narrowboat electrics,narrowboat pumps

Tel: 01606 833262, Fax: 01606 832304

Home Contact us Delivery cost Links Small print Go shopping for products	Frequently asked questions Here are some commonly asked questions. If the answer to your question isn't here, please contact us and we will be pleased to help. How thick does the wiring have to be? What regulations cover marine wiring? Where can I find diagrams to work to? Do I need navigation lights? What is a galvanic isolator and do I need one? What is the advantage of a Xenon bulb over a halogen one? What is an LED 'bulb' and why would I need one? How bright are LED bulb replacements? How does our online shop work? Important facts about lights How do you choose a lamp? How are lights fitted? What is important to know about pumps? How do I dispose of waste electrical equipment responsibly? How thick does the wiring have to be? Low voltage electrics is a lot safer than electrics at higher voltages but it suffers for volt drop quite badly. With the average length of a boat on inland waterways and the complexity of caravan wiring increasing, the wiring runs are getting longer. Furthermore, owners are specifying more power hungry equipment than used to be the case. Both of these effects mean that careful choice of your wire is vital. It is possible to obtain figures for volts dropped per metre for various diameters of wire. You can then look at the current being carried and the distance (there and back!) that you have to cover to estimate how much of the 12 volts is likely to be available at the end of the run. With items such as horns and tunnel lights, the resulting low voltage may just produce a weak sound/light but items like pumps will up the current flow to compensate resulting in the wiring heating up. In the close confines of a cable conduit this could lead to a fire!!! We can advise if you need help but as a general rule of thumb - go for the biggest wire you can and then you can sleep soundly at night. Take a look at our guide graph wiresizes For wire size, the graph gives cross sectional area in sq mm. Wire is sometimes quoted as a number of strands and a size per strand - it can be difficult to convert one to the other! For an extremely thorough explanation of the subject, please click here Electricity on board These diagrams can be downloaded as a pdf file and printed out for reference - we hope that it helps. What regulations cover wiring? Marine Most vessels on inland waterways are covered by the joint BW/EA/RYA/BA Boat Safety Certificate. This is a set of regulations which covers many aspects of the installation of equipment such as that which we supply. If you are an existing license holder, you will probably already know about this. If you are a newcomer, it is very wise to obtain a copy of the appropriate document before you start your fit out so that you get it right first time. Start at this site www.boatsafetyscheme.com and then have a look on our 'links' page for some more places to look ........or get a professional to do it for you. Caravan/motorhome There are currently no restrictions on DIY alterations to caravan wiring but it's in your own interest to do it safely and neatly .......or get a professional to do it for you. Certain aspects of motorhome wiring will be covered by vehicle builders regulations just as an car or van. Otherwise, common sense and a safe, methodical way of working is the order of the day..........or get a professional to do it for you. Where can I find diagrams to work to? Marine It is not easy to find published wiring and plumbing diagrams so *as a guide only, here are the diagrams from the installation in a 58 ft narrowboat. Wiring for a narrowboat or Small wiring for a small offshore cruiser or yacht. Plumbing These diagrams can be downloaded as pdf files and printed out for reference - we hope that they help. Caravan/motorhome* Get a wiring diagram from the manufacturer or Haynes publishing do a series of manuals covering most aspects of typical motorhomes. Do I need navigation lights? On inland waterways their use isn't mandatory. If you take your narrowboat or cruiser on a commercial waterway or river, then you need to consider navigational lights as a precautionary measure. Whilst moving underway at night or in low visibility, you should show a red light on the port (left) side of your vessel and a green light on the starboard (right) side. You should also show a white light at the stern. Most inland waterways users only encounter such situations occasionally but where more frequent use of rivers, commercial waterways and estuaries is likely, a set of permanently wired lights is advisable. On all other waters, their fitment and use are covered by law and you should ensure that your vessel is fitted with appropriate units. What is a galvanic isolator and do I need one? Firstly and perhaps most importantly, do you keep your vessel predominantly in a marina environment connected to a shore line? If so read on. If not, then this may not be for you. Galvanic corrosion occurs when dissimilar metals in contact with water share a common earth point. Most boat owners are familiar with the corrosion that can occur between a brass propeller and a steel hull for example and most vessels are protected with sacrificial anodes that corrode in preference to your beloved boat. A further corrosion potential exits where two vessels are connected together through the earth connector of a shore supply. Imagine an aluminium boat moored on one side of a pontoon with a steel boat on the other, both connected to a common shore supply. Can you see the similarity with the propeller/hull scenario above? Think that your anodes will protect you? Well think again - what you need is a galvanic isolator on your earth lead to prevent voltages below 1.1 volts from being generated whilst at the same time not impeding larger voltages which might occur in a safety