jetzi

Great, thanks. I will try that. I managed to get the small alternator running in isolation by connecting the warning lamp feed to the middle "ignition" terminal, and no lamp connected to the lamp terminal. In this case the lamp doesn't light (strange) but the alternator does begin generating. In isolation, the starter 40A alternator shows 14.39V over the +ve stud and the alternator body while running. I read that it's generating 14A with my ammeter on the cable from the +ve stud. This dropped to about 12A once the alternator reached 60 degrees (as measured with an IR thermometer aimed at the windings). In isolation, the domestic 75A alternator shows 14.49V over the +ve stud and the alternator body while running, and generating 20A (only) at the moment. I tried to parallel them to see what happens, by connecting ignition on -> warning lamp -> IG on the starter alternator & D+ on the domestic alternator. In this case, both alternators read 14.45V across +ve and body, the domestic continues to put out 20ish amps, but the starter produces nothing. So I deduce from this that the starter alternator is regulated at a lower voltage than the domestic, and they can't simply be paralleled. (Of course the larger problem is that my domestic is performing poorly, I know how to fix that - I have my "winter negative cable" that I'll connect either once the ambient temperature is a bit lower or when I can set up fans and ducting)

Thanks Tony, this is the alternator (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233826618617 I first of all tried to connect to the centre terminal ("ignition") but the lamp didn't come on, so then I connected it to the top terminal ("lamp"), which produced the behaviour I mentioned (light comes on when ignition on, light goes off on engine start, but alternator doesn't generate current). Like I said the one it's replacing only had 2 connectors so I'm just hacking it together for now - literally the wire goes from +ve battery terminal, to a switch, to the battery light, to the alternator. The wiring of my engine is an unholy mess The negatives are linked, the positives are linked with a VSR that kicks in once the starter is charged. The "domestic" alternator (my only alternator) currently charges the starter battery first. I want to set this up so that both alternators charge the starter first, then both alternators charge the Lithiums. In fact, I could probably just add the starter battery to the bank and just start the engine using the lithiums, get rid of the VSR and simplify the whole thing that way.

First off, trying to get the original starter alternator to work in isolation. Couldn't get the old starter alternator to do anything in situ, so I installed my replacement. I removed the "energiser wire" from the domestic alternator and put it on the new alternator, so that the domestic alternator wouldn't confound the results and so that I have a wire that I know works. Turning on the "ignition" turns on the battery light (energiser), and when I start the engine the light goes out which suggests that the alternator has started to generate current. However, voltage measured across the alternator body and the +ve stud measures just a tad less than the battery voltage, which suggests that it's not doing anything, and my clamp ammeter doesn't measure anything significant out of the +ve either. I wonder if it might due be a slight difference between the old and new alternator terminals. Not including the main +ve stud, the old starter had 2 terminals, each with a connector that had 2 wires (2 pairs - total of 4 wires). I expect the one is for the energiser, and the other a tachyometer (that I don't have). I don't know why there would be pairs. The new alternator has 3 terminals and the main positive stud. So far I have only connected the energiser wire and the positive. That's all the domestic requires to function but I am going to re-read @Tony Brooks's alternator page and perhaps I'll learn there is something essential about the other terminals. Taking a lunch break now, but if anyone has any ideas that would be great

I also spoke to an alternator expert on the phone recommended by someone on the forum here (can't remember his name, I think it was Ed). He was very full of enthusiasm and gave me half an hour of free advice - clearly something he knows plenty about. I feel very sure that it's not possible (or not advisable) to change the pulleys or try to upgrade the alternators on the Beta 38. Everything is sized to the current configuration, including the skin tanks, so upgrading them might result in engine overheat. I really don't know what I'm talking about here, so I have to rely on the experts - and if both Beta and an independent alternator expert with no skin in the game (actually, he could have done the work - so he stood to benefit if anything) say that I shouldn't do it, then I'm going to listen to them. I got through the last winter OK and it wasn't so bad, I was just running my engine more than I'd have liked. I feel like incremental steps will help a lot - 1) adding the 40A starter alternator into the mix, and 2) getting more out of my 75A alternator with a thicker cable. I have gotten over 60A out of my 75A alternator simply by connecting a 70mm^2 negative cable directly from my LiFePOs to the alternator body. So somewhere along the circuit there is a negative connection that is acting as a resistor, probably getting hot, and reducing the alternator output to a very cool 40A, which in the absence of a blower has suited me just fine. I think I might just go and have a tinker now.

