OldGoat

I'm biased - we once hired a boat with a gas fridge and just didn't keep anything really cool - let alone make some ice. Gas fridges are inefficient and generate a lot of heat (surprisingly that's part of the principle) - so you've got to get that away. For occasional use in a camper, I suppose they make some sense - particularly as its CAMPING and it's supposed to be roughing it (haha). On a boat you expect a bit more comfort - more a cottage afloat rather than a tent. More sensibly you may have more people onboard (needing more "services") than in a camper and places to buy food are more spread out in time terms meaning that you'll need more space to store cooled food. Gas fridges are invariably small. BUT then I like my comforts.

If you're happy that the summer water temperature is cold enough - then the winter temperature will be fine!! I read somewhere that ground temperature at a small depth (300mm?) is pretty constant at about 6 deg C. As I can't (be bothered to) get behind my unit to turn the fans off, it's difficult to measure any difference. However, there's a reasonable draught of cool air coming around the fridge case at the front AND the condenser coils don't even get warm, so something's working! Sorry not to be more positive.

Worth thinking about - would need a relay interposed because of the high DC current drawn by the inverter. For anyone not yet bored / lost the will to live by this thread, I've just been over to the Danfoss site and found the page for their BF150 variable speed compressor - Looky here. You'll notice a reference to a their own sinewave inverter. It's a 300W unit. Problem solved for me - that is "what's an appropriate size". I suspect the Danfoss unit is expensive (?). It should be noted than pure sine unit is required because the control unit is electronic and has "strange" power / frequency requirements (as described in a separate article). Having just bought a large home fridge with a built in inverter; I'm impressed with its low energy consumption coupled with an even spread of "coolness" throughout the unit. Obviously A+ or even A++ performance is the type to aim for as it requires less power from you batteries no matter how you power it. In comparison with modern units my Battered Batts Box consumes 438 KWh p.a. (it seems to run 24/7 and the internal temperature fluctuates wildly). Now to find a fridge / freezer with a BD 150 F compressor.

Firstly - thanks all you folks who have replied to date. As with most threads on these fora the topic has suffered from Fred Drift, but worth reading anyway!! Ange (above) - that was my question, but I haven't received a practical answer. I'll expand. If you look at the detailed specifications (not the "stuff" that Comet / Currys publish) you'll notice that the power ratings of the compressors are some 60 - 100W (depends on fridge size). So what is the instantaneous startup current required? I suspect it's relatively small; say twice the running current of 1/2 to 1 second. That should be withing the range of an inverter rated at 300W, but I don't know. Buying a girt big inverter would solve the issue, but I wanted a dedicated small unit as the standby current should be small (?) or less than a big one - could be wrong. I already have a 300W sine wave inverter for the tv and HiFi, but running all at once might push it over the top, anyway I believe in redundancy. Would save a conflict with Mrs OG sohould we lose both fridge and entertainment systems. Cooling - Julynian - My solution, which I commend to you, was to fit two 8" ex computer fans (ran them in series to reduce their noise) into the lining of the cabin at floor level. These suck air from the bilge which is at a constant 4-6 degC and blow it over the condenser coil. The Danfoss unit has an isolated switch connectioon that is closed whenever the compressor runs. Saves hacking holes in the superstructure and in the fridge case. BEWARE many modern fridges have condensor coils bonded to the inside of the case - so you could destroy the unit if you drill holes in it. SMileyPete got there first, but to my mind is a bit of an overkill as the hull below the water is always cool. My solution acts as a bilge blower as an added advantage. I'll continue researching......

My aged Batts fridge freezer should have lived beyond its reasonable life expectancy. I've just looked at a Shoreline equivalent £600 - EEK! I'm looking at a reasonable quality mains fridge and wonder:_ Would a quasi sine wave inverter suffice? What's the safest power rating needed for the inverter? - I'm minded to use a dedicated unit. I'm assuming rightly or wrongly that the startup current would be high and although only for afraction of a second a small inverter would be lacking, in umm -oomph What's the considered opinion of folks on here - practical experience would be a help TIA, Mike (Apologies if I've not researched this topic fully....)

