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silverbuttocks

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  1. silverbuttocks
    bit of an update: what about a morco boiler?? can these be used to run both hot water to taps and hot water to radiators??? stupid question in fact, sorry. what i mean was are there Morco combi boilers out there that would negate the need for both our paloma and an ebsers/webbers for central heating?
  2. silverbuttocks
    pretty much, i pre-heat for 40 secs, and have throttle around half speed, but then it takes quite a while to catch and almost feels like if it were much colder it wouldn't at all. anyway, i guess either way it probably could do with a service. you're right though, it's getting colder so i guess this is probably normal in some ways...thanks thanks very much david - that's really helpful, cheers!
  3. silverbuttocks
    Hi All, I am planning to service the above engine on our NB this weekend. I used to service my car years back, but I am pretty much a novice and haven't worked on diesel engines before. I am pretty practical, so I should be ok and don;t want to pay 120 - 150 for the (dis)pleasure of someone doing it for me. I gather I need to replace fuel filter, oil filter, air filter and of course oil. Anyone out there got anything to add to that list? The engine runs well actually, but recently it takes a while to start (maybe 30 - 40 seconds before it finally fires) and is much smokier than it used to be when we first bought the boat in the summer. I'm guessing it needs a service anyway. Looking through the stuff that the previous owner left, I have two new fuel filters (a Crossland C1191PL and a Coopers/Fiaam FT4788/AZF015 - can I use either??) and what looks like a fan belt (Gates 6375MC 11.9 x 1010). Should I change the latter as there is a new one?? This sounds like it might be beyond my skills. Does anyone have part numbers for the oil and air filters to save me climbing down into the engine compartment and trying to look for them on the old ones?? Any advice would be very much appreciated!!!! Cheers!!! Mike
  4. silverbuttocks
    maybe you're not breathing enough? we don't have problems in the rest of the boat, just at the cold end which is where we sleep (and breathe). we'll probably stick with using the crystal damp traps...
  5. silverbuttocks
    Hi All, Anyone out there got any advice on getting a small to medium size dehumidifier which is not too power hungry on our batteries?? we have an inverter by the way... we just want to use it for the bedroom at the cold end of our 63 foot NB...
  6. silverbuttocks
    i appreciate your advice martin - i am beginning to think this is the best idea. i have just found a recon webasto which has all new parts except the actual heater for 500 but with option to make an offer. if i can get it for 450 i think that i might go for it... anyone else out there got any last words on the matter???
  7. silverbuttocks
    ok, so these are good points. i emailed the ebay company, but you're right, they are unlikely to have an engineer and maybe parts are difficult to come by. but surely eberspacher/webasto diesel heaters are rarely serviced by engineers from those companies, more likely by people experienced with diesel heaters, no? so you think that i would do better buying a reconditioned webasto thermo top c which can be bought for around 400 on ebay?? because that is the other option at the moment...
  8. silverbuttocks
    really? ah, well, i have seen some reconditioned ebers and webastos for a similar price, but not sure about this reconditioned thing - second hand makes me a little suspicious... another thing to bear in mind is that the original Eberspacher was a celebrated Nazi fighter pilot who had a pretty hot record of blowing allies (including Brits) out of the skies during WWII, before going on to found the heater industry that we know (and love?) today...
  9. silverbuttocks
    hi bob - what exactly is your experience? problem is i know people that have no problems with them, and people that do. same as anything really. but it would be good to know exactly what bad expereince you have had. also, what about an alternative method of heating the back rooms?? thanks!!
  10. silverbuttocks
    it's definitely diesel or red diesel - i've just heard... i know - bloody auto-correct on my computer!! but well-spotted!
  11. silverbuttocks
    well spotted, but i'm pretty sure that this must run on diesel - i have just sent them a query about this anyway. for now, let's just go ahead and presume that it is, or that i wont buy one that isn't diesel powered. there are some reconditioned Webasto Thermo Top C heaters on ebay too, so that's always an option. the main issue is whether people think this is a good idea, or whether there is a similarly priced alternative... no, no idea about the calorifier. i've never even had a look at it!! it's under the wardrobe in the bedroom - i guess i should have a nosey and see if i can get a make/model from it...
  12. silverbuttocks
    Hi All, We have been thinking about fitting some of that cheap film that you can attach to window frames and then make taut with the use of a (12v) hair drier. Do any of you have experience with this? I've seen it used in a house, but the main issue I envisage on a boat is how to stick it securely to the wooden window frames. We want to use this on most - but not all - windows to reduce condensation and increase heat insulation. Any thoughts??? Cheers!
