IdealStandard

Interesting. That does make a lot of sense. So plumbing the heat exchanger back in to allow direct heating of the rads from the engine is probably a more effective way of heating them up? Not much use when I'm up at 7, but for lazy mornings it's an option. Ideally I'd have a backboiler with rads in the bedroom (at the stern) as the heat really doesn't make it down there and particularly not overnight.

So I've been planning an adaptation to my heating system for a while - it's one of those things where I'm planning to build something as a stopgap with the potential to expand it later, but I'm not sure by how much. Currently I have a Chelsea Villager Duo stove without a backboiler as a main heat source. It's great, but it's old and keeping in a fire overnight is near enough impossible without using loads of smokeless (which feels like a waste). I have a Rinnai instant water heater that does the job for showers and washing up. I've got a water cooled engine and I set up a really simple system of heating some radiators using a heat exchanger and a small 12v pump. It did the job, but there's obviously no heat storage and what I really want is a system that allows me to flip a switch and have heat in the morning. The radiators are still there, with pipes heading out to the engine bay. The plan was always to leave potential for a calorifier and I think it's now time to sort it out properly.I'm not shorepower quite a lot, but I want to be able to cruise in comfort and use the engine for heat. So....... For my current setup to function I require a calorifier with enough capactiy and heat retention to allow me to run the engine before 8pm and have hot rads for around an hour at 7am. I think I need a single coil calorifier (in the future a backboiler would be sensible, but it's a bit of a pipe dream so not sure I need to plan for it) with pretty minimal capacity but good thermal properties. I also don't want to spend much money! Will 22l be enough? Is single coil much cheaper than double or should I just get a double to futureproof? Are the immersion heaters pretty standard in term of efficiency? Can anyone see any flaws in my current system? Does the PRV on the calorifier negate the need of a header tank? Any links or leads to cheap/secondhand/good calorifiers? Many thanks Tim

Hi All Thanks for all of your excellent advice and help. I looked into a few of your suggestions and then tried wiring in a seperate fuse for the water system which has solved the problem. No overheating or blown fuses which is great. It also has the appropriate fuse now too. It's all a bit of a mess and I will look at getting a new fuse board/circuit breakers soon but this only cost £2 so it was a winner for th eitme being. Thanks again and happy boating Tim Oh and I think JonathanA was spot on in his diagnosis after some head scratching.

I'l take some pics tonight and post tomorrow. Thanks.

Interesting. The only problem with that diagnosis is that the fuse had only gone once, whereas the problem of the fuse holder snapping has happened twice now. I originally though it might be due to the plastic simply corroding, but I purchase a new fuse holder and it happened again and I think it must be down to the heat that they are going. Is the heat cause by excess resistance?

Hi All I've been having a problem recently with fuses blowing and the fuse board getting warm when using my water pump. I have installed new batteries recently and the problem only seems to have started since then. I have a Jabsco Par Max 4 and it works perfectly. When I use the water system for any period of time (say a five minute shower or more) the fuse board gets warm. Recently I have had the 10amp fuse blow and even more annoyingly, the fuse holders have been popping out (this type http://www.iboatsimages.com/mall/image/view/4/6/fuseholder_1.jpg) and snapping so that they don't clip back in again. Am I right in thinking that this is likely to be due to the cable to the water pump being too thin? In the short term I need some replacement fuse holders and in the long term I need to figure out exactly what is going on and remedy it. All suggestions welcomed. Many thanks Tim

Looks like this is now sorted.

The barrus engineer pressure tested the coolant system and recommended against doing it. I was more than willing to lap up that information as I really needed to get going. It was obviously bad advice. Interestingly the gasket hasn't blown around the sheared bolt, but it seems far fetched for the two things to be coincidence.

I was given the green light on the engine by Barrus, set off towards Bath and only got as far as Keynsham. Gasket between the water pump and block failed, dumping all the coolant in the bilge and overheating the engine. I'm not stuck tied to a tree with heavy rain forecast tomorrow. Great.

I tried Chandleries and garages, didn't think to check plumbers merchants. Thanks for the tip.

Bath narrowboats quote me £2.25/litre to pump out my bilge. That must be some kind of joke!

Found the bugger. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270790303008?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 Only problem now is that I'm going to have to do at least a couple of days of cruising with an engine that has recently overheated more times than I've had hot dinners. So any suggestions for a quick fix? I've got some little temperature stickers on the engine, but I'm not sure how much I trust them.

Pretty sure it's NPT. I'll check those out, thanks.

You would hope so wouldn't you. Only problem is that they delivered the last part as they sent and engineer. My nearest dealer for their products is in Trowbridge and I'm in Bristol. Bit of a nightmare.

