power issues resolving

Isn't it so often the case that once you get an answer to a problem, it seems blindingly obvious?
I had been trying to work out why my batteries weren't behaving as expected, considering they were new this year. I had blamed it on my old 12v fridge, which certainly was dying. Then I blamed it on my new 240v fridge which has to run in conjunction with an inverter and it is true that this was taking too much power to sustain it long term. But it was only when I talked to a knowledgable fellow moorer at Fradley that the light dawned.

There is no book to tell you how long to run your engine for in order to fully charge the batteries because it depends on so many variables from the size of your alternator, to how much power you actually use. So I had listened to various people telling me how long they run their engines for and then did similar. But what I hadn't asked was how much power they use or what size their alternators were or even whether they were usually attached to shore power or not. Chris, the knowledgable moorer, was the first to suggest that I just wasn't running my engine for long enough. I had thought that when my volt meter hit 12.8 that meant the batteries were fully charged, but no! When I started running the engine for an extra hour a day I immediately spotted that the volt meter started ticking down much slower, in other words, it would stay on 12.8 for much longer once the engine was off. I can now watch the tv for a couple of hours and only lose .2 of a volt However, Chris also pointed out that a volt meter only told part of the story; I also need an amp meter, but that costs well over £100 and will have to wait. - but all this is very exciting for me, but probably dreadfully boring to read about!!

Of course I'm running without a fridge at present, but tomorrow I am hopefully swapping my 240v fridge for an older 12v one. If this works out well, then my family have generously agreed to club together and buy me a new 12v fridge as a combined 50th birthday and Christmas present.

Meanwhile, for those who are not into the technical details of my life, last week I returned to the wigwams of Wolferow to meet up with some friends for a couple of days of meditation, discussion and whisky round the bonfire. I brought an extract of a poem to share with them which reflects where I feel I am spiritually at present, so I thought I'd reproduce it here. It is an extract from a poem by Walt Whitman called 'Song of the Open Road':

'Afoot and lighthearted, I take to the open road.

Healthy, free, the world before me,

the long brown path before me,

leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good fortune,

I myself am good fortune.

Henceforth I whimper no more,

postpone no more, need nothing.

Strong and content I travel the open road...

From this hour, Freedom!

From this hour I ordain myself

loos'd of limits and imaginary lines.

Going where I list; my own master

total and absolute.

Listening to others and considering well what they say.

Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,

gently but with undeniable will.

Divesting myself of all the holds that hold me.

I inhale great draughts of space;

The east and the west are mine,

the north and the south are mine...

All seems beautiful to me.'

power issues continued...

Just to prove that living on a boat isn't all peaceful cruising through idylic landscapes, my boat has decided to take me onto the next level of testing and learning.

I have already mentioned that I am finding it difficult to keep my batteries in a healthy state now I'm off shore (mains) power. Well, I had blamed it on my dying 12 volt fridge. It took me a couple of months of nursing the fridge before I could afford to replace it, but only with a 240v one. That means (for the uninitiated) that I have to use another machine (an inverter) to change the 12volt power coming out of my batteries to 240volt that the fridge (and TV) works on. This machine also takes power to work.

Once I got my shiny new fridge and settled down to watch TV in the evening, I quickly discovered that power flowed alarmingly out of my batteries and within a couple of hours they were down below 50% charge - which is not good for them. Within a week, I found myself sitting in the dark - worried about even putting a light on - and crying with frustration and anxiety.

My real lesson through this though was not about managing power, but managing priorities. I could choose to have the fridge on (at least some of the time) or the TV but not both and neither for any length of time. You would think the choice was easy, but it wasn't. On the evening when the power consumption was really bad and I sat in the dark, I realised how much I use my TV to stave off any feelings of loneliness. During the day I never notice the fact that I am alone, but at night, especially as the evenings are getting darker and on this day, the rain was coming down, I suddenly felt very isolated and alone. I also felt quite scared - not of the Bogie Man, but of my vast ignorance when it comes to the inner workings of my boat and the feeling that it's all down to me.

In the morning, as is usually the case, nothing looked quite as bad. I also was reminded that I'm not alone as one boater lent me a cooler box to use and offered to swap my 240v fridge for his older but servicable 12v one when he returns from being away. Another helped me wire the cooler box in and a third couple from my mooring - who have become good friends, lent me their sympathetic shoulders to cry on!

I think the biggest lesson to take from all this is that I need to face my fears and issues rather than distracting myself from them by using TV or hobbies or alcohol. None of these things are bad in themselves and I'm quite happy to indulge in them all some of the time, but I've got to learn not to rely on them to hide from the more difficult parts of life.

It seems to me that this living on a boat lark is all about letting things go and travelling light. I've already let go of things like the security of having a house and the support of being part of society (mains power, water etc provided for me). I have given up lots of possessions because firstly of the downsizing from house to boat and then because of financial circumstances. This is just another giving up and although all these letting go's have been painful or difficult, I believe they have all been good for my soul and that's the important thing!

last photos

Sorry about the delay in posting the last photos of the cruise - the reason was power issues, but more of that later. Here are pictures relating to my last post...

This is the Gatehouse to Shugborough Hall and a lovely view to wake up to when moored at Tixall Wide on the Staffs and Worcester.

I couldn't resist just one more picture of Tixall Wide - one of my top three mooring sites so far!

As we left Great Haywood and cruised the last leg of our journey, we pass very close to Cannock Chase. You can just see the woods and hills of the chase rising in the distance.

Home at last. This was the lovely sunset that greeted us when we returned home. The view is one I wake up to every morning and is seen through my bedroom porthole!

I mentioned power issues. I have had to learn a lot about battery management since living here at Fradley and being off shore power. I got myself a meter that tells me exactly what is happening with my batteries 24 hours a day. Thanks to that, I discovered that my 12 volt fridge was dying and taking lots more power than it should do, whilst not keeping my food very cold. Buying another 12 volt fridge was way too expensive for me (around £500 as compared with £120 for a comparable 240 volt fridge.) So with help from a generous friend, I bought a 240 volt fridge which is A rated for energy efficiency. I was very excited as I expected not to have to run my engine nearly as much as I would be using less power. Well, much to my disappointment that has not proved to be the case. In fact the new fridge is taking more power than the old one, although the insulation is better and it actually works which is an improvement on the last one. But I'm having to run my engine just as much and having to keep my inverter on 24/7. Oh well, at least I won't die from food poisoning!!