situation. The isolator that we list had a useful dial on it to give a visual check on its effectiveness with a simple FAIL-PASS-FAIL reading. Can you afford to ignore this problem when you could potentially be loosing the fabric of your boat around you? Small price to pay for peace of mind. Easy to install but beware - we are talking about the 240 volt supply. If in doubt, get a professional electrician to fit it for you. What is the advantage of Xenon bulb over a halogen one? Principally, it's a question of life. A Xenon bulb is expected to give around 10,000 hours of life which on a vessel or in a caravan occupied only part of the time, should represent many years! They are obviously slightly more expensive than the equivalent halogen bulb but the extended life may pay off in the long term. Xenon bulbs are apparently more robust than halogen bulbs but we have never put this to the test! What is an LED 'bulb' and why would I need one? Firstly, LED stands for light emitting diode. A diode is an electronic component that is usually used in the same way that a one way valve is used in a water pipe but these diodes have other properties - notably that they emit light. Unlike incandescent filament type bulbs, the light isn't created by a filament getting hot so no heat is created and no energy is wasted. Consequently, the energy consumption of a single LED is tiny but so is the light output and the maximum voltage it can take. It's only when you cluster them together can you put 12 or 24 volts across them and only then do you get a significant light output. In general, the more diodes in the cluster, the more light you can anticipate. The obvious advantage is that of extending your battery life for a given level of illumination. Absolutely critical if you are away from a land-line and have to get all your power from solar panels or wind generators. The other advantage is that LED's are noted for their extremely long life so, despite the initially higher cost, the replacement frequency is many times lower. Not all light units will accept an LED replacement. How bright are LED bulb replacements? This is the crux question as it is pointless replacing your incandescent bulbs with numerically more LEDs resulting in an identical electrical consumption. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer because; LED's emit light in only one direction. You have to be aware of which that direction is with respect to the mounting position, the reflector and the output direction of the light unit that you are considering putting one in. Filament bulbs give out light in all directions and only now are LED units becoming available which will mimic this effect. This uni-directional nature will very often negate the effect of any reflector in your unit so an LED unit may look a lot dimmer than you would expect. Many light units will take a range of wattages of filament bulbs with the brightness increasing with the wattage. There is no such choice of brightnesses with LEDs. LEDs are sometimes available in cool white and warm white. The cool white ones give out more illumination but look more like the light you get from a fluorescent tube. The warm white type give out a more pleasing light but slightly less of it. In general, if you take out all the external factors - a rule of thumb would be that an LED unit will match the illumination of a 10 watt tungsten bulb but will consume about one tenth of the electrical power. In the right type of unit, you may see more light if you are lucky! How does our online shop work? We are sorry that we are not able to sell to North America, Canada or any of the US dependencies. Our online ordering works in a similar way to most online ordering systems. It is based on the shopping cart principle which is intended to mimic the actions that you would take in a real shop. We regret that the shop is only available in English. If this is a problem, please contact us. When you click on the [Go shopping] link, you will be presented with a page of product options where you select the option of interest using the underlined link word. You will then arrive at a page of products where each product has a description, a photograph and a price. *The prices shown in our catalogue are in £ (pounds Sterling) and they include* UK VAT (United Kingdom value added tax at 17.5% - all other European Union states will have an equivalent tax) but exclude the delivery charge. To understand our delivery charges, please click on [delivery charges]. When you see a product you want, click on the button 'add to cart'. You will be able to choose the quantity, select your invoice location and your delivery location. Once you are happy with the information shown, you will be returned to the catalogue. Add as many items to your cart as you wish, you can edit the contents at any time by using the 'view cart' button. Once you have made all the selections you want, click on the 'go to checkout' button. The checkout will add an appropriate carriage charge for your delivery destination and it will remove the VAT element if appropriate. If you have selected the VAT Exemption box, you will be prompted for a valid VAT equivalent number from your country. (Purchasers outside the European Union are charged VAT at 0% automatically.) Confirming the contents at this stage will move you forward to the credit card processing stage where you have to enter your payment details. At this stage, you may opt to pay in US$ or in Euros when the total will be converted for you and what you now see will be the amount you get billed. (The conversion rate is set every day at midnight GMT by the credit card processing company and held for 24 hours). We accept most major credit cards with the exception of American Express. They have their own independent merchanting arrangement which we have so far been unable to justify applying for. We apologise if this causes you inconvenience. Only