cuthound

Could you mount a solid baffle in front of the low level vents? If fitted on legs so that it stands a small distance away from the louvres, it will admit air but prevent the draught from coming straight through. It the area around the gaps between the edges of the baffle and the fixed louvre was the same as the area of the low level vents area, the BSS calculated ventilation area would be unaffected. I was told thst gaps around doors, hatches etc are "fortuitous ventilation", and are not taken into account for the BSS calculations, so you could seal the gaps around doors etc with draught excluding foam strips.

Is it steam coal then?

Is your boat actually 60 foot? Many very by a few inches to a couple of feet from their licenced length, either longer or shorter. Best to measure the actual length first.

Not if he is a very helpful walker, who helps you do the locks.

According to this site the binding agent is molasses. Yespecially, it surprised me too. https://www.coals2u.co.uk/basic-coal-questions What is manufactured coal? The raw coal materials are often blended together to make a better performing fuel. Through carefully adding the right amount of each material we can create coals that burn longer, produce less smoke, less CO2 emissions and give off an attractive flame. For instance, a manufactured coal such as Homefire would contain anthracite to make it smokeless and house coal to make it easier to light. This is all bound together using an agent such as molasses – which is a renewable energy source. At CPL we produce a number of manufactured fuels which combine different high quality characteristics to make your favourite coals.

It's great for sound insulation. Much better than sprayfoam in that respect.

If you want a battery that will survive being left a week between charges, then NIFE battery would be best, providing you have the space and can tolerate the wide voltage range between fully charged and flat. They are almost indestructible, but require different charging voltages to lead acids.

Mine was already on the boat when I bought it. The boat was advertised as having rockwool insulation. I specifically asked the surveyor to check, and he found 3M Thinsulate. Not sure how thick as it is stuck to the steelwork behind wooden panelling. Perhaps 25-50mm? There is some loose Thinsulate over the stainless steel tanks, that is around 25mm thick. If you call Sikaflex using info from the link I provided I am sure they will tell you what thicknesses are available.

Nothing but if you Had explained your charging regime to Yuasa they would have told you you werent fully charging them before you worked it out. Might just have saved your batteries.

Yes, charging puts mechanical stresses on the plates. Too high a charge distorts them and causes loss of active material held by them. Discharging batteries also causes loss of ultimate life. So does just leaving them alone. You just can't win with batteries.

Given the thread title, I thought you were seeking explanation for some strange marks left in the snow on the bank of a river.

My boat is insulated with 3M Thinsulate. It is a flexible fabric, which is stuck directly to the steel. In my opinion it is very good, better than rockwool or Celotex/Kingspan (which lose some of their insulation properties as the gas trapped within the cells rates over time), but not quite as good as well applied sprayfoam. It has much better noise insulation properties than sprayfoam. http://www.sikaflex.co.uk/thinsulate

But are they in calibration?

IIRC he bought Yuasa batteries. They are a reputable manufactuerer who probably make more batteries serving much more critical applications than Trojan (UPS vs golf cart ). When Mike first began experiencing battery problems, I suggested that he called their technical department, and ask for their advice. He chose not to. Similar tale with the SG's, he won't contact the manufacturer for advice and a probable solution. You can't help those who won't help themselves.

View from my bedroom window on the Coventry this morning. So cold it has turned the snow blue

It would seem CRT have recruited these volunteers just to break the ice.

Marina, hole in the water into which others throw money for you

I agree it is likely to be this ^^. If not the needle valve in the regulator may not be closing properly due to a bit of dirt in it. The thermocouple is exactly the same as one used for s, except (obviously) it controls a diesel valve, not a gas valve. If it is not correctly positioned in the flame, it may cause the fuel to shut off intermittently, causing the flame to die out.

In my previous profession, a fire valve was a weight operated fuel shut off valve, held open by a fusible link. In the event of a fire the link melted and the valve closed, preventing further fuel from entering the device. Not sure if this would be practicable to feed a stove in a narrowboat, due to space considerations.

At present not a lot of difference. We used 3 bags of coal at say £12 per bag on our previous boats. Currently use about 30 litres of diesel per week at say £0.80 per litre. Obviously if either coal or diesel increases relative to the other, then running costs will change.

In the case of the ecofan, I think the "M" in CTM stands for "millenium" Yes, but where does the pipe and flaming tail come into it? I can foresee another Bruncefield type blast occurring.

My thoughts exactly. The canals are in far better condition now than when I started, in 1973, but not in such good condition as they were in the late 80's to mid 90's. Unfortunately CRT are underfunded, so need to attract more people (cyclists, walkers anglers etc) who hopefully will become enthralled by the canals, become friends, and even hire or buy boats in the future.

What about a steel boat with loads of mussels stuck to the baseplate? They must cause such a turbulent flow that it becomes difficult keeping the boat within the 4mph speed limit.