, I suspect you are right. If I had no option but to use a multi-plus I would probably go down this route. But having lived with the multi-plus for a number of years (and in particular having repeatedly struggled to get non-techies on the boat to understand it and operate it when I have been hundreds of miles away on the end of a mobile phone) I am sorely tempted to use this as a chance to swap out the unit and fit something simpler that I ( as a simple mechanical engineer, not electrical) can operate and maintain and explain. K.I.S.S.

Agreed, I am not expecting it to be a problem, but no harm in doing a few experiments just to be certain. If I can run a 2kw electric radiator, a medium size microwave, and have a bit spare to keep the battery load floating I will be happy. What sort of load does a microwave have typically?

Thanks Guys - as always, a very helpful conversation (until it got diverted into Bluetooth). For my circumstances I want to keep it simple, so a smaller, quieter battery charger/battery maintenance system, and a separate inverter, is probably the way to go. All the boxes are sat in a small, un-ventilated cupboard next to the hot water tank, so going to two boxes might help them all run cooler as well. Robbo is right that this won't give the "powerassist", so I will have to do a few tests to make sure I can get by on shore supply alone before committing finally.

Just to progress this issue, after advice from this forum (thank you) I got an electrician to exclude any possible causes external to the Victron box, and then removed the box and took it to a Victron dealer for investigation (Barden's of Fareham). They sad it was a circuit board problem, the one controlling the main relay switching power to the battery charging function. The inverter is fine. And that seems to match the symptoms I have seen. The problem comes with the solution proposed. When Barden's went back to Victron for advice, Victron said the unit was not worth/beyond repair as it was about 11 years old, and the only way forward was to buy a new unit. Which is about £600 plus VAT for a Victron Phoenix multi-plus compact. That is a lot of money. Over £1000 once I have paid VAT and the electrician's fees. So before I commit to a new unit I thought it worth sharing it with this group in case there were other possible solutions, or other ways to get the existing box working, or getting a cheaper inverter charger Many thanks for any help you can give. I am based in Wiltshire and London (if that is relevant).

Thanks, that seems to tie in with my (inexpert) assessment of what is going on. The only indicator LED that lights is the flashing "mains on" one, all the battery charging side LEDs remain resolutely off. There is what looks like a red reset button on the front of the unit. I did not want to press it without knowing what it was - but I think I will try it next time I visit the boat, on Sunday. One question please - what do you mean by "transfer switch", and what does it do? That's not a term I recognise from the Victron Manual? Best wishes