Thames Solar Electric Ltd

Thames Electric Solar Ltd is a great company to deal with. Ryan is very friendly, polite, and professional. Excellent service and workmanship highly recommend them for any solar or electrical work!

Thanks so much to Ryan and his team . Beautiful boat and backup service second to none

We purchased TSE’s 6th boat; the green one. It was delivered late, the electrics kept tripping out, the heating didn’t work, and the paperwork was non-existent. After Ryan and his team visiting and trying to fix things almost daily for the first 3 months, we got a surveyor to take a look. The boat was found to have multiple failures including over-rated fuses, under-rated wiring, a melted 12v switch, a 100mm hole for the toilet vent too close to the waterline and countless other issues. TSE refused to take the boat back and our solicitor advised us that if we took him to court he would declare himself bankrupt and we would get nothing. Our money would be better spent rebuilding the boat. We stripped it out completely, discovering a rotten floor, leaking shower, a nail through the live wire of the lounge wall light, thermal bridging through out the roof/ceiling and frankly dangerous electrical work. The fact that this business specialises in electric boats is scary. Steer well clear. In response to the reply: Outstanding Balance: Yes, the balance outstanding is £8k (of almost £200k), mostly for the kitchen because TSE fitted the wrong doors (still waiting for the correct ones), incomplete snagging and because the certificate of conformity to the recreational craft directive was supplied unsigned. We put up no barriers to TSE supplying these. It has cost us over £80k so far to rebuild the boat, replacing the hazardous electrics, refitting the solar panels (glued to the roof), rewiring the batteries, refitting the motor, replacing the water tank, the pumps, and all the plumbing, replacing the wood burner and z-shaped flue, welding up the hull, just making it warm, safe, functional and habitable. This is not snagging - this could never have been achieved by TSE just popping over for a week. Just days in to receiving the finished boat we had problems with the bathroom waste: After a month of asking TSE to fix the issue with urine backing up and overflowing into the bathroom, I decided to investigate the issue myself. The shower waste and urine collected in a lidded box under the shower tray and pumped automatically out of the side of the boat. The shower waste “alteration” I carried out consisted of removing a blockage in the pipe (silicone from TSE joining two different sized pipes left only a 2mm hole for liquid to pass through) and redirecting it into a bottle. The shower waste was unusable - the lid to the box had been broken and once we’d stripped it out we realised TSE had put in a 24v pump on a 12v circuit so it couldn’t work effectively. We didn’t use the shower after that; we only had 20 seconds of hot water anyway (another “snag” that TSE failed to fix). Rotten floor under the shower? Yes, but the rotten floor I refer to above was at the stern end of the boat, below the stern door. On strip-out we found that the lip at the base of the door had been roughly angle ground out (apparently to fit a water tank through. Incidentally, this was an upright tank which TSE laid down on its side under the bed and siliconed the lid onto which developed a leak after a year and we had to be careful not to fill it more than half way) and then TSE had fitted door frame over it to hide it. Whenever it rained, water leaked into the cabin between the wood and the metal. You’re welcome to take us to court for that £8k; we’ll see you there.

Having lived aboard Solar 5, the first Thames Solar narrowboat, for coming up for 4 years, thought it about time to give a balanced view. NB BowerBird has met our expectations and in cases exceeded them. As a 65ft narrowboat, we knew that we would not be able to generate enough power from our solar array to be self sufficient all year round, but have been pleasantly surprised to manage 8-9 months off-grid. The electric propulsion is quiet and efficient, but we may be a little under propped, which is not an issue for general canal cruising. The all electric cooking fit, triple glazing, effective insulation and mechanical waste heat recovery unit result in a warm, dry boat free of condensation and easy to keep warm. As a part fit out (we chose to install the galley units and 2nd fit electrics) we had to have a BSS inspection after one year and passed with only a couple of minor points to be corrected. Any issues that have been beyond my capability to deal with have been swiftly resolved by Thames Solar Electric Boats to my entire satisfaction. Would thoroughly recommend TSEB, but remember that this is the forefront of sustainable Narrowboat design and issues may arise.

0ne year on our dream narrow boat , we're so pleased and happy. Big thank you to Thames Solar Electric Ltd. Would recommend this life style and if you want 100 % Electric boat, then we recommen you give Ryan a call at Thames Solar Electric Ltd xxxxx 5 stars from me.