Serendipity
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Posts posted by Serendipity
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Speedfit do a 15mm to 1/2 inch or 22mm to 3/4 inch hose adaptor like here: clicky
You could use the latter, then a reducer down to 15mm?
I did have some trouble sourcing them in plumbers' merchants and in the end got some from eBay
Great - thanks both very much.
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Can't work out what I would use to connect 15mm speedfit to the 3/4 internal diameter braided hose coming from the water pump.
The water pump is a flojet with the barbed outlet connector that locks into the pump body, so have to use that.
Cheers
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If this is a Mansfield traveller type - as in basic (but efficient) dump through - yes the seal between the tank and the bowl can be replaced. The screws to get the bowl off the tank can however be a right pig to undo as they corrode.
Seals (check exact model) on eBay -
or Puffer parts -
http://www.pufferparts.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=120
You don't need to get the bowl of the tank, just off the column it sits on which contains the ball valve and water lever. It's held in place with a giant jubilee clip, and the whole job will be twenty minutes. Kit contains a gasket and a seal, and differs depending whether your loo has an overflow or not. Be sure you put the right bit in first (the seal), then the gasket.
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I am not surprised. I'm sure there are many other starter batteries that have done well. Batteries that are kept charged and not over-charged can last a very long time. I recently traded in a 10 year old diesel car that still had its original battery.
14 years on my car now, but it did show signs of being tired last winter - think I'll coax it through this one and try and make 15!
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That's the way we have gone, small aerial on the roof linked to a globe surfer wireless router, hard wired as a back up.
Does the Globe Surfer have an aerial socket, or do you have the 'pad' type strapped to it. Also, do you run it on 12v?
(I've found the manual, but doesn't help with these)
Cheers
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Hi All,
I came across this site and forum while trying to find out a little about my Dometic /Electrolux Travel Power system fitted to my Landrover. Sorry this is not boat related at all but your forum appears to have some knowledgeable users on this subject!
My Landy has a Dometic Travel Power 110V 30A ,50Hz system presumably to run tools from. Its an Ex Utility company wagon. I'm struggling to find a use for this system however I could get some use out of it if it were 240V. Is it possible to convert the system? Do I need the generator rewound to produce the 240 V? Any other implications at all?
Appreciate any input!
Thanks CC
How about simply using a 110-240V transformer?
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To me (and bearing in mind that the pictures aren't very large or clear) it looks like a fairly normal housing for a Cutless bearing.
Since you'll have to withdraw the shaft (at least partially) to get the new rubber tube on, I would recommend taking the opportunity to take a good look at the whole thing. If it all looks ok, then replacing the Cutless bearing is probably a good idea while you're there, but I wouldn't replace the whole lot unless there's good reason to. How much play is there? A mm or so would be fairly normal, much more than that and you might have a more serious problem.
Thanks for that. Any idea what the screw on the top is for? I can't take any better pictures as she's back in the water now. I didn't think the play was excessive, but I guess they are concerned what it might be after being disturbed.
I think I'm just gong to get them to replace the rubber tube, and then if they find a problem whilst doing it then we'll get the whole lot changed.
ETA - Same pics, but they might be clearer viewing at source:-
(That's a tiny mussel on the left side of the hull flange)
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it was a one off special!
Hmmm - two at that price with one controller would be fantastic.
Do you know if it is mono or multi crystalline and the size to help with verification of the stats?
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£45
Can I have the sellers details please
Seriuosly, if you can do better than £1/watt you are doing well. so if that really is 275 watts at £45 + £95 for controller great.
What is the seller using it for - perhaps you can get advice on their controller?
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Okay. Interesting. At the moment I have a 50w bunch of little panels running quite happily through a simple 8a controller. But they are all same. I was assuming I'd need to be able to combine them with the 250w panel through a single controller of some sort. If that's not the case and they can stay connected as they are, then all I need to find is a MPPT or regulator thingy that can cope with a 50v to 60v 5.35a output and wire that in separately. Is that right? Next question... Finding a MPPT or similar that can drop that high voltage to suit the charge needed for my 12v battery bank. Any suggestions? (hint: I am a cheapskate skint person)
Yes, stick with your existing setup, and parallel a new MPPT controller for the higher voltage panel.
