Jump to content

AndrewIC

Member
  • Posts

    1,071
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by AndrewIC

  1. Yes. The best vollockies are a lock or two in front, thinking and setting ahead.
  2. Classic Oils say… “Morris Classic Marine 10w/40 A specific lubricant for use in canal boat engines, including where a 15w/40 is specified (5 litre)”
  3. I’ve always used the cheapest 15w40 fully mineral in my fairly ancient Beta, and changed it religiously. Usually sourced from the nearest motor factor, and not worried too much about the API. Doesn’t seem to have done it any harm. It’s getting harder to find mineral oil off the shelf as so few cars use it nowadays.
  4. There’s a handy website, https://hosepipeban.org.uk/hosepipe-ban-current-situation/, which tracks the hosepipe bans in force all over the country resulting from the exceptionally dry spring. Shambles.
  5. Work out the total tax take per litre - duty and VAT - at prices before Sunak announced the duty cut. Then work out the total tax take now. You’re looking in the wrong place for the scammers.
  6. So I asked them…. “The Fuel Levy will be set at £15 per callout, this is to keep costs reasonable and easy to apply. As soon as the fuel costs drop back down below £1.60 per ltr we will remove the fuel levy.” The probability of that happening any time soon seems pretty remote.
  7. It’s conceivable that he was right, but not possible to say for sure, depending on the size and layout of the boat, and the exact location of the first CO detector. The (flimsy) pretext for CO detectors being in the BSS scope is based on CO emanating from other boats. I’m still of the opinion that they are a good idea, but then I’m also of the opinion that keeping one’s stove in good order and the flue swept are good ideas as well.
  8. Today the annual bill arrived for the thick end of £1000 for the privilege.
  9. I tried my spherical-type Pela last year, but the tube was too narrow and got blocked with crud. I got a cheap 12v vacuum pump from eBay, a 25 litre plastic container, a curved length of 3/8” copper pipe, and some clear hose, and that was reasonably successful apart from the container’s tendency to collapse alarmingly under vacuum - I’ve not found a suitably robust replacement, so I’ve just bought a larger (and cheaper) a Pela-alike clone which has a 10mm inlet tube.
  10. If you don’t like that quote, shop around?
  11. Yeah, I got caught out by B&Q with that stuff - “Clean Spirit”
  12. Bosley and Marple closed completely from June 24th.
  13. If this keeps happening, with the same alarm, and for no apparent cause after reasonable investigations, then I’d start to doubt the alarm itself, and for the sake of a tenner or so get a new one. Worst case, both go off and confirm that you really do have a problem elsewhere. Best case, the old one proves to be duff. (Not directly relevant, but one of our optical smoke alarms went off in the middle of the night last year. Full alarm, no failing battery chirping, but turned out to be the battery.)
  14. Yes. The newer ones are a bit slimmer, take less ATF, and have easier access to the drain plug (on the side), but the key dimensions are the same.
  15. I've just checked the PRM and ZF drawings, not quite: HBW100/ZF10M - Drop 62 - LOA 195 (mounting face to output flange face) PRM120/125 - Drop 72 - LOA 217 PRM80/90* - Drop 72 - LOA 196 (* The PRM90 drawing is missing the LOA, but I'm 99% sure it's a straight swap for a PRM80) When I was looking to replace the (second) failed Hurth/ZF, PRM recommended the 120 over the 80 (as the numbering was then), despite the power rating of the 80 theoretically being big enough to replace the Hurth. I had the engine mounts raised about half an inch on steel blocks, otherwise the engine would have been perched right at the top of the threads, and there is just enough room lenghtways to get the 120 input shaft out of the drive plate without dismantling the coupling off the shaft.
  16. Not worth reconditioning, IMHO. Put it in the skip and get a PRM 125, as long as you have space - the PRM is very slightly longer, the the drop is larger, so you’ll need to have the engine mounts raised a bit.
  17. And while you’re at it, suggest you adjust the position of the two positive cables that appear to be resting on negative terminals, in case of chafing of the insulation.
  18. Even seen (on a webcam) a barn owl deliver some sort of water bird chick (probably a moorhen) to its owlets.
  19. Likewise, about a year later in my case. He didn’t ask to see them again.
  20. Caldron is still closed from Etruria to Ivy House Embankment. Are they pumping any water around the closure? The Cheshire Flight was bad late last summer - plenty of water coming down Bosley (apart from when someone came up just the bottom lock to wind), then scraping the bottom on the T&M summit and many of the pounds down towards Middlewich. I think the tunnel was closed a couple of days then as well.
  21. CRT also still reporting low water between 54 and 57 as well
  22. A long as they are in good condition, appropriately marked, and don’t have a marked expiry date, they’re fine. Looks the same as one of mine (sans magnets).
  23. Thurlwood Steel as an anti-example of one built not to a traditional design that was plagued with problems and scrapped as a result?
  24. I am not a lawyer, but I’m not sure that would wash. Any one of the (all male) party (or even all but one) could argue that, had they been female, the hire would been allowed, and therefore they were being discriminated against on the ground of their sex. Given that gender reassignment is also a protected characteristic, it would be a brave company that waded into that territory. As it happens, the party of chaps we met on a pair of ABC boats on the Bridgewater & T&M a couple of weeks ago couldn’t have been nicer, even the ones dressed as pirates.
  25. It’s sad, but if they all survived we’d be knee deep in blue tits by now. The great tits have occupied one end of our “sparrow terrace” (it’s had great tits, blue tits and bumble bee nests over the years, but never any sparrows), and the house martins arrived back a few days ago and are busy making a mess of next door’s walls.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.