snigsnig

I bought a wetvac a while ago, but it turned out to be an 'ebay special' (i.e. didn't do what it should), so will definitely look into getting a decent one. Thanks. I managed to mop a lot of it out now (do it on each visit), and cleared out a drain from the deck that I discovered was blocked, so less rainwater seems to be getting in. I actually can't wait for the weather to improve a bit and to get stuck in to sorting the engine room out properly. Sad! N

Will do. I've already bought myself a spare set of gaskets, lol :-) N

Well, by some miracle I actually managed to fit the new D5 without too much hassle, fitted it to the existing rads that were hooked up the previous Hydronic 10, and pleased to report it works beautifully. I have a 70 footer with 5 rads running the full length of the cabin and a calorifier, and the whole system heats up really quickly, about 10 or 15 mins for full heat to the rads and about 40 mins for the hot water. Bloody chuffed N

?? Its disconnected for now as I obviously don't want any oil or diesel going overboard. N

I can get rid of it, the problem is that its so filthy I can't obviously pump it overboard, bilge pump is disconnected and we've had so much rain lately its proving to be a slow process. Getting there though, and will soak up the last of it with Isol8 as its pretty cheap. N

Cheers guys! Lots of useful stuff there. I did try those exact absorbant pads, but they weren't great. The Isol8/cat litter/sawdust route sounds like a winner! N

Hi guys I'm after any tips for cleaning out filthy oil-ridden engine bilges please! I had a bad oil leak a while ago, plus lots of diesel has dropped down there while faffing about with the Eberspacher. I'm semi-trad so its quite tricky to get down there properly, and am keen to get my engine sorted but I'm kind of stumped as to how to get it properly clean. Would like to paint it but every surface seems to be oily. Have tried bilge cleaner which is supposed to neutralise oil but it was about a useful as the proverbial chocolate teapot. I pumped as much as I could into a drum container (its far too dirty to pump overboard, I have the bilge pump disconnected for now) but there is still an inch or so of pretty rancid water that I just can't get shut of. I've tried those oil soaking rags, nappies, the lot! Any tips would be gratefully received :-) Neil

Clear as mud! N

Cheers guys. From doing some quick research its clear the "1kw per radiator" thing is nonsense, everything has its own particular rating. And the guy who told me that claimed he worked for Eberspacher for 20 years! Errr.. o-kayyyyyyyy.... no wonder they've got such a bad rep. N

Try somewhere like photobucket.com. N

Woh! 50 years is seriously good going! Would be great to see a pic. N

That's great, thanks. And thanks to Peter for his PM. Thinking about it all the radiators are single panel finned ones, 3 of them are small, and the one on the bathroom is tiny, so I don't reckon they are anywhere near 5kw total. Its easy to forget how little heat it really takes to heat a narrowboat! I'll do some rough measurements on my next visit and see if I can find a chart online to calculate what kind of kw they really need. Neil

My last boat was an Eggbridge boat. Loved dearly, only sold as she was only 30ft and we planned to live aboard She is a steel narrowboat, not GRP, quite flimsy (5/3/3 original plates) but well built so still going strong. She was built 1980. Currently up for sale again over in Ellesmere. Neil

Does anyone know what the rule of thumb is regarding what Eberspacher unit is (realistically) best for what length of boat please? I've been told 1kw per radiator and 2kw for the calorifier. I have a 70ft boat with 5 rads and a calorifier, have ripped out a knackered Hydronic 10, and would like to replace it with a D5WSC. But will it provide enough heat? We obviously have a stove too although its effect on our boat is quite limited as its right up front. There's a lot of talk about these heaters underworking which is why they pack up, so surely its best to work it to its max? Cheers Neil

Bench tested it again yesterday but with proper fuel and water connections, and did the same as it did in the boat, hence my decision to have it looked at professionally. I'm only half done refurbing my boat and this thing has been taking up way too much time and energy, been fiddling about with it on and off for 6 months, so off it goes! N

Let's face it, EVERYTHING is a potential issue on these things - fuel, power, installation, wiring, fuel line, filter, the doofus that installed it, the doofus previous owner that failed to maintain it... I'm biting the bullet and the bugger is off to PF Jones after Christmas for a proper once-over. At least then I will know for sure the problem and will know what to tackle if it reoccurs (if it isn't unrepairable that is!). Neil

