INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS | MOVING ABOARD | Narrowboat Conversion | BOATLIFE
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- Опубліковано 26 бер 2022
- [078] So the moving in process has slowly begun! Very exciting week for us and even managed to mount the solar panels!
About our boat:
1980 Harborough Marine/Black Prince
50' Cruiser Stern
1.5 BMC Diesel Engine
Completely empty, soon to be our water based retreat
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Danni & Joe
I have just found this site, and I love it so very much.❤
Thank you!
I know you two are young and that is what intrigued me to begin with. I am, with great joy observing your journey and equating it to my own years ago with my husband and our traveling journeys with a couple of not so new trailers, we used for traveling with our two children. There was much to do, just like yours, but ours was navigating the treacherous mountains and valleys on land.
It brings back marvelous cherished, memories.
✨💞💖💞✨
You could put a riv nut on the panels, then you won’t have to have a nut on the back when adjusting the handle
Ahh okay, got you. Might look into that
I love watching you two doing up your narrow boat, you are doing fantastic and I am so jealous, I wish you all the success and luck in the world, you are a lovely couple. Hope you enjoy your holiday in America. Lots a love x x
Thank you so much!!
Those doors your uncle Gary made are absolutely gorgeous.
Hi it's coming along, but I bet you'll be glad when it's finished.
Oh definitely!
You're making really great progress and it's lovely to see you on board. It makes me look forward to having my interior done too!
Thank you very much 🙂
Hi Danni and Joe. It was great to see you staying over aboard the boat and sharing coffee on a lovely morning. Also, the non-stop work continues - amazing. Boat now looks unrecognisable and you should be very proud of what you've done. Can't wait to see you aboard permanently and cruising the canals. Thank you for a really enjoyable vlog again. Cheers George and Trish
Thank you guys! We’re looking forward to the adventures!
You should've sprayed some cold gal on the bolt holes to stop rust from forming around the holes as condensation will form between the brackets and the roof, as well use some silicon between the brackets and roof to make a good water proof seal.
Really enjoying watching your progress. I bet being able to stay on the boat is a motivator. Your boat is so bright compared to many others, a happy place.
Thank you! Oh it definitely reminded us what the blood sweat and tears had gone into over the past year.
I can't wrap my head around electrical work! Thanks for sharing.
It’s taken a few years but finally understand enough to get us by 😂
Hi guys. Just watched the latest video. I dont know if you have thought about the security of your solar panels? I'm on the Shropshire Union canal at the moment. A boat that was moored up near me had a solar panel stolen from the roof mounting when the owner was away from the boat. I have noticed other boat owners have secured their solar panels to the mounting brackets with chains. Maybe something to consider if your not going to permanently live on the boat. Looking forward to next weeks episode and looking forward to seeing Joe falling into the water after he trips over from wearing those plastic flip flops. Only an englishman would wear them with socks🤣
Yes something we’ve thought of just need to get round to fitting some chains. It’s a shame you need to worry about things such as these! Socks and sandles are ultimate British footwear
It’s becoming a nice little nest for you both,👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
I used to train engineers on computer bench repairs.
One of the top tenets for the training sessions was,
KEEP THE WORK AREA CLEAR AND TIDY.
There you go. It was good for the Apple engineers, it is good for you.
Quite tricky in a space so small without designated workspace so to speak, quick to get messy but also quick to tidy
Howdy Danni & Joe. The boat is looking fab . The electrics will come together including the solar panels on the roof. Fantastic work Joe snd looking forward to seeing more. Cheers Keith.
Thanks Keith!
Well done you two, definitely getting there, soon be aboard full time , that bed looks a bit snug for both of you, have you fell out yet ,😂 👍if not it's ony a matter of time , 🤣🤣👍keep going you'll soon have it done , love the vids, 😁👍
It is cosy at night that’s for sure, we’re looking to create something to allow the mattress to slide away from the sloping wall to give the feeling of more room.
You could do we getting to cable trunking the plastic Type with the plastic lid
Yes we’ve got some just not installed
Wow your doing so well great to see you’ve moved on the boat for a few night. You both must be very proud of yourselves. I’m sure you can see the end is get nearer. Look forward to next week. I
Thanks Caroline!
Absolutely superb…….great work…as always…am getting very excited for you both xx
Thank you 🙂
Looking like a nice little home very snug beautiful decor doing a great job take care
Thank you!
have a great vacation. come see us in North Dakota.
