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silverbuttocks

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  1. silverbuttocks
    Thanks Rob! So, it takes about 30 secs to 1 min or turning over when cold to get it to start. The starter motor and battery are fine - it turns and keeps ALMOST firing, then not catching, then turning over and eventually starting. Once it has started and is warm then it starts again immediately with no problem. It was only the initial cold start that was a problem. It would smoke during this starting process, but not much afterwards. But when you are a CC you don't want to have to turn your engine over for 1 minute before it starts as it is loud, smokey and presumably unhealthy for the starter motor. Like I say, once it is warm it starts again fine. This was the original issue that our mechanic was dealing with... Now I think the smoking (in idle and under throttle) is due to the some change he made in valve clearances, timing, something like that - I'm no mechanic. I don't know whether this has sorted out the starting problem as I will have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out. But I would rather that it didn't start instead of the amount of smoke being emitted now. Of course I would rather have both problems solved, and presumably the new smoking issue could be easily rectified given that it is due to recent changes. The smoke is white. Yes, Calcutt sorted out our refurbished injectors (which didn't solve the starting problem!). I imagine that getting them over would be particularly expensive!! oh, and there's a slight misfire. there probably was before but it wasn't very noticeable - now it is much more noticeable. yes, i know. i always give 30 secs preheat. the starting problem is after the pre-heat - it then takes between 30 secs and a minute to actually start
  2. silverbuttocks
    Hi All, We have a TC BMC 1500 in our NB. Over the past few months it has taken longer and longer to start, up to around 1 min of turning over and nearly catching before finally catching, with a 40 sec pre-heat. Between November and today we have had a mechanic visit 4 or 5 times (who we trust), and he has gone through all of the obvious issues (glowplugs, compression, valve clearances, diesel injectors (we had them serviced)) and each time the problem has persisted. Now it's got to the point that our mechanic has tinkered enough to try and get it to start that it now smokes like a ba***rd. Basically now I'm not sure if the problem has been made worse or that the engine just isn't happy. A week or so ago (before refurbished injectors were fitted and some tinkering took place) it would take a long time to start but when started it would run very well, pretty quiet, and with very little smoke. Now this isn't the case (although we'll see tomorrow if it starts quicker). Two things: anyone got any ideas?? Also, does anyone know of a BMC specialist in the Oxfordshire area that could come and give us a second opinion? I trust our usual mechanic, but maybe he's missed something obvious on this occasion?? I can't remember all of the things that our mechanic has done offhand, but I probably would do if reminded. He basically worked through the starting problem bit by bit, starting with obvious things like glow plugs and moving right through to injectors...
  3. silverbuttocks
    does anyone have a definitive answer on which of the two compact washing machines (zanussi 1301 or candy aquamatiuc 100f) is best in terms of power usage, performance etc?? we have a mastervolt mass 12/2000 2kw inverter. could this cope with either of these machines?? we are also in the market for one of these...
  4. silverbuttocks
    HI All, We are thinking of replacing our old and slightly shabby cratch cover. This one was hand made by the person who previously owned the boat. It is made from a big piece of most likely fairly cheap vinyl/plastic. We were thinking of going for the same stuff to keep down costs, or maybe someone knows of a reasonably priced alternative? If we take the old one off, measure the maximum area, but a piece, then overlay one on the other and cut it to size (folding over and gluing to strengthen hems/seams), then it shouldn't be that difficult, no? Anyone had experience doing this, any advice etc?? And if anyone knows of a decent supplier that would be much appreciated. Cheers!!
  5. silverbuttocks
    maybe i didn't say. i would like to emphasise, since i have fitted the back boiler and new rads these are all on a separate system and are not connected to the calorifier at all. they have been switched off at the taps and i have put a loop in that end of the rad system...
