I Spartacus

Not fully aware of how they worked and what generator they used in the conventional getsets . the modern PMG's are very efficient these days. our unit was cocooned you had a job to hear it when running

I tend to agree with that Jess , and the switchgear is quite simple, Our whole site was designed to run off grid if we lost incoming power.

You have to build them Mike, they are quite simple to make. we used a Controllis prime power 24v PMG and a water cooled Perkins engine with Bowman heat exchangers with a few other bits and pieces, added. Controllis now sell the kits including the engine and control systems but you still need to add the heat exchangers and other bit an bobs. It was very very efficient more information can be found here regarding how they work. I have still got one of the generators sitting in my garage that I am planning to use. http://www.controllis.com/DCPrimePower.html

It does look like an over kill to me Jess, how were you planning to heat the house in the winter, by electricity only, or were you looking at installing a ground source heat pump .If it was me I would always have a small diesel CHP plant to provide heating to the hose and help to top up the batteries when needed. 8kw of power in from the generator will also give you 10 kw of water heating

Yes I agree with both of you, But people are not being educated. I try my best, grow my own food on an allotment, changed all of my lighting to led,s and heat my water in the summer with solar,

Yes but Germany have invested billions of euros in this and PV development, and most of it is made in China under licence, Like the UK and Holland have invested in wind turbine technology and promote offshore farms, it is all international trade at the end of the day, always back your investment

I agree in renewable projects anything that helps is well worth it, I spent 4 years working with renewably technology's on some very interesting projects. here is an interesting link that makes good reading on a project my friend was working on where it does actually work http://www.tongapower.to/OurBusiness/RenewableEnergy/OuterIslandsRenewableEnergyProject.aspx

Yes they can all work when the sun is out and the wind blowing but when it in not you still need a back-up to supply the power that is the big problem.

Grants and subsidy help run the renewables market, We managed to secure a £10 million pound grant to install two 5MW chp plants, there is money to be made in renewables for business

As said they are a waste of space, Betz law tells you the power the wind, and you will be very lucky if you can get 25% of that.Wind turbines are rated at 12MS wind speed so if it was rated at 400w at 6MS you would only get 50w. I am still waiting for the new PV and rainwater panels to come onto the market.

This site has a vast collection that might be of interest to you http://www.sgs-engineering.com/generators/inverter

Betts Park , The canal to no where Ha Ha

If I was going to be thinking about a composting toilet I think I would be looking at a vermiculture composting toilet with urine separation,worms will always get rid of the waste much quicker than just relying the normal composting process I would use the double block system, they have been used in Australia for a good few years http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/building-a-vermiculture-compost-toilet-zbcz1501

I did a lot of marine works on the Thames, you had to always wear a flotation jacket and there was always a safety boat in attendance at all times never seen anyone get back into the safety boat without help. You could get back onto the safety boat if you were wearing a dry suite and fins.

Glad you are OK Nightwatch it is getting out of the water when it is this cold that is the major issue, and the shock of falling iin the cold water can be a major problem.

Hi and welcome Kimmy.

You can get a 48v alternator such as the powercore there a few out there, But I would like to have a back up 48v generator just in case, you would run the geny when using big loads.

As said most boat equipment is either 12 or 24v.At 48v you would be able to get a bigger inverter it depends if you are going for a 240v equipped boat running off the inverter. there are some very good 24 and 48v generators out there rated at 5kw plus at a constant load, don't know about a 48v alternator can you get them ?

I think you will find it a problem finding a mooring in Tonbridge, I might be best to go down there and see what is available before you make any commitment. You could look at Maidstone, But I think it will have to be a marina at the end of the day.

How funny is that. We lived there when we first got married, Shirley Oaks we had a little small 2 bed house, spent many an hour in the Shirley Inn at the bottom of the road .

Nice looking house, you get a lot for your money up there, As Peter said prices down south are stupid, they have been selling 2 bed flats above Lidi for 500k just down the road from me. Mind you a friend of mine has a lovely place on the S&W with a couple of moorings, it would be well out of my price range.

Thanks for all the good advice and your kind replies, and also for posting the link to the canalplan, I think you have made me change my mind about the route, As you have all said it is a much more scenic route than the other one I was looking at. When I looked at going via Birmingham it was the number of locks that worried me !! I expect I will need to get someone to crew with me and give me a hand but hopefully it won't be till later in the year. .