jonathanA
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Posts posted by jonathanA
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8 hours ago, LadyG said:
I did not read the report, but I would accept their findings as they are the experts. I have seen wood in my stove charring black, which I assume is pyrolysis. Wood can ignite rapidly, all it needs is heat and oxygen.
well your not in a position to comment then are you ?
I'm not saying pyrolysis isn't an issue, but if you'd bothered to read the report you'd see its not a major factor in this instance, even the 'experts' aren't saying it is..
and remember its experts who have told us so so many things that later turned out to be wrong*. Remembering the old adage about "experts" - ex as in a has been and spurt as in a drip under pressure
* - i'm not questioning this report or pyrolysis, just blind faith in 'experts' as suggested by Lady G
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yep think its failed the turing test..
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1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:
After having 7 vodkas in the pub and then a half-bottle of Vodka ('a bottle between them') I'm pretty sure that a smoke detector wouldn't have woken me up.
very true Alan - me neither especially as I don t drink vodka. 🙂
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Actually what I picked up from the lindy lou report (apart from the tragic circumstances) was that the fitting of a smoke detector would undoubtedly have saved a life and that was borne out by the findings of the west midlands fire service who had also dealt with a number of boat fires.
I was less than convinced by the report, that pyrolysis was a significant factor.
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depends @truckcab79 most 'boat stuff' like fridges or pumps come with bare wires or connectors for your bare ended wires. most 'Car accessory' stuff like laptop chargers will most times have 'cigarette lighter' type plugs which you can either use (not very reliable) or cut off and fit your own. of course a lot of stuff comes with USB charging these days so having some USB charging points is probably increasingly worthwhile.
if i was starting from scratch i would use round pin mains plugs and sockets (2A/5A) for anything 'portable' (and 12V) as they are readily available, properly designed and economically priced.
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and Felix Reeves is a lazy journalist whose articles are simply put utter CRAP - poor click bait even by click bait standards...
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2 hours ago, magnetman said:
Thats interesting. Have you gone through full Land Registry searches to ensure this is the case?
I can see why the navigation authority would not want bank maintenance problems.
oh yes very clear on the title deeds that its up to the canal bank and CRT don't dispute that, just between them and the local LPA they try to impose conditions. As the LPA consults CRT for any planning application bordering the Canal, don't know if thats a statutory thing or just something particular to my LPA.
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47 minutes ago, Higgs said:
But nothing beyond the boundary, into land that wasn't controlled by the waterways authority.
Ransom strips, I think.
I think this is largely urban myth. I can only speak from my own personal and direct experience of owning a parcel of land with 60m of offside canal frontage. There is no ransom strip.
who is responsible for maintaining the 'bank' is not at all clear - CRT try to imply its the landowner (me) except they then try to insist that I submit details and pay them to authorise any work on the bankside. In my case simply installing wooden decking (not requiring any support from the canal bed or anything like that). Most of my neighbours just do it/have done it and ignore them.
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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Handy if it is a mooring, no water, no floaty
🙂 Yes all right ... mains/drinking water .. although the clue was "canal side" and its a usable canal in water 🤪
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1 hour ago, dmr said:
If its canalside land you want then join the queue, probably hunderds of boaters and thousands of wannabee boaters having the same dream.
A plot of land canalside does not guarantee that mooring is possible (many canals are shallow on the off side) or that CRT will grant permission.
A local land owner does keep trying to sell me a plot of land (up North) but I suspect he has read articles about moorings in London bringing in big money and has an optimistic view of what his land is worth.
Maybe he's right - I know of some canalside plots in the North that are going for in excess of £100K. They do have mooring rights and water laid on.
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1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:
I can't see a change over switch for the voltmeter, so do you mean alter the wiring to show domestic battery voltage. However, I agree, we need to know the off and on charge voltages
There seems to be a changeover switch for the voltmeter on the domestic switch panel, which whilst not ideal would give another indication.
1 hour ago, newbienarrowboatowner said:The heating is definitely our most urgent issue, it may be another night crowded around the stove! We're leaving the engine to run for a few more hours and we've switched the energy source from inverter to generator as we were told that has a higher capacity. Is that right?
unlikely to be unless you have a generator either on board or on the bank. Do you have mains electricity available wherever you are moored? If so, are you or can you plug into it? If you don't have a generator running and aren't plugged into a shore mains supply then you need the inverter to supply 240v. That's potentially a source of the battery issue you have if the inverter is running 24x7 and maybe powering something power hungry. The inverter is converting your 12v battery to 240v "mains"
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22 minutes ago, newbienarrowboatowner said:
When the volt meter is switched to 'domestic' and the engine is running, the number is now around 14V.
thank you,
I agree with Booke23 - looks like the alternators are both working. I would try the stove with the engine running in case it was a flat battery issue and also check any fuses in case its a blown fuse stopping the pump working (if its still not working) Could any of the switches that are 'off' be the reason the pump isn't running ?
