Batteries - who'd have them?

Sunday, 29 January 2012 17:54

We would! Living on a narrowboat, batteries are rather a necessity. The debate is always what type and how many? John is the expert on this and on his new gadget.

Epiphany's stern cabin, housing battery bank

Here I go again - advertising! But I think that one of the good things about the narrowboat community is that we can all learn from each other and it is good to pass on hints, tips and useful info! Our batteries are under the starboard bunk .....

Why didn't we get it before? Possibly because our previous batteries were of the sealed, "maintenance-free" variety. But having decided that they did not last as long as the "top-up-able" variety, we reverted to these. 

When we were at Tooleys in Banbury, their contract engineer John did a brilliant job making sure that all the cell caps were freely available. As we decided to go for 5 rather than the previous 6 domestic batteries they are now all accessible.

Which brings me back to the new acquisition - John's latest "gadget"

"Automatic battery filler bottle"

What is so special about this yellow and red bottle? It has a nozzle (the red bit) which enables it to dispense distilled water; it automatically stops when the correct level of electrolyte is reached in each battery cell - as long as it is done up tightly!

This is particularly useful for the engine starter battery. A double-jointed hobbit would still need a torch and mirror to top this one up, unless he disconnected and moved it beforehand! Now a 6' 5" giant can do it, - all it takes is his new gadget! The nozzle is just bigger than the battery cell hole and with the angle of the easily-held bottle it's almost child's play.

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