Solar

[Joe Bourke]

You can buy spare battery isolator keys or using the technical term "elephant ears".  Look on ebay to see if they are the ones you mean.

 

[cuthound]

18 hours ago, LadyG said:

Good for you, but I can;t see any reason to start with things that work, when there are so many things that dont, it was agreed with the first eletrician that he would sort the batteries, I left him to decide how to go about it, agreed on agms, he wanted to select thm and buy them, two months l8ter he fitted them, he then never came back to me., I sent him money, he still never came back to work on my boat [he worked on other boats]. Did not answer his work phone.

The next electrician decided to clean the fuel, OK, but at his rates I could have bought the tools and done it myself, which I did for the oil change.he looked at the electrics and did a bit of battery testing of discarded batteries, all dead. Checked lights, looked at all the electrics, suggested I buy a generator, sell my solar kit, charge battery with alternator.

Next week he installed a Victron invertor in the bow, his choice  and never discussed abandoning the bow batteries. He spent three hours going out to buy a cable for a new fridge, told me it was oversized DC cable, but it was in fact undersized, so that was about £120 doing something useless, He wanted me to buy an absorption fridge, when in fact I could not use the existing 12 volt compressor fridge due to lack of solar, absorption fridges are not the best.

 

They are for boats. 20 years ago most boats used gas absorption fridges, because they place almost no drain on the batteries (fridge light and ignition only).

 

Then the manufacturer said not to use on boats.

 

 

This is because if a boat heels over to far, the flame will no longer play on the flame failure device and the gas is switched off. A situation unlikely to occur on inland waterways, but common on lumpy waters.

 

Boatbuilders could no longer fit this type of fridge, because the RCD requires compliance with the manufacturers instructions, leaving 12 volt or mains fridges as the only solution.

[LadyG]

9 hours ago, Joe Bourke said:

You can buy spare battery isolator keys or using the technical term "elephant ears".  Look on ebay to see if they are the ones you mean.

 

yep, I've got enough now thanks

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, cuthound said:

 

They are for boats. 20 years ago most boats used gas absorption fridges, because they place almost no drain on the batteries (fridge light and ignition only).

 

Then the manufacturer said not to use on boats.

 

 

This is because if a boat heels over to far, the flame will no longer play on the flame failure device and the gas is switched off. A situation unlikely to occur on inland waterways, but common on lumpy waters.

 

Boatbuilders could no longer fit this type of fridge, because the RCD requires compliance with the manufacturers instructions, leaving 12 volt or mains fridges as the only solution.

There you go, I did not realise they were gas, and I wouldn't have a gas fridge, I managed to get what I wanted under £480, but I think it's still in China!

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, LadyG said:

There you go, I did not realise they were gas, and I wouldn't have a gas fridge, I managed to get what I wanted under £480, but I think it's still in China!

 

It might be £480 when you paid for it, but don't be surprised when you get a call from the carrier demanding £96 VAT, £50 import duty and £25 administration charge before they will release it for delivery.

 

Been there, done that, still got the pain in the wallet.

 

Anything coming in from China valued at more than £15 is subject to charges.

[cuthound]

31 minutes ago, LadyG said:

There you go, I did not realise they were gas, and I wouldn't have a gas fridge, I managed to get what I wanted under £480, but I think it's still in China!

 

Adsorption and absorption fridges can work off any heat source.

 

I project managed some big commercial ones that worked of the cooling circuit of Stirling engines, driving generators, and powered by locally sourced woodchip, which are horribly inefficient (about 12-15% IIRC).

[LadyG]

36 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

It might be £480 when you paid for it, but don't be surprised when you get a call from the carrier demanding £96 VAT, £50 import duty and £25 administration charge before they will release it for delivery.

 

Been there, done that, still got the pain in the wallet.

 

Anything coming in from China valued at more than £15 is subject to charges.

I've bought it from a UK marina, and used both Paypal and a credit card, should be OK.

Most of the bigger Chinese businesses use a UK business address now, also they are very keen on getting five star ratings, so any problems and they deal with it. I think the main problem is the manufacturer packing as I see a few complants, I'm not unduly worried, yet

Edited May 29, 2020 by LadyG

[Richard10002]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

I've bought it from a UK marina, and used both Paypal and a credit card, should be OK.

Most of the bigger Chinese businesses use a UK business address now, also they are very keen on getting five star ratings, so any problems and they deal with it. I think the main problem is the manufacturer packing as I see a few complants, I'm not unduly worried, yet

I think you gave a link and I had a look. Seemed like a very good deal. Surprised they didn't have it in stock and are now telling you it was coming from China. Did you know that when you handed over the money?

[RufusR]

7 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

I think you gave a link and I had a look. Seemed like a very good deal. Surprised they didn't have it in stock and are now telling you it was coming from China. Did you know that when you handed over the money?

Come on guys everything is made I china , it all comes from there . The only question is whether it is held at a a amazons European warehouses or is coming direct fro Shanghai ? I bought some solar cables the other day , amazon site was x£ , manufactures site direct was almost half price so bought from there , guess what , delivered by amazon at the lower price . It’s all wheels within wheels and fro China no matter what brand you are buying . 

 

And don’t start me on conspiracy theories about covid 19 origins and why ...? 

[Richard10002]

10 minutes ago, RufusR said:

Come on guys everything is made I china , it all comes from there .

