Nuneaton surprise

How pleasant it was to cruise past Nuneaton. Tree cutting in progress making a clean clear passage with none of the usual rubbish in the canal. The tow path in excellent condition so Ann and Molly walked all the way through. After a few misty cold days this one was bright with sunshine adding to the pleasure while moving.
We stopped at Springwood Haven Marina. Kevin here is agent for Victron Energy and we had got our ‘Blue box’ inverter charger here some time ago. We decided to get a battery monitor. This device measures the current going in and out of the batteries. Now we know how much power we are using. Volts times Amps equals Watts. Up to now it was an educated guess based on experience. Our solar panels actually delivered 1.3 amps when the sun came out, wow, previously an unknown quantity. It has just proved that around 2 hours a day is about right. Various forms of lighting have been evaluated. Obviously the florescent light is better than bulbs but single tube and double tube types draw almost the same current. The fridge wants 4 amps when running, and the inverter uses 1 amp doing nothing! The computer sucks 4 and a half amps when charging as does the TV including the sky bit. At least now we know when the batteries are full and can turn off the engine.
After that stormy night the sun shone and we went out for a walk. Down the tow path and across the muddy fields, over and under the railway and saw the river Anker rushing along depositing rubbish on its bank. We followed part of the Quarrymans walk. There are a number of granite quarries in the area which have created holes in the ground and tall pointed hills.