Rivelin
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Posts posted by Rivelin
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You know what, forget it.
This forum has a minority of miserable old gits and nay-sayers that seem to get some sort of satisfaction from spoiling it for everyone else.
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3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Then electricity is not your sole mode of power and you DO NOT get the reduced licence fee.
You can have a generator charging batteries, and the batteries powering the motor, but any direct connection between propshaft and engine is forbidden.
I never said anything about reduced licence fee.
Please provide some reference for it being forbidden to connect a belt from an electric motor to prop shaft thanks.
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On 25/03/2022 at 08:42, MtB said:
I'm inclined to agree, but given most boats with your carefully crafted term "electric propulsion" are powered by diesel anyway so it really isn't clear why anyone wants to do it.
Sharing ideas is always good. Could we start off with you sharing your ideas please, perhaps?
Maybe start off with the reasons you are considering it? Thanks.
Most people I have spoken to about it do want to move to electric propulsion - I guess it's just down to who you talk to.
For me the benefits seem obvious:-
- Travelling along your favourite waterway with only the sound of the water lapping against the boat and the birds singing
- No fumes to breathe in when in locks or when the wind is in the wrong direction
- Big savings on fuel costs when batteries are charged from solar panels and / or wind turbines
- At some point, we're going to have to stop using combustion engines
On a recent demo, the 55' narrowboat I was on was propelled purely by a 10kw electric motor at ~3mph and the power coming from the solar panels exceeded the current being drawn by the motor. Obviously this was a lovely sunny day so this wouldn't always be the case, so the boat had a little diesel generator for our dull weather ( yes I know that's most days 😉 ).
My current thinking is to attach (bolt or weld) a splined pulley onto the prop shaft close to the coupler, then bolt on an electric motor with a suitably sized splined pulley on it's shaft, with a nylon belt driving the shaft. The resistance from the gearbox is very low when in neutral so I don't think this would add much load to the motor when in electric mode, and the motors turn freely when turned off, so equally wouldn't add much load to the engine when under diesel mode.
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There are lots of folks considering / calculating / installing electrical propulsion for their boats. It would be great to have an area devoted to this so we can all share ideas.
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4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Last year my 220Ah batteries were £180, this year the same supplier had the same batteries and they are £260.
World shortages of everything !!
Ouch!
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I bought a Halfords HB013 starter battery for mine about 3 years ago and it still works fine. It was about £60 then, and now they're £82
Choosing the right leisure battery is much more important, but IMHO for starting, it's just the same as a car starter battery so save yourself some cash.
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8 minutes ago, Loddon said:
Its crap should have gone to LxB, fairer and cheaper for 50-60ft NB
Fairer - absolutely 👍
Fairness seems to be a dying art...
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Just got an email from EA informing the outcome of the licencing consultation:
They will:
- implement many elements of the charge framework as proposed and consulted
- not implement the area-based charge on any of the waterways, we will keep the current charge mechanisms for powered and unpowered enclosed boats
- increase charges by 4% in 2022, 4% in 2023 and 2% in 2024
I'll be up upgrading to an extra-wide beam for no extra charge then...
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I used commercial foam insulation panels (the kind with aluminium skins) and sealed gaps as best as I could with aluminium tape. After 3 years it's all looking fine behind the ones I checked.
As others have said, keeping moisture laden air out is key.
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3 hours ago, booke23 said:
It certainly seems to be a common gripe. So much so it's surprising you don't see more controllable pitch propellers on canal boats!!
When I was a kid, my Dad always said "pitch fully fine, 49/50" before we set off in the car (he was in the RAF) - maybe this is where it all came from? 😋
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1 hour ago, Bee said:
Have you a rev. counter? I guess the tick over is maybe 7-800 rpm and I would guess you are cruising at maybe 1400 - 1500rpm. If that is the case then that is probably about right. There is a lot of guesswork in that though. If you are having to rev it over about 1600 to get reasonable progress then maybe the prop is a bit small. The prop looks a bit battered and could do with a bit of fettling and the distance between the prop and the back of the boat could usefully be shortened a bit, maybe there is space to push it into a coupling a bit. That's a bit picky though. To be honest without knowing the prop size and the gearbox reduction its all guesswork really. Just saying what my thoughts could be if I steered it for an hour.