when you confirm this page will you have submitted your order to us subject to availability and subject to the terms of our conditions of sale. At this point you will be committed to making the payment and you will no longer be able to alter any of the information that you have entered. So, if you spot a mistake after this stage - you MUST contact us immediately. At any time up to this confirmation, you may alter your input or exit from the process without commitment. We strongly advise you to read our conditions of sale as they contain valuable information about your rights and concluding an order assumes that you have. They can be accessed at any time from the main site through this page and then by using the [terms and conditions] button in the navigation bar. You may print them out from your web browser for future reference or save them to your computer. When the transaction is complete, you will receive two confirmation e-mails to the address that you entered. (Please ensure that you enter it accurately or you will not see any of these communications). One will show you all the individual items that you have bought, their unit prices, the carriage charge and the total. The other message will come from Worldpay who process the credit card payments to confirm that the credit card transaction has been successful. You will only hear from us directly (by e-mail, telephone or fax) if we are unable to fulfill your order in the normal timespan or if there is something not clear in the information that you supplied. If you need to contact us, please quote your order number off these confirmations. Our contact details can be accessed at any time through this page and then by using the [contact us] button in the navigation bar. Your order will form the sale contract and will be retained by us for a reasonable length of time. Information contained in it (we will not have your card details) will be handled as described in our Privacy Policy. If you wish to access this information at any time whilst it is on file, please apply to us in writing. A full tax invoice will be posted to you on the day that the goods depart from our premises as a receipt. Please now go to the shop by clicking on the [Go shopping ] link on the navigation bar at the top of the page. Important facts about lights Fluorescent lights have inverters in them which are very sensitive to over-voltage. In a caravan installation, the lights normally only experience a maximum of 12.5 volts because they are not on when the caravan is being towed and the battery is being charged from the car's alternator . Consequently, the inverter circuitry in these lights tends to be designed with a 13.8 volt maximum. In modern boats with external alternator controllers (X-Alt, Adverc, Sterling etc), the voltage that the internal lights might experience whilst the engine is running could be up to 16 volts - enough to cause problems in this type of light. You may find that the instructions supplied with unit specifically require disconnection of all electrical equipment whilst this charging phase is being undertaken! Should a fault happen due to this excessive voltage - the warranty will be void. Halogen and tungsten incandescent bulbs are much more tolerant to this type of over-voltage but expect reduced lifetimes. Conversely, some fluorescent tubes (particularly the exotic, high efficiency types) do not like low voltages. So, if you are in the habit of regularly flattening your service batteries, you may find that the tubes will not last as long as they should. Neither halogen nor tungsten bulbs will suffer from low voltage - you just get less and less light as the voltage drops. All lights create heat as well as light. Fluorescent tubes produce the least and halogen bulbs produce the most. If you are using a recessed type of light, you must provide adequate space for ventilation between the back of the light and the adjacent panel to prevent overheating and a possible fire. The amount of space will depend on the type of light, the wattage and the material behind the panel. Some halogen bulbs have a significant difference between their stated wattage and their actual power consumption. Don't forget the amount of power that lights consume. It all has to be put back into your batteries when the engine is running. You must think carefully about how you will be using the lights, how many are likely to be on at a time and how long for. If in doubt, as a rule of thumb, add up all the current consumption figures (amps = watts/12 for a 12 volt system) for all the lights that are on together. Does this exceed the capacity of your wiring? Now, think how long each light is likely to remain on each day in hours. Multiply the current drawn by each light by this time estimate. Add together these figures for all the lights to get an amp/hour figure. Now look at your battery bank - add up the battery capacities, divide the total by three and see if the result exceeds your lighting figure. If it doesn't, your batteries are going to run flat very quickly if you don't run your engine and that isn't taking into consideration use of other electrical equipment! An alternator may be capable of a maximum charge rate of 90 amps (for example) but after a few minutes it will drop to one or two amps (unless you have an external alternator controller). Thus, if you have a light on for four hour consuming two amps, you will need to run your engine for four hours just to put back in what that one bulb has taken out. Twelve volts is not as dangerous as domestic mains voltage but it should still be treated with care. The wiring circuit should always have a suitable fuse and the power should always be turned off before you start work. All connections to the lights should be insulated and done in such a way that the light can be easily removed if necessary. Remember that wiring is one of the items covered by the BW, EA, BA