frangar

Yep!! try the one @ Hemel....was very useful when we moored down there!!

Sodium Hypochlorite....as used by dairy farmers to clean milking equipment...be VERY careful tho....its highly corrosive undiluted...costs about £15.00 for 20l and use it as a 5% solution.....a little goes a long way!!...Google it to find out more Cheers Gareth

The only thing I would say is that if its enamelled then if its like the enamelled squirrel we had the enamel does bubble up and flake off in time....apparently this is worse in boats when the stove is not used all the time because the castings absorb moisture which when you light a fire goes outward....forcing the enamel coating off....it doesn't affect a blacked/painted stove in the same way... Other than that it looks a really nice bit of kit....esp for the price! Cheers Gareth

Where do you work.....cos I want to work there too......!!! Very cool pics.... Cheers Gareth

As this thread proves everything thats wrong about web forums......I'm off to actually cruise my boat!!! Cheers Gareth (Oh and heaven forbid my engine smokes a bit as well.....but I suppose others want that banned as well....)

As I said in my earlier post we always stop, clean the sluice down and let anyone who is waiting to empty a cassette do so.....Although Anderton has a self op pump out machine like all the other BW owned self pumpouts it never seems to work.... Cheers Gareth

I will still use my self pumpout where allowed and making sure the sluice is cleaner when i have left than when i arrived.....as with everything some people are less considerate than others.....and yes there is a cost saving....but ffs people some of you seem to get very worked up about this....but i presume the sh*t from your cassettes doesn't stink and you can walk on water as well!! Cheers Gareth

How did you fix the sensor to the flywheel?? I dont fancy chasing flying magnets around the engine room.....!! Does the magnet "leach" into the flywheel over time thus reducing the accuracy? I looked at the interfaces but by the time you got one of those and the dial/readout it was getting close to the cost of the VDO unit..... Cheers for all the quick replies....will have a think about what way to go! Gareth

When we were looking at a house with a mooring that needed piling and dredging BW didnt want to know.....they suggested a few contractors who in turn said as it needed water based plant due to the lack of access also didnt want to know as it was too small a job for them.....didnt pursue it as the house wasnt really for us in the end.....maybe a word with the boys on the ground rather than the office might be better....they might be passing with the dredger and in return for a few beer tokens............etc Cheers Gareth

Good God!! I agree with Phylis........ Need a lie down now...... We have a pump out and a grotty potty for a back up/winter when we might be iced in etc We also have a self pumpout kit Its fine to use...yes one of us does have to hold the pipe to avoid a mess but one of us also has to pour the potty down the sluice too....so not much difference there....It wouldnt take much to make the relevent disposal points self pump out friendly....just a suitable joint in the soil pipe that the hose could connect to.....and all the BW owned self pumpout machines we have come across have either been out of order or needed a card from the shop 10 locks back which was a different type of card from the one you brought last time so you had a spare..... We have never left a mess at any sanitary station and have always stopped and let anyone with a potty empty it...making sure we had rinsed it all down first....we have however seen the mess caused by some potty owners not being quite so considerate.... Some places are better for others to use it and we respect when it says no self pump out...this is mainly due to the sites having small septic tanks/digesters.... I really object to people running noisy diesel heating all night....perhaps we shouild ban that as the noise and fumes could harm my health as well............. Cheers Gareth Cheers Gareth

Try Toolstation.com Have used their floor paint at our unit and it seems fine...as does their take on Hammerite..... They dont have the range of stuff that Screwfix do but they are more helpful...you can check stock at the trade counters...and they seem a bit cheaper for the same stuff. Cheers Gareth

Now that I have upgraded the alternator to a A127 with a "W" terminal I am after a suitable rev counter....the only problem is that as my JP has a max speed of 1200rpm it makes finding a gauge with a suitable scale a bit tricky...... I have found a VDO unit which goes to 1500rpm but its about £120.... Anyone know of any others....I looked at the one that was mentioned on here a while back that worked off the injector pipes but I dont really want cables hanging off the engine if poss..... Im not too fussed over a dial or digital type...either is fine...in fact i thought finding a digital one would be easy but they all seem to be for petrol engines working off the HT cables.... Cheers Gareth

Following on from another thread about fuel....... With the proposed introduction of low sulphur red fuel I can foresee us people with vintage engines having a problem! Unlike when lead was removed from petrol...where suppliers came up with lead additives for older engines without hardened valve seats....I dont think the market in vintage diesel engines will be big enough for this to happen.....soooo.... What ideas do people have as a replacement for the sulphur? As I understand it its needed to lubricate the injector pump....so would a monograde oil work??....if so how much would you need to add??...would this make the exhaust even more smokey?? (not that my JP smokes you understand!!!...ahem) Why cant the powers that be stop tinkering with stuff that has been fine.... My JP pump (made by C.A.V.) has oil in it to lube the cams but I guess the sulphur lubes other parts..... Cheers Gareth (Otherwise I might just have to buy a 1000l IBC tank and get good old fashioned Gas Oil.........oh a a few jerry cans....) Edited to add that if I've plonked this in the wrong forum....and I think I may have....please feel free to move!!...I blame my dongle!!

