BD3Bill

Time for an update then, I fitted the heat exchanger system that smileypete suggested and it now works very well indeed ! I get enough water for two showers and washing up after running the engine for an hour or so. What teething troubles I had were the engine thermostat being knackered (& circulating the keel tank at 40 - 45 C ) AND my engine not actually getting up to 65 C ...ever. So I adjust the TMV to its minimum setting and draw the cold water from the bottom of the tank immediately and keep the engine running until the tank is hot, which as I say takes an hour, this gives a legionella safe 62 C. Now I have fitted the new thermostat ( 82 c) the keel tank seems to do very little, I almost wonder if I need it connected at all ! ???? I think that I could give the TMV a miss altogether ( and re-use it close to the shower mixer). The calorifier tank turned out (once removed for inspection) to have twin calorifier feeds. anyway ( so fitting the exchanger allows 3 hot water systems in the future! ) . My question to the Team ( esp smiley pete ) is should I make better use of the engines output by supplying one of the calorifier coils from the return pipe from the exchanger to cylinder head?? Cheers Bill

Hi Mike It was pretty dull this morning at the Farm ( sorry for not saying Hi last night, I was hanging ) . I hate to state the blindingly bloomin obvious ( and I'm sure you have checked the SG etc ) but, & I quote, "an old pair of Vince's Freedom domestic batteries" Are you sure the batteries are soaking up what the panels produce when you are not there? Have a look at the Tiny panel on the Black Tug ... 40w/ 2.2 amps, coupled to two brand new (well I fitted them in April) 110amp standard lead acid batteries, vitally the supply from the controller is 'across' both batteries ( i.e. pos to batt 1 pos & neg to batt 2 neg). You only need one failing cell to mess up the whole picture with a parallel arrangement, the duff cell slows the flow across all the bank (sorry for the blindingly obv again!) We never have a problem with 12v supply (even with the fridge on for 24 hrs a day when we are aboard). What made a huge difference for us was going over to LED lights btw, but you know that... What it's like in the winter we shall see, but when I first fitted the panel I stored it (connected) in the engine ole and it still produced current with just the light from the porthole & pigeon box! I have heard tales of panels that produce current in the moonlight too. Interestingly I have noticed the system works better after a days usage , i don't have an MPPT controller ( mine is worth a about a tenner ) or a display panel, I just gauge battery status with a cheap led volt meter in a ciggy plug. 13.1v when I arrived friday eve, 12.7v when I left this morning at 7am. Cheers Bill P.S. We should drink some beers sometime, the lovely Jayne will cook :0)

Hi Mike Gotta say the scumbling you have done on Aldebaran looks pukka mate Cheers Bill

Cool, thanks guys! I shall do my civic duty then & ring them Cheers Bill

Hi all The lock just down from our home mooring has a very worn 'gate-paddle-cross-shaft' (? ). I spent all weekend cringing every time it slipped when folks were working the lock, and it was very busy this weekend. Should I ring C&RT and tell them or I am I just wasting my breath? Cheers Bill

Hi C You mention that you have run the Genny for welding. I assume that you isolated the batteries & alternator if you were welding the superstructure/hull ? Maybe a poor connection when you reattached ? Just a shot in the dark :0) Cheers Bill

Hi I was wondering how you measure your speed? Sorry if it sounds daft, but I am new to this lark! My 45ft tug hasn't got a speedo and I am constantly worried that I am going too fast you see. ( I do know that if your wash is breaking you are going too fast btw) Cheers Bill

Hi Pophops I have the same amount of batteries as you and roughly the same usage pattern. Do lash out on the LED bulbs. I have a 40w Bosch panel and basic controller and this suits very well. It is about the size of the sliding hatch, slightly smaller 600x550mm. £120 from Photonic Universe on eBay. They do a dual battery bank controller option, I have just the leisure batts on solar. A dual controller and 50w panel will do you nicely to maintain 1 starter and 2 leisure batteries. Agree with Smileypete: £9 digital voltmeter plugged into cigar lighter socket monitors voltage state. When aboard we have enough power to run the fridge for the daytime. We don't have a telly though. Cheers Bill

New thermostat & gasket ordered.