and RYA Boat Safety Certificate so if you intend to use your vessel in these waters, do it correctly from the beginning. If you are fitting in a motorcamper or caravan, you have no such restrictions but please ensure that it is done safely and neatly. If in doubt, get a professional to do it. For an weatherproof light, you might see an IPxx figure stated where the xx is a number. This is a recognised method of defining the sealing of the item where the first digit refers to particle ingress and the second digit refers to fluid ingress. Both figures run from 1 to 6 where 1 is the worst and 6 is the best. Thus, if a light is described as IP76, it is suitable for complete immersion in water whilst IP54 will keep out most dust but is only capable of resisting damp in sheltered locations. Remember - the sealing capability only refers to the exposed face, the back of the light unit may be completely open! When we source light bulbs, different manufacturers supply different glass envelope shapes for the same specification bulb. Consequently, the bulb you receive may not physically match the picture and description on our website or other promotional material. Whilst we endeavour to keep our descriptions up to date, we reserve the right to vary specification without prior notice.. How do you choose a light? Boat builders and DIY fitters can sometimes overlook the importance of lighting as most of the time they work in the daylight. You, the owner, will have to live inside his/your work in the dark evenings and mornings. You will also want to read, watch television and cook. Get it right and you will create a pleasant place to be after dark. Get it wrong and you will curse the glare or the poor light for reading or the reflections in the television screen every night. Flood type interior lighting sometimes referred to by interior designers as mood lighting. Used for general illumination. Gives a broad diffuse light which is easy on the eye but can produce a soulless feel if used extensively. Look for lights with white milky coloured covers and use in companionways and as general room lighting. Fluorescent tubes are ideal for this application. Spot type interior lighting sometimes referred to as accent lighting for highlighting a feature or as task lighting where used to illuminate areas where tasks are performed. Produce a concentrated pool of significantly brighter light by using a shaped reflector. Ideal for highlighting specific areas where a lot of light is needed - for example, kitchens and seating areas where reading is likely. Look for halogen bulbs in lights with polished reflectors or with dichroic reflectors and clear covers. How are lights fitted? Surface mount lamps As the name implies, this type of light, sometimes known as a bulkhead light or berth light, simply screws to a flat surface. The only hole needed will invariable be for the wire to pass through. Be wary that some lights have a significant height which must be deducted from the internal headroom. Recessed mount lamps These lamps require a large hole cutting in your panel to accommodate the rear portion of the unit. The front of the lamp is larger than this and will prevent the whole thing passing through the hole. It will also cover the ragged edge of the hole you have cut. Some of these lights have screws which pass through the front plate to hold the lamp in whilst others have spring clips which open out at the back of the panel. Where the latter is the fixing method, ensure that the springs can accommodate the thickness of your panel and that there is room for the clips once they are opened out. What is important to know about pumps? The singularly most important fact to remember about pumps is that they draw more current than you might think. Potable water and shower drain pumps are particularly heavy users of electricity but are fortunately not on for long periods of time. Ensure suitably heavy cable is used, that the pumps are easily accessible for cleaning and that excessive heat build up cannot happen in their vicinity. Shower drain pumps should always be used with a strum box as hair in particular has a habit of destroying expensive pumps. Ensure that the discharge through the hull is the regulation height above the exterior water level. A bilge pump should always be separately wired directly to one of your batteries and must have its own inline fuse. Wired in this way and used in conjunction with an external or integral float switch, the bilge will be kept pumped out even when you are not there. The downside is that the pump will be regularly discharging your chosen battery! We list control panels which allow manual over-riding of the float switch when the main electrics are active. Always ensure that the base of the float switch is screwed to something which will not float and ensure that the pump sits firmly on the lowest part of the bilge. One more thing to watch for - many failures of float switches are in the wiring where it enters the switch due to the constant flexing. You can minimise this effect by ensuring a good straight approach to the switch with no serious bends close to it. How do I dispose of waste electrical equipment responsibly? Please help us to minimise the effect we have on the environment by recycling your waste electrical goods. Find your nearest recycling points and helpful recycling tips by visiting www.recycle-more.co.uk We are a member of a government approved Retail Take Back Scheme which means we cannot accept your waste equipment when you purchase something new from us. You must take it to your local recycling centre. We mark all the equipment that we sell which is covered by the Waste Electrical and Equipment Regulations with the 'crossed out wheelie bin' logo to encourage you to dispose of it in this way. All information and advice given here is in good faith and cannot be used or implied within a subsequent contract.**

