BrenMyster

Wasn't planning to mix old and new. I was going to buy the others in a few months, not years.

hi folks. Im looking for recommendations for a good AGM battery for my narrowboat. I will start by getting 2 rated at about 120ah, then possibly expand to four when i can afford it. I have a 600w solar array and a 1200w inverter. Mainly running fridge, charging Mac and a few hours to TV a day. I currently have 2 * 110ah old ones on there and they loose their charge quite quickly. Think they have passed there usefulness. I was looking at something like this Leoch 120 I also didn't know if its best to get one large maybe 220ah rather than two smaller ones. then expanding to two larger down the line. ta

Yeah, annoying my request to join has been pending for a week. :/

I'm going down to it later, Ive got it all the details written down so ill dig out the engine make and model then Just found it on Canalplan, dint know that listed boats. All good.

Hey folks I'm trying to find out the HP of my boats engine for insurance purposes but can't for the life of me see anywhere on the engine where it is written. Any idea how i can find this out? ta

Hi guys Does anyone know a boat electrician in the London area. Have found a few online but would like a recommendation Cheers B

yeah thats look like a good option, basically the same thing at a fraction of the cost.

amazing, cheers guys

Hey folks it was a previous owners great idea to screw some tiny little solar panels to my boats roof. I'm installing a new array and will be getting rid of these old panels, which will leave four nice holes in my roof. They are pretty small since it was just a few little screws but obviously i want to sort them out. Whats the best way to seal these up? Shall i look in to getting them welded shut? or just use some kinda sealer glue stuff. Cheers B

Hi folks I'm looking to replace all the old florescent tubes in my boat for new LED style ones. I believe they are T5 30cm. Does anyone know if there is a Led alternative? I found these on eBay but I'm not sure if they are going to be right. http://r.ebay.com/4UHSqv I could just rip out the socks and wire in some Led strips that go straight into the 12v but would rather find something that can be put in the socket. Cheers

Have ben in contact with Channel glaze and its a 'sorry we don'd stock old window parts' situation, slightly annoying. I'll hit a caravan store

HI guys I'm trying to find the name of the little clip things that are at the top of my boat windows as they need replacing but for the life of me i can't find them, most probably because I'm searching for the wrong name or something. Can anyone help me identify these https://www.dropbox.com/s/rjwunq4im5s7paf/IMG_5612.JPG?dl=0 Cheers

Great, ill keep my eyes open for a 2k

Ok cool, thats great info.

Hi guys. I'm looking to get a silent generator for my boat, I've been looking at the Honda 20i and 10i. (2KW and 1KW) This is my (maybe stupid) questions. Is there a difference in petrol consumption in the power rating of a generator? For example if we were to run a sander from each of these, would the 2KW consume more petrol than the 1KW generator? Thanks

Great, Funny how my home TV uses 120w!!!!! Now Samsung do a slightly smaller 32' that only uses 31w!. Guess tech has come on further in the past few years.

ok, great, Ill try and find some reviews for the Avtex.

Hi guys Just a little TV question. I want a slightly larger Tv on my boat, something between 28-32". I have only found this 12v Avtex Tv ( L327TRS) which has a power usage of 35w. I don't really trust the quality of a brand that I have never heard of before. I can't see a TV like this having the smart capabilities of a Sony or Samsung. Plus its £400!. I've been digging and found a few Sunsung TV's that have a very low wattage (21w). http://www.samsung.com/uk/tvs/hd-j4100/UE28J4100AKXXU/ Samsung actually list the energy rating on their site which is great. There are others that range between 21 - 50w. I know very little about power. But I wanted to know the real world different between 12v at 35w and 240v at 21w. I know the inverter will use power so that will decrease in efficiency of the Samsung. Or am I being stupid even thinking of getting a 240v TV. Cheers

The space saving for me is a massive bonus, especially when I'm trying for a 1kw set up. For the sake of a few hundred quid, no brainer.

My mistake, I was meant to say amorphous PV.

The guys at Midsummer couldn't speak more highly of the unisolar. But think if you are going for 400W+ array then on a boat they dont work.

I was just reading the fact sheet found here https://midsummerenergy.co.uk/pdfs/panasonic_240W_data_sheet.pdf And this video is quite informative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Og7PsDQPs I also chatted to someone at Midsummer Energy and he confirmed it. As far a cost , they are a little more pricy obviously because they are bigger but W per £ they work out a good deal if you are going for a larger array. At £300 for 245W. Thats £1.20 per Watt. The £400 panel with 330 watt is £1.30 a Watt. Actually doing the maths they are a pretty good deal. The 245w is 1.2 square meters, most other 245/250w panels I could find come out at 1.5 Square Meters. If I'm correct then these are a great buy. I'm thinking about going for three of the 245w Hit panels. Going to get the tape measure out and see if the dimensions work.

Just a quick update on my solar findings. Panasonic have a new range of panels out called HIT Power, they combine Mono with PV, kinda the best of both worlds apparently. I can only find them in 245 or 330w and they are a little on the pricy side but are currently top of my list. I think they actually just topped the chart for their efficiency beating some American company last year. They are also supposed to work better on cloudy days. Soon as i get them I'll do a proper review of them as I can't find anything out there as yet.

Its also amazing how people on forums are condescending and rude. Just saying. I'd already done plenty of research on the PV panels. Now i realise that mixing them with mono's probably isn't a good idea. I'm going to get some advise from Bimble as well.

I think I'm sold on the unisolar. Get 2 of the 136w to start. See how they go the the english weather. Just cover the roof in them