Bacchus
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Posts posted by Bacchus
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I think the G-Wiz used lead acid batteries.
Good job I didn't buy one then (c:
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It's 7kWh usable capacity. You'd need 10 of those lead acids to get 7kWh assuming you deplete to 50% SoC. And you can get up to a 20 year warranty with the Powerwall but depleting lead acids to 50% would see them lasting a lot less than that.
The price point is $350 per kWh which is £227 so it's almost exactly the same capital cost per kWh as Trojans but it'll last a lot longer and I assume it also includes the inverter/charger.
That is pretty extraordinary. Game changing I would say, in the long run at least. I don't expect there to be much uptake of home battery packs like this for a long time to come because the economics aren't there yet but electric vehicles are now basically close to a financial tipping point.
Much better partial charge and cycling characteristics too.
The bigger battery would provide 13hp for an hour as well, giving you at 2-3 hours cruising on a canal. A couple of those and a little heavily silenced diesel genset running at optimum efficiency 24 hours a day (I did say heavily silenced...) would give you propulsion and domestics.
I think it's a great step forward, funnily enough I had considered buying a crash damaged g-wiz for this very reason.
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How things change.
I remember deciding not to buy an old rotting air-sea rescue boat on Taggs Island for £30k, as the mooring rental agreement gave no security of tenure.
This was in about 1980.
Probably should'a bought that then
'This time next year Del boy, we'll be millyonaires...'
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A Tirfor wench to pull it in for him.
This ^
I used to work with a tree surgeon and we used it for pulling trees down!
Bloomin' cumbersome way to moor a boat though... and if that is becoming necessary the OP's dad might just have to start facing the realities of time
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A quick google tells me exactly where that is (c:
I have a friend who has lived on that mooring for twenty five years and isn't going anywhere soon
There can be a bit of train noise, but I think you get used to that, and I know that, especially for the location, the fees my friend pays are quite reasonable, not sure whether a "newbie" would get the same rate of course...
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This is the way to do it for sliding hatches.
My hatch has brass bolts fitted, but the hatch itself is made of wood. As the wood changes size and shape with moisture content, the bolts go out of aligment which is why I had to fit the cabin hooks. If the hatch is steel on steel the bolts may work better but still have to be aligned to within about +-0.5mm, whereas the hook arrangement, which is equally secure, would work to within about +-5mm, and as the OP 'fesses up that this is the first attempt at DIY...
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My boat has a similar arrangement but with a folding hatch, I just fitted an internal cabin hook to hold the hatch down.
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It is boat safety time again. I think everything is in place, except the batteries. I have two batteries in a purpose made metal box affair with a lid, there is space for a third but I don't have one. How should I secure them? Can I just wedge something, some wood for example in the gap?
I used a luggage strap for mine for the last BSS cert. Three or four squid from halfords if you don't have any lying around, and a couple of self-tappers with washers.
Would look a bit less Heath-Robinson and give you the flexibility to secure extra batteries in the future
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Could be a loose connection, which can cause nuisance trips.
Neighbour had tripping RCD nightmares, turned out to be a loose connection in the bollard. Gently tapping the bollard would make the RCD trip!
cheers, Pete.
~smpt~
That might be something; the male/boatside connector is "scheduled for replacement", although this wouldn't fully explain why it never happened pre-galvanic isolator (actually, technically, it did trip once when some builders left the loose end dangling in the river...)
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Hi Nicknorman
Boat is a Dutch Steel Cruiser, not a narrow boat.
I am at a bit of a loss with this; the boat is on a home mooring so I have used the same domestic supply (and the same shore-power lead which is a "pukka" metred one) since I bought the boat two years ago, and this has never happened; the only change is the introduction of the GI (which is mounted on a wooden bulkhead behind the saloon seating) - actually not strictly true, I have "scarfed" in an extra metre of cable to run the supply to a convenient point on the bulkhead, but that is connected via normal terminal connectors in insulated junction boxes and also screwed onto wood.
It's very bizarre. Also doesn't happen immediately. I did notice it trip yesterday when a large barge went past, which may or may not have been a coincidence. On the first day I fitted it, it happened during the night so at least eight hours after connecting.
I can only think that it's the battery charger (which is proper "Sterling" jobbie, not a Christmas cracker one from the market), but I can't think why...
[edit]but, yeah, I guess the next step would be to bypass the GI to make absolutely sure that something else hasn't been introduced[/edit]
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I think that's correct, yes. As long as you moor under a bridge.
That's right isn't it? I'm sure that's what I remember from the Billy Goats Gruff...
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Hi
There is a wealth of information on this site regarding Galvanic Isolation including this (http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=6101&page=1) legendary thread from a few years ago for which I am waiting to come out in Kindle format! I have trawled around tyring to find a solution to an issue that I have, but so far to no avail.
The issue is this; I fitted a Galvanic Isolator to my boat last weekend, putting it inline in the earth wire of the incoming shore power lead. I tested it with my good old avo-meter, and it seems to be up and running, BUT when the boat is plugged into a normal domestic RCD, the supply switch trips periodically - maybe after an hour, maybe after several hours.