Perhaps on the next trip! We eventually want to visit every state!
Hi, you are both doing a great job, your range of skills is endless, your really looking at home on board !
Thank you 🙂
Well done, she is nearly there. Really does look fab 💕
Thank you!
Hope y'all enjoy your holiday in America its not what it used to be. It should be fine UK has experienced some of the same chances.
Thank you, yes it’s a shame isn’t it, not sure if/when the world will ever get back to ‘normal’
Thoroughly enjoying your vids.
Hope you enjoy your visit here to the States. We are about 3 hours east of New Orleans on Interstate 10. Fair warning, it will be humid and hot here. Most likely wet too.
Cheers
Scott
Ah we’ll be following the 10 (heading from Miami to New Orleans). Yes don’t think we’ll be prepared for the heat!
@@DanniandJoe when you go through Alabama, I recommend stopping at the USS Alabama and check it out. Movie site for Under Siege with Stephen Segal. Good visit. I live off of I-10 in Daphne, Al. When you see the large building on the left, towering over everything, just before you cross the bay, I live about 100 yards from it. I think it’s kind of cool that you guys will be passing right by my house. If you are into military history, there is the Pensacola Air Museum, another good visit. Looking forward to your vids from your visit.
Cheers,
Scott
Hi Danni, Jo, My goodness the boat is looking amazing. You looked so snug and cosey tucked up in bed Danni. Joe you never cease to amaze me with you excellent DIY skills, a true professional at work. I could watch videos of you working/installing items all day. You always explain what is happening. The editing of your videos are second-to-none and very professional looking. Really enjoyed this weeks Vlog. Have a great week. Take Care.
Ahh that’s very kind thank you so much!
Greetings D&J, great vlog .. very detailed solar install. Looking forward to completion , another step closer ... well done... All the Best, TTFN Cheers Xx
Thank you very much!
Now you're cookin', Joe.
Cheers!
bit late now but would have fitted the brackets for the panels the other way around so the bolts fixing to the roof would have been hidden
Yes, I was thinking that too. It wouldn't take much for some toe rag to pinch these panels would it, and I hear they're not cheap?
Reason for fitting this way is the brackets act as a perfect spacer where the two panels meet, the panels come detached from the brackets easily for theft rather than the brackets being removed so wasn’t worried on that front (we’ll need to chain them up anyway unfortunately)
dont forget to put sealer under the solar brackets
Yeah we did seal them when fitting for the final time (after installing the larger bolts)
I wish you good luck keeping the batteries charged from a cloud filled sky - likely a second single purpose alternator will be needed - according to others who upgraded to solar w/ washing machine & microwave loads -
Trial & error on a system like this you’ll never really know how much you’ll use appliances like the washing machine (no microwave here). We lived in the van through winter in Sweden and Norway with two batteries and one panel smaller than this with no issues, hopefully 6 batteries, two panels and twin dc to dc chargers will keep us going. We’re fairly conservative with energy having very few 240v appliances and will aim to use them only when energy is there.
Hi giys,Its Chris & Amanda Again. Thanks for replying about the gas boiler.I forgot to ask... Is the boiler economical on LPG? We cook on a LPG cooker,And thats great.We use it every day It has ,4 rings,oven & grill. A 19 kilo bottle lasts us around 6 months. Why does a cooker on land cost so, so much more i always wonder..Again, Thanks for taking time to reply yesterday.P.S you are both doing a great job.Your generation are the group that will keep the canals open.Take care,Enjoy your holiday.
We haven’t got real usage to compare this to as on the first gas bottle here but in the van, with hot water and an oven running from LPG, our little 8l tank would last probably two months. Thank you very much!
Great job Danni and Jo. Electrics coming along nicely. Maybe I missed something when your speeded up film bit of solar panel brackets. I did not see any waterproof sealent being used for the holes in the roof and under the brackets. I am sure you will correct me... 😉😊
Cheers! Yeah we did add sealer once refitting the brackets think it was sped up a bit too much! 😂
@@DanniandJoe No problem. Keep safe..🤗
Amazing the amount of comments from folk on here giving it the big licks 'Should have done this, should have done that, bit late now, why don't you try this? Blah blah blah' You're doing a great job mate, ignore the armchair foremen they haven't got a clue! Can I ask you Joe where you got that window solar panel from?
Armchair foremen 😭 Among it all is some sound advice to be fair but having to explain the reasoning behind every little decision can be a bit frustrating. Thank you very much!
