QDos

So , oil circulation + fan still turning beats fuel burning at no load ? Thanks Q

Hi - quick question: does an air cooled lister cool down quicker at idle or at rest ? I suspect mine is cooling quicker at idle. Cheers

Thanks RM Will try this - am a Mech Eng so okay with the concept of stress relief .... Q

Thanks Richard - that makes sense. So one end of small pipe goes to tank , other end goes to inlet of filter (with two branches for injectors) - if the filter end is blank i.e no banjo bolt - main fuel line has no pressure relief therefore weakest joint may leak due to over pressure. The face of the banjo is not perfect but I can do somthing about that , dont know about the face on the fuel pump outlet as its way down in the well and inaccesable. thought that using dowty washers may help here. Will get a banjo bolt for the filter inlet and see where I go from there. Cheers Q

Hi - I hope I can explain what i think is going on : I have a fuel leak from the outlet banjo fitting of the fuel pump - very difficult to get to but I have been able to replace the copper washers with Dowty washers (and change them back agan when it still leaked) - tighening is difficult due to restricted access , but I think that I have managed okay. When standing, engine off- no leak . Start up (used to leak when running but with new washers does not now) 5-10 mins no leak but after this time a spray of diesel is emmited from the joint that is obviously under a lot of pressure - engine is running fine. Many different combinations of washers and torqueing up the banjo bolt - same result , a fine mist of diesel in the engine compartment and a sustantial drip from the fitting - turning to smoke as the engine heats up. My theory: - is this joint just the weakest part of a system that is over pressure ? The fuel pipe from the pump outlet is brazed copper and goes to the inlet banjo fitting of the fuel filter 6" away - this banjo is large and has another smaller pipe and banjo on the inlet as well - I am not sure what this smaller pipe (looks around 1/4"OD capillary) that goes up over the cylinger head , has two small branches to each cylinger and dissapears off , maybe back to the fuel tank ? - not sure . My guess is that this is a pressure relief system that is not working due to the fact that the small bolt on the banjo fitting is not a banjo bolt , just a normal one - I cant see the purpose of having a normal bolt there on a banjo fitting. Is the lack of pressure relief causing over pressure at the fuel pump outlet and hence a leak? How much pressue is the fuel system under ? Can I replace with new fittings with barbed and braded hose ? Thanks Quentin

Thanks - the silenced box looks a good option , however still have the problem of getting cold air in and hot air out of a confined space. I like the idea of getting cooling tanks welded to the outside of the swims - little access for inside tanks. Can then use any of the many conventional water cooled engines on the market. One to price up when next out of the water . Cheers Q

Thanks - didnt know you could retrofit a skin tank. Is this to the outside of the hull on the swims ? The MD1 looks a bit small @ 7HP , probably need something around 13-20 HP ( 33ft steel narowboat) Q

The logic goes that my boat was designed to have an air cooled engine around 10HP. The existing LR2 is a fine piece of engineering and will probably last for ever but being air cooled and in a confined space it is noisy and hot . As advised I have been working through the cooling issue quite sucessfully but at the expense of noise. Just seeing what options are available to me should I decide to re-engine at some time bearing in mind that I dont have any water cooling. Q

I have been googling Marine Air Cooled Diesels and come across these : http://www.hatz-diesel.com/fileadmin/user_upload/hatz-diesel.com/brochueren/Hatz_Systems_EN_13.pdf I am thinking of the 1D81/1D81C as a replacement for my Lister LR2 ? Has anyone any experience of these engines ? Thanks

Being a ex bike racer - old school eighties , hairnet helmet and tubs.(no drugs - honest !!) You buy the most expensive tyres you can afford , put a few psi in them then hang them in a dark cupboard for 4 years until the rubber hase nicely matured. Pump them up to 150 psi + You get a fast ride exccent handling and no punctures

Thanks - no trips planned in Jan so should be able to get at the fan etc ..... will check how much oil I have put in allthough pumping it out is very difficult as even the smallest tube in the sump pump kit wont go down the dipstick pipe . I work with comp air and got a small bore pipe for instrument air that did the trick. Dont have deck boards only a 14" X 6" cover that I remove when cruising anyway , a local marine engineer recomended cutting out the deck and side panels and putting in more deck hatches to get access to the engine. Is it possible to retrofit an oil pressure gauge to this engine ? Q

Hi - have now had a few days cruising since : Replacing all battered and bent Alu ducting Changing the Oil and filling to the correct level Extending the air inlet with 2" dia SS pipe to a "fresh air" part of the engine bay Conclusions : Sounds quiet , much less black smoke , more power - even managed 3.8 mph on a straight bit of the cut !! - the good news. The bad news is that the engine is still running hot with the engine bay smoking after a few hours continuous motoring and there is still a power advantage gained with occasional forward /reverse of the throttle (not convinced it's leaves). Following the calcs of PhilR - at the engine end I have a short steel box bolted to the cylinder head that has aprox 6" of steel pipe 100mm dia that splits into 3 x 100mm dia alu ducts , 2 of these go at right angles through vents to the outside - min vent dia = 50 cm 2 each and the third vent down the cabin in a box section of around 45cm 2. This gives a total area of vent of approx 145cm2 or 22.5" sq in old money - even less than PhilR's 31" sq and probably the reason for my cooling problem. I have never been one for believing that the people that originally design things get them right and suspect that Brian (named after the magic roundabout snail) has always had a bit of a speed problem and is only happy at < 3 mph. Next move is to clean the fan and cylinder heads if I can get to them, as I suspect they will be clogged up with leaves etc..... unless anyone has other suggestions on how to keep cool ? Q

I have a small 3kw Glastonbury Griffin woodburner and use "blazers" logs - they say they are 100% sustainable and zero carbon footprint. Anyway they put out a lot of heat , can be broken by hand to fit the burner and leave little ash behind. I use 2-3 logs in an evening and the fire is still in in the morning (mostly) - Cost is £3.65 for a 10kg bag of 5 logs from a local fuel merchant. This set up seems to be working so far and the bonus is that I use very little gas as I can easily cook and boil the kettle in the evening. Downside is that it can get too hot. Q

Hi Thanks for the comments - have some pics of the set up but cant seem to upload ? The air out splits int 3 x 4" aluminium ducts , 2 run for 1-2 meters to outlet grates in the stern and one goes into a length of square section pvc pipe down the length of the internal space - a form of heating. I put the bilge blower in the one that runs to the port side about 40 cm from the air box attaced to the engine - on reflection not a good move but hey ho nothing ventured ...... Someone has mentioned overfilling with oil and I suspect that I am overfilled as my dipstick has 3 lines on one side and one on the other - the oil is filled to the highest one 50cm up the stick. The Gearbox has "LISTER L.H.I HYDRAULIC REVERSING GEARBOX" on it and as fas as I know has not been serviced or lubricated for at least 8 years. Must admit I use the terms "Thrash" and "Slam" partly for emphasis as I am an Mechanical Engineer by education and do have some affinity for moving parts! Q

Thanks - leaves are no 1 , reverse gear drag no 2. After the hull blacking has been done and the paint job , may look at a reconditioning the engine next year. Cheers Q