NB Alnwick

We have used it for the last 17 years with plain tap water and I now know that it has worked well within the engine (which was raw water cooled for the first 40 years of its life and sea water at that) and main cooling tank - added to which, I had plenty in hand having bought it when it was cheaper. I also checked with Morris Oils, the makers, to make sure that it is compatible.

Well I finally took the plunge and purchased 40 Litres of concentrated Prestone 10 year, all vehicles, antifreeze. I have diluted it 50:50 with tap water to which I added three more Litres of Ankorsol to inhibit scale and corrosion. Having studied the specification and reviews from both sides of the Atlantic, I think it will prove to be suitable. By the looks of the attached image of some of the empties on our front deck, we were just in time!

In the days that I volunteered as a moderator on these forums, Gibbo could be quite difficult but there was never any doubt about his genius knowledge in this field. Where is he when we need him?

We have relied on our Smartgauge for the last decade or so but recently, after changing the batteries and re-setting our Smartgauge back to its original factory settings we have noticed that we get variable and inaccurate voltage readings from the second battery bank. The Smartgauge typically fluctuates between 22 and 25 volts (our boat runs on 24 Volts) but when I take a reading with my multimeter directly from the batteries I get a combined voltage of 27 Volts and each battery measured individually indicates 13.6 Volts. Could this be a sign that the Smartgauge is on its way out or might it be a poor connection somewhere?

This was taking Jane to hospital in Banbury in 2010:

Thanks for spotting this. That looks like a really good deal although getting the required quanity of clean water may be a challenge unless I use filtered canal water!

Unfortunately, that is the real problem with antifreeze! Most of which is extremely toxic but attractively sweet tasting when consumed by wildlife. It cannot be emptied into the canal or a domestic drain. A reputable vehicle repairer may have a safe disposal route but that entails more cost. That is one of the reasons why I am looking for a long life product. BTW it would be most unhelpful to add old coolant to a council waste oil tank. Most councils are able to recycle waste oil but these days they are usually charged for this service. If the oil is contaminated with antifreeze, the council could end up paying a lot more.

As stated, the cooling system capacity is approximately 30 gallons. The Prestone product is a complete coolant - presumably a combination of several ingredients one of which will be water. Edited to add that it would be something of a challenge to find 20 gallons of "filtered rain water or fridge deicing". 🐵

One of the problems we all face is the rate at which the cost of essential goods is escalating. As an example, the last tin of grease that I bought for the stern gland greaser was a little over £3. The current price at my nearest chandler has almost doubled. The same is true of antifreeze. We have not used Antifreeze before in Alnwick because during the fifteen years that we were living aboard, the inboard engine and central heating was always maintained at a comfortable temperature. We added Ankorsol anti-corrosion fluid to the coolant and that worked well when we were using the boat regularly. Now that we live on the land, we need to consider our options - do we continue to keep the boat heated (we did this last year) which is an expensive option when using coal and electricity or do we use antifreeze? The latter will be a major investment because our engine cooling system alone will require 30 gallons (136 Litres) and with the Universal Prestone product that MtB has found, works out at about £35 a gallon, that means that we will need to spend over £1,000 on the stuff. Certainly not a cheap option and for that reason we would want to choose a product that will do the job and last for many years.

After spending ten years working with charities in the re-use and recyling sector, I am rarely surprised at anything that people chose to discard. Many people have little regard for the real value of what they have.

I doubt that anyone can claim to have eliminated condensation completely. We have very little due to mostly good insulation, small areas of glass (ports rather than windows) and good ventilation. However the biggest imporovement was when we moved ashore rather than living aboard all the time!

Has anyone tried one on a boat? will they run on 24vdc?

You and I are in total agreement when it comes to that muck called non-brewed condiment!

Play online with https://www.chess.com/

Thank you for posting that link. Very helpful. Good Luck with sorting your grill - we have the same problem but it looks as if the whole burner unit will need replacing.

On our boat, not yet - it can be done though! The whistles on early electric locomotives and on the London Underground to the present day are all operated by air pressure. We rather fancy the type of siren whistle fitted to WWII destroyers - that would waken the lockies! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_al9owcieHQ

Thank you for retrieving those manuals and thank you for sending them to me. I still do not have a parts list but it would appear that the makers, Stoves, are still in business and can supply some parts at a price. Can anyone tell me when these Vanette products were in production? I was advised to approach caravan breakers for spares but I think these were more often fitted to narrow boats because they are pretty well up to the normal domestic kitchen spec and would be too large and too heavy for most touring vans.

You beat me to it! Ecover was once an acceptable product but big business saw an opportunity and stepped in to buy them out. The name is the same but the product is now sold as a result of clever marketing. We recently discovered Surcare products for laundry and washing up. For most other things, good old fashioned soap without perfume is always a good bet and we like the products sold by Peace with the wild. No connection other than it is where I have purchased my shaving products. You been watching those cows again?

I did look at one of those tools when they were first placed on the market and was fascinated by the size of the multi-function 'blade' in relation to the short shaft - I doubt if it would have reached our prop and I now wonder how many times those who bought them actually used them with success? Edited to add that when we first purchased Alnwick, I had a notion that it would be a good idea to have a tool for releasing debris from the prop. I therefore made a tool which resembled an Assegai spear - it didn't work and ever since I have just used the hook.

"A gap in the market" roughly translated means another opportunity to fleece mugs with more money than sense. I remember seeing these things advertised and I am sure that the professional boatmen of old would have been highly amused.

Wouldn't that be good!