frangar

JUst had this email from Waterscape Waterway: Grand Union Canal Leicester Line » Advice: Grand Union Leicester Line - Lock 18 Kibworth to Lock 30 Kilby From 07/10/2011 until further notice UPDATE (20 October 2011): Further to this advice note, a full stoppage at this location will not now be progressing on the 24th October 2011. The section will remain open to navigation between 10am and 2pm only. We will continue to review the situation on a weekly basis and advise when further information is available. Cheers Gareth

I use Blue Sea....not the cheapest but def the best in my opinion.....never had a probelm with any that have fitted on both new builds and retro: http://bluesea.com/category/1 HTH Gareth

Cant comment on your first 2 points but I would strongly advise fitting a water trap and a modern replaceable paper filter after the day tank in addition to the Lister felt "snake" filter..Modern filters are much more efficient and a lot easier to service/replace...also with increased bio content a water trap is a good idea...I also have a bronze hydraulic fluid filter on the inlet to the day tank to get rid of the larger lumps of crud! HTH Gareth

That sounds like the forward brake band needs adjusting although my experience is only with Lister 3g boxes.... HTH Gareth

The part facing closure is as follows: Advice: Grand Union Leicester Line - Lock 18 Kibworth to Lock 30 Kilby 07 - 24 Oct 2011 Associated Regional Office: South East Waterways As a result of the continued dry weather and reducing water resources the waterway may be faced with closing the navigation completely. Based on current predictions this is expected to happen on Monday 24th October 2011. Opening hours will continue to be 10am to 2pm only until this date. British Waterways are therefore advising customers who need to pass through this section to return to home moorings, to do so by this date. Clearly British Waterways will continue to monitor the situation and advise customers accordingly. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please see the Central Shires notice for advice information between Lock 30 and Lock 38 (which correlates with the above). (Enquiries: Steve Morgan 01908 302500) I think at the moment Foxton is ok as per the restriction for "local" and hire boats but I am trying to get this clarified and will post here when I do. Hope this helps Gareth

Went past a boat today which a notice fixed to the stern which said "Warning - Generator runs late at night"........I didnt know whether to laugh or cry tbh.... Gareth

Does anyone have a prefered supplier that delivers in the East Midlands? So far our marina seems cheapest...which cant be right!! This is for small anthracite nuts btw which run fine in out Squirrel. Cheers Gareth

I Have a mixture of 6v and 12v trojan in (separate banks I might add!) and haven't had any problems with the 12v ones which run the Inverters....Trojan assured me that the construction is the same for both. I think the 6v might have a bit more space between the plates tho. I would be interested why Wotever thinks the 12v ones should be steered clear of? HTH Gareth PS You could try Multicell for them as I think they keep them in stock and can deliver depending on where you are....No connection but have used them in the past.

Pull the lever attached to the fuel pump forward.... There also should be a "pin" which drops down to keep the lever in the stop position. My surveyor was quite happy with this as its how the engine was made although I have heard of others having to fit a system of cables and cranks to enable the stop to be operated from the steering position. As I said in my other post I have adjusted the tickover so the engine can be stopped by fully winding the speedwheel out. Never stop it by cutting off the fuel otherwise you will have to bleed the system which isnt hard but can be messy! I just have a valve on the outlet of the day tank which I use when the engine has stopped to stop any fuel getting past the elements in the injection pump which it seems prone to do with the added head given by the day tank. HTH Gareth

Good point Tim...Hadnt thought of that! Cheers Gareth

I should think so...but someone else might know better....my guess its the length it is to allow sea going boats to heel over and the oil not to come out so you should be ok on a canal!! I await other replies with interest! Cheers Gareth PS Mines the original length and I agree it does get in the way a bit!