Frequently asked questions

Here are some commonly asked questions. If the answer to your question isn't here, please contact us and we will be pleased to help.

How thick does the wiring have to be?
What regulations cover marine wiring?
Where can I find diagrams to work to?
Do I need navigation lights?
What is a galvanic isolator and do I need one?
What is the advantage of a Xenon bulb over a halogen one?
What is an LED 'bulb' and why would I need one?
How bright are LED bulb replacements?
How does our online shop work?
Important facts about lights
How do you choose a lamp?
How are lights fitted?
What is important to know about pumps?
How do I dispose of waste electrical equipment responsibly?

How thick does the wiring have to be?

Low voltage electrics is a lot safer than electrics at higher voltages but it suffers for volt drop quite badly. With the average length of a boat on inland waterways and the complexity of caravan wiring increasing, the wiring runs are getting longer. Furthermore, owners are specifying more power hungry equipment than used to be the case. Both of these effects mean that careful choice of your wire is vital.

It is possible to obtain figures for volts dropped per metre for various diameters of wire. You can then look at the current being carried and the distance (there and back!) that you have to cover to estimate how much of the 12 volts is likely to be available at the end of the run. With items such as horns and tunnel lights, the resulting low voltage may just produce a weak sound/light but items like pumps will up the current flow to compensate resulting in the wiring heating up. In the close confines of a cable conduit this could lead to a fire!!!

We can advise if you need help but as a general rule of thumb - go for the biggest wire you can and then you can sleep soundly at night.

Take a look at our guide graph wiresizes

For wire size, the graph gives cross sectional area in sq mm. Wire is sometimes quoted as a number of strands and a size per strand - it can be difficult to convert one to the other!

For an extremely thorough explanation of the subject, please click here Electricity on board

These diagrams can be downloaded as a pdf file and printed out for reference - we hope that it helps.

What regulations cover wiring?

Marine

Most vessels on inland waterways are covered by the joint BW/EA/RYA/BA Boat Safety Certificate. This is a set of regulations which covers many aspects of the installation of equipment such as that which we supply. If you are an existing license holder, you will probably already know about this. If you are a newcomer, it is very wise to obtain a copy of the appropriate document before you start your fit out so that you get it right first time. Start at this site www.boatsafetyscheme.com and then have a look on our 'links' page for some more places to look ........or get a professional to do it for you.

Caravan/motorhome

There are currently no restrictions on DIY alterations to caravan wiring but it's in your own interest to do it safely and neatly .......or get a professional to do it for you.

Certain aspects of motorhome wiring will be covered by vehicle builders regulations just as an car or van. Otherwise, common sense and a safe, methodical way of working is the order of the day..........or get a professional to do it for you.

Where can I find diagrams to work to?

Marine

It is not easy to find published wiring and plumbing diagrams so as a guide only, here are the diagrams from the installation in a 58 ft narrowboat.

Wiring for a narrowboat or Small wiring for a small offshore cruiser or yacht.

Plumbing

These diagrams can be downloaded as pdf files and printed out for reference - we hope that they help.

Caravan/motorhome

Get a wiring diagram from the manufacturer or Haynes publishing do a series of manuals covering most aspects of typical motorhomes.

Do I need navigation lights?

On inland waterways their use isn't mandatory. If you take your narrowboat or cruiser on a commercial waterway or river, then you need to consider navigational lights as a precautionary measure.

Whilst moving underway at night or in low visibility, you should show a red light on the port (left) side of your vessel and a green light on the starboard (right) side. You should also show a white light at the stern.

Most inland waterways users only encounter such situations occasionally but where more frequent use of rivers, commercial waterways and estuaries is likely, a set of permanently wired lights is advisable.

On all other waters, their fitment and use are covered by law and you should ensure that your vessel is fitted with appropriate units.

What is a galvanic isolator and do I need one?

Firstly and perhaps most importantly, do you keep your vessel predominantly in a marina environment connected to a shore line? If so read on. If not, then this may not be for you.

Galvanic corrosion occurs when dissimilar metals in contact with water share a common earth point. Most boat owners are familiar with the corrosion that can occur between a brass propeller and a steel hull for example and most vessels are protected with sacrificial anodes that corrode in preference to your beloved boat.

A further corrosion potential exits where two vessels are connected together through the earth connector of a shore supply. Imagine an aluminium boat moored on one side of a pontoon with a steel boat on the other, both connected to a common shore supply. Can you see the similarity with the propeller/hull scenario above? Think that your anodes will protect you? Well think again - what you need is a galvanic isolator on your earth lead to prevent voltages below 1.1 volts from being generated whilst at the same time not impeding larger voltages which might occur in a safety situation.