Also the little solar panel is from Amazon, ECO-WORTHY 10W 12V Solar Trickle... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08K3BQTNK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Joe, just a tip based upon actual performance data. It is best to wire the solar panels in parallel. Paralleling the panels gives a few percent higher power conversion efficiency and provides much higher power output when shadows fall on the panels. The down side is having to run 2 wires per panel. With series connected panels, if shade falls on just one solar cell on just one panel, the system output drops 80 to 90%. At low light levels when panel output voltage is very low, there is so little current available (milliwatts), the increased voltage from series connection becomes a moot point. Otherwise, the boat is looking Great, Danni and you should be proud of your accomplishments - Enjoy!
It's good you set your batteries up in the interior of the boat and not in the engine bay. Lead-acid batteries have a maximum temperature rating of +26 Celsius. Most manufacturers rate them higher in temperature but, the lifetime of the battery plummets as you go above +26C.
Thanks for the comment, will look further into it and trial & error to see what works for us. Oh interesting about the batteries, should keep them more stable!
@@DanniandJoe Keeping the batteries inside the living area versus the engine bay should double the lifespan. Of course, this would depend upon how much you cruise during the summer months, when the temperatures in the engine would be their highest. As an example, with my car, I open the bonnet after returning home until the engine cools off to keep from cooking the battery (which is mounted next to the engine). Using this cool-off procedure for the past 20 years has resulted in an average battery life span of 7 years.
I guess with the car stationary the engine bay becomes essentially an oven!
@@DanniandJoe Yes, basically. Several factors enter into the actual temperature the battery will see: temperature and wind of the day, if the car is parked in the sun, how much sound deadening material lines the bonnet, how hard the engine was pushed just before shutting it down, and air conditioning use. I have observed that the battery generally averages a 20 degree Celsius rise above the outside air temperature for a few hours.
come on well good work keep up the good vids thanks lee
Thank you!
Hi Danny Joe,it’s coming lovely sure does look like home well the bedroom dose. Well you have got to get your priorities right have we not ,Danny it’s all interesting believe me it’s watching the master at work ,how long dose it take Joe to get to work is it far to drive ? You sure have got some good tools 🛠,how long can you moor where you are it better then paying all that money to a Marina for mooring I bet it’s dam expensive in the Marina still they have to make money to survive I guess, we’ll Danny you are doing a great job of everything you do it’s so friendly on the canals I noticed everyone specks as they go by ,well M8 till next time take care keep safe, John 💪🤚👀🛠🪓🪚🩹
Thanks John very kind! So Danni has about an hour and 20 commute at the minute. We’re allowed to moor for up to two weeks in one place. We have got a marina space booked for a few months whilst we’re away then will be back to cruising again 🙂
Hi Danni and Joe, She looks so beautiful inside. I'm wondering what color you are painting the outside? Wishing you a safe adventure coming to the States. I missed what state you are visiting. Have fun 😊
Thank you! We’re going a darker, classic green (like British racing green). So Florida, road trip to New Orleans then flying to Chicago, Route 66 heading west to Vegas, then California in general
Sounds like a great trip. I’m in Pennsylvania but my son used to live in San Diego county in California
Joe, WD40 is not a drilling and tapping oil. Go and get some proper cutting oil from the store.
Yes aware of that, have been using a tin of cutting compound throughout the build and finally ran out when installing the shore power inlet. Trialled it on one of the bolts and was happy to continue for the rest.
I fitted the same Victron Stainless Shore power socket as that, didn't realise the connection is not standard so you have to buy the plug that fits it......something like £68!!! now its starting to give the odd problem i realise i can't quickly borrow someone else's lead as the plug won't fit.....just something to consider. boat is looking great!!
Yes found that out the hard way after we bought it and tried our old lead! The swines 😂 hoping not to have to use it too often but couldn’t resist the shiny chrome vs the usual plastic ones
@@DanniandJoe yeah I hear you on the shiny stuff!!! 😂
What is your boat going to be Called
Hi guys, we've just brought a narrowboat and need to sort out the solar system. Can you tell me what system your running and how your finding it ? Thanks, Kate
What may lose your boat going to be Mooncloud???
Brilliant progress. Love the colours. So bright and homely. Can I ask when u were drilling into the roof you then did a windy device by hand. What did that do ? This is someone with no idea of diy so just intrigued.
