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PhilipL

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Everything posted by PhilipL

  1. Unfortunately the CR123 battery is 3v so a PP3 would not be suitable. Having contacted Fireangel they have said that the self diagnostics in my ST620 has probably detected a fault, and if I send it back to them they will replace it FOC.
  2. Yes it is an optical type. Its expensive ~£20 but is supposed to have a 5 year life with the replaceable CR2 battery. It looks as though the mesh might help prevent spiders getting inside. Im looking around a smoke alarms aagain as my Fireangel ST620 now has a low battery after only 18 months and it's supposed to last 10 years. Despite what they say its easy to take them apart and change the battery, if you have a soldering iron, however I cant find CR123A batteries with tags at a reasonable price.
  3. I am now using Fuelset. Tony Brooks also uses it. It kills off the bugs and puts any water in suspension so that it passes through the system harmlessly. Midland ****dlers now stock it, http://www.liquideng.com.au/fuelset.html Phil
  4. To quote from the FAQ >the output is square wave (modified sign wave) So they are contradicting themselves there. I don't think anyone sells square wave invertors these days? I think the person writing the FAQ may not be fully qualified to do so. For example in answer to the question >Is 1000W the continuous output rating....? they answer >Like all invertors, if you constantly pull the max wattage it will eventually overheat Which is true as you would expect this invertor to overheat if you run it at 2500W, which the spec. implies is the maximum power, but does not answer the question. They also state that it will not run a 700W vacuum cleaner or an 800W electic drill, as they are inductive loads, which I hope is not true. When I bought my invertors 5 years ago it was the norm to quote an invertors power as the power it could run at for 30 minutes. Today things seem to be better but its alsways worth checking the spec or questioning what the continuous power rating is and at what temperature. Of course all this is becoming less relevant as the special offer on there invertors has finished, Phil
  5. Not sure if we're going to be able to help with this one, but what was the relay for, and did replace an existing one? Phil
  6. I believe that it's cheaper to buy a combined unit than to buy seperate devices so I think it's reasonable that people should be aware that they exist. The only disadvantage is the RCBOs normally seem to be single pole wheras RCCBs are normally double pole. What I'm suggesting that an old RCD which has overload protection may not be marked RCBO, because that is relatively recent term. The names of these devices has changed over the years. Originally ELCB, then RCB, then RCD. I think that we now have RCCB and RCBO which are both types of RCD. I for one need to know, so I will ask at work, Phil
  7. It is listed in the Modified Sine Wave Invertor section. I would imagine that unless you really need an invertor that will give you 1kW continuously, eg for more than half an hour, it will probably do what you want. Phil
  8. I was always under the impression that RCDs (Residual Current Device) also acted as overcurrent trips, MCBs (Mininiature Circuit Breaker). However as I didn't know what an RCBO was I had to look it up, and they are Residual Current Breaker with Overcurrent protection. So it seems that now you can have RCDs with or without overcurrent protection, and the ones with overcurrent may be described as RCBOs. For example on the Index Marine website they sell RCDs with or without overcurrent protection and the ones without are described as RCD only. I don't know whether or when things changed, and how you would tell the difference if you already have one. If no one else knows I can probably find out at work, Phil
  9. I've been the last 4 years but only because it was near to, or enroute to my boat. It has never been very good for narrow boaters, but last year was the worst, even BW were not there. I assumued that they were going to concentrate on the London Boat show, Crick, and the IWA national. I'm not planning to go this year unless I hear that it's better than last year, but your report is not encouraging, Phil
  10. Just been looking at this myself and AFIK the only way to prove ownership of a boat is register it under section 1 of the Register of Ships. Unfortunately this costs money 130ukp to register 105ukp to register a mortgage plus the cost of a survey for tonnage and measurement Having got it, the name and port of registry will need to fixed to the boat. If your existing boat name is taken then you would need to rename your boat. Having done all this it only lasts 5 years and costs 50ukp to renew. You can register under section 3, otherwise know as the Small Ships Register, which only costs 12ukp but this is no proof of ownership. It's only use is some sort of proof of ownersip when you go abroad. Phil
  11. I've not seen any current speed information. When going upstream with the tide I have used a GPS to tell me my actual speed and adjust it so that I arrive at the desired time. The currents I have experienced are typically about 5mph. I suspect that they don't vary much as the tide turns very quickly. The reason for using a rope when entering West Stockwith going downstream against the tide is that there is a back eddy along the quay upstream of the lock. This is not a problem at the other locks. Phil
