gwinsk

Having had the fridge flatten the leisure batteries, with all the inconvenience that entails, I decided to remove the possibillity of a repeat prformance. I installed an extra battery, to which the fridge is connected, via a locally mounted battery isolator switch. I put a second isolator in a line that links the fridge battery to the rest of the leisure bank. To switch the fridge off, when I wish to, I use the first isolator. When the engine runs, I switch in the link bewtween the two banks. When moored up, the first job is to isolate fridge batt from the rest. No problems since making the simple change. Having looked for a decent fridge switch, I decided the battery isolator is best built to do the job and available at a reasonable price. Gerry

It looks pretty much the same as the one I'm replacing. Mine had hot water inputs both from the Morso backboiler and from the engine coolant. From the lagging and presence of the immersion heater, I suspect it to be a domestic hot water cistern. On most trips it initially failed to heat the water. Once working, it was fine. In our case it was ingress of air to the line taking hot water from engine to calorifier and cured, each trip, by disconnecting the vertical hot in pipe and topping up with water, to expel air. To try to overcome the problem, also to reduce expanded coolant water spill, from the integral engine header, we fitted a coolant header tank, just below the engine room roof. It cured the spill but not the air ingress. I've bitten the bullet and am having a proper marine horizontal calorifier fitted, to be located below the double bed. Friends with that setup don't seem to have the problem. There is also said to be a question over the abillity of a domestic cistern to withstand narrow boat pressures. Wouldn't know about that though. Gerry Winskill

Not if you no longer live in the UK but are keen enough to ignore the obvious option of selling, and use it whenever possible. Gerry Winskill

That is probably the easiest, long term, solution. The frustration is that we won't be going across to the boat again until next year. Gerry Winskill

My wife recently bought me a Schneider two stroke petrol generator, to cover the possibillity that we might arrive at the boat, to find a flat starter battery. Although there is a plug and lead supplied for the DC outlet, there isn't one for the AC outlet socket. Worse, this socket must be of a European persuasion, since it's about the size of a UK three round pin outlet but whereas the centre pin slot is round, the other two are rectangular, like those on a normal 240 volts domestic socket. I wrote to the supplier, Coopers of Stortford, asking whether they had forgotten to include the AC plug or, alternatively, could they tell me where I might buy one. The answer is a gem: As the advert states, this item provides you with "portable 230-volt mains power and 12-volt/10A DC power wherever you need it" and does not include a power outlet for AC power. It may be possible to get an adaptor so that this can be converted to AC, however, there is no plug or cable available from the suppliers." Ignorance is wider spread than I feared. A Yahoo search on Schneider Portable Generator threw up The Green Reaper as another supplier. Their sales blurb includes "This superb petrol generator providing you with portable 240-volt DC power, wherever and whenever you need it." It goes on to quote the DC Power as being 240 volts at 50Hz................ I've not yet pointed out to them that not knowing the difference between 12v DC and 240v AC is a sure fire way to get killed! Does anyone have one of these unusual AC outlet cockets and know where I can get a plug to fit? Gerry Winskill

My advice, from when I fitted out our first boat, is to look for a decent caravan accessories shop and check there, first. I was astonished at how much lower were prices for, eg, a cassette toilet, than in the chandleries. When I asked the proprietor why, after buying it, he said it's because there's more competition and caravanners are more resistant to being ripped off. As an example of BAT prices, my local chandler charges £37 for 1 litre of red oxide paint. At a Focus store, a 500ml can of the Valspar Red Oxide set me back £7.50! Pity caravaners don't use ropes, fenders etc. Gerry Winskill

A friend's boat is fitted with one but that's a semi trad. I had a good look. Access is OK but mainly because, having lifted the large engine cover, inside the rear door, he can stand down in the engine compartment, so that he leans directly over the weed hatch. My setup would involve wedging feet either side of the hot gearbox. Less attractive. Gerry

I've only just dropped across this thread, so hope I'm not too late! Living across the Irish Sea from the boat, months go by between visits. The worry then is that batteries will be low on arrival. Solar panels seem an ideal solution, since there's plenty of time to push in a decent charge. Reading the thread has answered one of my questions; I'll obviously need a controller. If I'm leaving the batteries isolated, will I need one panel for Starter and another for the three Leisure batteries? Gerry

Paul, I'd wondered about that possibillity and was considering a 1/4" alloy cross, welded to the uper surface of the top plate. I guess another option would be to seek a heavier gauge for the top plate. Could finish up with the same weight as now! To get around the alignment problem I could get it initially fabricated in two parts, then offer it up, with something like plasticine, no the top plate underside, before marking and getting the two sections welded together. Can't take the obvious route of giving the shop the existing unit, as we live some way away and I don't fancy leaving the boat with hatch exposed. Gerry

John, I hadn't thought of using four square section spacer tubes, to make the cavitation plate stiffer. Good idea and, in aluminium, unlikely to increase the weight significantly. I'd intended to have the spacers welded only to the cavitation plate, with rubber pads on top, to fill gap between spacer and top plate. Re top plate stiffening. Do you mean a 25mm strip welded to the top of the top plate, or extending downwards from it, around the hatch walls? I'll see if a local fabrication shop, who've done bike bits for me, will quote. Gerry Winskill

Sorry; that should have read 1/4" but the shift didn't work.