269sky

Ok I will re-phrase this one...does anyone know of a good engineer who can service a Vetus engine who will travel to Essex/Herts borders? Many thanks

Hi there Can anyone recommend a good engineer to service my Vetus engine and to replace my throttle cable? I am on the Essex/Herts borders and am struggling to find someone who can do this. Thanks

Thanks for this...maybe I am not leaving it on long enough. Lovely being situated under the bed in the winter but can be a bit hot this time of year plus and minuses I suppose.

No I don't have an accumulator but have I think a non return valve and filter etc...someone did say the tap a mixer type would cause this and suggested I removed the filter in it which I did. No taps seem to be dripping but wondered if it is these taps which you just lift up for on and down for off not really being able to be tightened properly like the old fashioned taps with washers?

Hi everyone Thanks for the comments and suggestions I will try and see if there is any trapped air in the tank - does it matter if it is cold or hot when I do it? Also, the water pump has now started to cut in as if using it even though I'm not (Jabsco) - it happens about two/three times a night. I find if I swivel the mixer tap in one direction it doesn't seem to do it but does in the other direction towards the cold setting. Do you think this is all related?

if it is air trapped how do I bleed it?

Can anyone shed some light on a problem please? I am currently connected to shore line and have been heating the hot water via the immersion switch which up to a few days ago had been working fine. The last couple of days I have noticed that the water isn't staying hot for long and whereas you could easily have two showers and wash up we are only managing one shower before it goes cold. It is a Surecal 55lt calorifier which is under the bed horizontally (have read some negative comments on these types). I switched on the Eberspacher this morning which heated it up after about an hour and was fine and seems to work but again has gone cold quickly. How long do you need to keep the immersion switched on to heat the water up? Should you keep it on permanently or just switch on when needed? How long should the water keep warm for? Could I have a problem with the thermostat? Thanks

We are not power hungry and even use a hot water bottle rather than a 'posh' electric blanket! Yes there is a washing machine on board but I would only use this if via the engine or shore power. The lights are led, gas cooker and hob and a couple of led tvs but prefer listening to the radio. I looked into the watering system for the Trojan batteries which came in at an eye watering £150 for some plastic tubing which is unbelievable. The access in the engine room is very tight and we are not able to get ourselves into the space to try to fill up....honest it isn't a great space and I have had many a cricked neck and bruises to count! I think probably the Lucas AGM will do based on the reply from nicknorman rather than the Sterling ones (my gut feeling was they didn't seem right hence my post for advice). If they last three years that would be fine and the fact I wont have to crawl in to peer at the wet open type will be bliss )

Trojans open wet would be our battery of our choice but access is a nightmare - the joys of a trad stern. We want something we don't need to worry about - I appreciate they are not as good as open wet and it will be a compromise.

I thought this too as I called him back to confirm but he was adamant that they were AGM and told me to look at the first url which states AGM - I said they showed wet sealed so surely couldn't be true AGM batteries totally confused now? Do you think the Lucas batteries are better?

Hi there I am looking to buy AGM batteries for my boat and wanted to purchase a Varta LAD115 but cannot locate stock anywhere. I have been given details on two Lucas batteries AGM 140ah and a 120AH (which will fit in the space). However, I have spoken to a company called Shield batteries who have suggested their own battery which is an AGM battery. Here are the links to the one they are suggesting: http://www.shieldbatteries.co.uk/products/sterling.html However when you look at the product in detail it shows it as a lead acid battery? http://www.shieldbatteries.co.uk/uploads/h140-12.pdf I think there are two types of AGM battery so not sure if this one is any good - the guy on the phone said it would need venting? I have a Pro Combi S inverter Are there any differences between the Lucas, Varta and the Sterling battery (no connection with the Sterling inverter people btw). It just gets more confusing the further I go..........

Just to clarify just the Zinc primer not the Owatrol as well (there is a bit of rust where the metal has got wet from the acid and cleaning down).

We only replaced one battery rather than the whole bank (the other two were probably on their last legs) which may have contributed to the battery exploding or as someone mentioned in my other post a possible wiring problem causing a spark? We are going to replace the whole lot this time and get someone to check over the electrics/wiring at the same time. So bringing the conversation back to my original post ) - should I use Owatrol then the zinc primer? We really did wash it down yesterday with the bicarb/water mix (1:3 bicarb) ...should I do it again or will this suffice? The battery explosion did happen about a month ago and although someone did kindly mop up most of the acid it was only yesterday we were able to clean it down properly. As someone mentioned earlier would the acid have lost it's strength by now or is there anything else I should do prior to painting the Owatrol on?

