Back on the T & M and Battery Problems.

 Friday 23rd June 2023 near Kidsgrove.

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard was a bit bare! So we walked in to the shops in Kidsgrove. R had already researched tea shops in the area and found "Jessie's" and what a lovely little gem it turned out to be - so pretty.

 We had coffees and breakfast, very nice.

There are two supermarkets close to the canal in Kidsgrove - Tesco and Lidl. Tesco won, more on the grounds that it is at least more familiar to M than Lidl. After walking back to MM and packing away the shopping, we set off once more, back to the junction with the Trent & Mersey Canal. All the locks ahead were originally duplicated with two narrow locks side by side. Some of the duplicated locks have fallen into disrepair but on many of them, both still operate. At the first lock, we were watched by a group of special needs children with their carers. They were all lovely and very interested in the way the locks worked.

This is the second lock and the aqueduct ahead is where the Macclesfield Canal crosses over the T&M, so just a few minutes ago we were up there!

We made a brief stop for water and to dump our rubbish at Red Bull Services with its old crane and (now) disused warehouse.

 Since we have been back on MM, R noticed that the battery voltage was dropping even though the "State of Charge" was still around 98%. Not a good sign. R moved MM off the service point, moored up and went down into the engine room. 

 

One battery was quite warm so R disconnected all five batteries so that he could test them individually. Three of them showed a healthy 12.8 volts. The warm battery showed just 8 volts and the fifth only 10 volts - so, two "dead" batteries. R reconnected the three "good" batteries, which will keep us going fine - but it will be necessary to change all five batteries as soon as we can. They have lasted 10 years, which is good going for a set of batteries, so we can't complain. 

Today: 2 miles, 3 locks and 2.0 hours.

Trip: 24 miles, 20 locks and 16.0 hours.