Echo all the above; all routes should be trouble free in the day time and if you choose "scenic" overnight mooring you should be fine. Having said that we had to stop at the top of Camp Hill Locks last year as kids cast us off at the bottom. However, although it was not a nice location we had no problems. Beside the NIA is a quiet mooring - provided that whatever event was on is not in its last day as we fould the breakdown crews worked all night long. I can reccomend a circular route; the North Stratford is quite pleasant, central Brum is great, shops, museums and so on within walking distance and returning via the GU is most relaxing coupled with a fantastic view from the top of Knowle (sets you up for the 5 heavy locks following). We're fans of Brum and its industrial past - even though we come from the soft South.

Hooray! I'm a fan of "fresh water cooled" engines. The first boats we hired (Teddesley) were all cooled that way and I was impressed how quiet they were and how relatively cool the engine rooms were. So when we decided to build that's what we did. (OK.OK a hospital silencer is almost as good - but takes up too much space in a trad layout) Being cautious by nature I had a keel tank fitted as well - very usful when keeping up with AWBs on the Thames.. Winterising is easy just add some friendly antifreeze through the weed filter. Having a decent old-schoool builder helped with a ginormous mud box - so we hardly ever get a choked filter. So don't dismiss fresh water cooled engines; the heat exchanger manifold makes a lot of difference. However I do agree that very old raw water cooled and uncooled exhaust manifold engines might be best avoided.

Wot you said. We've used odolos for three years now having tried and failed with:- Yeast a home made bubbler blue (once) Blue is nasty 'cos it's concentrated, being used nearly neat in casette loos . Our marina used to have a reed bed for its settling tanks but continued use by porta potti folks killed of all the reeds.... If you use orodlos or some other snake oil you may need to have several pump out cycles to remove all traces of blue. I reckon that orodwhatsit works out cheaper anyway.

I thought I was the only one... Sold to me by a mad scientist on the south coast. I've 500 amp hrs at 24V. I guess the batteries are about 30 years old and still going strong. The down side is yes, they take a lot more energy to charge and I had to twist that nice Mr. Sterling's arm to increase the chargin voltage and Adverc modified their controller for me. The beauty is that you can do horrible things to them and they come back - leave flat, undercharge, overcharge (but don't boil them). I'm 24V so 19 cells gives a good approximation to lead acid, and I had to limit the charging voltage to 30v to avoid blowing up any equipment - that has not happend to me in the 12 years of my use. I don't know how well 9 cells would work on a 12v system. Don't chuck them out without giving them a try. I've got a discussion paper on the subject - PM me. New ones are astronomically expensive - so it's only a practical proposition if they're used. They should have oil on the top of the electrolyte to stop / reduce oxidation and help recombination of water, provided that they are not grossly overcharged.

It's called Caveat Emptor - buyer beware. You'll be jolly lucky if the right boat just pops up in front of you. How would you have managed in the days before t'internet? DO the basic in your armchair, then phone the seller / broker. Learn what questions to ask, then go and see. If you don't get a response from said seller / broker. Move on. It's the same with houses / cars / whatever. Pah!!

It's a pain - there aren't any standards in this industry - so you have to ask questions. There are no absolutes. BUT that's how you learn. I (obviously ) don't know, but in this case I suspect that the genny is more likely to be petrol. Diesel gennies tend to be from 4Kw upwards.