  13. silverbuttocks
    Hi All, Our 63 foot NB has a decent multi-fuel burner that is at present our one and only way of heating the boat. It is great, EXCEPT the heat doesn't make it's way down the length of the boat to the bathroom and bedroom at the stern (burner is near the bow). This is a common issue I understand. We have decided to go for a cheap Eberspacher copy (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171155028516?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649) that an acquaintance of mine has fitted and says is very good. We only want to use it for maybe an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, just to take the damp and chill off the bedroom and bathroom, continuing to use the burner as our main source of heat. We already have rads installed that used to be connected to a calorifier, but which is now connected to our hot water supply. I know this is likely to open up a can of worms, as different folks have different experiences, but generally speaking does this sound like a good route to go down? Is there another option? Someone mentioned a combo-boiler to me, but these are expensive so it seems (> £1.3k) and usually need 230v elec (we are CC'ers by the way, although we do have an inverter, but would rather save our batteries). Our burner does not have a back boiler, although we want to be able to have a blast of central heating in the morning, so this would not really be an option. This is our first winter onboard, so open to advice! Cheers for now!!! ps, can we get hot water from the diesel heater too, in combination with our existing calorifier??
  14. silverbuttocks
    hi all, sorry for the prolonged silence on this issue. i have a bit more information now, and need to clarify a few things: the new pump is fine when the hot tap is on full, but because of the speed of the flow the Paloma does not have time to heat up the water sufficiently to have a decent, hot shower. If I turn the hot tap down a little to reduce the flow, which would increase the temperature of the water, the pump freaks out and sort of chatters on and off (which for some reason is affecting the voltage in the entire system, but forget about electrics for now). The old pump did not do this, and you could reduce the flow to a trickle and the pump would still give an even, but reduced, flow (the problem with the old pump was that it was just not delivering high enough pressure and so was either really hot [hot tap on full, but low flow] or cold [add cold water, but this turned Paloma burner off due to reduction in pressure]). So, a few things to clarify: 1. Do you think that the addition of a small accumulator will allow me to reduce the flow from the hot tap without it just switching on and off and chattering at high speeds? 2. If the old pump delivered water at any an even flow regardless of whether the hot tap was on full, half etc, why is the new pump different, and should I just get a new pump instead of adding the accumulator, and if so can anyone suggest a pump that will behave the same as the old one (Flojet Quiet Quad), but delivering a slightly higher pressure overall (i.e. 13lpm instead of around 11lpm, which triggers the paloma more efficiently). Surely these paloma boilers are used to decent effect commonly in narrowboats, and surely I can have a pump that works the same as the old one without the new addition of an accumulator, or if not why not? And finally, if the new pump needs an accumulator to ensure even flow regardless whether a tap is fully or partially open, is this the best option rather than selling the new pump and getting one that works like the old one? Does any of that make sense? we just want to be able to have a reasonably hot shower, on demand. maybe that is too much to ask?
  15. silverbuttocks
    nope! but thanks for looking. this one is just for your normal sink, i.e. a central screw that locates into the waste immediately below the sinkhole. with the belfast/butler, there is a long, 1.5 inch threaded cylinder which passes down the depth of the sink (around 6 cm) and sticks out the bottom. in a house you screw your trap etc straight onto that. i need a right angle nozzle from that 1.5 inch fitting... cheers!
  16. silverbuttocks
    this is great!! thanks chris! so, the 1.5" to 3/4 is male to female, and the threaded hose tail is 3/4" male to hose nozzle. is that correct? are these parts easily available from a plumbers merchants?
  17. silverbuttocks
    afternoon! i have a query about plumbing a new belfast sink into my galley. the waste fitting has a 1.5 inch screw thread. i want to get hold of an angled fitting that screws onto the base with a nozzle for a 20mm hose to drain the water out through the skin fitting. i have seen a few straight fittings like this, but because of the depth of the sink and the height of the skin fitting i need to have the fitting with a right-angled (or as close to it as possible) connector. all the angled connectors i've seen are for standard kitchen sinks with a screw insert to accept a central screw from the middle of the plug-hole. What i need is one that screws onto a 1.5 inch down-pipe waste. Does that make sense??? any advice would be much appreciated, as ever! to clarify: what i need is a fitting like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAN-SINK-WASTE-20MM-ANGLED-caravan-motorhome-camper-horsebox-boat-plug-bung-/130895601685?pt=UK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item1e79fc6015 but which screws onto the base of this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BELFAST-KITCHEN-SINK-WASTE-SLOTTED-CHROME-BRASS-METAL-BACK-NUT-WASHER-PLUG-/230829151390?pt=UK_DIY_Materials_Plumbing_MJ&hash=item35be7d549e
  18. silverbuttocks
    bizzard - much appreciated - didn't mean to be flippant about your advice. i'll certainly look at that too graham - this is actually what i wanted to hear, sort of. can you recommend a pump with a bypass that has the same spec as the par max 3. annoying really as i didn;t realise this basic difference smpt - the paloma definitely didn;t work, at least for the bathroom at the other end of the boat - fine for the galley. the par max 3 is 13.2LPM and 25PSI. we do have a calorifier. i will check the wiring as per yours and bizzard's recommendations basically, if i bought the wrong pump, which pump should i buy?? and what do i have to look for in the pump in terms of wording for one that has a bypass and thus not needing an accumulator? thanks for all your help so far!!