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Well it says it will take 60v input, so it should do.
How much can you get the panel for? (for cost comparison with a 17v one)?
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A MPPT controller adjusts itself to load the panel to its optimum output and claims to be able to squeeze up to 30% more energy from them...
Nick
Well a bit more than that surely.
Additionally the 'proper' ones will take much higher voltage arrays and drop them down to the system voltage, upward adjusting the amp output. ie 17v panels need only an 'ordinary' controller for 12v systems, and will lose the benefit of the spare volts over 14.4v, but if you put an MPPT controller in you get a few more amps out for the extra few volts over 14.4V. And here is the additional bit - if you need to match much higher voltage panels to 12v you need MPPT which again converts the extra volts to more amps at 12v system levels.
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That's fine if the boiler is on. However if you have a calorifier full of hot water, say heated by the engine, but the boiler hasn't run for a bit then you have 8l of cold water as well as what is in the pipes to clear before you get your hot, then leave that amount of hot water in the jacket to cool down and so get lost.
Perhaps the person making the suggestion only has the boiler to heat the water rather than a twin-coil setup.
Good thinking - I'll forget that idea.
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The bit about the load came from talking to Alde's tech people (I was one of the first to install a 3010 in a narrowboat, so I had quite a bit of discussion with them, as well as trialing some options).
The Alde heat exchanger is a good way to heat rads when the engine is running, but expensive to install. I just fit a switch to run the pump without starting the boiler to circulate water through the calorifier and rads so that the calorifier acts as the heat exchanger. The pump power is supplied through a relay on the 3010 so it if you power the pump externally, it won't feed power back into the boiler circuit.
The hot water feature in the 3010 is a jacket which holds the 8 litres and has separate pipe connectors. Too much fiddling about to really make it useful. - It's designed for use in caravans etc where the boiler is installed for heating only.
Valuable advice thank you.
Co-incidentally a 3010 boiler came up on eBay early afternoon today (I have a search in case a spare for my old one comes up cheaply locally), and he suggested "a clever little trick is to connect the outlet of the calorifier (where the hot water comes out) to the inlet of the 8.4L tank, then the outlet of the 8.4L tank to your hot water system. This would mean that you will always be able to get 8.4L of hot water quickly whilst you're waiting for the larger calorifier to heat up." Might have some merit?
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The 8 litres are contained in the boiler, this is a feature in the control panel that comes with it
If you want to heat up the calorifier only and not the rads you will need a manual gate valve or alternatively no gate valve but thermostatic valves on your rads, so if you want the heat to be pumped through the calorifier only you turn down the valves on the rads. By the way if going for Alde, consider a heat exchanger that they supply in your engine circuit, this will allow you to use the engine heat when its running to heat your rads as well as the calorifier using the pump in the boiler without the boiler running
8 litres is far to little to consider using that feature. TRV's are a nice simple option, which I might consider, but then the thought of water being heated in the summer for hot water use only going up and down the length of the boat will result in heat loss.
I've considered the heat exchanger option, but think it will be cheaper just to put the engine through a second coil? However, I'd get radiator heat in the winter if I did go the exchanger route. Needs weighing up.
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I've seen a second hand solar panel for sale that the owner claims has an output of 50v - 60v, 5.35A. All the googling in the world is not helping me find a solar panel of similar output in terms of volts, so I am at a loss to know whether something like this would be a good investment for my boat (12v system) or a dead duck because of the need for additional equipment to drop the voltage.
Any thoughts?
Don't know about the voltage spec, but if it's correct you'll need an MPPT controller to drop it down. (And make sure the spec of the MPPT handles that input voltage, as the cheap ones don't). That may be justifiable for a several panel setup, but not one.
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It's a 60 litre twin coil calorifier. s long as the water is hot enough there is enough for say 4 showers as long as you are careful with the water - hence the navy showers. My water tank isn't that big anyway.