Have a good week. Best wishes
Thank you! It’s a tap/die, basically cuts a thread into the metal so you can put a bolt in (rather than having a nut on the inside)
@@DanniandJoe oh wow how clever is that. I’d guessed it was making the hole slightly bigger lol 😂. Thank u
How are you getting on with thr solar. Do you find it is enough on most occasions during the livhter months. And what batteries do you have and there size please?
Keep up the good work
Hi Guys, love the channel and have been following since you bought the boat!
We're on a smilier journey with a boat refurb to move onboard next summer. Currently installing 1200w of Solar PV panels on the roof and am OK with the process, except for one detail... How do you lock the panels down/tilted on the brackets, as the star knobs and bolts do not allow any mechanical "lock" (if you turn the star knob, the nut moves on the inside side of the panel frame, so doesn't tighten). Seems these are standard fittings with the slide and tilt (triangle) brackets. I'm just concerned that due to their size, if they stay "loose" then any strong wind could lift them.Any ideas?
Ah thank you!
Yeah those brackets are a pain really, we tend to keep our panels set quite low on the brackets especially when it’s windy, I think you could fit a socket on the end and tighten just enough to allow you to still aim the panels differently without causing too much issue but yeah that wind could definitely cause carnage if they’re too loose. We’ve also got a little bike lock chain around ours as a backup but it looks pretty messy
Cheers for that guys. FYI, cracked it! Rivnuts fitted to the PV panel frames works a treat - didn’t need a rivgun either as plenty of vids show how it can be done. Keep going guys (shame about your VDub tho 😕)
A live naked buss bar is a dangerous thing. I think you need to cover up live bare copper.
I’m not quite sure what to do as the smart shunt has exposed terminals as does the Lynx distributor and the amount of exposed copper on the bus bar is no more than the exposed bolts
shunt and copper on the negative side so not live, just the same as any metal on the hull
hiya,we live on a boat,could you give us some info on how the gas boiler is working out for you.Is it worth buying one? You may not have had much opportunity to give an opinion,but any info would help greatley.Many Thanks.Enjoy watching your blogs.have done from the beginning.Chris & Amanda...Walsall
We wouldn’t be without one, no limitations on amount of hot water or waiting for tanks to fill back up once you’ve used the calorifier. We had a smaller unit in the van (6 litre), this is an 11 and we filled a bath the other day no problem
Just looking am at your solar install as this is my next project but also noticed the Wabasto remote sender and was wondering how difficult it is to fit. Mine currently as the normal
One where you sit turn in and off with a button. Wondering if it’s just a matter of a plug in connector from the old unit. Also does that one need a SIM card or is it just Bluetooth. Much appreciated. Thanks. Kev
It's a little awkward to be completely honest. It communicates with a standard sim card so need to have signal for it to work - it does just plug in though but it just feels a little dated i'm wondering if they'll bring out a new & improved version at some point.
@@DanniandJoe thanks guys, might hold off for now then, keep up the good work btw
How much have you spent up to now.
We need to sit down and go through what we’ve spent at some point, wouldn’t be surprised if we were touching £30k, plus a years labour 😂
👍👌🇨🇦❤
With the red diesel duty thing, do you regret getting a diesel heater?
Hadn’t really given it a thought, not particularly though. Energy in general has gone through the roof and it’s a much smaller space to worry about heating than a house so we’re quite lucky really. The diesel heater will mainly be used to heat the bedroom and bathroom on cold mornings, we’ll mainly be relying on the log burner to keep the boat up to temperature.
What red diesel thing? Boats can still use it
@@rcconstructionuk114 there is no longer a reduction on the price for red diesel for use in recreational and agricultural vehicles. Considering it applies to fishing vessels, I assume it also includes narrow boats.
@@Falney no. It does not
. Yes forkifts, tractors etc yes. Narrowboats no. You can google this
@@rcconstructionuk114 I just looked it up, you are right sorry. It was originally intended to include inland pleasure craft but they changed it to not include inland pleasure craft. I assumed it still included inland pleasure craft since ocean faring pleasure craft no longer get the rebate.
:)
Thanks Jon!
Do you have any control over the ads shown. If you do I’m sure you would not want one that advertises a game where the driver of a stolen police car drives through a crowd of people were they are sent flying through air.
That’s all down to UA-cam’s algorithm unfortunately
@@DanniandJoe thanks. Very much enjoy your presentations