All the following are from my opwn years of boating experiences, you may put whatever weighting you like on the veracity of the following:- 1). Shower That's what they all do Thermostatic shower units were designed to run of constant mains water pressure whic is mostly at 3 Bar (45psi) pressure. I think they are a disaster on boats wt=here the actual pressure is often 1Bar or less. Even when twiddling the taps on a straightforward system takes ages to get rignt - and you have to do it eachtime you use it. Whatever system you end up with FORBID anyone to use ANY OTHER tap or flush while the shower is in use. 2). Back boiler Fancy an airlock problem. 3). Telly A TV /DVD combo bought through a boaty outlet is likely to be a lot more than one from Tescos or wherever. There is also a lot less choice in the former Unbranded or house brand tvs = Technika tend to be awkward / poor in operation and a pig to retune when moving around (despite you saying DVDs only...) Inverters are NOT that inefficient so go for a 240V branded make such as LG etc Anyway the mains socket is nearby.... NB most of the comments on electricity come from folks who may be liveaboards who don't cruise every day and / or are not in a marina, so conserving electric power is a serious consideration. .... 6). Cooker THe oven on our cooker does burn with a yellow flame for the first minute or so - it's because of the safety strip. When that heats up the gas flows to the burner which then burns with a blue flame 7). Water pump If the lights flicker then the wiring is too small (cheapskate). If it's been badly wired check to see whether an accumulator tank is fitted (assume that corners have been cut...) Both may affect how the shower works nicely! 8). Fridge If chucks out lots of heat I suspect it's of the absorbtion variety - which are very inefficient to run (hence the separate battery...) Makes any inefficiency of the inverter pale into insignificance. Consider replacing it. 11. Shower pump This is a press and hold switch because if you leave it running you will most likely burn it out. If you fit a switch, have a routine where you pump out while "you're" drying, then switch off OR Fit a unit with a float switch - these do tend to get clogged up (yuk, messy to clean) Fit a pump - like a Whale - that are designed to run dry. Loadsa money. 12. Pump out Umm - I've made a graduated stick, which I thrust into the inner bowels of the tank to tell me how full it is. Loos get more stinky when they fill up - that's a guide. BTW we use some "snake oil" to reduce the smell and stir the tank occasionally to disperse the solids so that the snake oil works. I fitted a plastic indicator through the top which "goes dark" when there's only 3" left. 13. Drinking water Consider fitting a water filter - Midland Chandlers do one - that has a silver compound which kills any bugs.

All these new wheezes are wonderful for empowering the customer (watch, listen do what you want when you want), but they are sold without any understanding either on the customre's or seller's part. They all use a lot of resource = "bandwidth". Fine for folks who have a good speed internet connection (8Mbps and above). There are an awful loot of folks who don't live in high speed areas - really large towns and cities. Even BBC iPlayer and YouTube need a fast connection to avoid stuttering. So, if your boat is out-in-the-sticks on a dongle or a marina WiFi not only will you get poor video BUT while you are downloading your neighbours will get rubbish speeds as well.

I was just about to say "if the load is small then run it on a tap, if bothered run some appliances on 0-12V tap and the others on 12 to 24V" BUT then I saw the awful word FRIDGE. That latter WILL unbalance the system. Two suggestions:- Are you sure the fridge is 12v only - I have an aged compressor type that is 12 or 24v When building the boat, I bought a solid state truck 24 to 12V converter for the radios and IIRC the navigation lights. It's great, 12 years on still running, doesn't even get warm. Much less expensive than fitting a second generator and extra battery.

I was always taught to:- Both boats keep station in the centre deep water of the channel Perhaps slacken speed somewhat About 3/4 of a boat's length apart, both boats bear away to the right About 7/8 past the other boat both boats steer to resume their original position Carry on This process gives:- an oportunity for the bow wash to move away and be disipated Reduce any suction Clears the way ahead for either boat to negotiate a corner. Both skippers need to understand the process and not make faces / exchange unpleasantnesses - accusations of pinching their water etc. It's great when it works....

[boring on] - Drive Plate [boring of] After 11 years our rig (Beta 2203 and PRM160) did the same - rattle in forward gear OK in reverse. Doesn't make sense; however I surmise that as reverse is very much less efficient in terms of load on the engine, then the rattle may be less obvoius?? - Could be Bollox, BUT when a Very Nice Man in Knowle was fixing other disasters, he suggested the dread DP renewal (the engine had to come out anyway). Looking at the duff item - I'm not surprised; only aluminium lugs left to keep the plate connected, all the shock absorber components had long since sheared off. New plate with alledgedly better mechanism now fitted. DIsgraceful - engine had only some 4500 hours on the clock. Just can't get the quality nowadays. HaHaHa). (Actually stripping down the engine / engine bay was the painfull part - I'm told that disconvolvulating the gearbox and refitting was a "doddle"). So there you have it, been there and some else has done it.