It looks like it had rotted through....the rest of the gate didnt look too good either!! Felt sorry for one of the BW guys who didnt have a windlass but was using an adjustable spanner!!....they were most helpful though...you cant help feeling that more guys like them and less managers might help problems like this from happening in the first place. We had fun in Diglis lock on the Severn as well......most of the riding ropes arent attached at the bottom and the leakage from the top gates means keeping to the wall is fun cos the water keeps trying to push the bows out!!.... Think there needs to be some money spent soon before the system grinds to a halt!

Well hopefully its all sorted now! When we came through this morning two very helpful BW chaps were using ropes to open and close the gate....the new beam was due to arrive at lunchtime and as it was already made it should hopefully fit........ Must say the rest of the flight is in need of some TLC....hope it gets some soon or I can see more problems looming. Cheers Gareth

Hi Posting here instead of stoppages cos it might get more readers and also Im not sure its true!! Just heard from a chap tying his cruiser up that the balance beam has fallen off lock 11 on the stratford and BW are shutting it tomorrow for repair....As we hope to go down tomorrow this might put a spanner in the works....Has anyone else heard anything??...looked on Waterscape but surprisingly there is nothing on there (!!!)...have wandered down to the top lock but there isnt any notices...and lock 11 seems a bit to far to walk now we are warm and dry...besides I will only stress if I find the beam sitting on the floor!! Any news gratefully received! Cheers Gareth

Well the self pump out works great!! All free and for as long as you like....gave the tank a good rinse out!! More of these would be great!! Cheers Gareth

Its not snobbery.....just think that if you are going to live afloat you should have some idea of why things were designed like they are and have some respect for tradition....I was 21 when I brought my boat but I spent a long time looking at boats...walking towpaths....finding out what was what....It was wanting to be a part of this heritage rather than a cheap way to live that attracted me to living on a boat.....maybe I am just becoming a grumpy old man but I really do think that now you do get a different type of person living afloat....one that sees it as a trendy thing to do rather than for any sense of feeling about the environment they are surrounded by....and judging from how some people "restore" old houses maybe they should be made to move!! Bah Humbug! Gareth

Thank god! We need more articles like that so that people who live on boats are the sort that understand what living afloat takes....too many people just see it as a cheap form of living rather than wanting to understand the history & hertiage behind it...Good riddance I say!! Cheers Gareth (Who has worked out he has now lived afloat for 18 years!!....makes me feel old!)

Cheers Chaps!! Will report back after we have used it! (Prob on Tuesday at this rate!!) Many thanks Gareth

Hi Does anyone know if the free pump out on the Avon below Evesham that is mentioned in the Nicholsons is still in operation? I dont want to pay money if I can get one for nowt....and it seems they arent keen on Self pump-outs at their Elsan Points.....and before anyone starts I dont want to be told why self pumpouts are a bad idea....Never had a problem with ours and we always make sure the sluice is cleaner than when we started!! Cheers Gareth

We have a bullseye on our boat. Having played with a bit of paper it seems that the light is focussed about 2" below the lens...meaning there is nothing to burn where that is...the liner is in brass...maybe more modern ones have a different focal point??? I like our bullseye cos u can see if it's sunny before u get up! Oh & it's right for a boatmans cabin. I think maybe the problem lies more the design of modern bullseyes. Cheers Gareth

Surely its to do with the new eco friendly low carbon Propane.......... Cheers Gareth

In the Lister JP manual it states what height the day tank should be so the fuel pressure to the injector pump is right. I have heard of electric pumps being fitted to vintage engines but im not sure that the injector pumps would like it if the pressure was too high.... The Day tank also acts a reserve tank to warn you the main tank is getting low....we managed 3 days on our day tank when the pipe between the main and day tank failed...... Cheers Gareth

Hi Right further to my previous topic I sourced a Chinese copy of a Lucas A127 from ebay which according to the printout which came with it is a 70A unit (I'm not too sure about this as although the graph showed 70A as a max output it only seems to get to about 60A even when I have the inverter going flat out regardless of engine speed whereas my old A133 seemed to make 72A...) It fitted the mountings fine...just needing one size smaller A section belt and I have changed the terminals to suit...I am now wondering given how hard it was going to be to get a spare A133 if I should get another A127....I have seen on the Adverc site that they do a Prestolite copy of a A127 which is 90A but also £150 +Vat although that does have an insulated return...However the Auto electrical factors that I used to rebuild my JP2 starter motor that seem to know their stuff dont reckon you can get any higher than 70A for the same frame size....however its a bit tricky to search without a lucas code or a donor vehicle to reference it against. Anybody got any thoughts or suppliers of 70A/90A A127 alts.....I have looked at Wood Autos site but got bogged down in the number of different models and prices!! Cheers Gareth