The isolator that we list had a useful dial on it to give a visual check on its effectiveness with a simple FAIL-PASS-FAIL reading.

Can you afford to ignore this problem when you could potentially be loosing the fabric of your boat around you? Small price to pay for peace of mind.

Easy to install but beware - we are talking about the 240 volt supply. If in doubt, get a professional electrician to fit it for you.

What is the advantage of Xenon bulb over a halogen one?

Principally, it's a question of life. A Xenon bulb is expected to give around 10,000 hours of life which on a vessel or in a caravan occupied only part of the time, should represent many years! They are obviously slightly more expensive than the equivalent halogen bulb but the extended life may pay off in the long term.

Xenon bulbs are apparently more robust than halogen bulbs but we have never put this to the test!

What is an LED 'bulb' and why would I need one?

Firstly, LED stands for light emitting diode. A diode is an electronic component that is usually used in the same way that a one way valve is used in a water pipe but these diodes have other properties - notably that they emit light. Unlike incandescent filament type bulbs, the light isn't created by a filament getting hot so no heat is created and no energy is wasted. Consequently, the energy consumption of a single LED is tiny but so is the light output and the maximum voltage it can take. It's only when you cluster them together can you put 12 or 24 volts across them and only then do you get a significant light output. In general, the more diodes in the cluster, the more light you can anticipate.

The obvious advantage is that of extending your battery life for a given level of illumination. Absolutely critical if you are away from a land-line and have to get all your power from solar panels or wind generators. The other advantage is that LED's are noted for their extremely long life so, despite the initially higher cost, the replacement frequency is many times lower.

Not all light units will accept an LED replacement.

How bright are LED bulb replacements?

This is the crux question as it is pointless replacing your incandescent bulbs with numerically more LEDs resulting in an identical electrical consumption. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer because;

LED's emit light in only one direction. You have to be aware of which that direction is with respect to the mounting position, the reflector and the output direction of the light unit that you are considering putting one in. Filament bulbs give out light in all directions and only now are LED units becoming available which will mimic this effect.

This uni-directional nature will very often negate the effect of any reflector in your unit so an LED unit may look a lot dimmer than you would expect.

Many light units will take a range of wattages of filament bulbs with the brightness increasing with the wattage. There is no such choice of brightnesses with LEDs.

LEDs are sometimes available in cool white and warm white. The cool white ones give out more illumination but look more like the light you get from a fluorescent tube. The warm white type give out a more pleasing light but slightly less of it.

In general, if you take out all the external factors - a rule of thumb would be that an LED unit will match the illumination of a 10 watt tungsten bulb but will consume about one tenth of the electrical power. In the right type of unit, you may see more light if you are lucky!

How does our online shop work?

We are sorry that we are not able to sell to North America, Canada or any of the US dependencies.

Our online ordering works in a similar way to most online ordering systems. It is based on the shopping cart principle which is intended to mimic the actions that you would take in a real shop.

We regret that the shop is only available in English. If this is a problem, please contact us.

When you click on the [Go shopping] link, you will be presented with a page of product options where you select the option of interest using the underlined link word. You will then arrive at a page of products where each product has a description, a photograph and a price.

The prices shown in our catalogue are in £ (pounds Sterling) and they include UK VAT (United Kingdom value added tax at 17.5% - all other European Union states will have an equivalent tax) but exclude the delivery charge. To understand our delivery charges, please click on [delivery charges].

When you see a product you want, click on the button 'add to cart'. You will be able to choose the quantity, select your invoice location and your delivery location. Once you are happy with the information shown, you will be returned to the catalogue.

Add as many items to your cart as you wish, you can edit the contents at any time by using the 'view cart' button.

Once you have made all the selections you want, click on the 'go to checkout' button. The checkout will add an appropriate carriage charge for your delivery destination and it will remove the VAT element if appropriate. If you have selected the VAT Exemption box, you will be prompted for a valid VAT equivalent number from your country. (Purchasers outside the European Union are charged VAT at 0% automatically.)

Confirming the contents at this stage will move you forward to the credit card processing stage where you have to enter your payment details. At this stage, you may opt to pay in US$ or in Euros when the total will be converted for you and what you now see will be the amount you get billed. (The conversion rate is set every day at midnight GMT by the credit card processing company and held for 24 hours).

