Col_T

Chap on the DBS Leoch stand, at the recent Caravan and Camping show, told me Lead Carbon are built the same way as AGM.

Thanks one and all - dedicated hull fitting it is.

Fair cop, MtB, we only have 360W of solar fitted so not many. That said, I'm sure I remember a post in which you said your Trojanoids had lost about half their capacity - something else I must have imagined!?

Might that be because your batteries have lost over 50% of badged capacity by any chance?

I'm thinking about installing a washing machine on the boat. The thought is to put it in the cupboard under the sink, so electrical and water supplies will be good and close. The question is about the discharge pipe outlet, and my thought is to connect this to the sink waste outlet, so that I don't need to put a separate hole in the hull, and put a non-return valve between the sink plug and the washing machine connection. Is there a better way of doing this?

Point 4 for Li's then - less time mucking about with batteries is a fair pro. Perhaps not - we, like many others, have sealed, maintenance free batteries installed. The only faffing I do is a quick wipe over with a cloth, and a quick check that there is no corrosion around the terminals, when I'm winterising the boat. I don't have lithiums, obviously, but I would expect they would require some kind of annual check, even if only to check that connections are still tight? If that is correct, then you may be back down to three plus points for lithiums. FWIW - I have also pondered installing lithiums and come to the conclusion that, because we cruise for only six or seven months a year, they don't really offer enough positives to outweigh the cost.

@WotEver, many thanks for this, and your patience! Another piece of the puzzle drops slowly into place!!

Sorry, @WotEver, I didn't ask the question correctly. Given the example of a battery needing 200Ah replaced, why will a 50A charger be in bulk until 150Ah has been put into the battery, whereas a 100A charger will only be in bulk until 100Ah has been put in or, to put to another way, why will the 100A charger not remain in bulk until the same charge level as the 50A charger e.g. 150Ah? Oh, hang on, the penny may have dropped! Are we saying that bulk charge is the phase during which the charger is outputting the maximum that it can, and that that phase ends at the point that the current demanded, and supplied, is less than the maximum the charger can provide?

Could you explain this, please? I'm not doubting you, I just don't understand.

Apologies for being late to this topic. Our domestic PV setup is 5 off 250W panels on an east facing roof and 5 off 250W panels on a south facing roof. Some output numbers for you: January 1st, 2018: the panels generated from 10:20=>16:50, outputting 0.931kWh January 2018: the panels output a total of 57.3kWh, best day giving 5.0, worst day 0.1, average of 1.8kWh July 2018: the panels output a total of 345.8kWh, best day giving 14.5, worst day 3.0, average of 11.2kWh July 31st, 2018: the panels generated from 06:20=>20:40, outputting 11.931kWh You seemed interested in October performance: October 15th, 2018: the panels generated from 09:30=>17:20, outputting 0.53kWh October 1st, 2018: the panels generated from 07:40=>18:40, outputting 9.96kWh October 2018: the panels output a total of 153.3kWh, best day giving 9.97, worst day 0.33, average of 4.94kWh These numbers are rounded, the January worst day is actually 0.09. The data collection does not do automatic clock changes so while start and end times might look odd, you can deduce the number of hours of useful daylight. Feel free to interpret, interpolate, manipulate the above however you choose, just remember that it's your decision. Hope this helps.

Regarding Canalplan, my guess is that the 'average speed' in the program comes from a time when there were far fewer 'continuous cruisers' lining the canal banks and, while it is true that the default times can be changed, you need experience of cruising on a particular canal to know what more realistic timings are. We now just plan against a 4 hour cruising day, with reduced cruising and lock speeds, and try to stick to that. As far as women working the locks, and not steering, is concerned it is a matter of confidence for my wife. She is far more confident in her abilities working a lock, and mine steering the boat. Conversely, she doesn't have much confidence steering the boat, and less in my abilities to work the lock!

Boats on the canal have a BW / CRT number, and some also have an SSR number (Small Ships Register, I think). However, we have also seen boats with number prefixed with the letter G. Anyone know what this number is?

We did the Slough Arm on the 4th & 5th of September this year, so just a couple of days ago, and yes, there is something special about taking a boat over an aqueduct. We found it S hallow and weedy, with three or four trips down the weedhatch in each direction. There is nothing at the basin, and the water-tap will be 'difficult' to find, even if you know where it is - we didn't but then we didn't need it. I'm kind of glad we did it, but it's not on my list of waterways to revisit. The Wendover Arm, on the other hand . . . . Edited to add - plenty of moored boats after Bridge 6, by the boatyard.

I am almost certain that I've asked this before, but can't find when or where so apologies in advance. My understanding is that a 1500w inverter will not run a motor rated at 1500w because the motor has an initial start surge that the 1500w inverter can't supply. Is there a rule of thumb to calculate this e.g. rating of motor times 1.5, or 2.3, or whatever??

At present we have a shore-line connection to a Sterling Pro Combi quasi sine wave inverter (1500w) / charger (40A) connected to 5 off 110Ah sealed lead acid batteries. We also have 350w of solar charging the batteries. We usually cruise for about 4 hours a day, and use about 50Ah a day (12v fridge, all LED lighting and charge mobiles, etc via USB). I am planning on replacing the Combi with separate inverter and charger to avoid having all my eggs in one basket, so as to speak. Given that most of the time the charger will be trickle charging the batteries, is there any benefit in having a charger capable of delivering more 30A?