Battery Monitor Display

Some time ago I bought a Victron BMV-712 Smart battery Monitor.

It is possible to see the various measurements

* State of Charge * Voltage * Current * Power

* Consumed Ah * Time Remaining & * Starter Battery.

by pressing the '+' or '-' buttons and scrolling through the display or linking, via bluetooth, the monitor to a smart phone and looking at the figures on screen.

Useful, but you do need to have the phone handy.






Recently I came across a couple of old phones (put in the back of a drawer when I upgraded) and it occurred to me that I could set one of them up as a permanent display. The only possible problem would be how to power the phone, fortunately the Solar Power MPPT controller came with a USB port.

Some double sided tape and feeding the USB cable behind the Eberspacher controller and the phone becomes a permanent display for the battery monitor. A very useful role for a redundant mobile phone.

Stove & Water

After the recent rain it is clear I have not yet solved the issue of water collecting on top of the stove.

However I was on the boat whilst it was raining very heavily and was able to confirm that rain water is seeping in from the roof and running down the outside of the chimney.

In the rain I looked at the outside of the chimney and think I can see where the water is penetrating.

On the next visit to the boat, if it isn't raining, I shall reseal & repaint the area.

Stove top re-paint

Slight water ingress caused top of stove to rust. Mainly light surface rust, but unsightly.

























I couldn't find anywhere obvious for the leak, but resealed where the chimney entered the boat roof.

I then sanded down the stove top and repainted.

As good as new.

Update to Installing Solar Panel - Extra Fans

When the solar panel was first installed a single fan in the saloon was also fitted.

Recently I bought two more computer fans and have now installed a fan in the galley and one in the bedroom.

PC Fans

         

I also used some switches I had left over from a 2015 job (on Notos)

Each fan now has an independent switch and can be operated separately. All three fans together draw less than 0.7ah and automatically switch off if the battery voltage drops to 12.5Vs and won't switch back on until the voltage reaches 13Vs. Whilst not on the boat they are only set to work during day light hours, thus effectively using surplus power generated by the solar panel.

Remote Battery Monitor & Boat Tracker

During the lockdown I have, like most leisure cruisers, been unable to visit my boat. It is moored about 30 minutes drive way from the house. Although since fitting the solar panel in November 2018 I have not had to worry about  the batteries draining, it would have been reassuring to know that there were no problems.

In this months (June'20) Waterways World a reasonably priced Remote Battery Monitor was advertised. It also has the advantage that it sends location information along with the battery charge.








I've ordered one from the manufacturer ChargeMetrix (£42.50 + a monthly connection fee of £3.99) and will install it once the lockdown is ended and I am able to visit the boat again.

Although it's too late for the Coronavirus lockdown it will be convenient to keep an eye on the battery charge in the future and if ever the boat is stolen be able to track it.

STAINED GLASS PORTHOLES

In 2018 at Crick Boat Show we met Catherine from Cut Glass Gallery and asked her to design a stained glass for one of our porthole windows.

Catherine spent some time making sure we were entirely happy with her design and once she was sure we were happy she produced this stunning window of Irises.

We were so pleased with this that we commissioned Catherine to produce a second glass for another porthole on the boat.

This time we wanted a picture of an animal associated with the canals. After thinking about it we decided upon a duck, and Catherine sourced this design from 'Narrowboat Glass'.

This is the porthole Catherine has produced this time. Just as superb as the first one. 

The glass is currently still in Catherine's workshop whilst we wait for the lockdown to end.

We have now asked for a third porthole glass, this time a structure associated with the canal. Catherine suggested  a bridge with a boat emerging. She asked for some photos of our boat and 'Narrowboat Glass' has produced this design for Catherine to work her usual magic.

Below is a picture of our boat. 

We are sure that once the design is made into glass the third porthole will be just as dramatic as the first two.

End of Year Stats 2019

Miles, Hours, Locks L/Ms per hour etc for third year of Hamwih

Jan to Dec 2019

Beta Marine 43

                                    

                                                                                                                                               

Year	Total Days	Moored Days	Working on Boat Days	Upgrade 2018 Lockdown 2020 Days	Cruising Days	Trips	Engine Hours	Cruising Hours*	Distance Miles	Locks	Avg Lock/Miles Per Hour
2019	365	224	45		96	10	570.3	541.7	902.25	747	2.89
2018	365	123	48	129	65	12	420.2	372.7	600.25	548	2.73
2017	161	99	22		40	2	189.7	170.7	308.75	157	2.46

* Cruising Hours are the total engine hours less those used for topping up the batteries, moving the boat to top up with water and/or fuel + winding in preparation for next trip.

Bata Marine AC Panel

The engine hours recorded in the table below are the accumulation of the total hours the engine has been used since the previous fill up. Therefore the hours recorded at the first fill up for each year includes some hours from the previous year, whilst hours completed after the last fill up for the year are not counted until the following year. This explains the difference in hours recorded in the table above, where the engine hours are counted on a daily basis.

Year	Engine Hours	Litres	Litres per Hour	Cost	Cost per Litre	Overall Cost Per Hour	Central Heating Hours	Litres Used  @ 0.5 per Hr	Cost Per Hour	Engine Litres Less CH	Litres Per Hour	Cost per Hour
2019	583.3	916.66	1.58	£777.93	£0.86	£1.33	167	83.5	£0.43p	833.2	1.43	£1.23
2018	430.2	624.02	1.49	£504.76	£0.81	£0.78	97	48.5	£0.41P	575.5	1.34	£1.09
*2017	159.8	353.90	2.21	£303.87	£0.85	£1.90	50	25.0	£0.42p	328.9	2.05	£1.74

* 2017 engine was a 38HP Beta Marine. Since 2018 the engine is a 43HP Beta Marine