  12. If you've done Selby then the Trent is easier. There is a BW leaflet about the technique for getting into Keadby and West Stockwith locks. Do not try any other technique unless you want to crash into the wall. Basically it is, approach against the current/tide about 15-20 feet away from and parallel to the bank. When the bow is opposite the middle of the lock, turn and use full throttle to get into the lock. At West Stockwith Lock the lock keeper will ususally guide you into the lock, either visually or on VHF, if you have come downstream and are approaching the lock going upstream against the outgoing current. If you have come upstream from Keadby and are approaching going downstream against the incoming tide, then they will offer to take a rope to stop you crashing into the wall. The Trent does funny things like the high water level can fall before the surface current has turned. This is because the current underneath turns first. This probably explains why the tide can turn very fast, Phil
  13. Might be worth speaking to the Boaters Phone Company www.boatersphone.com 07970 459638 Phil
  14. Having been to the boat I now have the fiiting instructions for NuTlink, and I have also found them on the web at http://www.fenner.com/Websites/BTL.nsf/Nu-...kInstr?OpenPage but if you want to navigate the rest of their site it's best to go to http://www.fenner.com/Websites/BTL.nsf/ Basically it says that the belt will run equally well in either direction, but then goes on to give a preffered direction. Phil
  15. As it's not advertised much I thought I'd mention the FreeSat service from Sky http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ I purchased a Camping Sat kit and Pace minibox from http://www.leisurepower.co.uk/index.html at the NEC show last year. At the time you could only get the "Free to air" unencrypted channels and not ITV, Channel 4, or Five, so I got a good deal. Finally Sky started their FreeSat service, and for £20 for 3 years I now have a card that gives me access to the "Free to view" channels as well. I wouldn't particularly recommend either my dish or box. The Pace minibox may be small and run off 12v but it doen't have an RGB output, though this is not a major issue on boat size TVs. The suction mount with the dish doesn't seem to be reliable in cold weather so I now using it with the pole clamp. But it does solve my problem of not having a decent TV signal in Shireoaks marina, Phil
  16. I fitted a Jabsco Sensor Max pump 15 months ago, and am pleased with it. They are variable speed/constant pressure so are very quiet at low flow rates. People can wash their hands or get a glass of water in the middle of the night without waking up everyone else. You don't need an accumulator, but you need to be sure that you don't have any small leaks as they will quietly feed a leak without you noticing. Also they are not cheap. I was in favour of accumulators with normal pumps until I saw what came out of mine when I removed it. Phil
  17. I am not confusing them, but if I am confusing other people then I am sorry. I was merely pointing out a cheaper, if less accurate alternative then those being mentioned. And as for people who don't believe that they work on DC, I give up. I remember now why I don't normally get involved on these discussion forums. Phil
  18. I have two clamp on ammeters, one measures up to 75A which I normally leave on the alternator lead, and the other is 30A which I leave on the invertor lead (it does get hammered occaisionally). They are both available from Vehicle Wiring Products http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk/V...ers/meters.html under Induction Ammeters. They do not work by magic, they merely pickup the field generated by current flowing in the wire. They are not very accurate and are prone to picking up currents from nearby wires or fields from magnetised objects. So sometimes you clamp it onto a wire which you know is not carrying any current, and it will give a reading. However by choosing a different point to clamp onto you can usually get round this. And they are cheap. Phil
  19. Just discovered that there was another page of posts that I hadn't noticed. Not that it affects what I did say, but... the blue Z section belt is smaller the A section, ie. only 10mm wide (at its widest) as opposed to 13mm (1/2in), see http://www.fptgroup.com/downloads/friction_powerplus.pdf unfortunately ftp don't sell the Nu-T belting anymore so they haven't got the datasheet that you need. You could try measuring the pulley to see what size the groove is. Phil
  20. No, I think the links should be the other way round. I'll double check at the weekend. My boat had an orange belt fitted when I bought it. When this wore down so that it was so narrow that it was slipping more than usual, I tried the plastic Power Twist type. Although this is cheaper it certainly seemed to slip as much as the old one (before it wore out). When the engine was rebuilt I had it modified so that it was possible to fit a normal belt, then got a shock at how much specialist sizes of belt can cost. This also slips. I have bought some new orange belt from Midland ****dlers to replace it, but I haven't tried it yet. And before anyone says why don't I tighten the belt more, this wears out the bearings on the water pump. The last one only lasted 4 years. Phil
  21. Was at the boat show yesterday and saw the Shoreline RR14, see http://www.boatfridge.com/small_fridges.htm It has the new improved Danfoss compressor, lots of insulation, and they claim only 12Ah per day. It's only £350 at show price, just ring and say that you saw it at the show. However I'm now looking at mains alternatives, just to be sure, Phil
  22. The idea is that instead of having a voltage drop in both of the interconnecting cables en route to/from the second battery in the bank, that there is only one interconnecting cable from each battery to the output/input leads. Phil
  23. To avoid this I went for two 220 AH batteries, and have connected the two leads to different batteries. It would be interesting to hear what the biggest load on your batteries is, ie. how powerful is your invertor and what do you use it for? Phil
  24. I've had an Ampower one for almost 4/5 years with no problems. I wouldn't touch the Kestrel having heard how it works. There is also the Balmar. Its a fully adjustable digital one complete with temperature sensing which I would seriously consider next time.
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