dmr

Mine is in constant use and does mostly what I need but there are many dissapointments and missed opportunities. "Good but could be better". My app works well and is mostly good and Zeus communicates well with the iPhone. The firmware update stratergy is not so good and I don't even know what version mine is running....will try to look again a bit later. Good things.... It works! It controls alternator voltage, limits current to support my limited belt drive, and controls temperature (in a slightly odd way). App is mostly good and nice to use with nice display (if a little quirky) Can change settings in real time Lovely data logging, though I had to write a bit of PC software to handle their odd CSV format. Not so good..... The speed measurement and "rpm pullback" both have limited resolution so are close to useless. The warning light only flashes faults (not charge status) so there is no way of knowing that its working, warning lights really must confirm themselves in some way. Arco appeared to have removed the amp-hour counter which was an advertised feature. This is really sad as they could easily have offered a "lithium charge to xx%" feature. My guess is that Victron requested this as part of the integration deal. There is a nasty regulation failure as the Zeus goes from temperature limited bulk to absorption. (not checked on latest firmware) There is possibly a really nasty regulation failure if the iPhone is just on the edge of range. (Potential disaster) A hardware bug prevents optimum wiring of negative battery sense. Reporting bugs to Arco is close to a waste of time. ================== I wonder what the new "mk2" Wakespeed will be like?

I think it makes sense to keep a standard independant 12 volt engine/starter system, though 24 is not too difficult. The choice is then between a 12 volt domestic bank plus a separate 24 or 48 volt "Travelpower replacement" bank, or just a combined domestic plus mains 24/48 volt bank. For a new build I suggest a single big 48 volt bank is probably the best option but you will need a pair of good 48 to 12 voltage converters to provide the 12 volts. If there is space and belt space for twin alternators then thats good redundancy, but both are going to need a Wakespeed/Zeus so this puts the cost up.

TravelPower was brilliant and is still pretty good (we have one) but times move on. A big alternator, lithium battery and inverter can do the job much better. I suggest that 48 volts is the best option but if this is not viable (due to limited avaiulable of 48 volt alternators) then 24 volts would do....or wait a year till there are better 48 volt options. Two 12 volt alternators in series is NOT the way to do it and defeats many of the advantages of the higher voltage system. Obviously you will need an engine that can handle the big front end loading, and so likely one of those fancy £700 controllers. It won't work out that much cheaper than the Travelpower but will be better. Its just horrible 😀

This is the reeason for the voltage sensitive relay on modern twin alternator boats, loads of stuff about this on this forum if you can make the search work.

You are right, a diode splitter is better from that aspect but otherwise less good. A VSR might be acceptable as it is not a permanent connection. A modern boat will have separate start and domestic alternators so there can be no connection at all if reqquired, but ifs its desired to use the starter alternator to help charge the domestics then the new Victron DC-DC charger is the way to go and GybeHo likes technology 😀

But the fundamental concept is that they are totally separate circuits so not mixed. As BEngo says, there are potential risks with high current lithiums, plus its normal not to fuse the starter circuit which is another safety issue.

Yes, with suitable batteries you could do this......but why? A LA starter costs £100ish, lasts 7+ years and does its job well with zero maintenance. With liveaboard boating redundancy is a priority and keeping starter and domestic circuits separate is key to this and has been done this way by various means for years. Clever technology can not replace redundancy, almost the opposite. Maybe an illness or family crisis will lead to a discharged domestic bank....last thing you want is to come home from hospital and be unable to start the engine in mid winter.

Fire extinguishers are a bit of a BSS checkbox thing. What would be good is a couple of slightly bigger extinguishers of different types just inside the front door, and some really good videos on how to tackle fires of various types, and a guide to what size of fire you can reasonable tackle yourself.

You mean leave the tap permanently running? Trouble is CRT would then want money for supplying drainage 😀 I have heard that it was installed but never actually connected up. Its a proper BW iron thing not one of those nasty stainless sheet jobbies, Im quite tempted to nick it but its well set in concrete 😀 It sticks out quite a long way into the channel, we hit it on the way out, then hit it again on the way back. Testing the new epoxy 😀

I have seen Shire cruisers attend a breakdown (damaged rudder) at the Rochdale summit. Two blokes turned up in a van with enough tools to remove the rudder, took it back to base for straightening/welding and returned to refit it later the same day.

