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PaulG

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Posts posted by PaulG

  1. I'm using one of these:
    https://ztedevices.com/en-uk/mu5001/
     

    It's portable and will run on its own internal batteries for quite a while.
    In the Thames valley I have found EE to be the most reliable network. I've not found anywhere that I cannot get at least a 4G connection.
    I use 3 on my phone. They are the cheapest, so everyone hammers them for data...

    External antenna from Wifionboard works very well.
    https://www.wifionboard.co.uk/product/marine-mimo-3-4-5g-antenna/

    Not saying that this is necessarily the absolute best, but it works well for me.

  2. Thanks to everyone for their input, you've all been very helpful as always.
    I've decided to go down the Balmar route, as it seemed to me to be a more up-to-date version of the venerable Smartguage.
    It seems that the makers have some experience of Smartguage, either as a reseller or a manufacturer, as they mention it on their website.
    They may well have reverse-engineered it in order to come up with their own unit.
    The deciding factor for me was the Bluetooth option, which enables future software updates as well as making the unit's display optional.
    I will probably only wire in the display unit if their Bluetooth app proves unreliable or inconvenient.
    Thanks again...

  3. 16 hours ago, Midnight said:

     

    Let us know how you get on I have same MV system but have been considering a smartgauge. The MICC gives the charge amps okay and the battery voltage when discharging. Now and again it all goes awry and gives some odd readings. Like you I never let the batteries get below 70%.

     

    BTW was that you moored at Horbury Bridge in October?

    Hi there - it may have been my old boat (sold last year).
    Which reminds me to update my profile...
    🙂

  4. 2 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

    If your main concern is battery state when discharging why can't you just supplement your existing method by monitoring the rested voltage? The only system I have is a cheap plug-in voltmeter in the cabin (initially checked for accuracy using a multi-strengths voltage reading on the solar MPPT controller) to make sure the voltage at bedtime is at least 12.6 and in the morning it's still well above 12.3.

     

    I have managed to get a decent life out of cheap lead acid batteries so far using only this method of monitoring. I did consider a smartgauge but wasn't at all sure I'd do any better than I do without one.

    I never get to see the rested voltage as I've got loads of electrical kit on board, so there is always a load on the batteries.

  5. Thanks a lot for your input, guys.
    I think the MV system is looking after charging OK.
    My main interest is knowing the battery state when discharging to ensure that I'm not damaging my batteries.
    e.g. if the MV system is indicating 85% when the reality is likely 100% or close to it, it's not much use to me.
    I try not to discharge below 70% or so, at which point the MV unit may be indicating 55% or less, which does nothing for my peace of mind.
    From what you have said, I think I will go with a Smartguage.

  6. Good morning all.
    I have a boatload of Mastervolt equipment, and I'm not at all happy with the performance of the shunt system that allegedly provides SOC information for the domestic battery bank.


    I'm moored up on a landline during the winter, and spend the summer months CC-ing, relying on alternator, solar and genny power.
    I notice that the SOC reading gradually becomes more and more inaccurate, to the point when I saw that the solar system appeared to drop into float at an indicated 85% SOC.
    I have discussed this with the suppliers of Mastervolt, and it seems that they can't do anything much until they see the system settings. This involves me spending around £150.00 on an MV USB interface with no guarantee that any improvement is possible.

     

    You'll appreciate that I don't want to sit there burning expensive diesel for many hours to just get the batteries back to 100%; at this point, the MV system should reset.

    Naturally, I'm looking at Smartguage as a potentially more accurate device.
    Sadly, it's looking a bit old-fashioned now that Gibbo has sold the company and it hasn't been updated.

    Can I ask the Smartgauge users if they are still happy with the performance, and would they buy the same again if it packed up?

    I've had a good look around and I can't see any more "modern" units that would perform better than my current MV setup; if anyone knows better, advice will be gratefully received!

     

  7. 11 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

    A bit of filing top and bottom is all it will need surely?

    I thought I'd see if I could find a replacement first.
    Obviously, the original unit was not custom-made...
    If I can't find the right unit, then I'll need to enlarge the hole in the steel as I think that removing 1mm of plastic will weaken the socket.
    The plastic is not that thick to start with.

  8. 13 hours ago, Loddon said:

    Probably the required hole is 92mm leaving a 1mm clearance when the unit is fitted and the unit is actually 90mm😉

    That's my problem.
    The original unit is 89mm and the existing hole is 90mm!
    Everything that I have found so far is too big...

    20210724_130220 (Medium).jpg

  9. 1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

    They all seem to fit in a 77mm X 92mm ovalised  hole.  Like my 113 does.  If you have a hole 92mm in diameter it should fit.

    Yes, that's the problem.
    The cutout in my hull is 90mm round.
    I may have to grind away 2mm.
    The frustrating thing is that the original fitted OK.

    2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

     

    Thats the same os the one on my boat - if you don't get sorted before, I'm going on Thursday so will see what can be seen,

     

    My shoreline goes thry the wheel to get to it (makes sure you never drive off with it connected)

     

    In the middle of priming and filling :

     

     

     

    12-10-19p.jpg

    Thanks Alan.

  10. 27 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

    Hi OG - thanks for that. It just might do - I'd need to grind the hole a bit bigger or file a bit off it...

    5 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

    Thanks again. I'll try and get more information from the seller...

  11. 25 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

    That is the same as mine on one of the boats   Definitely  a flush caravan inlet with hinged cover but it goes in a hole that has 2 straight sides, not oval or round but an extended round.

    I see where you are coming from, it fits in a round hole but behind. Mine fits in front of the steel. Yours has no hinged cover?