  6. silverbuttocks
    hi, yes. i cut them actually inside the boat, about half way down. so no, there is no water being heated up by the calorifier, but there must still be water from the engine going round the actual element (sorry, don;t have the tech vocab for this!). so it seems like the water that was left has just vented. just seems odd that it didn;t vent out of the pipe to the skin fitting... i will run the engine again tomorrow and see what happens. is there anything you think i should do to be on the safe side? hi tony. guess i wasn't clear. i was saying that i definitely would NOT attach the engine coolant system to the rads/back boiler. The back boiler already has a pump and obviously this would be a bad thing. however, the hot water supply that used to go to the taps in the boat could be attached as these are a closed system that are not connected to the engine and do not have a pump (well, they used to be connected via the water pump on the boat, but i have disconnected them now.
  7. silverbuttocks
    hi tony wow, this is getting confusing. i am not getting water, or steam, or anything from the red cap. i only see the steam in the engine compartment coming from somewhere either from the pipes where they go from the engine bay to the calorifier or around that area. it's only happened once and i didn't see exactly. i'm not sure about your last comment. do you mean that when the rads were working the engine pump supplied water to the rads?? this makes sense as i have never found any signs of a pump. to clarify, this has been turned off (at the taps) since we have had the boat as one of the rads was knackered. if i get it back up and running it would be to connect to the loop of an existing back boiler with pump, in which case i guess i would need to connect the hot water loop to it rather than the old rad/engine water pump system (as then I would have two pumps and i would be pumping hot water from the stove to the engine!!). but i still don;t know why something is over-heating. the rads have never been on so it can't be that. in which case it has to be the hot water pipes that i have just stop-ended. but why would this matter?? should there be a loop instead on the old hot water pipes??
  8. silverbuttocks
    hi everyone i expect i have been an idiot, but i did think about this for some time and can explain my reasoning! this is the schematic, if it works: taslim, i have indeed made a closed system, but this is why i thought it was ok. the water feed to the rads (on the left of the schematic) was turned off when we bought the boat as the rads were knackered. the water feed to the hot water system (on the right) has always been on though (but also linked to the paloma, so it didn't work well - the paloma is great now that it doesn't feed water into the calorifier!). but now i have closed it off by simply cutting the pipes (which works at the business end and we now have hot water). however i have not created a loop at the end of the severed pipes. BUT, i didn't think this would matter because we haven't always ran the hot water when the engine is running and nothing bad happens (the engine isn't overheating MtB - just steam coming from pipes going from engine to calorifier - i think!! i need to try it again and check). i realise that what was left in the two systems (rads and hotwater) would have nowhere to go, but the rads have been like that since we bought it with no issues. I thought that the pipe (one of the 1, 2 and 3 pipes on the schematic) that went to the skin fitting would just expel this as steam or hot water, but thinking about it maybe this is for overheating of the actual hot water element from engine. So, should I put a loop on the hot water system (on the right), but thing is there's no pump to pump it around so how would this solve the problem??? Or is there a way I can put the calorifier out of action until I decide whether to use it to supplement the back boiler???
  9. silverbuttocks
    how do you add attachments to these posts?????? hiya. i haven't messed with anything on the engine side of the calorifier so that's not the issue. all i have done is block off the pipes to the rads and hot water system (the pipes to rads were already turned off). can't see how to add attachments to these posts
  10. silverbuttocks
    sorry, not explaining it very well. but luckily, in an attempt to understand the plumbing a little better i drew a schematic of the calorifier plumbing which I will try and attach to this post. i will attach a photo of the engine and relevant pipework a bit later. basically there is a outlet and inlet from the engine to the calorifier (two of the pipes numbered 1, 2 or 3 on the schematic). the third one of these goes from the calorifier to the skin fitting. i have blocked off the pipes to the rads and the hot water system. hi. i don't think there's an issue with the engine or coolant system - it just started doing this since i blocked up the pipes to the rads and hot water. it's a BMC Thorneycroft 1.5
  11. silverbuttocks
    thanks for that. i may just have managed that prognosis myself, but much appreciated nonetheless. and wotever's pedantry was rather amusing... does anyone know how to dismantle this or at least get at the part that usually goes wrong??
