Bob18

Very big tuit list... Getting bigger by the hour/day/week/month/year

Great band, great sound, great stage presance Freddie was a showman as much as more than a singer.

Trophy - don't you mean "rubbish", to be returned to its owner at the next suitable location - say dredging waste barge. One wouldn't want to be accused of theft after all.

Yes Atherstone is a nightmare. Oh, you meant the Atherstone Locks. I thought you meant the town.....

A ******** lot? I think its about that much, or a bit more - there are some "interesting" typos in the report, someone should get a good tech-author to run their eye over stuff they publish...

Thanks Mike - that answered my question about "is there a list with boat (I said marine) gassafe fitters" Look hard, Look harder Look even harder

Not advisable - you might not be around when the warning smoke is emitted. In one respect you did the right thing. Some batteries do need a "good kick in the pants" to get them back to life. Hitting them with a good big charge, something in excess of 20% of their rating can bring batteries that have suffered lots of deep discharge/gentle charge cycles back to life. What you did was to break up the various "sulphonation" deposits that reduce gradually build up over time, and will eventually kill a battery. Glad to hear you got the charger working again after your abusing it.

Yes, but its more than just a simple "slap it all over" paint. For the story see: http://www.leighspaints.co.uk/en/TA_Complex%20Cover%20Up.aspx (Its a better read than most of the standards I've been suffering in the last few weeks)

Going back to Hannah and Jay's recent question: Right - by definition "1/2", "3/8" and the like are "Imperial" dimensions, likewise "4mm, 10mm, 104mm" are "Metric" dimensions. Thus if you are using a pipe that is described as "1/2in" it is an Imperial pipe, or you use pipe that is described as "8mm" it is a Metric pipe. (I've deliberately chosen pipes of obviously different sizes here) There is a problem, and while it doesn't sound a big one, its a dangerous one. Some Imperial pipes and some Metric fittings nearly fit together properly and the converse, some Metric pipes and some Imperial fittings nearly fit together properly. The key word is "nearly". Ignoring all arguments about what standard applies, and what wall thickness the pipe is, the "nearly" word just is not good enough. You might be lucky using a 1/2 inch fitting on a 12mm pipe and get it to seal, you may be lucky and it won't, but you may be really unlucky and have it appear to seal, only to fall apart... The difference between 1/2in and 12mm is about 5%, which doesn't sound a lot, unless you are trying to stop gas escaping, where the tolerance is a tiny fraction of a percent. Hence my comments (and no doubt a few others) about "use what's there already", and "don't mix the two". So if the boat is fitted with "Imperial", compliant, pipework, then continue to use it, or if its fitted with "Metric" complaint pipework, then use that. Following from Dor's post A serious question - is there a list of LPG/marine (inland) fitters, as there are some differences in the rules between land based and marine rules?

Everything is pointing towards the batteries. If you are near Nottingham don't wait for delivery of a multimeter from Fleebay, take a trip to Maplins and pick one up there. You need a fairly basic one that will give you amps and volts, plus resistance and a continuity buzzer. Advantage of going to Maplins is you can see what it looks and feels like before parting with your cash (you want to be able to read the digits, twiddle the knob and so on). It would also be worth getting a set of connector leads with different sorts of ends on them - if you've only get "clip ons", you will need a "prod", and visa-versa. (Maplins do a range, starting at about six quid for a basic small one, which is probably a bit small and fiddly for sitting in the bowels of a narrowboat, and a few in the twenty to thirty quid range which aren't bad, and up to about sixty quid - a bit much to go dropping)

These are a "standard" wet cell lead acid battery, albeit one of quite substantial proportions. There is a guidance note on the US Battery website - you should match the charging system so it will charge the battery in about 8 hours. By inference with the next note, that is from 80% discharge. One thing, make sure you have an even number as the one quoted is a 6 volt battery, not that anyone here would be foolish enough to try and charge a single one with a twelve volt charger... Just read a bit more about these US batteries - they look a sort of hybrid between an AGM and a flooded cell battery. Very interesting

But I don't like the taste of half burnt sausages in my diesel - they give me indigestion.

Just one tip - if you are moored on the inside and want to get away early for what ever reason, make sure the folks on the outside understand what's going to happen to them at that ungodly hour you intend to move off... (But it could make an entertaining video if they decide to "jump ship" just after you've cleared your escape route)

Mayalld is quite correct - I'd spent the morning working on some 5v stuff, and forgot that I'd moved up to 12V

To comply the pipe needs to have certain dimensions. Go back a few posts. Outside diameter 12mm or less, wall thickness = 0.8mm Over 12.0mm (and that includes 1/2 inch, which is 12.7mm) wall thickness is 1.5mm BES are only one tube supplier, Abacus Tubes Limited for instance do a range of coiled tubes with 0.8mm wall (5, 6, 8, 10 & 12mm od), as well as a 15mm by 1.5mm wall. Indeed don't buy your 1/2in or greater Imperial tubes from BES as they don't comply with the standard, being too thin - a 1/2in pipe needs a 16G wall to comply (that's not to say they wouldn't special order if you really wanted it)

