RD1

There are some folks who say there is no such thing as a " Leisure battery" they are basically all starter batteries so 80% is fine. I suggested 80% so that you can get as much life out of the battery as possible certainly discharge them regularly to 50%, they will work fine, but don't expect as long a life as if discharging them to 80% You risk sulphation if you leave batteries in a 50% discharged state. Well sulphation will be worse the less charge that is in the battery when left for long periods. It's a balance, discharge state, vs no. of cycles, discharge more... less cycles, shorter life. I used 80% as the batteries are at less risk of sulphation. It's your choice... replace them every 2-3 years, or with care could last 7-10 all depends on the application, battery quality, but most of all, the charging regime. Always leave them as fully charged as possible. Have a look here. http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=722

Take care with anything bought with a "lifetime guarantee" a friend of mine bought a watch, it said it came with a lifetime guarantee, which means it will last your lifetime. The last watch you will ever buy. It ran for 10 years with no problem, then one day it broke down, and slashed his wrist. I think these lithium batteries manufactured for use in laptops, mobile phones etc, must have a lifetime guarantee too, as they are non replaceable, and when they eventually fail, they catch fire On a serious note, and there have been some good information on this thread, but I find it difficult to find it lol..., Some basic advice to get the most from your batteries, well from my experience anyway... Never regularly take the battery below 80% of it's capacity, just to clarify, only take out a maximum of 20% Charge as soon as possible to maximum capacity. Standard Car alternators, if used on boats are not designed to fully charge a battery, they are designed to get bulk charge into a battery as soon as possible. When charging never regularly exceed a battery voltage of 14.5 volts, this is generally the start of serious gassing, and you will loose water from the batteries and produce large amounts of explosive gas from the batteries. So make sure the battery compartment is well ventilated. If you smell hydrogen sulphide ie bad eggs around your batteries, then the batteries are well goosed, I refrained from giving the electronic descriptive term for goosed lol you may also find a black deposit on the filler plugs, a small amount is normal on older batteries, but if more on one cell than the other means a faulty cell within the battery. Personally I don't like leaving batteries connected in parallel for long periods of time, if there is just one bad cell in a battery, then the other healthy batteries will discharge through the faulty battery, thus discharging the good batteries below 80% and shortening their lives, or in fact rendering them scrap too. If I had to parallel batteries up, then I would replace them all at the same time with identical batteries from the same batch if possible. These multi stage mains chargers are very good, I have 2 numax 10 amp chargers one for each of my 90Ah batteries. However, they get confused if both batteries are connected up to ship power at the same time, so when these are charging, I only have one battery isolator connected to give supply to the boat. I have a panel mounted digital voltmeter monitoring each battery too. Far better to know what's going on. Hope it helps. I just added two charts, the first is for starter batteries, the second for leisure batteries. I printed a copy of the leisure battery one and covered it in clear waterproof tape and is on display in several places, one near the helm. Note ambient temperature affects how a battery is charged and it's terminal voltage. When monitoring battery voltage, they should be off line, and not been charged or discharged for at least an hour to get best results.

Well I was going to start correcting misconceptions on this thread, but I thought better of it so I might as well join in with the spirtit of the Thread. Try this...not all electrons are the same, some orbit atoms of hydrogen and oxygen, the basic components of water that is broken down during the charging process. Now we all know, for electricity to flow, you need a voltage and a current, then electrons flow in the circuit, unfortunately the electrons leaving the battery flow through copper, and we all know copper is very conductive, and these copper derived electrons go back to the battery, being copper based they conduct electricity, and discharge the battery from within, not at all good, this is why the battery eventually discharges. What you need is insulating conductors connected to the battery, say made totally of plastic, this way, any return electrons that get back to the battery will not be conductive, as they have not been in contact with copper, so the battery should not be discharged, and if you use the same plastic conductors to charge the battery, this will prevent gassing, and you will have no water loss. Quite simple really.