  12. silverbuttocks
    HI All, They're great boats, aren't they? The gift that just keeps on giving... and so, another year another set of issues... Over xmas hols i fitted new rads for a newly installed back boiler. I also finally sorted out our paloma plumbing, which was plumbed into the hot water system along with the calorifier (as one system, and therefore did not work properly, as the paloma would pump hot water into the calorifier!). But now both the rads and the hot water are not connected to the calorifier (i have put stop ends on both sets of pipes coming from it). When i ran the engine for three hours a coupe of days ago when I turned the engine off there was a hissing and quite a bit of steam coming from the engine well. When I opened it it seemed like it was coming from nearby one of the pipes going into or out of the calorifier. Am I being stupid? OK, I didn't drain the two systems that were previously plugged into it (but the rads have always been turned off at a tap new to the calorifier as they were blocked (hence new ones). But there appears to be also be a pipe going from the calorifier to a skin fitting in the engine compartment so I would have thought that if it was too hot then steam and hot water should be ejected from this? Could the hot water from the engine that heats up the calorifier element be getting too hot because there is no flow into and out of the calorifier to take the heat away? If the latter how can I block this off?? I might start using the calorifier again soon as I think I will connect up the rads again and have it feed in (with taps to turn off when engine not in use) to the back boiler-heated central heating system. Does any of that make sense?????
  13. silverbuttocks
    HI All, HNY! We have a vanette oven and grill. when we bought the boat in the summer we were told by the previous owner that it needed a new thermocouple. 6 months on and i finally bought one and fitted it! Sadly though it still doesn't work!! Bugger. It doesn't matter how long I keep the button pushed in, when I release it the grill turns off. Frustrating, especially as this probably means that the thermocouple i just pulled out was still working. Does anyone have any ideas what might be the problem? The thermocouple is new so nice and clean and no fat/oil deposits. The tip of it is in the flame of the burner when it is on. Not sure what else I can do? Cheers!
  14. silverbuttocks
    Thanks for that! appreciate your quick reply! bummer, i was looking at this gennie: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IG-2600-Suitcase-Generator-2-6Kva-Kipor-IG2600-Pure-Sinewave-Digital-Generator-/320862118591?pt=UK_BOI_Industrial_Tools_Generators_ET&hash=item4ab4df62bf and hoping that it would run washer dryer with 2150w rated load anyone????
  15. silverbuttocks
    hey you lot - hope you are enjoying festive season... I am trying to re-ignite this thread... We bought a washer dryer but rather predictably the crappy Wolf generator did not deliver the goods. As soon as the machine started doing anything the generator threw a wobbly and the machine popped up an error message. balls! So, we are going down the decent generator route (rather than modifying boat - new alternator/inverter etc - cos we might be swapping her for a different one this coming year...). I'm aware of the nice quiet Honda suitcase gennies - are these the best?? Or are there other (slightly cheaper) contenders that will run our washer dryer (around 2100w) with nice clean electric power??...
  16. silverbuttocks
    thanks for all your input everyone. invaluable so far as usual... so, i think that the inverter/alternator route is not looking like a viable option. our alternator is just 55amps and i don;t think will take the load, neither will the inverter... so, as i said we do have a generator too. just a cheap chinese one i think, that came with the boat. it's a WOLF WP 3200LR 3.2 kw. anyone know if this will be ok to run a modern washer dryer?? cheers!!
  17. silverbuttocks
    Thanks jelunga - i suspected as much. Annoyingly I don;t have the make/model of our generator (3.2kw). People do have washing machines who don't have a lekky hook-up, so what do people normally do?? I guess they use gennies, but i have read of some issues about purity of the sine wave... anyone?