So you reckon I should extend my time on the east side of the canal? From the map it looks like it's fairly rural (apart from Slaithwaite) until you get to the outskirts of Huddersfield at Milnsbridge, but from what everyone has said it's not really possible to moor except in towns, which isn't my bag. I am mostly happy to play by ear but the booking of the Standedge tunnel kind of makes it awkward as I have to plan around dates, and there really aren't many at all to choose from. Perhaps I should call up CaRT and see if they can let me know if there is an earlier cancellation. A half dozen locks and back is kind of what I had in mind for the week, or as many as needed to find a quiet spot to moor. At a push maybe the 21 locks down to Slaithwaite to use the services, and then turn around and come back. So I'll probably do roughly the same as you. Thanks for the advice.

Standedge Tunnel is fully booked until mid October, but I booked a return trip with just a week on the east side of the pennines. At 65' my boat can't get past Huddersfield anyway. I really just want to do the tunnel and I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of nice moorings, rowdy youths and rather towny setting of the Huddersfield Narrow. I don't really have an appetite for 42 locks down and then 42 locks back up again, but a part of me fears missing out because I doubt I shall come this way again (unless I get a shorter boat that can do a full round trip). Am I selling myself short by only allowing a week in Yorkshire? Is it worth the effort to descend at least a few of the locks on the east end of the HNC?

I spoke to Beta about an alternator upgrade on my 38, they were quite insistent that 75A + 40A is the highest it can go. My engine is an older model that isn't the same as the current Beta 38s. It has two V belts (not poly-vee). My engine electrics are in a state of disorganised equilibrium. My ignition "on" doesn't work, neither do temperature and oil pressure lights. I put a switch on my domestic alternator and when I turn on my engine now I can choose whether to run the alternator or not (the battery light for my domestic alternator does work when I turn this on). The second battery light - which I assume is for my starter alternator - is not currently connected, and my starter alternator doesn't do anything at the moment (and has never since I bought the boat - I installed a VSR to charge my starter battery from my domestic alternator immediately after buying the boat). Where I went "wrong" is installing so much solar that I have no need for alternators for 8 months of the year. That's kind of meant that the electrics have dropped way down on my very long boat maintenance to do list. Which is a shame because I think it's probably the most enjoyable job! I did play around with trying to get the starter alternator to work, with the domestic totally disconnected, and I was unsuccessful. I haven't tried very hard yet. I have a spare of each alternator, so I can switch out the starter alternator if necessary. My first goal will be to get the starter alternator working in isolation with just my LA battery. I can then see the voltage it's regulated at, and at this point I can decide whether to just straight parallel them or if I need to do something smarter. My domestic alternator sits at about 40A of current only. I have got it higher by putting thicker cables on it but then I run into overheat. So again I left it as "tomorrow's job". However, 40A is not a lot to charge 640Ah of LiFePOs in the dead of winter. So I do need to sort this out.

