Search the Community
Showing results for 'BT'.
-
Replacing an old 12v radio - what's the best and easiest to use out there?
GUMPY replied to Tigerr's topic in Boat Equipment
I got bored with rubbish radio reception and fitted a Nobsound It has line in and BT. I streamed stuff off my phone or ran it from the TV output. Worked very well just like a large BT speaker 😉 There are lots of Nobsound units on the market each slightly different 🤔 -
Given that my BT runs off the main 48V battery that pushes the boat along, if there's no power for the BT this would be the least of my worries... 😉
-
Why would you split the charge between domestics and BT batteries? Isn't a better arrangement to split the charge between start and BT batteries on the basis that the start battery is more likely be topped up quicker and therefore any charge will be more readily available for the BT batteries? Anyway, that's the configuration I've got and in 18 years of owning the boat I've never run out of BT battery power. No it's indicative of someone with a heavy finger! Keeping the BT switch pressed down for 15 seconds IS overuse! I use mine in <5 second blips. <10 seconds very occasionally would be the absolute maximum.
-
For what it is worth, BT used vaseline to dress battery connections and they were (maybe still are) the biggest user of lead acid batteries in Europe.
-
So you power your BT from batteries at the stern? It sounds odd to me with all the voltage drop, I guess that's not an issue with 48v so I'm sure you know what you're doing. I'm old school with a diesel engine and a 12v system. Keeping the BT batteries charged has never been an issue on my boat. Whatever source is charging the start battery soon sends its charge to the BT batteries via a VSR. I've never lost BT power over the last 18 years so I find it difficult to understand why charging the BT batteries seems to be such a common problem - or why it's perceived as such.
-
My VSR splits the charge between the start and BT batteries and the light stays on for a long time after charging has finished. Don't assume your setup is the same as mine, I don't know why anyone would install a VSR between domestics and BT batteries, but they do! It doesn't make any sense to me because your start battery will generally be fully charged quicker than the domestic bank thus more availability of charge for the BT bank. Perhaps that's your problem? I've never run out of BT power, but then I use my BT sparingly. A heavy finger is not your issue is it? Anyway, as part of your investigation try to identify which banks are being split by the VSR. ____________________ You shouldn't need to do this if your boat's BT charging system is working properly from the alternator, but a workaround is to run a small mains battery charger from your inverter when underway to charge the BT batteries.
-
This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
-
Ok, but how many examples of baseplates, uxter plates, hull sides, etc, corroding through can we find? I'm sure there are many more than BT tunnels even if we weighted the results to take into account the fact that perhaps only 10% of narrowboats have BTs. I obviously don't have the data but anecdotally it seems like hulls are more susceptible to corroding through in other places.
-
It's a legal requirement for an individual to have third party insurance "or such a security in respect of third party risks": "a person must not use a motor vehicle on a road unless there is in force in relation to the use of the vehicle by that person such a policy of insurance or such a security in respect of third party risks as complies with the requirements of this Part of this Act, and" An insurance policy simply means that in return for a premium the insurance company guarantees to pay out damages to third parties. What I believe BT did was the same, except BT -- rather than an insurance company -- accepted the risk (presumably in writing) and guaranteed to pay out damages. They were "self-insuring", which would legally have the same security as an insurance policy. Or maybe BT were actually authorised to act as an insurer? I don't know if this is still the case nowadays, but the law doesn't seem to exclude this for company-owned vehicles should a big enough company (like BT) choose to do it, though they may have to jump through some legal hoops to do it.
-
I don't have an anode in my BT tunnel and 19 years from new it's still in perfect condition. Perhaps I've just been lucky, I don't know. Are they well known for corroding thorough? There may be more, but in 18 years on this forum I think I've only heard of one case. The BT tunnel should be far enough under the waterline that it doesn't suffer unduly and I'd have thought there are plenty of other parts of a hull that are far more susceptible to corrosion. I'm sure someone will start talking about cavitation around the tips the BT prop blades. Again I haven't seen that on mine, but if that happens it's a different effect and won't be ameliorated by the galvanic protection of an anode. Thinking about it, could having an anode in the tunnel cause more cavitation?
