jckm2000

I was under the impression that soldered joints were frowned upon because they were liable to fracturing when subjected to vibration or flexing as in a boat but not a house..... C.

Hmmmm, I've just read that: "Masterboard is a versatile Class O building board......Surface spread of flames: Class O to the building regulations and Class 1 BS 476 Pt 7 - of limited combustibility to BS 576 Pt 11. Can provide 1/2 hour fire resistance and will not give off toxic smoke or gases in the event of a fire......" Also, my stove has a back boiler which covers most of the back so surely the water inside will ensure that the board won't be subject to the full heat from the stove and it will be tiled....?????? C.

Hi Folks, I'm looking for a suitable fireboard to go behind my multifuel stove. My local builders merchant has some Versapanel at a reasonable price. I intend to use 25mm thick board, tile it and have a 10mm air gap between that and the wall. It is a mix of wood fibre and cement but has a fire rating of 'O', it's also resistant to moisture. Would that be ok? Has anyone here used it? Cheers, C.

Hi Folks, My boat has an HR4 fitted to solid engine mounts, at up to 1100 revs it's smooth but anything above that and the vibrations are pretty bad. Is it possible to fit rubber engine mounts that would take out some of the vibration and if so what would I need to look out for? Cheers, C.

Hmmm, now that's interesting. We have a smart phone each and a dongle. All have GiffGaff sims. The phones are on 250 mins calls, 250 texts (calls and texts to other GiffGaff users are free) and unlimited data , they say 'truely unlimited', and that's just £10 a month, but they are not allowed to be tethered. So we have the dongle too, the plan for that isn't as good at £12 per month for 3 gig. I have used the phones wifi to connect the laptop to the internet once or twice when the credit on the dongle ran out but I had assumed that this was the same as tethering, if it's not then you might want to check out GiffGaff. They use the O2 network, sim only though so you need to own your own phone....... I have also used my phone to download some mighty files (650meg +) over the past few months with no hassles from GiffGaff to date. It's quite a luxury to not have to worry about my data usage. On the whole mobile data plans in the UK are terrible. In Sicily we were getting 10gig per month for just 10 euro..... http://giffgaff.com/ no connection etc, etc.... Cheers, C. Update: Apparently using your phone as a hotspot on a Giffgaff goodybag is NOT allowed.......

Ooooo-er!

Sounds like the switch to me, fortunately it's a Johnson, if, when you need a new one, you take the switch housing apart you should see a micro switch like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/low-cost-miniature-6452 ......In there, cheap as chips. C.

Just read the third post on this thread and thought I'd add my 2p to: I added 5 x 110 agm batteries to my yacht a few years back. I bought those big 10mm terminals from a chandlers on the east coast. They kindly offered to lend me the crimpers for a day and told me how much they cost, in case I was thinking of being careless with them. Over £250 I recall. Unfortunately I had to return them before the job was done. Not having silly money to spend on a pair of my own I took my cheapo bolt cutters that I'd got from Aldi a few weeks before, blunted the blades with an angle grinder and set the depth to about 5mm. They did the job admirably. Cheapo solution for you. I'll be doing the same on Berengaria soon....... C.

1760cc X flow.... Even better in a 105E with an Escort 1600 diff fitted Man did that Anglia go! C.

Looks like you can do time lapse on a Gopro HD. These are the funky little cameras people strap to canoes, bikes etc. Very nice bit of kit. I wanted to fit one to my yacht once but ran out of money...... C.

Hi Mike, I guess the GSIUR would apply to us as we will be liveaboards and by heads I mean a shower room. Looks like plan B then.... Cheers C.

I can't see anything in the BSS that says NO to a heads installation, just that enough ventilation is required. C.

Hi folks, I had planned to site my Morco D61e in the heads but on reading the installation instructions it looks like that is not allowed. Is that indeed so (why)? I'm planing to route the hot and cold pipework tomorrow. I do have an alternative spot it could go but which is a way further from the shower/kitchen sink. I'd planned to add a mushroom vent in the heads and a low level vent into the corridor. Will that not suffice? Cheers, C.

I wouldn't have another Jabsco. The pressure switches on these types of pump are a weak point. A replacement for a Jabsco is circa £35. You can replace a Jonhson switch at maplin for around £1.50. This I found out when my second Jabsco failed in Tunisia last winter.

......As a stove backer? 2 x 15mm with a 10mm gap and tiled. Would this be ok or should I fork out the extra for a piece of Super Isol? C.

Not really, it's just that I've seen two distinct lengths of flue terminal sold with this boiler. I used to be a plumber, many years ago but still competent. I also do understand the importance of testing the unit after fitting. I'll have the entire installation checked through by a good friend who is a currently working heating engineer. I wanted to know whether to buy the short terminal or the long one..... Cheers. C.

.....Short or long flue? I'd like to fit the short one if possible. Can I? Cheers, C.

Dimensions are: 840L x 480H x 460W It is indeed for charging a 24v system.....

Hi Julynian, Thanks for your reply. The genny I have, but not fitted yet, is a Hatz engined diesel powered German ex-military unit. I bought it from ebay.de, around £600 delivered. It's not small but with the cover on it's reasonably quiet. I intend fitting it in the engine room. Just like this: http://www.ebay.de/itm/1-9KW-DIESEL-HATZ-BUNDESWEHR-STROM-GENERATOR-NOTSTROM-STROMAGGREGAT-28V-SILENT-/170800775642?pt=DE_Haus_Garten_Heimwerker_Generatoren&hash=item27c48501da I thought it was worth a punt..... C.

Following on from Julynian's topic on central heating pumps I'm wondering if I should go for a 12v pump and use the 22mm pipe I already own rather than buy a load of new, expencive 28mm pipe in the hope that my gravity system will in fact work. Ideally I'd like the central heating to run free from electicity as we'll be without a shoreline in winter but the 12v pump on ebay that was mentioned would only draw .2 of an amp from my 24v system. We'll have 6 x 90w solar panels and a 68amp DC diesel genny on board for back up (6 x 110amp bats). Any thoughts? C.

Have you looked at the Beko DVG592? Around £280, freestanding double oven/grill. FSDs on all burners and LPG convertable. They'll send you the conversion kit free of charge on request. We've just taken delivery of ours but not fitted yet. Seems solid enough. C.

Hi Roger, We're currently at Earith but will be moving to Ely shortly, I'd be very interested in joining your consortium to fuel up for next winter. Cheers, Crispin.

......Morco G111e instantaneous water heater to my 1996 narrowboat? Although she's not new. She's never been fitted out for gas. As I understand it the BSS guys are not insisting on room sealed units now. Am I correct? Cheers C.

I bought 10 of these from Hong Kong, bright and a very nice warm white and they seem well made: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260904007452?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Took about 2 weeks to arrive though. C.

Me too, I'm looking for a full width built-in gas oven without all the 240v gizmos. Can't seem to find one that doesn't have a bloody LED and minute minders etc. A search for that Centurian isn't proving fruitful..... The Spinflo ovens aren't a full width to fit Ikea kitchen units. C.