Hi all Just can't get any meaningful hot water from my BD3 engine ! I suspect that somebody has whipped out the thermostat, but not physically checked yet. Just with a ray-gun-thermometer. The engine gets up to around 50 deg C after two hours of running. Is this right? Surely not ! Part number please !! Cheers Bill

Thanks for posting this. I am planning a similar system myself so it was very useful. If I find a way of situating the header inside with any success I shall let you know, but congratulations on traditional looking one you have, tops itself up with rainwater? Cheers Bill

Yes excellent advice, at home I have the combi boiler set to 45 deg for all hot taps, plenty hot enough. And this would save on the amount of hot drawn from the tank too I believe. Thanks again Cheers Bill Good to know that I can go up to a 90amp on a single vee without slippage, more batteries then. Just got to source the taper lock hub and pulley to suit. Many thanks Cheers Bill

Cool, thanks Brian So a 4:1 or 3:1 ratio on the pulleys? Now I know what to look for, and again many thanks. Cheers Bill Thank you very much Pete All that is now in my watch list on eBay mate. Connecting up the circulation pump to the ignition-on circuit, with the regulator in line ? Cheers Bill P.S. The 6w circulating pump is a gem !

Smiley Pete, WOW! *tries not to swear with excitement* That's my kind of system indeed, absolute inspiration ! Could I ask where you would source the Exchanger and TMV from ? All my plumbing has been done in HEP, is that suitable? You spent a rainy afternoon very well Chap! I hear what you are saying about a Morco & insulation, but my longer term plan is to go gas-free, with a Refleks/Sigmar or Dickinson stove c/w back boiler. Your plan frees up the Cal.-coil to adopt that system with out an investment in a two coil calorifier, oh happy days! You see my aim is to modernise the boat systems with diversity and economy in mind. Your idea fits right in with that ethos. Cheers and many thanks Bill

Brian, very many thanks indeed for the description. The engine end layout is the same as mine, however having the calorifier up higher strikes me as a much better arrangement than down on the baseplate ( albeit on some ply... minimal insulation). I can see there may even be some positive benefit from having the calorifier raised up in terms of improving the circulation from the engine when running. The things we inherit from previous owners eh? My earlier idea of a new calorifier horizontal under the bed would present the same convectional loss problem, so I am really very glad I asked now ! You chaps have saved me from wasting a good deal of time, effort and money. For which I thank you most sincerely. Cheers Bill P.S. As an aside could I be a real pest and ask about your alternator arrangement? I have but one on a singe vee-belt. I'm changing the original 55amp one for a 70amp but it would be good if I could use the 55amp for the engine battery and dedicate the 70amp to the leisure batteries. I am after some inspiration as to how to arrange this.

Thanks for the sage advice Rik That confirms I'm not daft, mad, imagining things, or there is anything wrong with the existing set up, always a good starting point ! My better half has already got used to doing the dishes with water from the kettle heated up by the woodburner. Many thanks David The calorifier in/out sits much lower than the inlet & outlet from the engine so I can see that being a factor, and the BD3 is a big old lump too. So running an immersion would also heat the engine up as well...... This is just the kind of info I need, marvellous! Cheers Bill

Thanks for the interest & answers folks. Absolutely agree that using the boat is the way forward you Chaps. But I am, so to speak, steering with a spanner in one hand and a saw in the other at the moment. For now I am going to invest time in insulating the hot tank better. During our collection trip, down from Wolverhampton to the South Oxford at the beginning of March, the tank was cold in the morning after a whole day's cruising. Yes, it was exceptionally cold weather, but surely the water should stay warm overnight? Ditchcrawler, does Harnser still have a BD3 engine? If so, is your calorifier fed from the front of the cylinder head or on a manifold tank I wondered? Cheers Bill

Hello all, new here so be kind! I am new to NB ownership and so finding my way. Our 45ft Tug has currently got a 70 litre ish, ( estimated on measurement ) calorifier with a single coil from the engine, plus a 3kw immersion (useless as we have no hook-up at the home mooring). I don't want to run the engine for ages to heat up the water, wastes diesel, bad for the motor, annoying, blah-blah... So what I am contemplating is this; Change to a 30 litre horizontal Surecal ( under the bed, instead of cluttering up the engine room ). Use the 700w inverter (feeble I know, but we are trying to stick to 12v, not run a Generator etc) to power a 500w immersion in the Surecal. By my calculations running the inverter/immersion for about 2 hours will raise the temperature of the water by 20-25 degC and discharge the batteries by 50% ( 2x 110 Ah) using up about our daily allowance of WattHours . In summer this should provide a warm shower once per weekend? I have fitted a 40w solar panel to recharge the batteries during the fortnight we are away from the boat, and it works rather well so far ( but that's another topic eh?). This is a weekend boat, NOT a liveaboard btw. Obviously if I run the engine for half an hour or so the temperature will rise quicker and effectively reduce the battery use. If we start with full batteries and run the engine ( single 70amp alternator) how much does that reduce the battery requirement by? ( That's another thread really isn't it?) Cheers Bill