-
That's what BT used to check for the presence of water in their bulk fuel tanks when I worked there.
-
Hi All, Now I've done the engine compartment I'm looking to paint the other ones, mainly the two lockers under the Semi-trad seats (where i store chains/pins etc), the Bow Thruster tube area and the Bow Gas Locker. None are too bad but need a bit of rust treatment (lots of 'ok' existing paint). I just used plain bilge paint in the engine bay but thinking i maybe need something a bit robust on these or it'll get very easily chipped especially in my chains locker? I've read about Jotamastic 87 but this seems quite expensive..... any other suggestions? not fussed about colour etc thanks!!! rob -
This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
-
Yes, that's absolutely fine with a 48V system, 25mm2 is the cable size recommended by Vetus for up to 124' cable length (maximum BT power is 3.1kW). I don't have an engine start battery as such, there's a small 12V one for the generator but that's in the stern along with the 48V batteries -- DC power for the rest of the boat (relatively low power stuff like lights, pumps etc.) is 24V from a DC-DC converter (and there's another small 12V DC-DC to charge the genny battery). So I'd have to run 48V to the bows anyway to run a battery charger there if the BT had its own batteries -- and in this case, I might as well have a 48V BT...
-
When my BT stopped working it took me a year or three to look at it. It turned out that condensation in the BT compartment had caused the motor to rust and size. Cox Auto.Electrics of Atherstone refurbished the motor for me for about a quarter of the price of a new one. https://www.coxautoelectrics.co.uk/marine-leisure Since then I leave the BT compartment open (under the cratch) to ventilate it over winter to prevent condensation forming.
-
It sounds like they had a badly designed installation so I'm not surprised they're unhappy, and I don't think they're the only ones going by some of the ones I've seen videos/descriptions of... 😞 Don't know for sure about their BT, but if they have a Vetus Pro these are a) throttleable (PMAC motor like propulsion) and b) will run for 10mins continuously at full power, or much longer (and more quietly) at lower power levels. Though under what circumstance you'd ever want to do this beats me... OTOH if they have a conventional (and much cheaper) on-off BT screamer, it's probably toast by now... 😉
-
The difference between BT tubes and hull sides etc. is that the tube is often not as thick as the sides. It doesn't corrode much faster but it hasn't got the material to last as long. This is compounded by a tendency not to paint them properly ( not at all on some blackings and some boats with fixed screens cannot be got at except by removing the BT unit) and by the stresses locked into the tube by rolling it and then resistance welding the seam. Drawn tubes would be better (and could be thicker) but they are much more expensive. A final factor is that many are used close to the bank and the tube gets blasted by loose gravel, damaging any paint. N
-
Up until 1980, when BT adopted VRSLA batteries, they used to use large open 2 volt cells as shown in the attached photo. These cells had replaceable plates, which when they failed, were cut from the group bar and a new one lead welded in it's place.
-
There might be a border terrier rescue charity. Also the first cross with another terrier type can work well. There are BT societies , Google them
-
Yes trees do break fibre but that's my experience of BT they wait until its faulted until they respond, we get regular complaints about our trees and the BT network but because BT are so keen to charge us if we damage their lines we don't prune for the BT network, their lines their problem
-
This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
-
Further to this BT's Personnel Department became Human Resource and I became 803088441.
-
I have never seen BT do that, I do appreciate you have more experience with BT than I do though
-
Just purely from observation on my part, during my travels for BT, the smaller telephone exchanges had Gardner or Lister engines as standby generators. These were regularly run and well maintained, with not a lot of hours on them. @cuthound will know more. I don’t know if any finished up in canal boats though.
-
This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
