It's been pretty quiet on Rosie for the last few days. I have been getting on with a few jobs. The first one was converting the sliding lid on the stern doorway into a lift-up one. This lets us get in and out much easier and as a project cost about £30 pounds to do. A couple of brass hinges, a pair of handles, a handful of stainless steel bolts and one of those gas filled boot lid stabilisers as used on the tailgate of your car.
OK, the reason that it has been so quiet is that the Gruffalo and daughter Dr Steph are out and about river cruising. I have had a few text messages from them letting me know where they are. The latest message was sent as the boat passed through the locks at Esna on their way to Luxor. So when I titled the post "cruising in denial." That's exactly what they are doing.
Enjoying Egypt and the temples along the river between Luxor and the Aswan dam, which when built created Lake Nassar. I understand its a hot air balloon ride over the valley of the kings tomorrow! However, I shall be taking the dogs for a walk.
Alternator to Battery controller installation. I purchased a new Sterling Alternator to Battery charge controller. This device that transforms the output of your alternator into a sophisticated multi stage battery charger resulting in faster and more complete charging of your battery bank. This purchase was to replace the original beta engine battery management system that has gone faulty. This will allow the secondary 40 amp alternator to complement the new 100 amp alternator that I recently installed. So when we start the engine the smaller alternator will recharge the starting battery then switch to join the leisure bank alternator to recharge the leisure battery bank.
I am having some new brackets made up so that the solar panels can be pointed towards the sun. I'm hoping to improve on the charging rate. The panels proved to be quite productive last year even though we had only a few days without some cloud cover. Another job is a pair of front cratch area storage panniers are in the process being made to provide a bit of occasional seating plus providing some storage for spare ropes and fenders. So a visit to BQ to get the material was called for.
I know how to enjoy myself.
Later....
Hi Mike. Keep on eye on your electrolyte levels (sorry, mean the batteries, not you)as the fast charge will tend to use a drop. Also, since fitting my AtoB I tend to have to have alternators repaired at the rate of one a year. Usually voltage regulator failure. Watch out for that. I've got some bits and pieces to duct cool air to them from the bilge area. They do get quite hot!
ReplyDeleteHi Geoff. Happy New Year BTW. Thanks for the heads up - Have sealed batteries so I am hoping that the electrolyte levels is not going to be a problem. You might have helped me with deciding on the location. I was thinking of co-locating in a cupboard with the inverter. Sounds like I should look for a much cooler spot.
ReplyDeleteI am told that some of the earlier A to B controllers did not have the inbuilt cooling fan - does your have one or did you add it in afterwards?
regards
Mick
One of the best holidays we have had the Nile cruise. I am pleased the tourist industry is getting back in gear in Egypt, it is a special place to visit.
ReplyDeleteNev NB Percy
Nev, the boss is back and she said that the majority of Nile cruise boats are tied up with no takers. The boat she was on did not have another trip organised for the next three weeks. There were also huge queues at petrol stations. The Nile was short of water in places and they were held up in Esna for 24 hours while some water was flushed down. Sounds a bit like the Wigan Flight ;-)
DeleteMight be a while before normal service is resumed.
regards
Mick