We accept most major credit cards with the exception of American Express. They have their own independent merchanting arrangement which we have so far been unable to justify applying for. We apologise if this causes you inconvenience.

Only when you confirm this page will you have submitted your order to us subject to availability and subject to the terms of our conditions of sale. At this point you will be committed to making the payment and you will no longer be able to alter any of the information that you have entered. So, if you spot a mistake after this stage - you MUST contact us immediately. At any time up to this confirmation, you may alter your input or exit from the process without commitment.

We strongly advise you to read our conditions of sale as they contain valuable information about your rights and concluding an order assumes that you have. They can be accessed at any time from the main site through this page and then by using the [terms and conditions] button in the navigation bar. You may print them out from your web browser for future reference or save them to your computer.

When the transaction is complete, you will receive two confirmation e-mails to the address that you entered. (Please ensure that you enter it accurately or you will not see any of these communications). One will show you all the individual items that you have bought, their unit prices, the carriage charge and the total. The other message will come from Worldpay who process the credit card payments to confirm that the credit card transaction has been successful.

You will only hear from us directly (by e-mail, telephone or fax) if we are unable to fulfill your order in the normal timespan or if there is something not clear in the information that you supplied. If you need to contact us, please quote your order number off these confirmations. Our contact details can be accessed at any time through this page and then by using the [contact us] button in the navigation bar.

Your order will form the sale contract and will be retained by us for a reasonable length of time. Information contained in it (we will not have your card details) will be handled as described in our Privacy Policy. If you wish to access this information at any time whilst it is on file, please apply to us in writing.

A full tax invoice will be posted to you on the day that the goods depart from our premises as a receipt.

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Important facts about lights

Fluorescent lights have inverters in them which are very sensitive to over-voltage. In a caravan installation, the lights normally only experience a maximum of 12.5 volts because they are not on when the caravan is being towed and the battery is being charged from the car's alternator . Consequently, the inverter circuitry in these lights tends to be designed with a 13.8 volt maximum. In modern boats with external alternator controllers (X-Alt, Adverc, Sterling etc), the voltage that the internal lights might experience whilst the engine is running could be up to 16 volts - enough to cause problems in this type of light. You may find that the instructions supplied with unit specifically require disconnection of all electrical equipment whilst this charging phase is being undertaken! Should a fault happen due to this excessive voltage - the warranty will be void. Halogen and tungsten incandescent bulbs are much more tolerant to this type of over-voltage but expect reduced lifetimes.

Conversely, some fluorescent tubes (particularly the exotic, high efficiency types) do not like low voltages. So, if you are in the habit of regularly flattening your service batteries, you may find that the tubes will not last as long as they should. Neither halogen nor tungsten bulbs will suffer from low voltage - you just get less and less light as the voltage drops.

All lights create heat as well as light. Fluorescent tubes produce the least and halogen bulbs produce the most. If you are using a recessed type of light, you must provide adequate space for ventilation between the back of the light and the adjacent panel to prevent overheating and a possible fire. The amount of space will depend on the type of light, the wattage and the material behind the panel.

Some halogen bulbs have a significant difference between their stated wattage and their actual power consumption.

Don't forget the amount of power that lights consume. It all has to be put back into your batteries when the engine is running. You must think carefully about how you will be using the lights, how many are likely to be on at a time and how long for. If in doubt, as a rule of thumb, add up all the current consumption figures (amps = watts/12 for a 12 volt system) for all the lights that are on together. Does this exceed the capacity of your wiring? Now, think how long each light is likely to remain on each day in hours. Multiply the current drawn by each light by this time estimate. Add together these figures for all the lights to get an amp/hour figure. Now look at your battery bank - add up the battery capacities, divide the total by three and see if the result exceeds your lighting figure. If it doesn't, your batteries are going to run flat very quickly if you don't run your engine and that isn't taking into consideration use of other electrical equipment! An alternator may be capable of a maximum charge rate of 90 amps (for example) but after a few minutes it will drop to one or two amps (unless you have an external alternator controller). Thus, if you have a light on for four hour consuming two amps, you will need to run your engine for four hours just to put back in what that one bulb has taken out.

Twelve volts is not as dangerous as domestic mains voltage but it should still be treated with care. The wiring circuit should always have a suitable fuse and the power should always be turned off before you start work. All connections to the lights should be insulated and done in such a way that the light can be easily removed if necessary.

