Zosima

Update - I spoke to Suzanne at Eco Toilets and she apologised and had the items sent through. They'd had some problems and I think they're closing the Canal Shop Online. I've got everything I ordered plus a partial refund as a goodwill gesture. No harm done!

Not huge - about forty quid, but the problem is more that we lost a couple of fenders in the storm (the crappy plastic hooks snapped off) and a koolie hat, and we needed replacements pronto, hence placing an 'urgent order'. Of course, we may as well have driven to a chandlers the following weekend given what's transpired... Would still like either the goods or the money back, though!

Thank you Matty, I'll try reaching him on that number.

Thank you both. That's the number I have and I've not been able to connect. Fingers crossed I can get through to him and find out what's going on. Yes, we got our boat from Whilton and only then decided to read reviews about them! Fortunately it seems like we got away with it (although her engine did fail literally on her way out of the marina...) So I was prepared to take their words with a pinch of salt.

Sorry if this isn't in the right place. Does anyone know if Canal Shop Online (http://www.canalshoponline.co.uk/) has ceased trading or are scamsters or anything like that? I placed an order on March 3rd and the payment went through (according to the Paypal email I received). The item hasn't arrived and the phone number provided on the Canal Shop Online email confirmation is inactive. Moreover, the phone number provided on the Paypal email is that of Whilton Marina (themselves hardly well regarded, as I'm aware). Whilton deny all involvement, saying this happens a lot, and Canal Shop Online falsely provides their phone number. They also said that Canal Shop Online was set up by a former employee who is a fraudster. Just wondering if anyone has any prior experience with them, before I decide what to do next...?

Thank you for the input all. Will see if we can get the newer the one replaced.

Thank you bottle. I'm afraid I have another chapter in this opus of woe, however. Two elements have failed in the last two weeks. They both have had exactly the same problem. Here's a picture of both. As you can see, part of one of the connections has snapped off. The same connection on both (it's the one the blue wire goes into - not sure if these colours are universal, but maybe that'll help). The right one is a bit rusted, we're fairly sure as a result of its submerging due to poor sealing (as detailed early on in the thread). So we thought that one was our fault, ordered a new one and expected it to be fine, once it was properly sealed. And exactly the same part has broken. We realised, on both occasions, when the hot water supply stopped, and we opened it up to check whether everything was still connected (btw the boiler light remained on despite the snapped part). Frankly I'm now at the stage of asking for recommendations of local plumbers/electricians who are good and insured to work on boats, but I thought I'd ask to see if anything sprang to mind. (The expansion tank was not and is still not installed by the way - but it CAN'T be just that, given that we had uninterrupted hot water for 6 months without one, can it?) Thanks for any thoughts.

Hi all, muggins again here. We've got ourselves a 5L expansion tank, but it's come with no instructions and Surejust's website seems only to have very cursory fitting instructions (as far as I can see, anyway). So, erm, where does it go? Is there even room for it?! The instructions I have found say it goes between the thermostatic mixer valve and the first outlet. Pic (sorry for the quality) The thermostat is the black thing you can hardly see at the bottom, and it's right next to the outlet pipe. There's nothing I can stick the expansion tank in between the two. Am I right in thinking I need to source a bit of pipe with the requisite inlet (and if you could enlighten me as to the actual term for such a 'bit of pipe'... I'd be grateful). Thanks.

Thanks all once again, will sort an expansion tank out pronto.

Hi all, thanks very much for bearing with us. We've sealed the immersion element's thread with PTFE tape, left it for an hour or two as per advice above, and as yet there doesn't seem to be any leak. The water is heating up, so without wanting to curse it, so far so good. While we don't have an expansion tank, the PRV connects to a hose which leads outside, and that let out a bit of water when we got things running again. Does this hose negate the need for an expansion tank, or would it be advisable anyway?

All I want to hear is "we have hot water" so I'm willing to entertain any possibility as long as it results in us getting it sorted! Thanks for bringing it up.

Folks. Sorry not to do your advice justice yet but I'm away from the boat for a couple of days. Will get my reading glasses on when we do get back! Thanks all.

Thanks for the responses. Fairly sure the leak is coming round the threads of the boss. Does that help?

Thank you Robbo (I have already actually tried to reply to you twice but the forum hasn't let me...) We don't have an expansion tank, will look into that. When I put the element back in I will also have a look at the PRV.

Hi all, many thanks in advance for anyone who can advise us. We've been living aboard for just over six months now and are currently experiencing our first hiccup. We're having problems with our Surecal calorifier. Ten or so days ago it started tripping the shoreline power, and not knowing the first thing about boilers/calorifiers, I tried to get someone in to take a look. No one could make it before Christmas, so I ended up speaking to Surejust (manufacturer) who advised it was almost certainly a broken immersion element. We duly ordered a new one, installed it ourselves, and to our delight it worked. Returning to the boat after a couple of days away, however, we found that exactly the same thing had happened - it had tripped the power, and there was no hot water. I noticed that water was eking its way out at the top, around the connections, and in retrospect it seems stupid we didn't take note of this happening before (though I now remember it was - I think we were just too keen to write it off as part of the Surejust guy's explanation). When I took the immersion element out the second time, the connections were submerged in water. I dried it out, put it back in and it worked. SO we have concluded that the reason it is tripping out the power is the water leaking out of the top, and therefore because it was inadequately sealed. We're planning on sealing it properly asap, but my question is - is there anything we've overlooked? Could it be something to do with water pressure (and what do you do about that?) I can't stress enough how little knowledge we have in this area so any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks and Merry Christmas. tl:dr - water's coming out of the top of the calorifier, is it just bad sealant?