It might "all" be made in China but, when handing over money, it's useful to know whether it's in a UK warehouse, (stockroom), ready for collection by DPD or Hermes, and delivery within a day or so, or whether it's in China, subject to the elongated delivery, even if all goes well, along with all of the potential delays that can happen at a variety of places on its journey.

 

You may be different but something has to be pretty unimportant, and pretty cheap, for me to buy subject to delivery from China.

[Alan de Enfield]

14 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

You may be different but something has to be pretty unimportant, and pretty cheap, for me to buy subject to delivery from China

 

Same here - I'll order low cost or non-urgent 'stuff' direct from China.

I recently ordered a new gauge for my portable breathing oxygen cylinder, it was 4-6 weeks deliver but at $5 I wouldn't be overly worried if it never arrived. Just before the time was up I had a message from Ali-Express saying due to C19 it had only just been despatched but was on the way sure enough 4 days later (yesterday) it arrived.

 

If it is something I need 'tomorrow' I'll order it from a UK based supplier.

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, Richard10002 said:

I think you gave a link and I had a look. Seemed like a very good deal. Surprised they didn't have it in stock and are now telling you it was coming from China. Did you know that when you handed over the money?

nope, most large value things are drop shipped, and it said up to 35 days, what goes worry me is that another item has not arrived, I did try phoning, must try again

Edited May 29, 2020 by LadyG

[Richard10002]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

nope, most large value things are drop shipped, and it said up to 35 days, what goes worry me is that another item has not arrived, I did try phoning, must try again

Ah! I must say thought that was buying some time because of the virus situation. I suppose "up to 35 days" does suggest it could be coming a long way. I've seen a few people who ordered lithium batteries from China in February, receiving them in early May. I hope it works out OK.

 

I bought the same fridge from Ely Boat Chandlery a few years ago - they definitely had it in stock, and it arrived within 2 days. I did pay a bit over £500 for it.

Edited May 29, 2020 by Richard10002

[tree monkey]

6 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

 

 

I bought the same fridge from Ely Boat Chandlery a few years ago - they definitely had it in stock, and it arrived within 2 days. I did pay a bit over £500 for it.

Snap, bought mine from Ely a few years ago, it was the cheapest supplier for the model I wanted.

In all honesty the cost of the petrol probably negated the saving so I turned the trip into an excuse for a visit to a friend/forum member for tea and cakes from the tea shop.

[Richard10002]

5 hours ago, tree monkey said:

Snap, bought mine from Ely a few years ago, it was the cheapest supplier for the model I wanted.

In all honesty the cost of the petrol probably negated the saving so I turned the trip into an excuse for a visit to a friend/forum member for tea and cakes from the tea shop.

Shame they went out of business.

[WotEver]

2 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

Shame they went out of business.

There might be a clue as to why...

5 hours ago, tree monkey said:

bought mine from Ely a few years ago, it was the cheapest supplier for the model I wanted

 

[Joe Bourke]

On 28/05/2020 at 20:33, LadyG said:

I do understand the amp thing, but I only have three appliances , for comms,, the tablet, the phone, the mifi, all tiny

the new fridge is maybe 5 amps but it wont run 24 hours at 5 amps [120amp hours], it probably wont run more than 10 hours a day, I'ts a compressor fridge, it the most efficient I could find that fitted in the space, and it is the same as the old one, so should be easy to chnge over. It is extremely difficult to get accurate information from anyone about the fridge they are selling, I swerved one make 'cos it was tested  at 18 C!, 

Yes there is a water pump, and  a shower waste pump, these were all covered in th bimble power audit, and 

I did a power audit and I also checked with Bimble before I bought the kit. I'm confident that the 2x275watt panel ,, the 40 amp controller should cope fine with the pumps, I am really using very little power, the fridge is usually off due to lack of solar [up to yesterday] and inefficiency in fridge.  I can assure you that in spite of your doubts, i know morethan most folks in this marina. The electricians have actually commented on it, but obviously I a asking on here about things I don't understand!

The batteries are very difficult to access, some of them i just cannot reach, they are under the well deck.

I have studied for a year, about boat electickery, but I just would not touch the electrics on here, I really have removed more than I have put on so far, well, I paid someone to remove them safely.  I try to avoid 240 volts appliancs, except the kettle, and then I need to be on shore power.

The existing charger is 1960  design, a battery cooker. Manual operation.

I would not touch any of the wiring on this boat, it's far too complex, as for telling the new what to do, I tried the other way and ended up eight months after buying the solar, with it still sitting on the roof.

Now we are cooking by gas, this guy not only had three steel boats, he also does fitting out, on his own and on other folks baots, he is not only genuine, he is listens to what I want, no problem, and he loves boating, and electricity, he is making up some bits and pieces for me so the finished job will be both accessible and look professional.

 

I know this is an old thread but thought it was interesting to look back at the Solar thread of March 2020.

[Alan de Enfield]

19 minutes ago, Joe Bourke said:

I know this is an old thread but thought it was interesting to look back at the Solar thread of March 2020.

 

 

Amazing how things come back and bite you on the bum !!!

 

 

I can assure you that in spite of your doubts, i know morethan most folks in this marina. The electricians have actually commented on it, but obviously I a asking on here about things I don't understand!

The batteries are very difficult to access, some of them i just cannot reach, they are under the well deck.