Ex- Member

Personally we haven't bothered, we've found that through the summer the batteries are generally in a full SOC for several hours a day usually between 4 and 8 hours most days. Through winter we manage using an amp meter and volt meter if we feel the need to check the battery level which is rarely. Last winter we got by really well running the engine in the morning for 1 to 1.5 hours letting solar top up batteries through the day then if they seem low at 5/6pm we just run the genny for an hour or so to trickle charge and supply power to the boat at the same time. Even when under load the battery bank rarely reads below 12.2v and every time we've experimented with letting the batteries rest when at lower voltages as low as 11.9 the voltage rises considerably after a couple of hours rest and usually to a SOC exceeding 12.2v So we're quite happy and confident through experience that the BB rarely goes too low. Knowing it's exact SOC at any particular time is a good gimmick/gadget but IMO not really necessary. The other thing is we've never run out of energy, not even enough to sound the inverter alarm even through winter, So we feel our regime is working well. We'll be adding another 200w of solar this winter, so will update on how well they do as they'll be situated on the boats side panels instead of roof.

Hi steve Did you check the cat wasn't in any distress when feeling it's stomach?

There's just been a long thread on this topic,I'll try to find a link for you. Ahhhhhh yer tiz http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=66982&hl=

Surely as well logic would dictate the power cell be near the B/B as well and generally these are in engine rooms anyway. Sounds a lot safer than petrol being stored for generator use anyway so I wouldn't think there would be an issue with BSS The cost of these though at this time are ridiculous. If I were wealthy I might consider them, but neigh on £2.5k for 80ah per day. I could clad both sides of the boat with a KW of adhesive solar panels for half that cost, and have no future fuel costs to think about.

Well I've just abandoned a plan to fit a small diesel engine in the boat for power generation as solar copes for 8 months of the year. As a result I do have a Kubota OC60 diesel engine going spare, It'll probably end up un e-bay.

That's quite interesting. Our usage through winter is generally around 150ah per day, however due to lack of light we generally on average produce around 80ah on an average winters day from solar. So an 80ah's per day would be pretty useful over the 3/4 winter months. I think I'll stick with trying an additional 200w of solar first of all though, I'm guessing an 80ah unit wouldn't be cheaper than £300 LOL

We tiled our shower with standard ceramic tiles. All we did was apply a couple of coats of diluted Unibond to the ply surface prior to applying tiles with a flexible tile adhesive. This was done 7/8 years ago. We have no cracked or loose tiles, no dampness anywhere, not even in the bilges under the shower.

I see so what sort of charge rate does it do, or can you select that yourself such as a trickle charge?

If I ever had a boat with similar tank I would only consider 2 options. Have the inner tank shot blasted and paint with a couple of coats of 2 pack paint such as Jotun. Or Thoroughly clean area and use a rubber/plastic type tank liner Other options are available, but I wouldn't choose them personally.

Really can't get my head around thier website. Anyone any idea how much these things cost. We spend well under £3.00 in winter a day running a small 1kw genny even if we also include the boat engine for an hour+ per day Can you just purchase a fuel cell without charger/inverter that simply delivers 12v to charge batteries.

So adversly if you have a dog with a peein in the home problem, then swap it for something else LOL

There are numerous stuff on the internet with regard to reviving batteries, I have done this successfully on several occasions. The golden rule though is saving a battery with one or more dead single cells is impossible. A hydrometer test and or volt test can determine each individual cells condition. I recall reviving what I thought was a completely knackered fork lift starter battery, it;s still working fine, must have been revived 3/4 years ago now.

I would get the cat to the vet's urgently as the only explanation for a cat doing this other than marking territory is usually a urinary tract problem. The tale tale signs are small amounts of urine deposited around the home/boat The can can be lethargic and sleep a lot, although they're all like this in the summer anyway. You can check if they have a problem by very gently squeasing their stomach area near their back legs. If the cat shows any sign of discomfort due to gentle massage then it's highly likely there's a urinary tract problem. If so you must get the cat to the Vet immediately. Cat's can die from this problem and rarely live more than a week should the urethra become completely obstructed and left untreated, will result in a painful death. https://www.petfinder.com/cats/cat-health/cat-urinary-tract-infections-symptoms-diagnosis-prognosis-and-treatment/

Like it, could be something you would fine on Dr Who's Tardis LOL Lovely and Shiny Mark. I would coat the whole lot it Inacralac if you heven't already as that would be difficult to keep shinyclean. I can't quite make out what the bolts are made of, Is this simply studding a long and short nut for locking, is the shiny ball end a large ball bearing and is it actually thread affixed to the studing. Just curious!

If the cat isn't neutered/spayed it's likely the problem. However be very careful this isn't a urinal tract problem, this can occur if cats are under stress, and in new surroundings cats can get stressed. If it is a urinal problem it will require urgent and immediate treatment. Both our cat's are on a special diet due to this promlem which seems to have stopped any recourance of the problem.

where we buy has pretty consistant pricing. We used to have a Flo gas bottle as well as 2 x Calor, Flo gas bottles are less weight though 11kilos rather than 13kilos I think, so they may seem cheaper. We also found that in this area there are very few Flo Gas outlets, and now we have gas delivered directly to the boat it's best to have the 3 all Calor.

We've just paid £27.00 on the W K&A from the boat yard. Diesel price has also been lowered to £0.77ppl Could go down further too.

We generally put our rubbish bagged in the van and drive to a CART disposal point, If it was full I could go to another, we've always managed to fit stuff in the bins though, many people simply waste space in bins by throwing in made up empty boxes or dumping off cut timber placed diagonally in the bin wasting half of it's capacity. We emptied about 5 carrier bag fulls last week. The front bins were all overflowing and some bags dumped on the floor, we noted the bins at the back were lids down, so pulled the front bins forward and the 2 bins at the back were completely empty. It really amazes me how lazy people are not even bothering to check their empty. We swapped them around which took just a couple of minutes effort which included romoving the bags left on the floor.

We occasionally chop down overhanging branches. A good machete makes quick work of smaller stuff, a pull saw is also good for branches. I cleared a load of overhanging branches on a water point a few weeks ago, I just stuffed the off cuts into the hedge row the offending trees were growing from. It'll just rot down, no mess no worries.

Nice work, really glad it works for you. I just wonder that if diesel thieves are around they'll end up pouring your poo in their tanks.

How coincidental we just undertook a 3 hour equalization on our bank. We have U.S 2200 which require a 2 to 3 hour equalization monthly at 15.5 volts I recall. This is done via the Outback controller but not set automatically as we prefer to choose the time of equalization. I'll let the batteries settle a bit and top up the cells tomorrow.

I would suggest you have knackered batteries. Losing power by midnight means your batteries can't be holding much energy. Our batteries are generally fully charged before 12 noon they will stay that way all day until around 9pm when the tv and 2 lap tops have been running for a while. Any decent set of batteries should have a very good SOC until the following morning or sun up. Do an audit and check out batteries. For winter I'm planning on additional solar using 100w Flexi solar panels, probably just 2 = 200w With the low sun in the winter I propose mounting them on the side of the boat using either magnets or suckers to secure them. It's unlikely they would totally negate the use of using a generator, but should reduce said running from daily to possibly every other day with luck.