Spot on with your rpm estimates! Probably nearer too 1400 for cruising, so maybe I just need to get better soundproofing / silencer.
The prop is 440mm according to the pre-purchase survey.
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Hi all,
I'm keen on having my engine run at lower revs so it's quieter so if possible would like to increase the propeller pitch.
Are there any prop experts that might hazard a guess to the pitch in the attached photo?
fyi the engine is a 33bhp Vetus M4.15, which is based on a 1.5L Mitsubishi engine, driving a 38ft narrowboat.
Thanks in advance.
Nick
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Thanks all - fairly unanimous recommendations that converting would be a very bad idea!
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Thanks TD
I quite like the idea of having a separate throttle control / gear lever - I know some trad boats have setup - what's the thinking on doing this conversion on a more recent boat / engine?
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Hi all,
I've got a Vetus M4.15 with a Technodrive TMC60P gearbox.
Everything works well except it's a bit difficult to find neutral. It clicks when I go into neutral, but it isn't very loud or definite.
Would new cables help, or is this a typical characteristic of this engine / gearbox?
Thanks
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18 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:
But what if he wants the light to stay on without holding the switch on for ever?
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I used one of these - it returns to centre (off) on it's own.
The waterproof rubber cover slips off if you don't need it.
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1 minute ago, matty40s said:
Should have done it in April. Yes, it was cool, but for most of the time the dew points were ridiculously(almost record for this country) low and the paint went on well.
End of next week should be improving slowly.
You're right there Matty - I held back because I thought there might be condensation to deal with. Double d'oh!
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1st of May I started preparing my boat for painting. It's rained ever since. It's now more rusty than it was before I started.
D'oh
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We've got a Boatman too and very pleased with it (and delivered personallly with useful tips from Eddie). I wouldn't have a coloured finish though.
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8 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:
You asked why - I gave you the answer.
Presumably using your logic it was a waste of time and money to have taken your 'Short Rage Certificate' and to licence your boat.
Or, maybe you did it because you are a law abiding citizen and it was the right thing to do, if so, what has now changed you into a potential lawbreaker ?
You cannot have it both ways.
There's lots of short rage on this forum
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16 minutes ago, Benny said:
Ah yes. Did you need to drill extra holes in the tanks for the water inlet pipe and to connect the tanks together? What kind of attachments did you use? I'm strongly inclined to go down this route.
Oh and also, did you use the syphon method with the existing bulkhead plumbing?
I got 3/4 inch BSP to 22mm compression adaptors which screw into the brass fittings in the tanks. The front tank fills from the top (drilled to take the filler), and feeds to the back tank via the 22mm pipe, then a 22mm to 15mm tee allows a 15mm pipe to take water from both tanks through the bulkhead to the pump.
If you can fit any raised breathers in the deck I would recommend this to reduce condensation on the inside of what was the old tank.
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13 minutes ago, Benny said:
I would assume they could be removed (once empty) the same way they were put in for annual inspection of hull? Maybe with some kind of belt strap around to lift them out.
Yes, I unscrew the lids so I can grab hold of the lip, and lift them out.
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1 minute ago, David Mack said:
But what happens in the remaining 760L of the original tank? Presumably condensation continues on the inside of the hull, causing it to continue rusting away, only now you have no access to inspect and paint it.
The inside is treated, but if need be I can easily disconnect the compression fittings, pop the tanks out and clean / repaint.
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Anyone agree there should be a top level category on here for canal boat electrical conversion?
in Boat Building & Maintenance
Posted
or the miserable old gits don't realise they are to stupid to read and understand the motor is powered by batteries that are charged by solar panels, not the other way round. I rest my case.