Thursday, February 03, 2022

That's another month gone...

 Well, another month has been put to bed, with not much happening here on the Llangollen Canal. We've been hanging around the Ellesmere area mainly, up to Frankton and back. 

Misty morning at Frankton Junction...










...and a fine sunrise at Ellesmere.










As you're no doubt aware it's been an exceptional January, a lot more sunshine than we'd normally expect. The solar panels have been making the best of it...


Not bad eh, nearly 34 amps in the middle of January! Only for a couple of hours, but that's of our daily usage. The new lithium batteries are responsible for this, with a lower internal resistance than lead/acid, they're able to accept a higher rate of charge.

With this in mind and looking towards the (hopefully) long sunny days in the summer, I've been thinking about how to use the potential surplus energy generated. One thing I'd toyed with is water heating. We run the Webasto for an hour in the morning to provide hot water for ablutions, but by late afternoon this is too cool for washing up after dinner. So we have to boil the kettle twice (using gas), or run the engine or Webasto for an hour, wastefully using diesel.

A twin element immersion heater is now installed, the 230 volt 700 watt side for when we're on shore power, and a 12 volt 300 watt side to run when the batteries are fully charged and we've surplus solar power. An adjustable voltage sensitive relay ensures that the 12 volt side is only on when the batteries exceed 14.2v and disconnects at 13.7v. The draw down from the battery bank will be in the order of 25 amps, easily achievable with our 510 watt array on a bright day.


I got the bits from Bimble Solar, very helpful. 

According to my high school thermodynamics, I reckon we could get 25 litres of reasonably hot water in a couple of hours. We'll know better when I've had a chance to try it out in real-world conditions. Roll on summer!

We've toddled up to Chirk for a few days, just killing time and giving us the opportunity to see friends again, but will be heading back downstream to clear New Marton Locks before the closure there on the 21st. 

The triple at Chirk - aqueduct, viaduct and tunnel.


We're waiting to hear from the Royal Shrewsbury for an appointment for Mags bi-annual ERCP to keep her bile ducts clear to prevent jaundice. When that's out of the way we'll be heading back to the Shroppie then south, south and south!

Hi Sue, Mac. Sorry to hear Mac is still struggling, hope he improves soon. Looking forward to seeing you hopefully before we head off.

Hiya Lisa. Tell Dave he really needs to do the upgrade! 

Locks 2, miles 30.  

4 comments:

Nev Wells said...

A great bit of planning re the water heater. I'd be interested to read how you get on. Like you I think Lithiums are a game changer for boaters especially as their price drops combined with lower priced solar. Take care - sounds like you're chasing the warmer southern waters !

Mervyn said...

Geoff,

Been looking for something like this for our boat.

What is the black item between the controller and the relay with the black and yellow wires?

Mervyn
Summer King

Geoff and Mags said...

Hi Nev, I'll post later in the year when the system has actually had a chance to work!
Mervyn, that's just a piece of unshrunk shrink sleeve to tidy the wires up a bit! Be warned, if you do this make sure you've got an immersion heater wrench. The hardest bit was getting the old bugger out!

Lisa said...

Hi Geoff,
We talk often about upgrading our solar system, he tells people Lisa says no! But the truth is we are not high users of Leckkie on the cut.
Time will tell....
Love and big fat kisses to you both
Lisa&David
NB WaL