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I think Valve guides is possible on that cylinder as I get a ticking sound from that side - anything I need to consider when replacing / should I do a full decarb while I'm at it? Or is it not worth it - she's an old engine so a bit of smoke and noise aint bad. Cheers

what's the cause? cylinder head gasket? worn piston rings?

So we've been having issues with our raw water system - turned out the impeller shaft on the Jabsco 7860 was really scored and having a new one machined - this was letting water into the sump so have been giving her a deep clean - thought I would descale the exhaust manifold as it's full of limescale - on removal I noticed one cylinder has water in the exhaust part and little limescale while the other side has a dry exhaust but loads of limescale? Why could this be?? Also any descaling solutions that won't harm engine or environment? Thanks, Ed

Yes that's right - it has a rectangular box on top of the manifold with a pipe to the calorifier and another with a stat out to the canal.

Will check this first! Yes we do - will open this up and take a look - thanks! Yes could be but the condensation doesn't seem to dry up - the steam from the cooling outlet seems to occur at the same time as the exhaust steam - will run it for longer tomorrow to see if it dries up and order a new silencer and exhaust pipe in case it is jammed up with crap!

Okay I ran her up full revs for about 20 mins and the white smoke cleared out! However there was ALOT of steam coming from around the actual manifold and my exhaust wrap is actually wet (a little bit worrying). Could this be an issue with the exhaust manifold? Perhaps a crack in the cooling pipe - or is it just because sometimes I forget to put the cap back on and water and exhaust crud has collected in the exhaust bend. Finally - the cooling system was pumping out a huge amount of steam from the side of the boat along with the usual squirts of water. Any ideas?

Hmm.. well that looks a lot worse than we are experiencing. We're not getting any spitting across the top - it's just that it drips down the stack into the cabin. We moved today and the exhaust began to clear up a little by the time we moored up. Also it only happens when under load - does that suggest anything? She hasn't had a good run for a few months - any chance a few hours on a river would help clear it up or would that make things worse?

We're raw water cooled - the residue on the roof from the exhaust is black on the top - is only a yellowish colour when it has dripped down and collected on the silencer. What would be other signs of oil getting past the rings? Thanks for your help!

There was an excessive amount of white smoke billowing from the exhaust stack today and it seems that oil or diesel (yellowy substance that turns to jelly when cold) is dripping down the actual exhaust pipe in the cabin. Oil pressure is good at 2.5bar. Could this be a head gasket or cylinder head? I also have a slight leak from where I recently refurbished the fuel pumps and a weep from the filter cap - could this be related (as in it could be excess diesel not burning off rather than oil?) Any advice appreciated as always. Thanks!

Not to worry - I found them! One of the seals had broken down and the brass back was bent. Fingers crosed it's fixed now. Thanks again!

Hi Matty, am fixing the engine today. All the parts arrived, could you give me any more info about where the seal goes if poss? Thanks, Ed

Wow sounds great! Our solar panels are still working great thank you!

Ah great! Thanks everyone! Cheers Matty would be great if you could let me know! How is everyone at rugby boats? Did he have the same problem?

Hi all, We're having issues with our Petter PH2W - recently the engine oil dropped to about 1bar so I pulled over and found that the oil had turned a grey colour and had doubled in volume. I did an oil change and ran her out of gear for 30 mins and all was okay but then when we got on the move the oil pressure started to drop steadily over the next hour down to zero. I know that there is water getting in somewhere and we had this problem a couple of years ago - the last time Rob at Rugby Boats fixed the problem by just changing a seal but I've forgotten which and where (guessing it was the heat exchange). Could anyone enlighten me. I've ordered a whole new set of gaskets just in case it's an issue there but since it's happened before I'm hoping it will be the same solution. Pictures would be super helpful but any advice appreciated. Thanks in advance! Ed

Haven't been on here for a year but just an update - was a simple leaking compression fitting. Nice gas engineer at Rickmansworth fixed it for £50 and a cuppa - He had completed his boat gas safety on a whim about 20 years ago and never used it so was quite happy to come and work on the boat - let me know if anyone needs his number. Thanks

Hi all, hope you can enlighten me here. Our Petter PH2 (raw water cooled) engine heats our water by running through the block and then through the calorifier and then back through the engine. When the water returning from the calorifier reaches a certain temperature the themostat opens and out goes a measly dribble of steaming water out the side of the boat. Also the calorifier circuit then gets air locked/stops running water through as all the hot water goes straight out the outlet connected to the thermostat. The water never gets that hot at all and I was wondering if there are different temperature rated themostats so that it would allow the calorifier to get much warmer before switching to the outlet. Any ideas/thoughts about this? Also how come I never get a good 'gushing' out of the side of the boat and just a wee steamy trickle? Have checked for blockages in the inlet/mudbox and water flows string when I bleed the calorifier circuit. Also added an extra pump on the circuit to give the impeller a boost. Any help much appreciated, Cheers, Ed

Just noticed that Kentish Town lock is now open again - a month ahead of schedule Ed

All sorted, plumber/gas engineer - you know what I mean - he was off the gas safe register and qualified for boats so good enough for me. Thanks for the advice, just trying to catch up on all those missed cups of tea now. Is there an elsan near Uxbridge!

Thanks all, Got a plumber on the way. Will let you know the outcome. Cheers, Ed

We have no idea how long the gas was leaking before we started to smell it - the boat vibrates alot so has probably been getting increasingly worse over the last 2 weeks. CRT (Phil Brogan) has actually told us not to move the boat and we have approved overstay until it's fixed. Would rather get someone out than take it in - also don't want to use electrics as wiring passes through that section of panneling in which the gas has been collecting - stove is also close by. Better safe than sorry I guess. Also because the leak is in our tug deck bedroom (below water level) there is no low level ventilation to get all the gas out - would prefer not to sleep there overnight. Will call through the list tomorrow and fingers crossed we can get someone out by Monday and get back on the move. Thanks, Ed

Okay, thanks for the insight. Will try and get hold of a boaty gas man (technical title) Just need to find one! Is there not a list of them somewhere? Do BSS inspectors do gas tests/repairs/callouts? Cheers Ed

Hi All, Thanks for your responses. To answer a few of your questions. - The pipe on the LHS is coming through the bulkhead from the regulator - the RHS leads to the cooker, hobs, and fridge. This probably would have been put in anytime between 80s - 90s when the boat was extended. Last BSS was only a few years ago when this was the hold / before the bedroom. - The sprayfoam wasn't completely covering the join but nonetheless I had to cut away a big chunk of my nice new bedroom to find the leak - As I said earlier, I don't really want to mess around with this and following your advice I'm even more put off. - One of Ralphs colleagues reccomended a guy called Matthew (forgotton his last name) - left a message but no reply? Does anyone know anyone else in the area who could come and take a look? Could I call out an LPG qualified Land Lubber gas professional or should it be a strictly marine affair. Thanks again Ed

Here's a photo of the offending compression fitting http://f86i.imgup.net/IMG_04442dcc.JPG

Hey Darren, I've tried but the leak is still persisting - think the compression fitting needs replacing. Also worried that gas has collected between the hull and the wooden pannelling. How long will gas 'hang around' so to speak? Ed

Hi all, We have a gas leak in our bedroom coming from one of the joins - Have been ringing around to find a gas safe engineer to come and take a look but no-one has responded yet. It's getting urgent now as we're staying at relatives until it is fixed and need to get back on the move again. Can anyone recommend a decent gas call-out engineer please. Thanks for your help. Ed