  18. silverbuttocks
    Afternoon! Quick(ish) query. We are continuous cruisers with a 63ft narrowboat - no shore-power. We are planning to get a washer dryer, just to do a couple of washes every fortnight or so. We have an inverter (Mastervolt 12/2000 - power 2000w, max 4000w), battery bank, charge from engine type set up. The washer dryers we are looking at all have a power rating of around 2100 to 2200w. I just want to know whether the inverter could handle this machine (with the engine running of course)? We have a 3.2 genny but it is noisy and would rather not use it and also I see that there can be problems with washing machines not working from gennies cos of the sine wave blah blah (I know nothing about this). I know that they are thirsty on water etc etc and some people don't agree with having them if you are a cc without shore-power etc etc, but if we run it once a fortnight for maybe 4 or 5 hours can we do this using our present inverter whilst running the engine (either whilst cruising or stationary)? Does the 4000w maximum inverter spec mean that it can comfortably deal with a machine drawing 2200w?? Hope you can help! Mike
  19. silverbuttocks
    it does have an exhaust outlet of course via a skin fitting to the outside of the boat... thanks for that keith - apparently these things are less economical than a combi boiler, although cheaper to buy and instal initially. i think we're going to go for a combi, but i was after something temporary for the meantime, just to get a bit of warmth in the bathroom!
  20. silverbuttocks
    hi graham. thanks for that. does anyone out there have experience of these propex lpg blown air heater systems?? looks like they'll be pretty easy to install, with only the lpg connection needing a specialist gas safe engineer. anyone know how noisy they are?? how efficient they are?? how quickly they take to turn on etc etc?? hmmm...yes, i'm getting put off the idea of an ebers/webasto. our bedroom is at the back next to the engine compartment so it is likely to be very loud. we wanted to be able to have it come on before we get up to take the chill off, but not much good if it's too noisy to sleep through!! well, yes, that's why i'm wondering what these propex blown air heaters are like
  21. silverbuttocks
    hi. this is an old thread i know, but i have been thinking about buying an ecofan to blow hot air to the colder end of the boat (as mentioned in another thread). reading this post by MtB has made me realise the probably blindingly obvious. an ecofan doesn't have to blow hot air away from the stove all the way to area of the boat that's cold. all it needs to do is to move the hot air away from the source of heat, the stove. this being the case you will start a cycle of air circulation, not unlike wind circulation around the planet. presumably if hot air is blown from point a (above stove) to point b (6 feet away, say), then this will start a reaction of movements of hot and cold air circulating and mixing that will potentially result in a much more far-reaching effect. it is simply impossible that these things don't work, at all. i understand the 'emperor's new clothes' effect, but i just don't think there would be so many sales if they simply didn't work. it's far more likely that some people who are expecting a hurricane of warm air blowing 10 metres down their boat are disappointed and therefore presume they don't work. i'm pretty sure that MtB is right and that the ecofan starts a chain reaction of air circulation as colder air rushes in to take the place of moving warm air, that then has a knock-on effect...
  22. silverbuttocks
    thanks! i'm put off the idea! we have tried a fan and it still doesn't get warm at the other end of the boat. any other suggestions??
  23. silverbuttocks
    hi all can we use one of these on our NB safely? http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/mini-heater-hose-and-reg-p162735 we have a problem with the back of the boat never warming up, even when our stove makes most of the boat pretty toasty. we're thinking of getting some existing and currently redundant rads joined up to a combi boiler or webasto/eberspacher, but want something to keep the chill off our bedroom and bathroom in the meantime for short periods of time (maybe an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening). if something like this is no good could someone suggest an alternative?? cheers! mike
  24. silverbuttocks
    Hiya, In the recent heavy rain three of our six roof vents have leaked, and more than just a drop. We have those ECS ventiduct vents, with a sort of plastic mushroon covered by a low round metal grill that are pretty common. I unscrewed both parts from the roof and other day and use exterior silicone sealant to try around the joint between the roof and the plastic mushroom and just generally cleaned them up from crud etc, but they still leak. They have started doing this at the same time, so I guess they are getting old. But they cost over £30 a pop from what I can see. Can anyone suggest something else that will seal them better than the silicone, maybe some kind of putty/grout or somesuch?? The metal grills are fine, but I think that the plastic components are just a little old and worn/degrading. I'd rather not replace them with a new system as I don;t fancy drilling new screw holes in the roof etc. I'd much appreciate any suggestions that people might have!!!
  25. silverbuttocks
    most of them say that they are not suitable for residential use, and sounds like they might be thirsty on battery power... so maybe eber/webasto is still the best choice for rads, with our crappy old paloma supplying allegedly hot water... thanks martin by the way
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