I'm absolutely not putting petrol anywhere near my boat! I'm a CCer so I don't have any ashore to speak of. One day I'll commission an electric boat constructed entirely out of solar panels, and with a super silent cocooned diesel generator that is hooked up to my BMS to automatically start during the right hours and alert me when I need to top up with diesel, so that can just be part of the fire and forget BMS. Along with a heat store like @peterboat's. This is the dream, for when my ship comes in. For now though I plan to make do with what I have, which is a Beta 38 with a 75A domestic alternator, and a 40A starter alternator. The starter alternator is currently not attached to anything at all (starter battery is charged with a VSR) so I'm getting an extra up to 40A for free if I can parallel them. I'm not sure if the 40A alternator currently installed is actually working but I have a new, spare unit. I also have a plan in my back pocket to increase the output of the alternators while using ducting and fans to better cool them as per @Dr Bob's set up. In any event it makes no sense to not use the 40A, even if I just reconnect it to the starter battery and chuck the VSR away. I also have a spare domestic alternator - at some point I'm going to try my hand at the alternator surgery @nicknorman performed, but despite his name, he's really the Dr Hibbert whereas I'm Dr Nick. But the alternators I'm using are cheap as chips and I'm having fun, so it's really just a case of finding the time to play. I got through the winter last year with my piddly 75A alternator (set up to only produce about 40A consistently) so it can be done at a push. I was just running my engine more than I liked for someone with LiFePOs. I was doing very little cruising last winter due to Covid restrictions, so I hope that this will all just encourage me to keep boating throughout the shorter days! I must admit the last 7 months of solar has kind of spoiled me, I have all but forgotten about my batteries.

All this talk of paralleling B2Bs is reminding me that the days are getting shorter and my solar is not going to cut it for much longer. It's time I start figuring out how I'm going to add my 40A starter alternator into my lithium charging regimen. Currently I'm sitting with just one 75A-rated domestic alternator which left me with more engine running than I'd have liked last winter, and this winter I've got my new Eberspacher hydronic based central heating system in the mix as well, so I could really use the extra current from the 40A if I can make it work.

I haven't read this thread yet but it's relevant, as I was excited last week when I was winding my boat and saw someone come around the corner. First occasion I have ever had to give four blasts ("I am turning around") though tempted, I really couldn't justify to give two more blasts to say which way around. Being that I was at 90 degrees to the canal in a winding hole, it probably wasn't completely necessary but I couldn't let the opportunity go to waste! The only two reasons to use my horn that I ever really get are when going round a blind corner (one blast, "I am here") and on the rare occasions it makes sense to pass on the left - two blasts. I haven't ever heard anything other than the blind corner blasts from other boaters. I have strong doubts most other boaters even know what even the two blasts mean, nor need to use a horn, let alone ever use them.

Recycling cooking oil into fuel reduces CO2 in the sense that instead of just letting the cooking oil break down unused, releasing the CO2 anyway, we can release the CO2 and take the place of ancient C being released by buring fossils. And biofuel grown on brownfield land is carbon neutral (assuming we aren't deforesting to make more space for other agricuture). WVO is a win win win. But I can't see how on earth waste cooking oil could produce any significant fraction of our liquid fuel requirements? Please correct me if I'm wrong but here's my napkin maths: Five litres of sunfllower oil would produce at least 100 meals I'd guess. If each person in the UK ate two deep fried meals per day and saved all the cooking oil, they'd produce on average about 0.1 litres of waste cooking oil per day. Assuming 0.1 litre of oil produces 0.1 litre of diesel. If you drive a very fuel efficient car, you can travel almost a mile on 0.1 litre of diesel. That doesn't sound like it will touch sides to me. So WVO is great, and we should use it where we can, but we shouldn't allow it to become "greenwashing" whereby oil companies just put a couple of drops in their fossil fuels so they can advertise thier fuels as "green".

It's it priced as white diesel for road use or red diesel that has a domestic and propulsion component?

Are you sure that's not the other way around? If we don't produce enough food, there will be fewer people to cause a CO2 problem. Hang on, I see your plan...

What I've done in that situation is signalled to the boaters to slow down, closed the bridge to ease the road traffic, then reopened the bridge for the rest of the boats, then closed it. Definitely seems unfair on the person opening the bridge. But I have rarely seen more than two or three boats travelling at a time, so I'm not sure it is reeally an issue. Trying to imagine, but if I came to a bridge that was open where a boat ahead of me had opened it and just left, I think I might think the bridge was either broken (stuck open)/a normally open farm bridge, or that the bridge operator was out of sight somewhere. Unless there was clearly road traffic building up and no one operating the bridge I might well not think to stop and close it. No, I think that leaving a bridge (or a lock for that matter) in a half-finished state can't be condoned as general practice. When you open a bridge you're responsible for closing it unless you specifically have handed it over to the next user in a state favourable to them.