Our shower pump is a standard triple headed diaphragm pump, normally used for pressurised water delivery, so can run dry. I have a pumpgard in front of the pump, this can easily be cleaned, and it traps hair, gunge and seeds that we have picked up on our shoes and clothes, that drop off when you are visiting the heads. The pump is 30 years old, on the original diaphragm, and a couple of seasons ago, I decided to strip and clean the pump, waste of time, it was squeeky clean, no remnants of any gunge or hair either. I don't like the sump pump idea, you have a wet box that collects unmentionables, some of this **** err material must be left behind to ferment and grow bacteria, and maybe some viruses, apart from the smell of stale drains, it can't be very healthy, more especially if it overflows. With our system, if the drain pump can't handle the flow, time to clean the filter, by simply unscrewing the lid, and washing the stainless steel gauze, a three minute job. All the grey water is contained from the shower drain to the hull outlet, so no smells or risk of leaks. Simple but very effective. As the pressure pump is pumping to an open outlet, it is using very little current, and the diaphragm is under the least stress, well 30 years on, still going. Frost protection involves putting a strong made up salt solution down the drain and pumping it through. Best regards, Richard

The problem you have with a direct tow is inertia, you have over 17 tonne to start rolling from a standstill, with nothing to take out the shock, you could try an inertia tow rope that will have some stretch so you can get it into very low gear without slipping the clutch all the time. But... these ropes do snap, so you would need a substantial rope. Also when doing 4x4 recovery, they don't use the standard 3.5 ton tow ball, that can shear too. I think a winch from a stationary vehicle is the way to go, Engage 4 wheel drive low, handbrake on, then all 4 wheels should be braked, foot hovering on brake pedal to be sure lol. Chock all wheels, maybe have a couple of back up vehicles tethered to the rear. The local 4x4 group could do this quite easily. Caution. Things can go wrong, people can get hurt or even killed by snapping winch cables and straps, and sitting in an open tractor say, and the driver is a target for flying debris, I would want a sudstantial cage behind me if I was driving that tractor. If you want your own vehicle, then in my opinion, a powerful winch is essential, but not all chassis can take this force. So what is next stage, vehicle is still on ramp, no brakes on trailer, you now need to chock the wheels on the trailer... before moving the vehicle back and then continue with the winch. Now thinking ahead, how are you going to return this lot into the water? It might need direct connection trailer to vehcle, on my Ford Maverick, Nissan Terrano in disguise, I have a front mounted tow bar, it makes launching our 2 tonne boat and trailer a doddle. These are only my experiences or ideas, you need to do your own risk assessment based on equipment, training and experience of personnel, risk to property and risk to other bystanders etc. It does not surprise me that the club wouldn't take responsibility, and insuring such an operation... no chance. I am fairly sure it will all go to plan, first time, but whilst there is always this risk, however small, you must really plan it well.

Re concentrate, just read the instructions on the pack, to find what low temperature a 50% mix will give you, 33% or 25% A ready mix should say what it is safe to go down to. Now there is an optimum low temperature for an antifreeze mix, a 100% concentrated antifreeze mix does not go as low as a 50/50 mix, which seems to offer the best protection for glycol based antifreezes, MORE is NOT better. If you have a small plastic bottle, 1/3 fill it with your antifreeze, put it in a sealed bag, in case it splits and leave in your freezer for a couple of days, label it up "Poison" to prevent accidental ingestion, then inspect, you need a water content to make sure it goes slushy rather than solid. Caution... Glycol based antifreezes only last 2-3 years max, as they loose the rust inhibitors, but if you checked them by freezing, they would probably still give you frost protection. Once we had a core plug rust through on an Austin Ambassador, luckily it was accessible, a screw driver knocked through it and out it popped, hammer a new one in.... sorted

I replaced a micro switch on a whale pump, and it failed again a few weeks later. There are switches and there are switches, most will say 10 amps at 240 v ac so you think... should be ok for 3-5 amps dc Wrong, they can handle a couple of amps at dc, unless they give the rating on the switch. You need to hunt around for a heavy duty microswitch designed for say 10 amps dc. Good luck !! Most ebay switches are from the far east, and are optimistically rated, from my experience with them. The best approach is to ignore the pump micro switch and go for the external type as mentioned I think they are £20-£25 but they do have an adjustment knob, which you can place in a suitable accessible position.

