I Spartacus

I have found this thread most interesting, having read previous topics regarding composting toilets I can see how views have changed regarding this subject. As I am at a stage of planning my new boat I have found the information and views in this thread very useful. I have always liked the idea about the composting toilet but also liked the idea of a pump-out.. as the OP asked how much water would it save a day, I also would be interested in this, how much water do these flush systems use per flush, at a guess I was thinking 2.5 lt but I have no idea. Good input by all regarding this subject and a joy reading. Mark

There is not a lot out there at the moment regarding micro chp equipment, and what is out there and has been mentioned is for heating with a bit of power chucked in. I was looking at this diesel micro chp the other week, to big for a narrow boat but for you wideeam boys and girls it might be of use. I think it is made in china and you would need a crane to get it onto your boat Thermal output 9kw electrical output 4+ kw Fuel 1.54 ltr per hr http://www.utilityfreeliving.co.uk/micro-chp-systems/

I can see you like experimenting, and if you still want to use plastic with all those expensive fittings, you should try twin wall polycarbonate roof sheet painted matt black,you need to make up the manifolds which is fun. but it works very very well. And if it gets to hot there is not a big bang

Where I worked they used a valve called a thermostatic divert valve, this was used with huge calorifiers on the HTHW feed it would divert or close off at a set temperature and divert the flow to a new location. something like the valve on this link I think they 3 or 4 port valve's you could then just divert it into another tank as required. http://www.thermomegatech.com/product/%C2%BD-thermostatic-mixingdiverting-valve-12-md-316ss/

Taking into cloud cover that sounds about correct, as Alan has said 5555 watt hrs, that's a lot of power available to heat water

Make a cardboard or paper template and then transfer it to to your sheet material.

110ltr is far to large, how big is your hot water storage tank ?, you should be looking at designing the collector for the size of your tank lets say you get 1000W M2 solar radiation where you live, you should easily get 50 % of that with no problem. at 8 hrs a day that is 4kw over 8 hrs that is a lot of heating you going to have, so something 1M2 square might meet your requirements. It gets expensive trying to control solar !!!

I have build a few of these but they were parabolic s,I would agree I would use copper or aluminium, they also look to have a large diameter this will take longer to heat up, you would normally fill the system with anti-freeze to prevent freezing Using solar for pumping is a good idea. The suns comes out and the pump starts the brighter the sun the faster it pumps. If you can put some aluminium foil or mirror film behind the tubes to reflect the wasted light back onto the tubes. for controlling it might be better to get a second tank, when first tank is hot pump to the second tank. Apart from that it is looking good Mark

Open a cash account with SELCO, there should be no problem with that, they do say trade only but they are not all that bothered.

She looks lovely , I hope you have many happy hours cruising with her.

I have been asked if I could post this to the forum. My friends sister Lynn who was the partner of Paul Harper who was drowned earlier this year on the Grand Union Lynn passed away yesterday morning. Having known Lynn for many years It was a big shock, Could you please pass on this information to anybody who might have known Lynn. Many Thanks http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/14288233.Friends_and_family_pay_tribute_to_man_found_in_canal/

Hi guys and many thanks for your advice, some good tips there, I love the idea about the window bungs. I see also some of you recommend carpet,I have read some other posts regarding this topic, some like it and some like wood floors Does carpet actually make that much difference. and would you use underlay ? Thanks for the information on the depth that you can get on the ceiling and sides I was going to ask that Just thinking what kind of head room do you get in the middle of the cabin ? is it over 6ft Many thanks for you kind replies and good advice. Mark Edit for spelling

I have spent many hours reading the Forum finding out different kinds of information. I was looking up on insulation and was unable to find what I was looking for. Now there is one thing I don't want and that is freezing my butt off in the boat in the winter. When I get started on my project I was thinking of adding additional insulation over the spray foam.I have a lot of 8 x 4 sheets of 15mm Gurit Corecell that I would like to us up, I was planning on veneering them up and using them on the ceiling or gunwals, Now the question is where is the most heat lost from in a boat is it the gunwals of ceiling I was thinking the insulation on the ceiling was not as thick as found on the internal sides of the boat.I have not even looked at insulating the floor or if it needs insulating or could be insulated due to the ballast. Where would you put additional insulation if it was you ? Many thanks Mark

I have used it for many applications, bridge decks, sealing floors in plant rooms and bunding areas to avoid water egress to the floor below, roofs and water tanks just to name a few. It is an excellent product, was thinking you could use it to black a boat. Mark

I have used loads of this stuff it might be good for blacking a boat but you will never get it of It is a twin pack and goes off within about half an hour. http://cimindustries.com/products/cim-product/cim-1000/

I use inside diameter allowing for steel thickness plus the flue pipe plus thickness I have allowed 10 mm plate thickness but at the end of the day it will never hold 80 Ltr as they are stating I think we are on the wavelength

You tell me how they can get 80 ltr into that thing, I make it about 32 ltr I wish these people could do their maths

I think you would also have a death-wish if you installed it on your boiler, fantastic build quality LOL.

£380 that is very good, and thanks for the information regarding Paul Widdowson boats,I like to look at as much information prior to making any decision.

Hi Nat, I have friends who CC in London, they do have to keep trawling and moving and cover some miles but manage ok, the thing she hates is the winter,and just the problems with getting water and pump-out etc, but they seem to manage ok but they are happy with the life they have chosen and that's the main thing.

Hi all and sorry for the delay in getting back as it was a bit hectic yesterday. It looks like there are a few different views regarding Fox's boats, some like them and some don't I have now found their information on their boats on the website, I also found Pat Buckle's website, He is Quoting £900 fer foot !!!. Also looked at the XR&D website which was very interesting, Other sites that I have spent a lot of time looking at are Tyler Wilson and the LMBS site, All very interesting but as has been mentioned I should visit them and see for my self. So next month hopefully I will be taking a few days off and taking time to visit these company's to see what they have to offer. I do like the Cambridge area and have friends up there, plus it is easier for me to get there than say Liverpool or up north. and yes Kent does have lots of hills Lol. So It might be better as has been mentioned to have the shell built out of the Cambridge area and then ship it down. I will still need to find a location to complete the fitting out but a few of the above have areas where this is possible. Thanks again for you advice regarding this and if anyone has any other recommendations for builders that I can visit please let me know.

Thank's all of you for the replies, I looked at Pat's website the other evening, and also Foxes as they came up as a builder on google. But there was nothing on their site about building shells.

Yes Alan I have looked at that, but was thinking that it might be better if I could get one built in the area where I would like to keep it, I expect that transport would be over a grand, but it is still worth looking into, but there again again I will need somewhere to finish fitting it out, I am not looking at doing all the fitting out so there would be some work that I would require being done so a boat yard or marina would be better.