grockell

Good idea! I’d like to have multiple options and harness the suns energy whenever I can. I use shoreline in the winter then hope to gain hot water through a combination of eberspacher, engine and solar in the summer

This is really promising, thanks. I have just 4x 110ah lead acid batteries, but do have another 4 going spare so may increase the bank to 6, as you have. Can I ask which inverter you use?

Hi all, I have a faulty 3kw immersion heater in my calorifer. I intend on replacing it with a 1kw heater to power off the mains when on shore and potentially an inverter when out cruising in the summer months. I just wanted to ask about getting an inverter seeing as getting one to withstand 1kw will cost a fair chunk. I have 660watts of solar on my roof, so was thinking in the summer I’d generate enough power during sunny days to whack on the inverter and power the 1kw immersion heater. Has anyone have experience with this type of setup? If yes, which inverter do you run the heater off? Does an inverter rated at 1kw advisable or should I aim a little higher? Just as a side, I have looked into diverting surplus power from the solar into a 12volt immersion heater, but, in my opinion, don’t think it’s worth the hassle. Cheers George

Hi, I've spent some time in Northampton Marina and spoke to someone who mentioned that some boaters have been known to use concrete blocks (buckets filled with set concrete) to moor within the River Nene. As the river is owned by the EA and most of the bank sides are private, this sounds like a ingenious idea to allow mooring anywhere along a stretch of river. Granted, you'd need to consider having a canoe/dingy or an LONG plank of wood in order to get to the bank. I'm not planning on doing this, but more curious as to whether anyone has experienced this? Would the EA still require you to move on after a certain period of time? I'm not that clued up on what the EA rules are if i'm being totally honest. Cheers, George

Thanks for all your help. The lego brick half way down the cable allows me to change the voltage between 3 - 12 volts, but I was unsure whether this would regulate voltage spikes.

Thanks for this. Apologies if this is basic, but if I were to install a 12v stabaliser, would it be installed between the battery bank and the fuse board? and thus keeping a stable 12volts across the entire circuit?

Hi all, Just a quickie if I may. I have a Huawei home broadband router which came with a 230v power cable (with an inbuilt transformer to reduce the voltage to 12v). So when i'm off cruising, I power it with a makeshift 12v cigarette type charger (see pic). I'd like to snip off the cigarette port and replace this with a three pin socket. Does anyone know whether the cigarette port contains a voltage stabaliser? I fear ~14 volts when the alternator is running may fry it? I might be being paranoid, but I rely on internet for work so would not like to cock this up! Many thanks!

Thanks for this, Yeah I intend to secure them and follow the BSS guidelines.

Hi all, Spring is approaching and so is all of that glorious sunshine (hopefully). I currently have a presumably very old 80w sony solar panel on my boat. I'd like to move this to the roof bow and have this charge a set of batteries I have going spare in the cratch, which will be hooked up to a 600w inverter for occasional use (a blender mainly! ). I am going to visit the Bimble warehouse next week to with the intention to purchase three of their own branded 100w solar panels, a MTTP controller (undecided which one) and obviously cable. These will charge my 440ah battery bank at the aft, which is also charged via alternator and powers all appliances. Ideally, I'd like the solar to be able to turn 360 degrees on its horizontal and 90 degrees, or close to on it's vertical. The easiest way I have thought of is through making a box for the panels to sit on with arms/legs on each corner which can be placed in positions to tilt the panels, dependent on where the sun is. (I hope that makes sense) Does anyone have any suggestions re mounts? Any experience dealing with Bimble and their own branded solar? How do people secure their solar to save them being stolen? The panels im looking at are ~0.67m wide, which gives plenty of space to walk either side, does anyone have solar which covers the entire width of the roof (1-1.3m)? any feedback/constructive criticism would be very much appreciated. Cheers and happy boating George

Half of them turn on and the other half flicker on and off or off completely. Thanks for the link, I'll check this out

Around 4 inches in diameter. Thanks a lot for the link, that's really helpful. I'll buy that and give it a go

Happy new year all, I have a LED light unit which bulb has blown/broken and is in need of a replacement. Does anyone know where I can source such an item? Pics to follow Cheers, George

I'll happily burn this!

There's a tool for everything! That'll be really useful, thanks

WOW! That's pretty terrifying. Yeah, I really hope it's not that bad. Im struggling to visualise how a box spanner would work with this? You have box spanner which fits onto the element's nut? wouldn't that be massive? Is there any risk with getting the water really hot? I can just picture boiling hot water spewing out all over me once I crack the element off.

Hi all, Thanks for the help. As far as I'm aware, there isn't an external thermostat connected to the wiring. How is see it is - Mains connection via plug --> junction box --> element (see pics). I believe there may be a temperature control / dial within the element box, however I doubt this has been changed since installation. So with the mains turned off, I should test for continuity along the wiring to check for any faults and then with the electricity on check the voltage along the wiring as well. Then if that appears to all be ok, it must be a fault with the actual element.

Hi, My domestic hot water is lukewarm at best when my immersion heater turned on. I'm guessing the element is in need of changing and I think I understand how to change one (there's plenty of tutorials online which seem relatively straight forward to follow). However, I was wondering if anyone has done this themselves? Any pointers/advice? The only thing that I am unsure about is a gas canister which is connected to the system. I'm guessing this regulates the pressure to and from the hot water tank? See pic Thanks a lot, George

Which softwoods are good to burn, in your opinion?

Hi, Can anyone recommend a good firewood supplier that delivers in Northampton? (Seasoned hardwoods) Thank you! George

Thanks for your advice on this! That makes a lot of sense.

I saw where you meant. There was one space left there yesterday. I should be able to bang out the Northampton Arm and get to Northampton marina in 4-5 hours from where I am now, so I'll just wait until moving in day and just pass through. Looks a really nice stretch, I have a strange appreciation for areas that are a combination of countrysidey/wild areas and industrial areas/roads.

Wow! that's incredible. I took a walk down there yesterday and it looked absolutely fine. I would never have known it had flooded that much!

Hi, Traveling to Northampton Marina for the 1st December. Wanted to get past the flight of locks along the Northampton arm to the moor up for the remaining time beyond the flight. I'm going to have a walk up there today. But just wondering if anyone had any advice on good/bad places to moor up for a two week period? Cheers George

Hi, Just wondering, where do people keep their battery banks on the boat? Mine are in the engine bay and I've noticed they lose their charge a lot quicker now it's cold. Does anyone keep them in the living area to keep them at a more stable temp. How does this work with the BSS regs? George

I survived Blisworth Tunnel, just in case anyone wondered/cared I should have brought a brolly with me though. Any fire in there would extinguish in no time, because I got drenched!