Moral of the story. Find out where ALL your fuses are domestic or engine etc, check what type they are, and get at least two replacemennts for each fuse type. Why at least two fuses? when you have to replace a fuse you still have a spare, so no great urgency to source a new one at exorbitant prices. Fuses can blow because of a fault, or if they are running close to their limit, they can fatigue, due to heating up and cooling and they can blow for no reason, at any time, usually the most inconvienient time lol. While you are at it, carry some spare bulbs too, or convert to LED type. Richard

I think if the engine rotates ie not seized then there is a great chance it will run again, it depends what state it was in when it was last run. It might need new injectors, glowplugs, maybe a complete pump overhall, but if there is excessive engine wear... then you are looking at some big costs. We have a honda 15 on a 1000kg grp narrow beam cruiser, great on our boat, it has given many years of service so far, but the generator output is very low, we even upgraded to the 10 amp coil, but at cruising speed with 2000 rpm, are lucky to get 5 amps. So not enough to run a lot, shower pump water pump, but if you have an electric bilge pump and need it, then you will not have enough power. The advantage is though, very quiet indeed, no vibration, we consume 1.5 litres an hour at 5mph, but that is for a one ton boat, you will use considerably more as you will be a near max revs most of the time, Planning to get petrol is a major task, the BSS only allow you to carry a limited amount of petrol, and storage in specially designed lockers with lower drains and all petrol has to be carried long distances, as there are no waterside fuel pumps, added to that, the petrol stations limit you to two 5 litre or 10 litre containers if you are lucky, so my wife and I go to petrol stations a few minutes apart, buy the fuel seperately and walk away... If I had a choice with a larger boat, I would opt for a diesel with a calorifier for hot water, and a couple of large alternators, say 100 amp a piece, To supplement the lack of output from the outboard, you would need banks of solar panels, you are now way over the price of £500 for fixing the engine. As already said, choose your cruising ground carefully, as you will be limited to wide canals, or the River Thames. best of luck with your choice. Richard

I think you need to reconsider that thought, as the power available goes up by the square law. For example, 25 x 25 = 625, 30 x 30 = 900 values used to compare so the power available goes up nearly 50% (well 44%) where is all that extra power going to be dissipated? Oh a 50 amp fuse, the power will go up 4 times. hmmmm Richard

If all your wiring changes in your house were done prior to Jan 1st 2005 then Part P does not apply. But how can you prove that? blue brown wire was available prior to Jan 2005, so even wire colour doesn't prove when it was done. You can still get red black twin and earth too, confusing the installation time even more. Mind you, seeing a few diy wiring jobs where live and neutral have been swapped in a spur makes you realise why these rules are needed.

If you think about it, a fully charged battery will take very little charging current, a fully discharged battery will take a long time before it even accepts a charge, so a partially discharged healthy battery will take the highest current. If a fuse blows in a kettle at home after say three years of normal use, then I am not that suspicious, I would check the security of the wires in the plug when replacing the fuse and walk away. If the fuse blew within a week or less, or just a few hours, then there is a serious fault and time to replace the kettle. If it works still after a year or more, then fuse fatigue was the cause. So with the charger, I would replace both fuses and wait and see, if ok after season one, put it down to fuse fatigue, again, if it fails sooner, there is another fault elsewhere. If it has an onboard cooling fan, then consider that there may be a build up of dust which can cause components to heat up. CAUTION :- not all fuses blow at the same current, due to poor quality and poor components, if you went for a good quality fuse then it will protect the circuit as designed. Now compare that to a pack of 25 fuses from a pound type shop, they all probably work with a short circuit, but the most heating of the fuse will occur at 100 % load, and in fact they might continue to run at 120% full load for a few minutes, so in this time, some fuse holders might melt, or even catch fire, so caution when choosing values of fuses and quality of fuse holders. If in doubt, if you have the right test equipment, you could increase the load through a fuse and holder, to check the temperature rise of the fuse and damage to the holder just before the fuse finally blows. Never increase the value of a fuse recommended by the manufacturer, unless you have their written permission. Hope it helps, Richard