Thanks so far for the suggestions most helpful. I have a can of Owatrol so that seems like a great idea - should I use it neat on the to the dry surface first and then use the zinc phosphate primer after (maybe adding some into this as well?) Hmm absolute nightmare - did consider swapping the boat for another one ....if only lol. Love the trad stern for the extra room etc but you really need to be Houdini to get in the back ( . I just want to get it all re-painted before putting the new batteries in. BTW I poured the soda mix over the copper and it did seem to wash off....the acid just went everywhere!!

Hi there We managed to get down to the marina yesterday to survey the damage of the exploding battery - it had done a good job. Our lovely grey primed engine room was splattered with acid and the primer had lifted in some places and was bubbled in others. We spent most of the day scraping and cleaning up as much of the acid as we could by using a very thick mix of bicarbonate of soda with water and then wiping down with kitchen roll. I have struggled to find any information on how to deal with this so would appreciate any help please. Was the method we used correct - I read some just chuck the soda down onto the acid damage but it happened about a month ago? Do I need to do anything else or is there a product I can use to neutralise it by spraying everywhere in the engine room that won't damage the wiring etc. as I am sure there must be areas we didn't reach? Do I need to scrape all of the bubbles off - it is impossible to get at them all in a trad stern? The acid spilled on some copper piping - I washed it down but will the acid damage it? I now need to repaint the area prior to fitting the new batteries so it is best to treat the rust with something such as Fertan and then use a zinc phosphate primer? Suggestions much appreciated Should I use

Hi All Thank you so much for your replies and advise, appreciate it is a well covered subject on here and probably a bit boring by now! The batteries are in a built in tray on the boat so all lined up together (its a Lambon hull). The batteries sit under the rear deck on a shelf and although I am not very tall even I struggle (dropping myself into the bottom of the boat where the prop shaft is) but still unable to get to the last two tucked right under to see the tops clearly to check and fill up and with a cricked neck into the bargain I don't mind what batteries I get but it is just the access and maintenance that is an issue hence why the Trojan with the watering system seemed such a good idea. Should I just buy cheaper wet sealed or gel instead if the accuracy of the charger could cause an issue again - it only has preset selection choices for battery types? We are going to be travelling the network this year so the last thing we need is hassle with batteries out on the cut.

If the other two batteries were on their last legs would this impact on the new one in any way? I thought the new one would be ok but affect the two older batteries? Also why has this happened now as the boat has been hooked up to the shore line for the majority of the time and when taken out it has been used for over night trips so plenty of time for the batteries to charge up. Sterling thinks all the batteries should have been changed at the same time, but could it be a problem with the unit - they didn't think so.

Hi Thanks for the replies. I think my main concern is what Martin said -why the same battery? I understand that going down the cheaper route is a good idea but as access is such a pain it would be great for the batteries to last a while without needing topping up etc. The watering system that Trojan do (not cheap tho) means you just attach the bottle and squeeze the distilled water until it resists - you don't have to check each battery as it will only fill the ones that are needed. Does it all sound too good to be true?

Hello there Can anyone shed some light or provide any suggestions on the following please? We currently have 3 wet acid 110ah Lucas leisure batteries and a 100ah Lucas starter battery. The boat is approx 4 years old and the batteries are part of the original set up. They run off a Sterling Power 2500 inverter/charger. Last autumn one of the leisure batteries (the middle one in the bank) started to smell and when we connected it back up to the shore line the casing side split open. We replaced the battery (putting it in the same spot) but about a month later the same thing happened to the new battery – it failed, splitting open and ejecting acid. The boat was connected up to the shore line at the time. There are differing opinions about why this happened: a. We should have replaced all of the leisure batteries not just the one that failed b. It could be an issue with the alternator (Vetus 42 technodrive - twin alternator 50 and 90amp) c. It could be a fault with the Sterling over powering (set on wet acid setting) We have decided to replace all of the batteries, but before I do this I am concerned that if there is a fault with the alternator or Sterling the new batteries will be damaged again. I know that when we purchased the boat the previous owner did not top the batteries up and only used it connected to the shore line. We did top them up with distilled water when we purchased the boat but wonder if they had been irreparably damaged? The batteries were approximately 4 years old. With regards to their replacement we did consider Varta AGM or sealed (wet acid) but Sterling advised us against this especially as we intend to be travelling on the boat. We are not keen on open wet acid as access to the batteries (trad stern) is very difficult – you need to be a contortionist to check fluid levels. Sterling suggested however that we should go for Trojan open wet acid batteries with their watering system (just top up once a month via a tube system and it will fill up just those that need it). They mentioned that the wet acid ones are better for deep cycling and that AGM or sealed are not as effective for this kind of use. We want to replace the three 110AH with four 115AH Trojan leisure batteries. I would appreciate any advice or thoughts on this and whether we would be best to go down the wet acid type and any thoughts as to why our batteries failed. We wonder if we would be best to buy some cheaper sealed ones?