I suspect most/all boat type "mastic" epoxies will fade to some extent, and will also go from their original level of gloss to a more matt finish. They will all get scrapes (if you use the boat) so need repairs over the years. This is a problem as they won't look good if just patched with new black epoxy, so a full recoat is required. I don't think putting single pack on top is a good idea at all as it just makes the recoating more difficult and/or less effective. We have just been redone in a Hemple epoxy which is semi gloss black and appears very tough, but its problem is that the scrapes, although not going right through, leave a very obvious light grey matt scar. It has occured to me that using something like Jotun 90 in a mid to dark grey might be better than using black and fade less, but this is down to personal taste. I think older trad type boats look quite good in grey, but if your desire is a pristine Bickerstaffe etc then gloss black is probably essential.

The vegetation is a bit out of control in a few places, especially on the river section, you forgot to moan about that 😀 Its a useful tap that one, and a good bank to moor against. It was out of action for a while but the nice CRT man fixed it a couple of years ago. The Rochdale is not an easy canal to CC on. Its actually a bit short to get the CRT distance in but I suspect that CRT might be a little bit lenient to those that make a reasonable effort. I am only away of two boats successfully CC'ing on the Rochdale, both young single women 😀. With services at Sowerby, Hebden, Tod and Littleborough, plus the Walden tap I suspect the "services per mile" is pretty good, though something up near the summit would be useful.

Reliability/compatability of cables and sockets and power sources is a real issue, and looks to have got worse with usb C. There are now so many options for power delivery/charging and the "pins" in the sockets are getting smaller and smaller. Getting better quality cables from Amazon etc appears to help a bit, so go for a "named" brand even though its probably a name that you've never heard of.

These are a good thing to have on a boat, just to see how much current the various things are using if nothing else. I have a similar (but LED) version of one of these and surprisingle it also works as a sort of buffer/extender and improves the performance of the very long usb lead from the PC to the speakers.

This is a very grey area as the waterways act was not well written. A CC'er is entitled to stay for up to 14 days (or longer if reasonable) whilst a home moorer does not have that permission so things are undefined. If you squat a valuable river mooring you will be very unpopular and possibly a danger so CRT will ultimately have to take some action even though they might prefer not to. My guess is that they will do you for causing an obstruction. Do you want to be the test case?

Ive seen a few girl dogs that do a sort of hybrid half squat with one leg slightly raided, I suspect they are the real gender neutrals 😀. If mine cocked her leg she would probably fall over these days.

Sadly my dog is very old and a girl dog, but otherwise I really like the idea of training them to p*** on fishermen. 😀

I remember a very thin catalogue held together with a couple of staples, a brown cover, but can't recall the paper quality. The RS catalog got bigger and bigger every year, they grew at an impressive rate.

In the place I used to work (years ago) I found a copy of a very early RadioSpares catalog, sadly I decided not to keep it. The RS sales reps used to get a bit upset if you called them the "man from RadioSpares"

Thank you, have edited post, I should concentrate harder and not try to do two things at once. I should also point out that my awfull spelling is because, for some reason, my spellchecker works on everything except Canalworld and I have evolved a writing style of "type quick and badly" and let the technology sort it out.

Not just Head Honcho, I reckon he was everything, I think it was a one man business in a little industrial unit and the big factory and labs shown in the website were just a fantasy.

I should have said designed, documented and controlled outside of china. 😀 They do a good job with Apple stuff. I have been indirectly involved with getting stuff made in China and it appears to be a case of building a good relationship and keeping on top of the quality control, and maybe making sure that the factory you are working with is really making the stuff and not sub-contracting out to their friends/relatives in a garden shed 😀. This is why its better to buy from somebofy like Fogstar rather then dealing direct with China via eBay etc. The Fogstar article does say that the JDB totally misses low currents which suggests an electronics/software limitation?

There is an article on the Fogstar website saying exactly this, and that it can also go wrong by missing longer term low current draws. Its a bit sad to include an amp hour counter in a device and then not to do it properly. There are a few chips available that do a good job of processing shunt output so I suspect the built in shunt itself could be the limitation. I have a BMV so looks like that is the way to go even though it might need occassional manual resynchs. Looks like their own bms will be available very soon and it will be good to have something available that is fully documented and not made in China. Not sure if it will count amp-hours for a true state of charge, and balancing is passive and only one amp which is not really top spec.

try this one: https://quasarbatteries.com/about-us/ I think they are the Nigerian branch of Elecsol 😀

Have a look at their website, especially the "about us" page and draw your own conclusions 😀