For years our life ring, has been in the way where ever we put it, when we leave the boat it lives in the heads, it used to be placed on the dash board in front of the windscreen, but it restricted the view. We tried it under the helmsman's seat, but after a time the rope got tangled with mooring pins, hammer and waste bags, making it difficult to deploy in an emergency. The cabin roof was a no no, as if the canopy was up it was time consuming to lower the canopy and try to go down a narrow side deck. Then I had a brain wave... The floor in the cockpit is quite low, and if you sit on the rear seat, your legs are dangling, so a few weeks ago, I set about making a false raised floor, 26" wide and 241/2" deep. and 6" high, this makes it very comfortable to sit now, getting out of the boat is easier. The lifebelt sits under this false floor, so simply lift the cover, slide out the lifering, and lower the floor back. The false floor is strong enough to be jumped on. There is no reason to keep anything on the floor, only people's feet lol, I have a label to place on the cover to advise other members of the crew. Might not work for others, but it seems to work for us. Richard

In a house, equipotential bonding is essential for example, two seperate taps on a wash hand basin, and on a bath, should the hot suddenly become live, for example, a faulty immersion heater with a poor earth, then the hot tap, could be hot in more ways than one, now if the cold is earthed, via the copper piping or earth bonds then grabbing both taps could electrocute someone, straight across the heart, wet hands etc etc... game over. Now, anyone can buy these plastic leak fix push on fittings, BUT, they have probably compromised the earth to any device down line, as the copper to copper pipe has now been insulated. Don't underestimate the importance of earthing and bonding, if in doubt, contact a qualified person, unfortunately not all electricians understand marine wiring. Don't be misled by a Boat Safety Certificate, it does not check any of the mains wiring, they only look at plugs and sockets, to ensure that under no circumstances an accessible pin on a plug is live. They cannot test RCD's either, so if you have one, it might be faulty and not trip at the right current, or within the required time, or not trip at all. Then we have galvanic isolators, when they work they are fine, but if an earth fault occurs that trips an rcd or trips a breaker, or blows a fuse, then the galvanic isolator should be tested, easy enough, but if not done, then the unit might have gone open circuit, and you could loose your safety earth on the boat, which could affect how your rcd might trip. Richard

Perfect answer, you can only do more harm than good, you might shear one fixing clamp, or break the seal between the battery post and the top of the battery. Any lead material that has flaked off the plates, if disturbed might, if you are unlucky, short out the cell. Traction batteries, you have the best batteries possible, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If there were taps off the battery to create 6 volts for example, then yes, it might be worth looking into, but if they have been charged and discharged as a set, then leave well alone. Richard (first career, Electronic Engineer).

If the plumbing will allow, get a lever tap on the shower head, if you let it go, water stops, soap down, wash hair etc rinse off, you will save tons of water. Next, have a bath once a fortnight lol. Now consider this... "Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink" so if you are not drinking it, could you consider taking raw water, diesel, duck poo, detergents and all, and filter it, purify it... etc. That's how the ocean sailors cope with washing. MInd you I have seen some canal water lol, some of it I don't like cruising through, let alone bathing in it. Mind you, we are on the Thames south of Oxford, and the water is very clear indeed, but there are probably heavy metals and nasties in it when the sediment is disturbed. RIchard

We have a Paloma Mk V, the shower head has a flow control tap on the head to reduce water usage, but if someone leaves both the hot and cold taps partially open, then when you require hot water at the sink, you get no start up, as the water is equalising pressure across the taps in the shower, so there is not enough flow pressure. So close taps in shower.... sorted. Clearly not the situation here, but my advice helped a few on other forums.