jonesthenuke

FWIW it's a T5.5 filament lamp (aka "Wedge" lamp). Used to be used in large numbers in telephone systems and alarm systems, though commonly a higher voltage, often 50Vdc. I would think they are near obsolete and supplied only for keeping old equipment going. Available here https://www.lamps2udirect.com/miniature-light-bulbs-miniature-lamps/t55-55x30-12v-12w-c-2v-10khrs-clear/148657 RS have some LED versions, but not 12Vdc

I have seen a BCS brochure which talks about the bow thruster having protection against thruster failure etc. I would guess the "clever" bits are in the epoxy filled box. The epoxy makes it near impossible to repair the electronics inside the box. Extract from BCS brochure:- In order to ensure an higher and higher safety level and an easier boat control in every boating condition, the whole range of electric bow thrusters has been provided with a new PCS control system. This new device is composed of main processor that automatically protect the boat against any damage resulting from a possible bow thruster failure and a secondary processor, that shuts down the thruster in case of a system failure . Worst case (no spares available), I would check out the connections on the thruster. Is the white connector the cable to the thruster? If the thruster has just a pair of contactors in it I would wire up a simple two way control box (like the Venus ones) and have simple left/right on/off control. Pictures of the thruster with the covers removed and the control panel would help.

Agreed, but worth watching. If the corrosion starts again following thorough cleaning its possible the seal around the pillar has degraded.

As well as the above, when its all clean check for signs of corrosion and leakage around the terminal where its exits the top of the battery case , could be signs of impending failure.

What is the arrangement of the pipe/tank/pump? If the take off is direct from the bottom of the tank I would foresee no advantage to adding an NRV.

Noting that the water supply is restricted "due to environmental reasons" I fail to see how handing over £100k per week (or any monetary value) corrects the environmental dis-benefit of taking the water from the river? Is this just a money grab?

Easy. I am a Southerner; to my uneducated way of thinking "Birmingham" is the whole of the conurbation, so Solihull to Wolverhampton and all points in between. I am lost with all the local place names that have been swallowed up over time. I have said this when working on the Bradley canal and nearly got lynched.

Noting the poor engagement of the starter pinion with the flywheel gear, it's my understanding that the starter should not spin until engaged with the flywheel (the rotor moves axially and closes the main power contacts). Looking at the images I wonder if the starter is not in the correct position, specifically that it should be moved towards the flywheel. The clamp only wraps around the starter so does not locate it in a particular axial position. Is there any way to look inside the flywheel housing to see the position of the starter pinion? If you need a starter motor manual I have a pdf copy somewhere.

If the hydraulic ram is disconnected form the rudder arm (It looks like a bolt through the arm to a spherical rod eye), can the rudder arm be swung away from the ram and the ram swung towards the stern? It's impossible to tell how much movement is available on the ram from the current photo. Then is there room to remove the weed hatch? If so it would seem to require the removal of only one nut&bolt.

FWIW I always turn our 3LW over a few times with decompressor on if its been left for more than a few days. Our engine's exhaust manifold points down at 45 degrees, then has a bend back to the vertical, so more room to accumulate water below the valve inlets.

Hams Hall was originally coal and converted so that it could run gas or a mixture. Apparently on gas it was very much quieter as no coal mills. Which station was your friend at? PS Hams Hall only ran for a short while on gas as it was considered uneconomic.

The gas produced when making coke for steel making was not used for domestic applications, it was used at the steelworks as part of the steel making process. Power station coal was pulverised not due to its poor quality but so that it could be burnt very quickly, like a giant gas burner. To generate the amount of steam required the amount of coal to be burnt was very large. The coal was not burnt in a fluidised bed (this was tried at prototype scale but never caught on), but with burners rather like giant blowtorches. Several configurations were used, generally a rectangular array of burners pointed into the boiler, but also from the corners. See example image below of two burners operating, a boiler would have 20 or more. Note the burner diameter would be about 600mm so big flames Aberthaw was designed to burn the hard coal from South Wales and used burners pointing downwards as the flame length was very long as the low volatile coal particles required a longer time in the boiler to ensure complete combustion. The solids produced were mostly fly ash and carried over with the exhaust and collected foe the exhaust went up the chimney. This was very fine, powdery ash. Some of the material would become larger ash which would fall to the bottom of the boiler and be removed as a clinker like material. PS When lighting power station boilers, an automatic process starts with relatively small propane burners being ignited followed by bigger fuel oil, then the coal is started one burner at a time . I once lit a boiler at Hams Hall, none of the automatic system worked so it was started with a rag on a stick dipped in a bucket of diesel and once lit poked in and the gas put on. The result was quite impressive.

Size to your estimate of largest current draw. Battery capacity is not relevant.

Cutting fluid is certainly an emulsion, what do Bosses know.....

My guess is that now Ebay has made selling "free" they add a percentage to the price the seller posts.

I believe Gunk was based on a coal distillate (so smelt a bit like creosote) but was water soluble unlike paraffin.

Thats why you see 205L blue drums of Methylene Chloride behind the sheds at Braunston. It was the active content of Nitromors and used neat I would think it would be excellent for removing any number of layers of paint

Same problem as Creosote. Ban the nasty chemicals and the product becomes useless (e.g Creosote vs Crecote et al)

There is a good chance it will be OK, river water is not too bad. If you want more assurance I suggest the following:- Wash in a bucket of demineralised water, use lots. Repeat. Then dry in oven at about 70-80C. Then if you can check the insulation resistance. Repeat above if needed. This is not critical as its only 12V, but nice to check. Then check brushes are free to move, probably best to take them out, clean the brushes and the inside of the holders and replace. Check the contactor is free to move. Then test under power. You can run the motor whilst removed from the gearbox. I cannot remember what sort of bearings are used in the motor, they may be sealed in which case you have good chance that they will be ok. Overall its just a Bosch starter motor, so pretty resilient and some spares can be obtained reasonably as Bosch replacements (not from Vetus!!) Failing that, I will take it off your hands.

CRT have rented out the canal bed as a lorry park.

I though this was a spoof until I saw this in Facebook.

It may help f you post some photos to show the current arrangement? Its had to visualise otherwise.