Perhaps I should have said that my housing is on the outlet from the top water rail.....Glad you got it sorted...could you post a pic tho cos now im interested as how your JP is plumbed in!...I will do same as soon as I take some pics! Always good to know how others are fitted! Cheers Gareth

My JP has the header fed into the main (ie the one that goes to the skin tank) outlet from one of Mr Redshaws housings...Its mounted about a foot higher than the engine....just remember it needs to be vented to world and not have a pressure cap on it....mine was made by Tony and has a plain cap...the tank has a small hose stub outlet which I've put a tube which goes to a 5 litre container in the bilge to collect any overspill....which only happens when I've blown a headgasket... Cheers Gareth

I have a key switch in engine room and a parallel wired starter only button tucked out the way but reachable from the back step in the boatmans cabin (ie the key switch needs to be in the "ign on" position for the remote switch to work) Works well with the CAV 24v starter on my JP and is V useful on the thames when I have adjusted the idle so that if you wind the speedwheel right down you can stop the engine! HTH Gareth

Yes it is! Try here http://www.craftmasterpaints.co.uk/stockists.htm Cheers Gareth

Mac laptops are one of the few that we dont need to earthlift the signal cable. This very laptop is running straight into the desk via 1/4" mono jacks...no balancing needed! We use the DI Box to isolate the signal path and earth lift as much as balancing the signal.....you can prove this by using 1/4" stereo jack rather than the balanced (XLR or 3 pole jack) connectors I agree that the MSW inverter isnt helping but I think there might be some interesting earth paths going on....possibly even some stray volts on earth which is a problem we have a lot in hotels which dont have a dedicated tech mains. Gareth Edited to add: Both Acers and the Dell that we are using here as well all have "cloverleaf" ie earthed power supplies... the Apple one is a "figure of eight" therefore double insulated....and the Acers and esp the Dell need a decent DI Box.....not ur chinese rubbish to get rid of any earth inducded hum

I'm afraid you can get earth loops from laptops....they are rarely double insulated....Mac or PC....I'm a Live sound engineer and when we use them on shows we run them thro audio isolating transformers with a signal earth lift (DI box)....some laptops are much worse than others for this...Dells are particularly bad!! My guess is that the AC earth is bonded to the DC Negative so thats why its OK when running on the laptops internal batteries. One fix would be a 1:1 Audio isolator with an earth lift Cheers Gareth PS would post a link but in the middle of a show at the moment!!....will find one when I get a few moments!

As Steelaway says...not really unless it was a large i.e. more than 20 amp charger....try leaving the charger connected without the fridge runniing for a few hours then try the fridge...you really need to measure the voltages to see whats happening...you might also find that undersized supply cables to the fridge arent helping either....I fit 16mm2 cables to all fridge installations to make sure there is no voltage drop. Gareth edited to add...SNAP with steelaway!!

Thats suggesting that its battery voltage esp. if it seems to work ok with the engine running....I take it that you connected the charger to the batteries rather than straight to the fridge....if so then the fridge should cope with the output of the charger...try measuring the voltage at the fridge end with the engine stopped to see what you are getting...anything below 12.0v isnt good news. Cheers Gareth

Is the red LED on all the time i.e. constantly or is flashing? The number of flashes and then a pause points you in the right direction for the fault http://www.boatfridge.com/images/upload/docum/RRInstructionsBD35ACCvN02.pdf Hope this helps Cheers Gareth

Shes not that tall......... Gets Coat..... Gareth

There were soooo many things that were wrong with that fire sequence its untrue!!...... Gareth

I used this in the bottom of my gas locker: http://www.dri-dek.com/ Got from Midland Swindlers Seems to put up well with gas bottles being dropped on it and lets gas/water out from underneath hth Gareth

Can highly recommend Mike Carter http://www.marinesurveysltd.co.uk/ Although based near Northwich he will travel....I have him do BSC and Hull surveys on my boat and Im at Debdale Wharf near Market Harborough...his travel costs are reasonable. No connection other than a satisfied customer. HTH Gareth

Just seen this: http://www.dudleynews.co.uk/news/worcestershire/9239583.Arsonists_torch_boats_and_a_car/?ref=rss Also reported on the BBC but as Northwich Marina!! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-14835373 Thoughts go to those concerned Gareth