    Hi there - the hole that it came out of is round, about 90mm, and yes, it does fit on the outside of the steel.
    There was a hinged cover, but it broke off - which is one of the reasons that I need a replacement.

    4 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

    Electrical Industries Group  West Indies.

     

    Says on mine   Kema Keur Powerpart Part Nr 113

    EC309/309A

     

    This is mine with cover.  Yours looks like it had a cover but broken off the hinge at the top.  Seen these in chandlers.

    Thanks for that. I've tried a Powerpart 113, and it's too big for the hole, unfortunately.
     

  12. This one's been driving me mad!
    Does anyone know of a 240v inlet socket that fits in a round hole of around 90mm?
    My socket broke last year, and I've trying to source a straight replacement for months without success.
    Most seem to need an oval hole cut using a hole cutter.
    As the hole in my boat is already cut this is not an option.
    I have the remains of the original, but there is no sign of a maker's part number or any other way of ID-ing it.
    All help gratefully received!
     

  13. Power wise the 50 is over the top for a NB. There are very few occasions where you could use the extra power. Certainly not on narrow canals, possibly on big rivers like the Trent, Severn, and Thames.
    Being a displacement hull, if you try to use the extra power, it will simply make more wash, consume more fuel, make more noise with very little increase in speed.
    You can play with this calculator if you want to:
    http://www.kiwiprops.co.nz/cms/index.php/resources-general/vesselspeedcalc
    You'll see that a 60ft, 20 tonne hull needs

    18hp to drive it at 8 knots
    35hp to drive it at 10 knots
    61hp to drive it at 12 knots
    OK, the numbers are for a yacht hull which is a bit different to a NB, but the same principle applies.
    The extra 7hp is going to make little appreciable difference to the performance of your boat.

  14. On 02/07/2019 at 17:02, mrsmelly said:

    Nothing, I repeat absolutely nothing printed in any newspaper can ever be accepted as even remotely accurate or in any way based on anything factual. Newspapers will print their best guess or anything they wish to fill their pages. The police will probably have not contacted them directly so they printed a standard phrase. I found a body in the Trent in Nottingham and the local lads dealt swiftly with removing it as it was very much on show. Police, fire, nhs, social workers are always damned if they do and damned if they dont imho.

    Goes to show how wrong you can be.
    https://www.westmercia.police.uk/article/61659/Man-seen-falling-from-Worcester-bridge

  15. 30 minutes ago, ditchdabbler said:

    I have had three of these highly expensive (£90) and overcomplicated bits of kit fail in the ten years or so I have owned the boat.

     

    Two types of failure;

     -the first was that the relay would not disengage, the glowplugs were permanently lit.  I came to realise something was wrong when my 50amp alternator could not keep up with the 60amp draw of the plugs.

    -the second was when the relay would not engage and the plugs were then not heated for starting.

     

    Of the three failures two were type one.

     

    I am not sure why they fail, I did try remounting the relay away from the engine thinking vibration destroying the relay could be an issue but it made no difference.

     

    The 'glowplug light' on the instrument panel only indicates when the timer circuit has cut out and its time to crank.  It does not indicate whether the plugs are lit or not.  When its working it appears the relay cuts out shortly after the alternator starts producing power. I have to say I am not entirely sure I am correct about this last bit.

     

    I did a few years ago put in a warning light wired and fused directly to the glowplugs as a tell-tale to let me know if they are lit or not.  The second failure was detected when this light came on whilst cruising along.  It also detected the third failure when during start-up the light did not come on despite the timer light on the instrument panel being lit.

     

    Hope this helps.

     

    Regards

    Ditchdabbler

    Many thanks Ditchdabbler.
    I don't have a glowplug light on my panel. I think I'll follow your example and fit one so that at least I can see what is going on.

  16. Hi Ditchdabbler
    I may have a similar problem on my LPWS3.
    The preheat seems to have packed up resulting in difficult cold starting and a lot of smoke from unburnt fuel.

    I've not had a chance to investigate properly yet, but when I turn the key to the preheat position, I can hear the usual loud click as the relay engages, and, less than a second later, a fainter click which I suspect is the same relay disengaging.
    Does this sound familar at all?

  17. On 30/06/2019 at 12:37, max's son said:

    River might be open, now Policemen on Worcester bridge this morning said a body had been recovered this morning

    Together with another narrowboat, we located the body floating downstream just below Kempsey yesterday morning.

    We alerted the authorities and guided them to the location of the body, which had eventually become snagged in an overhanging tree and so was stationary.
    I thought the actions of the Police in closing the navigation for two whole days by calling it a "crime scene" (despite the fact that the local newspaper report stated that no foul play was suspected) was heavy handed and show little understanding of the situation that they were dealing with.
    The fact that the body was located *within an hour* by the first two private boats that they allowed to go downstream suggests that what they really needed was eyes on the water to save wasting the time of the search and rescue teams.
    Apart from the time that a diver was actually in the water on Saturday afternoon, there was no need to close the river at all.

    They would have been better off if they had leafletted boaters as they passed though with details of the person that they were looking for, and details of who to contact if found.
    I also love the way that the press reports (which are usually press releases more or less verbatim) are worded to give the impression that it was the Police and Fire Service that found the body, without actually saying so, of course.

  18. 5 minutes ago, RLWP said:

    Easiest would be the threaded stop screw on the engine

     

    Richard

    I'm sure that you're right, Richard.

    If only I knew where to find it!
    I had a quick look at the weekend and there were to be a lot of screws, many of which appeared to be the threaded variety.

    Any chance you could be a bit more specific so that an ignoramus like me can adjust the right one (for a change)?

    ?
     

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