I had a pretty old and decrepit Eber in my last boat, and I never had a single problem with it, it always fired up fine, even when it was -10, and heated the boat quickly and thoroughly - I loved it! - and it used so little diesel it was like magic. I guess that's why I'm persevering with this one, as I have a previous good experience. I bench tested the unit as best I could and the actual heater seems to work fine, but when its in situ it closes down, which matches with the boat's previous owner's comments. My next step is renewing wiring and fuel line to the fuel pump as a couple of things hint at that being a possible issue. After that it will be having the whole wiring to the Eber looked at, even though power gets to the unit and I can't find any evidence of voltage drop. Such fun! N

Well, its now exactly 2 months since my last post about this, and the Eberspacher is now in a carrier bag in the boot of my car! We aren't moving on board til spring now so we've survived with the Squirrel when on board. My biggest issue recently has been finding anyone with any decent know-how in our area to actually take a proper look at the heater. The mechanic at my marina came out with a load of waffle about bench testing it when I spoke to him a while ago, but when I did what he said and took it out and took it to his workshop, he seemed to have had a memory lapse - "we don't do those, and you should have left it in the boat". ffs! The nearest places cost serious £££££'s to even take a look, and there seems to be very dubious knowledge of the Hydronic 10 anyway, so I'm resigned to reading pages and pages of technical information, and forever tinkering with the ****ing thing myself until maybe one day something will click and it will start working again! I'm actually crossing my fingers that I may have had a breakthrough with a knackered pump cable but I'll touch wood when saying that! One little tip I'd like to share that I've discovered, is that if your Eberspacher locks you out after a certain number of failed starts, DON'T pay out for an engineer to come and unlock it for you. If you disable your 12v system while the heater is switched to 'on', then switch it to 'off', turn your 12v back on and then switch the heater back to 'on' it will unlock. It sometimes takes 3 goes, but often works first time, though you need to leave it at least a minute or two after it locks you out before trying it. Also make sure nothing that could be damaged by the 12v being flicked on and off is connected before doing it. Neil

Actually a good point, as the Tesco was originally part of a massive development plan, which never happened (only the Tesco)... the new housing being built close by was part of another massive development plan, which never happened (only the houses, and a lot less than originally planned)... Ellesmere council are famous for deliberating over things for literally decades in some instances, and things just never happening as planned, so I would actually be very surprised if this new scheme goes ahead. They have been discussing what to do with the old canal warehouse since the 1950s! It'll fall down before it gets the TLC it deserves.

The marina is feasible as its a very popular part of the network, its the whole "leisure complex" part that sounds like real pie in the sky to me. Ellesmere is a lovely, small, but relatively poor town, with terrible transport links (apart from by boat!). And they are already building a load of new housing behind the old dairy site, which people are saying will even struggle to be sold/rented as there just isn't the demand. It does seem a bit odd considering there is already a marina. Different company obviously, but shame they couldn't just expand Blackwater into the adjoining field if they really must develop Ellesmere.

I installed a twin wall flue on my Morso - and just a 5" domestic Selkirk one - and I can vouch for the fact that it draws better, burns more efficiently, at a guess I would say 2/3 of the fuel for an uninsulated flue, and it just generally feels much safer. And for the folks that always moan about "what about the heat you get from the flue itself", the flue does actually still get hot (eventually) and radiate heat, just not hot enough to burn the skin off your hands, nor set your curtains and books alight from 3 feet away! It also seems to spread the heat lower in the cabin rather than losing so much at ceiling height. I noticed a couple of reputable fitters local to me have started using insulated flues recently too, so I'm glad to see people are finally getting sensible and moving with the times rather than digging their heels in and insisting insulated flues are pointless on a narrowboat.

"Longboat" - hahaha. Careful not to be raped and pillaged by those pesky Vikings, George!

I love the conspiracy theories about Tattenhall that go on on this forum. So random! What exactly is putting you off kevin1? Neil

Its a shame that the residents now seem to view the canal as little more than a glorified duck pond. Neil