Adelka

Alan that does help a lot, thanks. Unless I'm an idiot (which I'm not discounting) they are plumbed in series, which as you describe is crazy. I think the former owner just ran his engine all the time so didn't need to worry about it. I will have another look and call a plumber to make the system parallel.

We have bought a boat with a Webasto wet central heating system. We gave it a go yesterday and happily, the radiators heated up quite quickly. However, the hot water tank didn't heat up at all. This is a puzzle because there doesn't seem to be a separate loop for the radiators and hot water tank - they are on the same circuit. One thing that may be a factor is that when I was satisfied that the central heating was working ok, I turned off the main valve on the radiator loop, thinking incorrectly that there was a separate circuit for the hot water without investigating. Soon after I did this, the header tank started bubbling intermittently and there came a continuous high-pitched noise from the boiler. I switched it off, opened the valve and soon after turned it on again. It heated the radiators again but not the hot water tank (well, maybe to barely luke warm after an hour). The engine heats hot water well. Is there anything else I should check before calling someone? The former owner said he would come have a look... Cheers, wise ones...

Thanks Alan. Tim, that's my impression also, except there are two cabins and a bathroom between the gas locker and the galley, though we could make a gas locker on the cruiser stern, as suggested above.

Yep, I would also imagine that it'd be a huge job. Just hoping to hear from someone who might have done this or considered it, and backed off. I'm a liveaboard and yes, there's a gas locker. Alan: I wonder if you know how to find a gas installer with the right qualifications? Thanks all.

Hello wise ones. The title says it all really - we are considering making an offer on a gas-free boat, but we would like to install gas for the cooker. It currently has a diesel oven which fires ceramic hobs ("very expensive" according to the owner) but the oven is tiny and hobs take an age to heat up. The owner gave the game away by showing us the camping stove he cooks on. So, with a reverse layout and so the kitchen far from the gas locker, how much of a pain-in-the-bum and hole-in-the-pocket would it be to install gas just for cooking?

Tony, I suspect too that the calorifier is in series with the central heating. I've not had the chance to look properly yet. If that is the case, then would it work to just turn off the radiators? Or would this stop the circulation of heated fluid in the system?

OK, will report back if anything works.... Thanks Richard.

The calorifier is beside the engine, and the boiler is midway through the boat. The pump is running. In fact, a second pump was installed on the radiator system (when we bought the boat) because the pump on the Alde wasn't powerful enough to circulate the water and heat radiators. OK I'll go looking for valves tonight. I know that one that turns off radiators is under a step somewhere near the calorifier, so as Richard says, anything is possible.... I wish all boats came with wiring/plumbing/etc diagrams.....

Thanks for your replies. Bod: Yes, the Alde heats water in the calorifier. I've tried turning off the rads but I think that it doesn't work, the water doesn't heat (but I'll try again). I thought that maybe that means the calorifier and rads are on the same circuit - would that make sense? I'll try to figure out if there are two circuits so that the circuit to the rads can be shut off, thanks. Jo_: The calorifier is 20ft away from the Alde boiler - if I turned off the circulation pump wouldn't that mean the water wouldn't get pushed anywhere? RLWP: I'll try to see if I can isolate the flow to the radiators. I guess this stopcock might be anywhere though, not necessarily by the boiler, but I'll have a look. Nicknorman, no the water isn't heated from the stove so I'll try turning off the radiators again. I'll have a look for the stopcocks.

I have an old upright Alde central heater (2928?) on my boat, which I haven't used for central heating because solid fuel is doing just fine. I can't figure out how to get the heater to heat just water in the calorifier. Running the engine to take a shower is becoming a pain, so can someone offer advice?

Thanks for the replies. It was dark yesterday when I got back, 7.45 or so. I just got back now to 13v - nothing has been on and I think it was a sunny day? I've switched on the fridge and lights to see what we get tonight and in the morning. Cheers! Aha, just realised I told a lie - the imverter was on by accident all day yesterday. Should have been the only draw.

We have a stirling charger for when we're on shore power (which won't happen for the foreseeable future) and don't have a generator, just engine.

I know that batteries have been done to death here, but having read through a lot of topics I still could use advice. When we bought our boat 6 months ago we didn't know too much about balancing the power system, keeping the batteries above a certain SOC etc, so we let the batteries drain far too low a few times (before we installed 500w solar) and probably killed them (if they were not already dead). The batteries now don't hold their charge - e.g., I got home yesterday night after a fairly sunny day, the voltage was reading 12.8 (nothing powered on while I was out so a good reading?). Two hours of lights, fridge on, pump and radio, the reading was more like 11.8, which didn't recover when everything got turned off, or the following morning. Am I missing something here other than the conclusion that our batteries are useless? Assuming that this conclusion is correct, I think that it's obviously time to replace our bank and look in detail at our charging regime. I'd like advice on what kind of batteries we should consider getting, given our current set-up and usage: Off-grid/continuous cruising, moving every week or two. 330Ah domestic battery bank/110Ah starting battery 500w solar with MPPT controller (with room for another 250w that's waiting to be installed) Engine alternator Consumption: Mostly LED lighting Shoreline 12v fridge (I don't mind turning this off in the cold months) No other significant power consumption other than speakers/radio - we rarely use the 1kw inverter My main questions are: What kind of batteries would suit our set-up? Is cheap and cheerful the way to go? (I'm hoping this will be the advice, but will invest if it's worth it over a few years.) Should we invest in a SmartGauge, and if we don't do this, what rules should we follow for a good charging regime (assuming our solar won't be enough over the winter)? I appreciate your input as always...

That's exactly what I suspect happened. I agree that it's very bad design.

Actually I haven't looked into the unit yet. I'm not sure what to look out for but will give it a go. The liquid was not at all clean unfortunately! We also tried running the fridge for a coupla days without realising the problem so I don't hold out too much hope.