PeterV

Does your system have a vent out to the fresh air with a filter? Mine does and I found that the charcoal filters had gone hard. I took the filters out so it was just a straight through vent to outside and the smell vanished within 24 hours. I was going to replace the filters but as there is no smell either inside or out I haven't bothered. If no filter you may still have a blocked vent, especially if you have ever allowed the system to get too full. You could also check if there are any sags creating a downward bend in the vent hose that would collect "moisture" and block it, preventing it from venting outside. Peterv

Gibbo - given that smartgauge is feeding both battery banks from both alternators would you need to modify both alternators or would just one be ok? Peterv

Chris - about 0.1 or 0.2v by increasing to 1000 or 1100 rpm Hopefully the fridge should not take more than about 50amps per day even with the invertor loss Peterv

I suspect that my less than 1 year old batteries are badly sulphated and need advice on the best way to desulphate them now and to keep them desulphated. I am seldom connected to shore power and so rely on the main engine and twin alternators to charge, which from 50% takes about 4 to 5 hours but they don't hold charge and consumption in the summer (?) has been 240v fridge. a couple of hours lights, the usual assortment of shower pumps and other minor short use equipment, and the invertor. There are 4 x 110 amp leisure batteries, 1 x 110 amp engine and 1 x 110 amp thruster batteries. charged with 2 x 80 amp alternators, which are linked with a smartguage. 240v is via a victron multiplus but except for rare hookups it is not used for charging. I have never seen a smartguage voltage reading higher than 14.25v when charging and I am assuming (am I correct) that is the maximum voltage output from the alternators. The smartguage reading when I start charging from say 60% will usually be about 13.9v and that rises gradually to 14.25v by the time charging reaches 90+%. I will not get the best out of the alternators as cruising revs are about 1000 rpm and static charging about 850 rpm, although raising the revs gives only a relatively small additional charge voltage and is not worth the additional noise After charging the voltage rapidly drops back after a few hours to about 12.4v and by morning is down to 12.2v. What is the best method or gadget to give the batteries the higher voltage needed to reduce the sulphation please? Peterv.

Steelaway is right, especially in broad locks where it can be very difficult to avoid occasional contact, and a gentle tap on the walls does a fair bit of damage to the bikes. There are plenty of other places to catch them on as well as locks and it can be more nuisance than it is worth. I took the front wheel off which helps but means I am far less likely to use the bikes as I then have to put the wheel back first. I have a landrover rack on a towbar bracket. The rack is offset to miss the landrover's spare wheel and so it misses the tiller on the boat but the drawback is that it makes it a much longer reach to get the bikes on the rack and you can only easily get them off if moored stern on, otherwise you are in grave danger of dropping the bike or yourself into the canal. I shall be back on the boat shortly and will be looking at whether I can hang them off the rack vertically (with or without the front wheel) and if that works I will also butcher the rack so that I can get it to swivel to either side so I can reach it from the bank. If I was starting again from scratch I would either have made a simple swivel rack out of a few sections of tubing welded to make an upright and two forks with the upright dropping into another piece of tube welded to the stern tightened with a bolt and a butterfly nut ... or bought folding bikes. Peter V

I also use the Samsung phone as a modem with a T Mobile contract and if you can get a 3G or 3G+ signal it works fine but I am told by T Mobile (too late after signing up for the 18 month phone contract) that the USB modem gives a better connection and having borrowed one on the K & A in what was for me a dead spot the Modem worked well when the phone did not work at all. I also have a pay as you go phone with Vodaphone and that always seems to have a better signal than the T Mobile, but that may differ in other areas. I have not had any experience of their USB modem. Peter V

I came through Glascote locks today and it was working reasonably well and filled in about 10 minutes. Peter V

Thanks Catweasel, I must have made my question a bit obscure in view of the replies. I know that everyone will use different amounts of battery power in different ways, what I was asking was how to put it back into the battery in the most effective way. I do not have a generator and do not have space for one to be built in, nor do I want a petrol (or diesel) stand alone for various reasons, principally the fuel refilling from cans, so I am stuck with using the engine. I also know it is not good for the engine to run on tickover without load for long periods, but for the purpose of this post I want to ignore separate generators or engine wear, bore glazing etc and just find out how to charge the battery quickest from the set up I am using. When running the engine the voltmeter on the control panel shows just under 14v from tickover right through to 2000+ rpm which I find a bit strange, as apart from jumping to 14v on first revving it stays at that level regardless. I am therefore ignoring that and assuming that there would be some variation with increasing revs. Hence the question that in order to put in sufficient charge for my daily needs is it better/quicker to do so in one long run of say 3 hours, 3 runs of 1 hour or some other permutation. Ditto is it better to do it at higher revs for a shorter time. In other words what would the battery prefer me to do to achieve it, rather than what is most convenient for me. Peter V

Thank you, I think this has identified my apparent shortfall between the charge I thought I was putting in to the batteries and the consumption. Peter V

Very interesting as ever, but completely off topic, any chance of a reply on my two questions from anyone?? Peter V

I am trying to calculate daily battery power consumption and have most of the figures but I am not sure how the 3kw Victron inverter performs. I have to leave it running as the fridge is 240v and it looks from the handbook as if it consumes 6w. I have assumed that means it consumes 6w per hour x 24 hours = 144w = 12 amps per day just because it is switched on without any load. Is that correct? Does that "background" consumption vary when load is applied such as when the fridge cuts in, and if so is there any way of calculating the additional consumption? Peter V

If you have to charge the leisure batteries from the main engine when moored and not cruising what is the most efficient way to get the maximum charge for the least running time? At present it is taking about 3 to 3.5 hours to keep up with consumption (i think there is a problem as consumption is low and I am looking into that as a separate issue) Is it better to run for 3 hours at one time or split it into shorter periods through the day, and if so how long? Is it better to run at high revs for a shorter time to get higher alternator output? Peter V

My apologies for raising this topic which I have seen referred to in several posts but finding the specific point is difficult. Is there a (low) voltage reading for a normal non sealed lead acid battery at which point you can say it is damaged and therefore not capable of being recharged with a normal expectation of it operating properly thereafter and having its usual life expectancy? I have just taken delivery of the new boat but like everything there was still some jobs to finish and so the yard kept it to finish. I visited it yesterday and as the Marina wanted it moved I tried to start it but the engine did not even turn over. I looked at the battery monitor which showed 7 volts for the engine battery (which recovered to 7.5 volts before I left about 30 minutes later) and 10 volts for the domestic bank (4 batteries). Apart from sale staff there was no one available to deal with it and so I left a message for it to be rectified but as they should all be brand new batteries I wanted to know what it is now reasonable for me to expect. If they are recharged should they be ok or should I demand that they are replaced? Peter V

There was an article in the newspaper at the weekend which claimed to save power by, if I remember it correctly, masking the thermostat inside the fridge so that it did not respond as quickly to warm air when you opened the door. This would mean that the motor did not stop and start as often. The article did go on to say that it was of more use in commercial premises where the door was opened more frequently than a domestic fridge. Not sure if anyone else saw it who could tell you the details. Peter V