Jump to content

OCM

Member
  • Posts

    13
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by OCM

  1. Thanks looking at 62bhp on 59’ boat

    1 hour ago, Neil2 said:

    There at least a couple of members on here that have hydraulic drive boats.  I had one and like everything there are pros and cons.  

     

    When I first got the boat there was no information with it on how to maintain/repair the system, so I ran Peachments (I think) who installed it.  Simply, the guy explained that these drives are designed for hard working commercial craft so in a leisure boat are usually effectively maintenance free.  He said to just keep an eye on the reservoir level, but the indicator on the filter would probably never get to the stage where it needed changing.   The boat also had a PSS stern gland, so virtually maintenance free transmission.

     

    I wouldn't be at all concerned about these horror stories of pipes fracturing etc.

     

    The other big advantage is you have a free hand where to put the engine, but on some of the other boats I've looked at this created as many problems as it solved.  One, for example had the engine right up in the bow compartment which obviously made it very quiet for the steerer, but because of the restricted room it looked like an absolute nightmare to maintain, I couldn't even see the fuel filter let alone get at it..

     

    The whining noise from the pump/motor can be really annoying, depending on how you react to noise.  

     

    My main concern would be the power losses involved.  When you research this you get all sorts of estimates and some say you can lose up to 30% compared to conventional shaft drive.  So I would only consider it on a narrowboat if the engine was plenty big enough.   

     

    Thanks that’s reassuring 

     

     

     

  2. Thanks didn't know that. Lithium is expensive.

    There are lots of companies out there now that say 100%, big business recycling.

    Percentage of battery that can be recycled is 5% (BBC News Business 26/4/21).

    Maybe they haven't checked Google recently.

  3. Ecological wise Lithium is not good, and at the moment there is no way of disposing of them at the end of their life, though that will be sorted by that time - necessity is the mother of invention ... In Argentina most of the available water in the desert areas is used for extraction, followed by tourist hotels. Some indigenous cultures are dying out with agriculture not feasible. Brings another dimension to going green ... 

  4. Thanks for all the replies, it has certainly clarified things for me. It would be cheaper tbh, as I am about to buy my first boat, to buy a new boat, although at my stage of training I am in the wrong place, and it would be too expensive.

    If I remember correctly the Greenline engine is bigger, and then there is the amount of batteries, and fitting as many additional solar panels as possible. I don't have a car anymore, but a few bikes, so that will be a green contribution, and the health spin off as well.

    It's an interesting conundrum and something that will become more common till things change at some stage. That is a concern, but more for the younger people coming through. The younger are deadly serious about the ecology of things. The one boat I looked at, did not use coal, but composite pellets and blocks. There are organisations now that do not use bleach in domestic cleaning, and all that will be come more noticeable in time in every aspect of our lives. In time, we will just not be able to buy certain things.

  5. Thanks for the replies, all very helpful. This morning I rang Beta Marine. They tell me there is something that can reduce emissions, but the Beta 43, approx £8K, cannot be hybridised. They also told me that a new engine hybridised (Greenline I imagine) would cost £28K, but with the battery set up etc, would need to be fitted into a new boat. So it looks like utilising solar panels and so on.

    Things can change very quickly though, just look at the diesel car market, overnight just dropped like a hot potato.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.