IDS

I did my roof with a scabbler it was brilliant. It only took half a day so 1 days hire is sufficient. They are 110v, I ran it from a 2kva honda genny, if you propose to use a tansformer make sure you get a big enough one.

I can recommend Phil Speight's courses. I did one a few years ago and then felt very confident to tackle boat painting jobs. (I started with my roof) The course I did was 2 days - packed with practical information and demonstrations, and tips for what to do when things go wrong. see - http://www.canaljunction.com/philspeight/ give him a call

If you phone or email MCS they are very helpful with customer support. For me they had helpful suggestions for the configuration required where the draw off point in the tank was not at the lowest level (i.e. dip tube inside the tank)

just fill it slowly towards of the fill then all will be well

We cycled a bit of the Nantes-Brest whilst staying in Malestroit last year. Very accessible and well surfaced. Lots of interesting places to go in that part of Brittany. Also great environment around Golfe du Morbihan with cycling opportunities on the islands and surroundings.

As previously mentioned, close valve from front tank to pump, and turn off pump. Turn on a hot tap (to let air into the system as you drain), and drain calorifier (no need to disturb the PRV) .

you could fit a 3 way 'T port' ball valve at the point where the supply from the Alde splits to rads and calorifier, then you have the choice of heating, hot water or both together from a single valve. see http://www.flow-controls.com/news/What-is-T-or-L-shaped-3-way-valve--7.html

or these from ebay, I used these last summer http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boat-Cover-Canopy-Fittings-Snap-fastener-stainless-canvas-to-screw-kit-tools-/190665817548?

If you dismantle the switch housing again look for the switch or its actuator lever ( if it has one) being not quite seated correctly. You can also check that the switch is operating reliably electrically if you have a multi-meter. Check the resistance across the terminals when it is in its rest position when operating the switch manually, it should be much less than 1 ohm. These switches do fail when the internal contacts burn and go high resistance. Replacement switches are available from pump supplier (or Ebay/Maplins ... cheaper - make sure to get one with a contact rating of at least 10A )

There are loads of battery powered cheap detectors on Amazon (search water/leak alarm). Most have a small alarm/battery box and a remote sensor that you can put in the bilge, or under your water pump. I replaced the battery in mine with a cheap conversion to run it from the boat 12v. (Maplins sell "fixed voltage regulators" for pence that do the job,)

Well done Mac, always look forward to your reviews Ian

I assume you mean your pump turns on at 10 psi and off at 25psi. In this case your accumulator will do a better job for you if you reduce its preset pressure to 12 psi.

The pulsating tap indicates that your accumulator (assuming it is positioned near the pump) is not doing its job at all. A working accumulator will act to smooth out pressure variations from the pump. Test your accumulator is working - from an earlier post on another thread :- Simple accumulator functional test. Turn off all taps. Turn on pump, wait until pump stops, turn off pump. Turn on a tap and collect the water in a measuring jug and measure how much water you get. If you get about half the volume of the accumulator then everything is set up fine. If you get nothing then either the accumulator is isolated from the system, empty, or there is too much pressure in it. Release some pressure and repeat the test see if that improves things. Adjust the pressure in the accumulator until you get about 1 litre from a 2 litre accumulator. if nothing comes out then there is no pressure and probably the the air valve has leaked, just pump it up to about 10-15 psi. and test again.

Isn't the clue in the name 'balance beam' ?

Sounds like either there is too much pressure in your accumulator, or your pump cut off pressure is too low.

This is what you would expect from an air pocket trapped in the top of the calorifier. It effectively increases the capacity of your accumulator, so lightens the load on the pump cycling. Could even be construed as a good thing. Provided your PRV is at the highest point of the calorifier it will bleed off the air when operated manually.

Providing air is coming out of the tap then eventually water will follow. However if the calorifier has managed to drain off some or all of its water then you need to find where it got out. I assume the pump was off whilst you were away from the boat. If you turn off all taps and turn on the pump them the system should pressurise and the pump should turn off. It will take much longer than usual if there is air in the calorifier. Once you have some pressure in the system look for leaks in pipe joints all the way from the water tank through the pump to the calorifier. If you have plastic piping look for anything that may have deformed or stressed the pipes in the region of a joint.

Another vote for a head torch every time. You should already have one anyway for getting along the towpath at night.

Ask the manufacturer for the temperature spec of the device if it is not specified in the instructions. (I guess if it is not specified in the instructions and you melt it then you have a guarantee claim)

The header tank should have a line on it to show the fill 'max level'. Use a torch if it is not immediately obvious.

I've never drained the freshwater tank, but do drain freshwater pipes, water filters and calorifier. Have taken pumps home in bad winters. Check engine and CH circuit anti freeze strength with a hydrometer.

You are quite right. I suppose my main point is that it is a simple check without having to get down on your knees, and at the end of the day I'd be happy with a setting +/-20% of the optimum.

You don't need a pressure gauge if you use the volume method as described earlier. You check your accumulator setting without even going anywhere near it just using a tap and the pump switch.(remember Boyles law !) Set the accumulator inflation using a bike pump until test volume is about half the accumulator volume. This method as well as being simpler than using a pressure gauge is probably more precise than most commonly abailable cheap pressure gauges. However use a pressure gauge when setting the pump cut out pressure (measure pressure at accumulator with the pump turned on)

Simple accumulator functional test. Turn off all tabs. Turn on pump, wait until pump stops, turn off pump. Turn on a tap and collect the water in a measuring jug and measure how much water you get. If you get about half the volume of the accumulator then everything is set up fine. If you get nothing then either the accumulator is isolated from the system or there is too much pressure in it. Release some pressure and repeat the test see if that improves things. Adjust the pressure in the accumulator until you get about 1 litre from a 2 litre accumulator.