2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:If that 17V is true there is something wrong, and at that charging voltage the batteries may be ruined.
i'm assuming thats the start battery voltage - would be interesting to know what the other voltmeter shows when switched to 'engine battery'. really needs a proper multimeter/voltmeter on the battery to be sure. but as there doesn't seem to be a problem starting, getting some heating is probably the more urgent issue
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this assumes of course that he boat is wired up as most (but not all) are and that the 'green light' is on the engine control panel and not on a charger or inverter or some other equipment.
might be helpful to confirm the engine details and/or post a pic of the engine and control panel (where the green light is) so that relevant advice can be given.
if the voltage when the volt meter is switched to 'domestic' (as per your picture) and the engine is running, does not change then as Tony and others are suggesting it would point to a problem with that alternator or its wiring.
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start with the basics as Jen is suggesting. it seems like you have no problem starting the engine which could mean you have a twin alternator set up, one charging the engine start battery and a domestic one charging the domestic batteries. Any warning lights on when the engine is running ? can you see the alternator(s) and are the belts driving it/them in good condition?
your currently showing the domestic battery at less than 12volts, what is the start battery reading and what are these readings with the engine running ?
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I laid some wickes 12mm laminate, it can cope with some small imperfections on the subfloor because you need to lay it on top of some sort of underlay (some thin some thicker/more insulating). having laid laminate before i completely under estimated how different it is on a boat ... no straight walls to start from, so spent ages working out a centre line and working from centre out contrary to 'accepted practice' . (pic when nearly finished)
its been down for nearly a year and i'm quite happy with it. Easy to keep clean (sweeping brush/mop) even with me and my muddy boots and muddy dog paws...
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have a look at machine mart - i'm not their biggest fan but they have some self priming pumps capable of pumping 'dirty water' (not the submersible ones !). I saw one used as pumpout machine at a marina near leeds and thought it did a great job. (similar to the one you linked to but a 1/10 of the price) )
I have a similar issue and am currently thinking a 12v macerator pump as used on RVs/motorhomes might do the job.
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52 minutes ago, gigoguy said:
CRT intend to force all those with a home mooring that is not a CRT mooring to pay an additional end of garden levy if 50% of the cost of a CRT mooring in their area.
I thought that was the norm now anyway, certainly to my knowledge its been the case for quite a while. So nothing new there.
I'm not sure I'm seeing the 'I'm all right Jack thing' but different folks have different ideas... and people's experiences do differ.
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They need to find an e-scooter to blame it on the current fashion of lithium batteries.
Eta but absolutely appalling for the owner whatever the cause
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49 minutes ago, Peanut said:
You pay that to your Landlord, where it becomes income, and offsets the expense. Notionally, unless you have some crafty scheme, where you have put your home into a SIP.
You can't put residential property and definitely not your home in a SIP. I think it was mooted a few years ago but I think it was Gordon Brown who kaboshed it.
You could put some non residential land in a sip which might then include a mooring as "incidental" to the land.
My experience a few years ago was that a smallish house (holiday home) was broadly equivalent in cost to our boat in a marina. The big difference being the capital cost.
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I think there is a difference between a leisure moorer visiting their moorings in a campervan/motor home and a moorer keeping their motorhome at the mooring site or someone living in it on the car park. I think in these situations there is nothing to be lost in actually speaking to the local mooring manager to understand what the issue (or perceived issue) is . it could be they just need a bit of help/co-operation in managing a situation or dealing with a piss taker or are concerned that other motorhome owners may think its a legitimate place to stay overnight.
have you tried speaking to CRT ?
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I think that must be it, they are still doing regular deliveries, i'll have to ask next time I order. They also supply briquettes for the same price - sometimes I get a couple of bags of those for use on the boat.
be interesting to see some figures for how much difference this ban will actually make a bit like ULEZ zones - more about being seen to do something i suspect... (and stealth taxes)
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2 hours ago, magnetman said:
House Coal Fuel
Starting May 1st 2023, the UK government has now prohibited the domestic sale of ‘house coal’ (also known as Bituminous coal) in England.
You can still purchase house coal in England if you are a working farm or business; you’ll sign a declaration form via email to process the order.
odd that 250Kg I had delivered a few weeks ago, as normal by my local coal merchant must be 'contraband' ..... (£36/50Kg delivered BTW)
i'll await the local plod to drag me away in irons...
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12 hours ago, pebble77 said:
Ah that's a good idea.
A small genny...
I can't run the engine at the moment as its broken down and the leccy said the batteries aren't in good shape so maybe this is a solution for now.
Always a useful thing to have too 👍🏻
I'll contact my electrian for advice on this.
Thank you!
I think I would prioritise getting the engine running -lots of incredibly knowledgeable and helpful folk on here if you are prepared to to get stuck in. once your engine is running then your in a much better position to assess whether the batteries are really scrap or have enough to run the webasto for a few a hours. you could even run it off the starter battery at a push (start it with engine running). Also going to be in a far better position to find a marina/mooring with power for the winter then turning up with a boat with no engine...
no doubt having a non running engine and no solar means even if the batteries the yard fitted were new they are presumably flat as a pancake now.... but may still have some usable capacity if you can get them charged up.
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9 minutes ago, MtB said:
Doesn't look to me like flue liner at all (having installed hundreds!)
i'll bow to your knowledge MTB, but I think Tracy and i are both referring to the solid fuel flue liner which is different to the gas stuff. happy to be corrected.
As I keep saying to SWMBO being right all the time is a curse... 🤣😂
Kennet and Avon is open sewer
in General Boating
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and deleted water ? is that steam ? as in I wouldn't give him the steam off my....