Remember that wiring is one of the items covered by the BW, EA, BA and RYA Boat Safety Certificate so if you intend to use your vessel in these waters, do it correctly from the beginning. If you are fitting in a motorcamper or caravan, you have no such restrictions but please ensure that it is done safely and neatly. If in doubt, get a professional to do it.

For an weatherproof light, you might see an IPxx figure stated where the xx is a number. This is a recognised method of defining the sealing of the item where the first digit refers to particle ingress and the second digit refers to fluid ingress. Both figures run from 1 to 6 where 1 is the worst and 6 is the best. Thus, if a light is described as IP76, it is suitable for complete immersion in water whilst IP54 will keep out most dust but is only capable of resisting damp in sheltered locations. Remember - the sealing capability only refers to the exposed face, the back of the light unit may be completely open!

When we source light bulbs, different manufacturers supply different glass envelope shapes for the same specification bulb. Consequently, the bulb you receive may not physically match the picture and description on our website or other promotional material. Whilst we endeavour to keep our descriptions up to date, we reserve the right to vary specification without prior notice..

How do you choose a light?

Boat builders and DIY fitters can sometimes overlook the importance of lighting as most of the time they work in the daylight. You, the owner, will have to live inside his/your work in the dark evenings and mornings. You will also want to read, watch television and cook. Get it right and you will create a pleasant place to be after dark. Get it wrong and you will curse the glare or the poor light for reading or the reflections in the television screen every night.

Flood type interior lighting sometimes referred to by interior designers as mood lighting.

Used for general illumination. Gives a broad diffuse light which is easy on the eye but can produce a soulless feel if used extensively.

Look for lights with white milky coloured covers and use in companionways and as general room lighting.

Fluorescent tubes are ideal for this application.

Spot type interior lighting sometimes referred to as accent lighting for highlighting a feature or as task lighting where used to illuminate areas where tasks are performed.

Produce a concentrated pool of significantly brighter light by using a shaped reflector. Ideal for highlighting specific areas where a lot of light is needed - for example, kitchens and seating areas where reading is likely.

Look for halogen bulbs in lights with polished reflectors or with dichroic reflectors and clear covers.

How are lights fitted?

Surface mount lamps

As the name implies, this type of light, sometimes known as a bulkhead light or berth light, simply screws to a flat surface. The only hole needed will invariable be for the wire to pass through.

Be wary that some lights have a significant height which must be deducted from the internal headroom.

Recessed mount lamps

These lamps require a large hole cutting in your panel to accommodate the rear portion of the unit. The front of the lamp is larger than this and will prevent the whole thing passing through the hole. It will also cover the ragged edge of the hole you have cut.

Some of these lights have screws which pass through the front plate to hold the lamp in whilst others have spring clips which open out at the back of the panel. Where the latter is the fixing method, ensure that the springs can accommodate the thickness of your panel and that there is room for the clips once they are opened out.

What is important to know about pumps?

The singularly most important fact to remember about pumps is that they draw more current than you might think. Potable water and shower drain pumps are particularly heavy users of electricity but are fortunately not on for long periods of time. Ensure suitably heavy cable is used, that the pumps are easily accessible for cleaning and that excessive heat build up cannot happen in their vicinity.

Shower drain pumps should always be used with a strum box as hair in particular has a habit of destroying expensive pumps. Ensure that the discharge through the hull is the regulation height above the exterior water level.

A bilge pump should always be separately wired directly to one of your batteries and must have its own inline fuse. Wired in this way and used in conjunction with an external or integral float switch, the bilge will be kept pumped out even when you are not there. The downside is that the pump will be regularly discharging your chosen battery! We list control panels which allow manual over-riding of the float switch when the main electrics are active.

Always ensure that the base of the float switch is screwed to something which will not float and ensure that the pump sits firmly on the lowest part of the bilge.

One more thing to watch for - many failures of float switches are in the wiring where it enters the switch due to the constant flexing. You can minimise this effect by ensuring a good straight approach to the switch with no serious bends close to it.

How do I dispose of waste electrical equipment responsibly?

Please help us to minimise the effect we have on the environment by recycling your waste electrical goods. Find your nearest recycling points and helpful recycling tips by visiting www.recycle-more.co.uk

We are a member of a government approved Retail Take Back Scheme which means we cannot accept your waste equipment when you purchase something new from us. You must take it to your local recycling centre. We mark all the equipment that we sell which is covered by the Waste Electrical and Equipment Regulations with the 'crossed out wheelie bin' logo to encourage you to dispose of it in this way.

All information and advice given here is in good faith and cannot be used or implied within a subsequent contract.