Hello My temperature sender is knackered and I sourced a replacement from the distributors. The old one was just a switch, whereas the new one is both gauge and switch. I tried to install it only to find that the threads on the replacement were far smaller than the threads in the housing. I phoned them up and they reckon the old one could be 3/8" and the new one 1/4". Is there an easy way to convert the threads, or another way of setting up the sender? If I had the time I would try and source the correct size, but I have to set off on Monday and need a quick fix. One of the engineers suggested just strapping the sender somewhere so the end was making contact with a how surface. Would this work? Any other way solving the conundrum? Many thanks Tim

Fantastic advice as always Bod. My current thinking is that I want to be near somewhere with welding facilities just in case the steel is too thin on the skin tank to get a good tap. I'd also be keen to try welding something onto the sheared off stud and attempt removing it without drilling. I am also pondering whether a local handyman/towpath engineer with some decent tapping bits might cost the same as getting the bits myself and add some peace of mind and expertise into the bargain. I was helped when the gasket first went by a guy called Jim, and I felt safer in his hands then with the Bristol engineers. I don't have his number anymore unfortunately. For the time being I am getting myself sorted with an array of equipment for monitoring the engine temp so that I can make it up there without overheating again.

Another update. The Barrus engineer finally made it. He was very nice and I told him all about the recent history. He had come with the intention of installing a constant bleed for the skin tank. He was going to put a hose from the skin tank bleed point to the header tank hose so that any air accumulated would be expelled through this. He said that he has done this on some similarly tricky engines and that it has worked. Unfortunately I don't have any skin tank bleed points, so he couldn't do that. It was pretty frustrating, as if I had know I could have started installing some before he arrived. He left me all the fittings and showed me exactly where to put everything. it make good sense to do it, and is also an easy way to install a bleed point, I just need a decent quality 1/4" bsp tapping bit. After that he jumped in and started poking around, he wiggled some pipes and stated that there was still loads of air in the engine. He spent a good two to three hours running the engine, manipulating pipes, opening and closing the filler and letting the coolant settle. He put another 5 litres of water into the engine before it found it's level and stopped taking any more. He pressure tested the coolant system and found it to be without leaks, even with the sheared off stud. He gave me a new temperature sender that has both overheat and temperature senders. His conclusions were simple. There's noting wrong with the engine, but they are a pain to get all the air out of. So basically, my jobs are: - Flush the skin tank of all the crap built up inside - Install a 1/4" BSP bleed point to the skin tank - Switch out the temperature sender - Remove sheared off stud and tap the hole In the Bristol harbour there isn't anywhere to flush the skin tank or remove the water and I don't want to drain the coolant twice. My thinking is that I will head out of Bristol, keeping a very close eye on things until I get to somewhere with bile pumping facilities. Maybe try to get someone cheap and friendly to come and help with tapping the skin tank and sheared bolts and spend a day getting it all back together and filled up again. If anyone knows of someone who could help me, probably around Bath or further up the K&A and a friendly boatyard that wouldn't charge me a fortune to flush the skin tanks, please let me know. Tim

I hope for both of our sakes that it stays dry for the next week or so. You could consider navigating with someone more experienced? There will be plenty of people making a break for it.

Ever walked through the Greenwich foot tunnel? Bit of a walk, but you end up in Greenwich for a nice pub lunch.

Sounds like the only option really. Has it been knackering? I spoke to the lock keeper again and Hanham should be open late next week. If it's not then I'm going back over the weir on the 10th. At worst this gives me 12 days (I'll be solo) so I should be able to make Reading at least. If the Thames is looking navigable when I have to start work I will pay someone and if not I will wait it out and then finish at weekends.

I shall do so d'rectly.

Do professional boat movers exist or do you mean get a friend to do it? What jumps to mind is trusting someone else to navigate my boat. The engine has had overheating problems and I know that I would keep a VERY close eye on everything, something someone else might not do. There is also the issue of insurance and whatnot. Also would it be that much cheaper? Paying someone for 10 days of their time and maybe insurance on top sounds like it could easily add up to the price of road transport.

I think you're right. Ignoring the Thames completely would be difficult. I have navigated on red boards between Oxford and Reading. Insurance was void and it was a bit hairy, but I just MTFU. I can't afford it, at all, but the idea of trying to start a new full time job whilst sleeping on floors and cruising my boat up at weekends could be really hard work.

Ok, I need some advice on stoppages/flooding. I am in the Bristol Harbour and stuck there due to Hanham lock being silted up. It has been this way since December and was supposed to be cleared by Easter at the latest. I asked the Hanham lock keeper today and he said it may be another two weeks. Further to this is the dreaded Thames, that has been on red boards for some time. I start a job on 22nd April in London. Is it in any way feasible to expect to be able to make the journey? Given that if Hanham lock is cleared when suggested, it will be the 10th April and would only leave 12 days to make the journey. Canalplan says that if i put in 8 hour days, it is possible in 10 days. I will put in as many hours as needed and cruise into the evening if necessary. However, this is completely ignoring the Thames. Funnily enough my first week of work will be training back in Bristol and I could always stay with friends and cruise at weekends. So what is the likelihood that I will be able to get past the Thames (I will cruise on red boards if it's not too hairy) before then? Should I just get road transport and make things easy for myself?

Apparently Hanham could be another two weeks!