  19. silverbuttocks
    hmmm...that wouldn't really address the issue though, because the lights are flickering because the pump is behaving in a strange way, and it is the pump issue that I want to resolve...
  20. silverbuttocks
    Hi All, I'm confused. Not even sure what an accumulator tank is, how much one costs, how big they are etc etc etc. If I didn't need one before I don't see why I need one now. I thought that these pumps were essentially the same. If I bought the wrong pump then I can disconnect it and sell it - this would be preferable to the expense of another piece of apparatus (i.e. the accumulator), unless of course they cost peanuts, take minutes to fit, and are the size of a ping-pong ball). The old pump worked absolutely fine without this flickering, so the questions is why can't this be the case again. This par max 3 boasts 'self-priming' and various other all-singing all-dancing features, so I'm struggling to see what it is causing this flickering whilst the old flojet didn't... Sorry if I'm being dense...
  21. silverbuttocks
    ha, nope, not done that!! as you can tell, i am new to all of this, but learning fast... i can't find the flipping instructions to this new pump right now but will have a look on t'interweb. that sounds like it could be a relatively pain-free fix if that were the problem!!
  22. silverbuttocks
    hi bill, bottle - thanks for your speedy replies - amazes me this forum... the new pump is a jabsco par max 3 3.5 GPM - i don't have an accumulator tank, pipe straight from the tank to the pump via a small strainer, that's all. the previous pump was a flojet 'quiet quad' 3.3 GPM, and there was no flickering lights etc with this one. really annoying as i seem to have fixed the shower/paloma issue, but now have this flickering, uneven flow problem to be honest, the new pump doesn't seem really uneven, but when you turn a tap on full the flow is initially slowish and then the pump kicks in proper, when reducing the flow slightly, it goes into this intermediate mode when the pump makes a bit of a chattering noise and the electricity fluctuates in time to the pump... grrrrrrrrrrrr.... please tell me this is something simple!!! maybe i have an airlock?? water is running low - mainly as i was buggering around testing the new pump so much yesterday...
  23. silverbuttocks
    HI Robbo & Bottle - appreciate the swift reply. The sockets are not in the bathroom, as I have recently reconfigured the boat layout - also they were all originally next to hand basins, rather than in the main bathroom. Yes, wire-sizing was my main worry as I noticed a slightly different wire size in the original owners manual for the boat between the 230/240 mains sockets and the shaver sockets, although I don;t have that info to hand. There's not a chance on god's green earth that I'm re-wiring, so does that mean I am stuck with these redundant sockets?? cheers for the info robbo
  24. silverbuttocks
    hiya quick query!! our narrowboat started life as a holiday boat and so there is an absolute proliferation of unwanted 230v/115v shaver sockets!! these are big and heavy with internal transformers, currently unused but connected to our 230/240v system powered by our inverter. can these unwanted sockets be rewired into normal 240v plug sockets?? also, can someone enlighten me as to whether we (terrestrial, and riverine with inverters) use 240v or 230v?? i always thought it was the former, but someone told me this has changed to the latter?? am i being wound up?? is the earth not flat? SB
  25. silverbuttocks
    morning all!! i recently replaced my water pump to something a bit more powerful as i had issues with water pressure and my paloma not working very well, now there is plenty of pressure, in fact so much so that the water does not have time to get hot enough now as it passes through the boiler too quickly (the opposite of what i had before which was water too hot, but with the addition of cold reduced the pressure and so stopped the boiler burning - they're pretty contrary and fickle these boats I'm finding out!!). the new issue is this: when i try and turn the hot tap down a little (or even the cold tap for that matter) the pump sort of only comes half on, judders a little and the lights flicker. what is going on with this???? with the old pump if i turned the tap down a little there would still be a steady decrease in pump speed, water pressure etc, now it seems like the pump only likes it when the taps are full on, not half on?? And why would this affect the electrics?? has anyone had this problem before? yours rather frustradedly SB
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