The answer is NOT a smartmeter, that is an aid to finding out what's happening in the long term, not a cure to a problem. First a few questions: How old are the batteries? Have you made sure they are properly topped up with distilled water? Have you checked you fan belt(s)? - Are they tight enough, and not frayed to bits, and do they actually spin the alternator(s) Have you made sure your alternator(s) is charging correctly? Have you made sure that any split charge system is working properly? How long have the batteries been behaving in this manner? Are you perfectly sure that the fridge was the only thing running for the whole period after you stopped the engine? Don't forget that a cabin full of lights can be a good few amps drain, and its getting dark now at 8pm (10 off 20W bulbs is 40amps being drawn, which compares with the 2 amps for a fridge, albeit the fridge is running for a lot longer. A few simple checks before you rush off and spend hundreds of quid on batteries/smart thingies.

Having spent much of the last 20 (very) odd years ploughing through a veritable morass of standards there are a couple of things I've learnt. First, always say which version of a particular standard you are trying to comply with Second, when working with a multi part standard always say which part you are working to Third, arguing with an auditor, inspector, or NoBo (and a few other like minded beings) is a bit like wrestling with a pig in mud - its their environment, and they are having fun, and they will win - even when you think you've won, they will win... If you think its bad working with the British Standards you should try working on a project where there standards are drawn from several nations - we did, and there were so many conflicts and contradictions it kept the lawyers in G&T for a long time just working out which clause of which standard had presidence over the other dozen standards... Anyway, back to the subject... One thing that is certain is that the availability of Imperial copper pipe and fittings is going to get harder in years to come, on that front, for NEW boats it makes sense to use metric fittings and pipes. For existing boats with Imperial fittings then you really don't want to mix Imperial and metric fittings and pipes so stick with what you've got.

3mm aluminium - come on, be a real man. When one of these "babies" went into rapid smoke emission mode the 50kg heatsink suffered terminal damage, or should I say terminal excavation - crater in the device mounting surface about 150mm across and 10mm deep, we could only recover about 50% of the excavated material as "big lumps", the rest contributing to the general smoke cloud....

The reason for the use of commas instead of points to delineate a decimal is due to the laziness of members of one of the UK technical committees. In a previous life my boss was the chair of one the TCs, and he landed us with the task of proofing the final, just on its way to the printers to make sure all punctuation, spelling, notation and so on was totally correct. Four of us set to, and two days later really ***d the printer off, there was a howler on about the third page that meant a total re-vote was needed. We certainly earned our ale that week.

Please note: BS5482:1999 is replaced by BS EN ISO 10239:2000 (BSI website, http://www.standardsdirect.org/standards/standards4/StandardsCatalogue24_view_3824.html ) Further note BS EN ISO 10239:2000 has been updated to BS EN 10239:2008 (with another increase in it price to £130...)

Extracted, from table "Y" of BSEN1057 (for copper, seamless pipes used in various applications including lp gas) 6mm od - 0.8mm 1/4in - no definition for this pipe size given 8mm od - 0.8mm 3/8in - no definition for this pipe size given 10mm od, wall = 0.8mm 1/2 in - no definition for this pipe size given 12mm od, wall = 0.8mm 15mm od, wall = 1mm 18mm od, wall = 1mm 3/4in - no definition for this pipe size given 22mm od, wall = 1.2mm 1in - no definition for this pipe size given 28mm od, wall = 1.2mm Table "Y" gives a lot of other info about working pressures and the like, but does not define any Imperial sized pipes in the size range covered (6mm to 108mm), although there are very close near misses for 3inch and 2.625inch.

There is nothing that says you must use Imperial pipes and fitting for new installations. However the fact that the latest version of '1057 does not define the dimensions for Imperial pipes (which previous versions did) indicates that Imperial pipes are no longer applicable for NEW works, but may be employed for the repair and maintenance of existing works. (Its worth noting that in general extending an existing system to add a new appliance is generally classed under "maintenance" not new works.) So if you've got a gas installation that uses Imperial pipe and fittings and you can get suitable Imperial fittings use them. But if you are doing a new job (new boat) then your really should be using metric pipes and fittings.

Whichever make sure you get the right sized pulley to suit your plodder low reving engine otherwise you will not get a sensible current from it. Advantage of car unit - price, it will be much cheaper than a marine one. Spares and repairs are cheap/easy Advantage of a marine unit - it may last a bit longer so spares/repairs may not be needed, but if they are they will be £££ more expensive.

Ahh, so it was yours I saw departing its moorings the other day....

There are several pairs of boater: Taking three pairs of attributes: those that own the boat they are using and those that don't those that are "nice and courteous", and those that aren't those that obey the rules, and those that don't.. Now take one attribute from each of the three pairs So on one hand you might have boater that owns the boat being used, is an unpleasant yob, and yet obeys the rules. Or on the other hand the boat might belong to someone else, the crew be as nice as pie, but they break rules left right and centre..... Modern NATO jerry cans hold 20 litres, 22 if you tip them back, and must weigh 20kg when empty....