Looking at the rest of the posts to date i get the feeling tha "Nobody Knows" - which is not very helpfui... Alternators do get hot even when not charging very much. When they are working at mid to high end of their design rating they get very hot indeed. Don't worry, they're intended to get hot; there's a lot of energy wasted in converting rotational power into electricity, some of the heat is dissipated by the fan and the rest is dissipated by convection. I used to get worried and apart from cursing when I inadvertently touched the thing I now leave well alone. The alternator in question is a Leece and rated at 175amps at 24 Volts - so twice the size of yours. As long as the engine bay has some ventilation, you should be fine.

P'raps that's what the lock is for - to keep them in. Anything happeining at Hawkesbury would be an improvement (apart from the canals, of course)

BW/ whatever don't like it because the output pipe (usually layflat hose tends to thrash about and flood the neighbourthood... A more valid point is that the bucket-and-chuckit facilities are of low capacity so fill up quickly when used for pumpouts. My tankage is 60 gallons... Although I'm used to workinig with liquids (*!), I find flushing the hose after us is a complete pain and impossible to clean efffectively. A cassette loo is much easier to use.... (I don't have one!)

?? Isn't this a matter of excess pressure or pure overheating, I wonder. If the cap is a blanking cap (NOT a good idea without a separate header tank), then IME the addition of a skin tank adds considerably to the amount of fluid in the system which was never designed with that in mind. Perhaps the supplier thought you were going to install a separate remote header tank - this is quite common because leaving an air gap in the engine tank is not sufficient to cope with skin cooling. That happened to me when I started using the skin tank as my fresh water cooling system just couldn't cope with extended river cooling - I kept losing the extra coolant and then the heat exchanger tubes were insufficiently covered to umm - exchange the heat!! Fitted a vented remote header and now the engine runs too cool....

BEWARE - disposable nappies (branded and own brand) degrade quite quickly once they get wetted either with oil or water - 12 hours maximum in my case. It can be a pain to clear up the resulting gel....

Foxton has always been tidy - certainly in my experiance and that goes back to the 80's. However, I don't think the grants pay for the lockies - just raises the profile in BW / CART's eyes. Spare a thought for the Watford flight, that's just as tidy, but it doesn't have the views or the access.

To my mind it's not a matter of how many broad locks, but how the are organised (!) The OP's good lady has never been boating and to present her with all 22 on the first day with no prospect of stopping (unless they cheat) until done, could well be a recipe for disaster? Yes, they are quick to work, and the beams are manageable but the paddles are tedious, and don't forget winding with a long handle is not for ladies with shorter arms and sticky out bits that get bruised.... Much safer to do it in lumps before every one gets tired. Once you've mounted the flight there's nowhere nice to stop for the night until you get nearer Kingswood. I'd make a similar argument for not doing the Stratford; lots of locks and not a lot of space between them (OK, OK, an overstatement). But that's my view based on too many years of cruising and with a mix of friends and family in the early years.

Confused with all the replies - I certainly was, folks drifting into satellite TV etc. My suggestions:- first go to digital UK and key in the postcode(s) where you are likely to cruise. If the predicted reception is said to be good, then get yourself a log periodic aerial like this one - from £9.99, plug it into your telly - and oiff you go. BUT you will need to point in the direction of the local transmitter. If the reception said to be poor or worse, then get yourself:- A FREESAT saltellite box (NOT just a satellite receiver); a s/h sky box will do just dandy A dish kit (dish plus cables and a sat finder) Install it properly and off you go

I think BSS gave up the unequal struggle and said that single core conductor would be acceptible. That said I'd not use it for all the other reasons stated. I didn't know that thick strand stuff was still available - I go back to the days of 7/029 and 3/029.... The problem with thistranded stuff is that many / most sockets don't really work with it - they are designed for the single core stuff. However, you can now terminate the cable with a ferrule (?) that sloves the problem. Artic rated cable (a bit if an overkill as you don't need low temperature and highly flexible stuff for the interior of a NB) looks like a less cost solution