nb Innisfree

Deliberate policy IMO, takes punters eye off the ball while they sign you up. ETA: Though I managed to wangle a good mobile broadband contract out of 3 I wouldn't dream of signing up to another with them or anyone else, it's Giffgaff for me, no contracts, cheap PAYG and unlimited data for £10 per month, admittedly no tethering allowed but at least it's not ambiguous.

Doesn't say what you get exactly, does £5 credit mean it lasts for 12 months or until data is used up? how much data? 12 months free internet sounds far too good to be true.

OP. About 3 years ago we had probs with our battery bank voltage crashing even though the BMV monitor said they were at 78 or 80% SoC, we had already established this was a pack of lies and had been ignoring it and instead looked at the voltage first thing in the morning (BMV voltage reading is very accurate btw) and using that as a guide. We had already been following the Victron book on boat electrics which advised an equalisation charge once per month, this turned out to be insufficient to stop battery deterioration, thinking they were on their last legs we started as a last resort to giving them regular long absorption charges with our genny and occasional landline via our Victron 24-3000-70. This recovered the batts to a reasonable degree and we decided to buy a Smartgauge but because the batts were down to less than 50% of their capacity the Smartgauge proved to be useless so for two years we relied on morning voltage readings to decide when to do an 8 hr absorption charge. (btw we have 8x125 ah AGMs) So that's where we finished up, doing daily bulk charges with the engine and alternator and weekly 8 hr absorption charges with the genny and Victron and waiting until we need new batts before we can use the Smartgauge. As off grid liveaboards this charging regime is probably the best you can hope for.

Best mobile broadband is 3s mobile broadband, sim is only for use in a router, dongle or mifi, if it can be used in a phone for broadband and calls then it will take second place to a broadband only sim. There is a limited bandwidth and network operators have to juggle things to try and even out the traffic, I suspect the first 'all you can eat data' was the best deal but after a short while it was altered to stop everyone jumping in and clogging things up. The old sayings 'If it seems too good to be true then it probably is' or 'There's no such thing as a free lunch' hold well in this situation. The fact that no one provides unlimited broadbandand on a broadband only SIM should arouse suspicions. I think network suppliers work on the principle of 'Get the mint sauce out here comes another lamb' If punters then come back, know their legal rights and kick up enough fuss then they will back down but enough of them either don't bother or take no for an answer to make these tactics worth trying. Not only network suppliers mind, lots of big businesses try it on. Either that or I am very cynical, decide for yourselves.

Some caution with all you can eat data, data only sims alegedly get priority over data with phone sims, I assume that's why unlimited data only sims are unavailable (unless I am mistaken), phone sim data can be slowed down in busy times though network suppliers deny it, but then they would wouldn't they?

Ours is larger at 100A@24v, it has twin 13mm belts with 2:1 step up and when we first start up and excite it the alt churns out 100+ amps at an engine speed of 1200 RPM, though when it's hot it needs more revs.

The readiness to change your mind is one of the most important things in life, enables you to move on instead of staying stubbornly in the past. I remember the ridicule I got at work in the 70s for buying a calculator! 'what use is one of those things?' Then it was a mobile phone, 'ridiculous, look at those blokes walking round with one on their belt, what's the point? Right tossers' Then it was computers 'you'll never catch me with one of those...' Use of stylus is optional but it's great for drawing things like diagrams.

Since I inherited my daughters iphone 3GS I've been totally seduced by it, couldn't imagine life with an ordinary phone now, with unlimited data on PAYG Giffgaff and a mifi in my pocket I'm rarely without broadband. ETA: Next stop Galaxy Note so no more fat finger syndrome especially with the stylus. Mmmm.. luverly...

I've got a vision of the steerer slowly sinking out of sight into the engine bay.

I would advise OP to set his tickover higher, with our 24v 100A alternator the load at tickover is about the same as the prop according to the ammeter, alt is almost at full output so as a rough estimate the engine is under a 8-10 BHP load when maneouvring slowly, Tickover is set fast at 1100 RPM as it would struggle at its correct 1000 RPM, engine is LPWS4.

It looks like a rebadged version of the one I bought from Maplins, works a treat but it has got its limitations, I had visions of being able to see vast swathes of bottom plate under the floorboards but due to limited light output only close ups are realistic, a bit like being in the middle of the Sahara at night with only a torch trying to make out landmarks. Same with the prop, great very close up (split pin looms up like the Titanic's!) but becomes a blank fog at more than a couple of inches away in cana water. Good bit of kit though if you accept it's limitations.

Bit misleading that, what I should have said was 'maximum load' Maximum output will of course be at a designated RPM.

Even if a low wattage kettle is used or a smaller inverter is fitted it doesn't alter the fact that the engine at tickover can't cope with the alternator at full output which it should do if the pulley ratio is correct, alt will go into full output if batts are below 80% ish SoC and are in bulk charge.

I would guess that your alternator is pulleyed up too much, many advocate running alts to give max output at tickover but this can overload an engine if it is on the small side. So reduce pulley ratio or fit a smaller alt. Ideal arrangement would be a variable pulley ratio, one day I may get around to fixing something up like that.

I predict a future trend towards alternate lifestyles, may take a generation or so but I think folks have a deep seated urge to be nomadic, something from our hunter gatherer origins maybe.

Thanks

Insects can crawl in and set them off.

Is this falling apart due to vibration and general g loading in vehicles and sea going boats? In which case it shouldnt be a prob on canal boats as batts have a smooth ride and no vibration when installed correctly?

We have tried most smokeless fuels and find Excel to be the slowest burning and most easily controlled at low setting. Only drawback at low setting is it doesn't burn very clean and soots up the stove, Anthracite on the other hand does burn hotter and cleaner but isn't stable at low setting. Our solution is to start with 100% Excel when stove weather starts and gradually mix more Anthracite with it as winter comes on finishing with 100% but always using more Excel to keep stove in overnight. We then reverse the procedure until we finish with the stove. In really cold spells we use 100% Anthracite to get stove temp high and burn off the Excel soot.

As regards why dont builders use 3:1 boxes and swing a larger prop. Modern shells can only swing smaller dia props so a wider bladed and therefore expensive non standard one would be required. That's my guess anyway. Ref small engines with large alternators, it's important that alt isn't geared too high so that engine can cope with slow speed maneouvring with low SoC of leisure batts. Ok it sounds sensible to pulley up for max charge at tickover but alt load and prop load combined could exceed output at tickover.

When we used to cc we only did a bulk charge daily and used our Kipor genny on tickover to give an 8 hr absorption approx once a week via our Victron. Only had to leave Victron set to max absorption @ 14.4v (AGMs) We just needed to watch SoC to judge when to do our absorption.

When we were forced to fit a new engine it came complete with a 2:1 box, our 1st engine was slower revving with a Crowther prop that performed flawlessly. So instead of forking out a few hundred quid for a 3:1 box to retain the prop and drive it at the same speed we opted for Crowther to reprofile It for us, big mistake as it was nowhere near as good, I wish now we had fitted a 3:1 box. Slower prop is definitely better IMO.

When breasted up and cruising, in addition to tying off together try to take a spiring line fore and aft between boats to stop surging when slowing or accellerating.