The shore power on my boat is fairly basic, an incoming lead goes to a fused junction box from which leads are run to two plug sockets, a lamp, and a battery charger, the only thing connected is the battery charger. I have read about Switched Mode and understand that it is possible for some equipment to "dump" current to Earth to suppress RFI, and I think the domestic RCD trips if it detects current on the Earth side (I used to live in a damp old house where this happened quite regularly) so this MAY be a problem, but it never happened before the GI was fitted, and I fail to understand how the GI could cause this??
I was wondering whether any of the forum Physicists or social sparkies are able to explain this? Have I done something wrong? More importantly can I resolve it? -
Toesty
I never get board of Bizzard's wheezes, he always presses home a good point which has me creased up.
(I think this one could be adapted with some brown paper to do the ironing whilst at the helm, although "kirby" may have a patent on that)
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Hello all you boffins. I, as most of you will be aware of by now, am looking at putting an inverter on my boat. The simple question is I have ecie that 300Kw continuous is as much as I will need, has anyone come across this before, or does anyone have a better suggestion.
300Kw is quite a large amount of current to draw from a battery bank, approximately 2500A
That would flatten a 110 amp hour battery in about fifteen seconds if it didn't melt first...
3KW might be achievable with the right kit, still 250 amps which is quite a draw from 12v batteries
I think I would be heading down the dedicated gennie route if I needed that kind of supply, but try speaking to some of the off-grid housing people, it can be done.
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Buy cheap, buy twice
I have had a honda eu2.0i for five or six years, and it is one of my favourite bits of kit ever. Never run out of electricity (which is important on a boat as they are very difficult to bump start), and you might not be doing any welding but you can use most power tools wherever you are, and, possibly more importantly, the mem-sahib can always dry her hair...
My little honda also survived being almost totally submersed in last winter's floods! Poured the water out of the exhaust and dried it in front of a radiator for a week or so and it started second or third pull !!
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Hi Kelly_87
Apologies if I am stating the obvious, but do you have a manual greaser on the stern-gland?
I know you say that you checked it, but if the packing is worn you only have to run the boat a small distance for the thing to start weeping again, and a small weep can add up to a lot of water over a couple of days
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Just a thought OP, if you are planning on cruising the K and A, isn't it a "wide" canal?
A smaller wide beam would give you the space you want, draw less, and, I would think, be much easier to handle; especially with a thruster. Whatever the nay-sayers on here say, they do make life very easy. I would never have had one fitted (and am still a confirmed laugher at their over-use) but current vessel had one anyway and I am converted.
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what do you wish you had thought of on that first night on your boat?
- a sense of perspective
- a sense of adventure
- a sense of humour
Bog roll...
...and this. Very definitely this.
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Compact is best for small spaces...
It will cost twice as much to buy, probably about the same to run*.
[edit] *but you will be able to wash less! [/edit]
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is going to be a right PITA with this covered over the back I think....
Colvic Northerner?
Came within a gnat's of buying one once, great little sea boat, some had steadying/downwind sails fitted, and built like a brick, er, outhouse; there's a beautiful one near me called "mustard", and she is.
But, yes, don't even think about mooring up if there's a bit of a breeze. She'll handle very well so you can get her exactly where you want her, but ten minutes later, when you've fought your way out, the bow will be miles off
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Oh that would be brilliant thank you! We're hoping to get back there week after next - as we're away this weekend, and I have my half marathon the week after. But that would be so helpf
I don't know how much I'll be able to help, but I will tell you what I can (c:
I'll pm my mobile number
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Yeah thats the one. It was quite nice viewing it not having a clue about it, we had no expectations, but we love it!
Earlier ones had BMCs and the company also fitted Barrus Shires.
But, if it's the one I think it is (in Egham?) this boat is not the Canaltime style. Additionally, it's a SW Durham shell but fitted out by a different company who presumably installed the engine (more likely than not, a Lister Canal Star). Strangely, the broker advertising it does not include photos in his boat descriptions.
Paying deposit tomorrow. Eeeekkk. I am so excited.
Anyone nearby wanna show us how everything works?! :-)
I know Jack about narrow boats but have been around boats for a few years and have seen a few bits and pieces
If your new purchase is in Egham , it's only one lock up the Thames from me, would be happy to make a brew and go over stuff with you, even if it just gave you a list of questions to ask the previous owner...
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I think the smaller canals are out for a cruiser - apart from anything, with no weed hatch I'd spend as much time under the boat as on it (c: Horses for courses and cruisers for open water/bigger rivers I think
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Hmm - starting to sound quite interesting!
I could certainly coast-hop to Boston, and "Trent. Fossdyke, the Ouse, South Yorkshire Navigations, Aire and Calder, even maybe the Leeds/Liverpool" - sounds like a good hunting ground...
Decisions decisions decisions...
Not complaining though; not the worst decisions to have to make!! Certainly better than tomorrow's "should I catch the 06.59 or the 07.08?" (actually, that's a no-brainer, I'll get a seat on the 07.08)
Split charge (VSR) and battery grounding.
in Boat Equipment
Posted
Presumably the negative terminal on the starter is grounded to chassis/earth anyway? So attaching your leisure battery to this would have the same net effect as grouning to chassis, or am I missing something?