nb Innisfree

Hope that's reading off a Smartgauge?

True, we are just trying to point out any misapprehensions on OPs part, wouldn't want him to not realise that his excellent battery life is due to him being on a charger connected to 240v most of the time and nothing to do with alternator controllers and the like + while off grid his shunt based monitor will quickly become unsynchronised.

Saved me a lot of typing. ETA: All these gizmos do give a feel good factor to some.

ETA: I like it.

We have the DAR and an Adverc but prefer the latter with it's system of dropping out of gassing voltage for 5 min every 15 min to give batts a rest. Only thing I like about the DAR is the LEDs! Having said all that we have been running our Leece Neville unassisted with it's 28v reg for over a year now and have noticed no difference in charging times.

All done and dusted then. Next thread someone?

So it's total effectiveness relies on an existing set up which is completely flawed?

He stated that the fuller the battery was, the higher the charge rate!? Surely the opposite is true i.e. the charge rate starts to reduce once acceptance voltage is reached? He also stated that when the battery was quite empty the alternator only produced 20 amps (about 20% of full output) when our batts are down we get full alt output without any controllers connected. Or did I hear wrong?

So many feel anonymous and seek fame and renown when they are young not realising anonymity is freedom and fame is like grabbing a tiger by the tail, I read of celebrities wishing they could just walk down the street unrecognised. The older I get the more of a luxury it seems to be.

All mild steel has some carbon content (wikepedia!?- mild steel 0.16–0.29%; carbon steel from 0.05%) so some will be harder than others. I sometimes wonder if mill scale can take the edge off cutters if too little pressure is used and it doesn't punch through quickly enough.

We have a dry engine bilge and the bilge pump has never once had to be used in over five years afloat. Double post edited.

Yes, then there is no problem, just bang the hole saw through, but if it turns out to be a higher carbon steel and you try to cool it down it's too late, it's then hardened and the only way to soften it will be to heat to cherry red and let it cool slowly, not easily achieved if hull has any lining or insulation etc. I've seen people struggle with drilling steel hulls, starting easy but the steel getting progressively harder. I've also seen others with the same soft steel as ours struggling with, probably blunt, hole saws and various coolants taking ages to get through whereas I just used the saw dry and drilled through very quickly with lot's of pressure, used the same saw over and over again and it stayed sharp as when new. Steel needs to be identified first.

Our hull has a low carbon content and therefore doesn't harden with heating followed by cooling so responds better to lots of pressure on the hole saw but without any lubricant. Steel with a higher carbon content needs keeping cool with something, water is the most efficient at this, don't wait until steel is hot and then cool it as it is the cooling action that then does the hardening, instead you need to prevent heating in the first place. You can get an idea of carbon content when you drill the pilot hole, if any heat build up seems to slow the drill's progress then you need to let the steel go cold before starting with the hole saw and coolant.

Anonymity apart there are some who find it easier to express themselves better with the written word than they can verbally, verbal dialogue can be very one sided if someone, like me, often lacks the skill of a speedy reply in a discussion and instead needs time to consider their reply. For some, entering into a verbal discussion can be pointless if others can come back with an instant riposte followed by ripostes from others, the discussion then lacks any structure or discipline, leaving the subject matter lost in a maze of chatter. On the other hand some find writing difficult but at least they can take their time before responding, being able to quote someone does tend to make that person consider their replies.

[quote name='MJG' timestamp='1315049022' post='742720' Sorry Alan but someone is going to ask so it might as well be me........... why???? A fearless and relentless quest for the truth.

I noticed that both our satnavs agreed on speed but one was slightly quicker to recalculate if speed changed giving a false impression that they differed in accuracy.

I would guess that a back boiler taking heat will lower fire temp and result in a slower rate of burn so reducing output to room and result in fuel burning longer (assuming vent is left at same setting)

Yes so do I, we have just bought a replacement satnav and running it alongside our older one they both agree on speed and speedo is optimistic like yours, more so on a Ford Transit than an elderly Rover. New toy satnav shows a picture of m-way junctions ahead to indicate traffic conditions, updated (allegedly) every 3 mins, seems to be true. Years ago car road tests in motoring magazines used to measure odometer accuracy and they were usually inaccurate by 1% at the most IIRCC, I assume it must be the same now.

With our Puffin I knocked up a piece of steel plate to slot in behind the front fire bars, result - more fuel could be stacked up without it rolling forward, using Excel and turning to minimum we can keep it going for a day or two, once left it for 3 days and still still managed to catch it. Also knocked up this little gadget to control and indicate vent setting more accurately, used a £1 coin as the cam as that was all I had to hand at the time.

Exactly, it's ok for a policeman to say you are allowed to do 79mph or 35mph but it can be misleading and give a false impression, but you are still breaking the law, signed speed limits are legally enforceable and personally I wouldn't take the chance that a traffic cop might be in negative mood and decide to do me (not saying Blackrat was ever like that ) There is no legal allowance other than a very small percentage (at least there used to be I'm sure it must still apply but can't find any info) speedos are designed to overead with standard tyres fitted, as the tyres wear the speedo will overead even more, so keeping to speed limit according to your speedo is the safest way.

As regards speedo accuracy The indicated speed must never be less than the actual speed, i.e. it should not be possible to inadvertently speed because of an incorrect speedometer reading. The indicated speed must not be more than 110 percent of the true speed plus 4 km/h at specified test speeds. For example, at 80 km/h, the indicated speed must be no more than 92 km/h. ETA: It appears that some motorists interpret the above as meaning they have an allowance above the speed limit, that is they are allowed to exceed the limit by 10% plus 4km/h at certain speeds. I believe there is an allowance but it is only a small fraction.