I'm intrigued. But if I'm understanding right, won't the "empty" bottle only fill until the pressure in the two bottles as equalised? So from a 47kg bottle, you can get 2x full 13kg refills out of it, but then there's 21kg left. So filling again would only put 10kg into the smaller bottle, and then 5kg on the fourth fill, after which it's probably no longer worth the effort. Am I understanding this incorrectly or does this mean you're always going to be wasting the last 5kg or so of gas in the big 47kg bottle? As a total aside, what happens to the remaining gas in a bottle if you return it and it's not empty, does it just get saved on the next fill (reducing costs for Calor) or is it wasted?

A couple of people suggest there is an obvious answer, but I see two very different answers here - either first opens, last closes OR first opens and closes. The former seems more "fair" especially as it maintains the order of traffic, but as Arthur points out, you need to keep your key. I do the latter, either because I arrived first or because I'm being waved through. But boating being slow and quiet, if I'm getting through without stopping, I can usually yell an offer to close the bridge. As far as I can remember this has been turned down every time so far. One issue is that I'm singlehanding. Some bridges don't have bollards on the "control" side, so it can be extremely difficult (near impossible) at some bridges to get through alone, and in those cases I'll actually wait for another boater to perform a "same boater opens and closes the bridge", and most of the time people are understanding. The grumps will be grumpy because I'm doing it wrong, regardless of what I'm doing. So I'm genuinely curious, what is the "obvious" or correct answer? Does it change if any of the boaters are single handing?

Yep, that's how I know! I think @ditchcrawler was asking "what about Upware" because you mentioned in this thread (over a year ago) that apart from Brandon and Lodes End a 70' boat can go anywhere in the south and midlands. The reason I resurrected this thread is because I found "Lodes End lock" in a search and I wanted to ask about the length

I think I can answer my own question, as it looks like the lock is manual and apparently the water is usually on a level here. So even if the lock is a bit short one can probably open both gates at least sometimes and make it through.

And an even more special group of Black Prince owners! An excellent choice, I am very pleased with mine. Very solid boat, and would highly recommend Black Prince boats, especially for newbies. Has been?? Isn't it August or have I lost track of time that completely 😂 I will look out for the article! By the way I noticed when I click on the "home" tab of your website my browser gives an error "The page isn’t redirecting properly".

Yup Upware lock makes Wicken Fen / Burwell / Reach all inaccessible for a full length boat. I'm going to give it a go but plan to do a "dry run" without the boat in it first, to see what happens with the auto-closing, then try with the boat and be very ready to get out of there if it looks like I'm going to get guillotined.

It's me again, do you know how long Lodes End Lock is? I hope a 65' boat makes it through, otherwise it makes Woodwalton Fen, Monks Lode and Holme all inaccessible for me

How long is Lodes End Lock? Is it doable in a 65' boat? I hope so, otherwise it makes Woodwalton Fen, Monks Lode and Holme all inaccessible

If I'm going to be on hard standing outside, mightn't I just as well paint on the towpath which is free and has no hassle (excepting having to wind to get to the other side!), right? I'm painting the boat in stages on the towpath and it's going reasonably well if quite slow due to the rain. But I think what would make a massive difference to the finish is if I could do the very last topcoat under cover to avoid bugs/rain/suboptimal temperature fluctuations, and to do the last coat all at once to avoid any joins or drips. Obviously I need to get out to do the blacking part, and I was just thinking to myself, since dry docks are usually under cover, maybe I could squeeze in a topcoat or two at the same time.

Yeah, I think you're probably right. It's a tough job why make it so hard for the sake of a few quid. If I'm just doing two topcoats then perhaps I could just hire a wet dock for two separate days, a few days apart to let the coats harden and my muscles to recover. I imagine with a wet dock there needn't be any cost for in/out since they don't need to drain the dock? Or does that sort of logic not work with these costs 😂

Aylesbury does come highly recomended and I haven't been down that arm, but it is a fair distance from where I am. I think since it's 500 for the week it might not be worth the distance. I like that the pressure washer and platforms are included though, that's very helpful.