Bear in mind that with the 3010 you are strongly recommended to use a stainless steel calorifier and not to use copper pipe.
Perfect thank you. That's the way I will go, and I might give some thought to a control stat stuck to the calorifier.
I had read about the non copper requirements, I'm also considering the heated skirting covered in another thread, and as that's aluminium that's looking like a viable option too.
By the way, how did you find out it was better to include at least one rad in the 'non rad' circuit?
Cheers
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Many thanks for that Dor, very encouraging and just what i was hoping. What size calorifier do you have it connected to?- there will be two to three showers taken at a time.
Julian
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Ours is an older Alde with no timer. It has a tee in the outlet of the central heating circuit and there is a shut off valve in the line to the radiators. With the valve closed, it only heats the calorifier
Richard
Thanks. I have the older one too, CH only with a Rinnai for hot water. I have loved the simplicity of the Alde for several years.
Now looking at a new build liveaboard, but want to think of the best/most efficient way of providing summer hot water. Don't want to have a Rinnai/Paloma on any of the walls, although I suspect they are the cheapest option to run. Summer solar means I don't have to run the engine to charge the batteries and get heat that way. Don't want an unreliable diesel heater, can't/won't afford a Kabola at £4k plus much as I would like it.
The new Aldes have a good reputation, and are much more efficient than the old, hence wondering if anyone heats their water this way in the summer and can give me a ball park on consumption.
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I'm considering the Alde as a backup to solid fuel, and I like the idea of it also providing instant hot water in the summer, but at 8 litres it is very small capacity, and I know from here some don't connect this feature and simply put the heating circuit through a calorifier.
This sounds a good idea for summer using isolators from the rads, and using the timer so it heats the calorifier morning and again in the evening. Wondering if anyone has any experience of using it this way, and how much gas they get through in the summer.
Cheers
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There seems to be some sort of castelated tube around the shaft?
If this forms the support/seal for the shaft, are those metal wedges to centre it?
I'd hate to have to remove stuff from that prop!
Yes, and that tube seems to have a little movement within the flange on the hull, but whether by design who knows.
If you rotate the prop you hear a rubbery groan/squeak, so I reckon there is a rubber or is it neoprene cutlass bearing inside.
Actually it's not too bad getting a rope off the prop, though I did crack a rib as I was laying across the hospital silencer to do it
Could it be a rope cutter?
No, deffo not.
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Sorry about the quality, taken last night in the shed.
Long story short - my rubber tube on my stuffing box needs replacing. The yard reckon there is a little play on the prop and are concerned about what they find when the shaft is removed. They would prefer to cut out and replace with a traditional unit, but apparently they don't come in the size of my shaft. So new shaft, centerflex, stuffing box, shaft bearing and prop.
Apart from a small amount of play on the prop shaft, it seems to me that the log containing the prop shaft is separate to the hull flange and has some play within this. Is this by design?
What is the screw for on the top?
If anyone can identify this for like replacement, or service details, it'll save me a shed load.
Cheers
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You just use the same hole for emptying and rinsing...it's not that uncommon to find this arrangement.
Doh - Why not indeed.
Begs the question why have the two anyway?
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Viewed a boat we're interested in purchasing over the weekend which has a macerator loo and stainless steel tank under the bed, the width of the bed, two feet wide, and about 18 inches high. The (single) owner reckons to get two months out of it.
I noticed there was no rinse out on the hull, so I was wondering if this was usual and how to clear any sediment that would accumulate over time (or perhaps the take off is lower than my underfloor dump through tank, and so ensures complete emptying on this type of set up?), and whether the time estimate was realistic? I've done a quick calculation, and seems to me about 90-100 gallons which is prob same as my dump-through which lasts two of us 3-4 weeks.
it was a one off special! 
Proper Herring, yum yum..
in Living Afloat
Posted
Worse still spirit vinegar!
This week Waitrose have got soft herring roes in - I had them dusted in flour and gently fried in butter, also with some delicious bread