tizzy

He also says that the Aire flooded the Aire and Calder Navigation. That would be difficult as they are combined in Leeds since the latest flood protection work was completed. Still why let reality get in the way of a good story.

Hi I use a heat pump dryer at home and am really impressed.It dries at least as quickly as my old vented one.has a crease reduction button and the clothes come out really soft and ready to put away.It is an Electra and was £300 from a well known online retailer. The only thing is having to empty the water if can be plumbed in just not where we have it

Bear in mind that the power profile for small wind turbines in not a straight line graph. If they quote up to 30 watts at 30mph as the wind speed drops the power output drops rapidly so that at normal wind speeds the output is negligible. And other than the last few weeks how often do we get 30mph wind.

Suggesting you take it to the tip is all well and good. The volume you are talking about is substantial. At least double the amount you put in and all the tips I have been to do not have a facility for it. Easy to say. Hard to do. I question whether those who say it actually do it.

But having emptied the coolant from the system. How are you supposed to dispose of it?

Many thanks for the reply Tony. Very interesting. I have never changed the oil in our PRM but whenever I check the dip it is clear. We have had the boat for 5 years so I guess it is worth doing. I was looking at recommendations for cars and they are usually about 60000 miles which probably equates to something like 1500 hours on a boat which for us is 4 to 5 years (leisure boaters). Plus the gearbox on a car must be working far harder than a boat where once forward gear is engaged it chugs away uninterrupted.

Can anyone enlighten me please. Why is it that gearbox oil needs changing. What happens in a gearbox to cause it to deteriorate. As mentioned above there is no combustion process to contaminate it so surely it should last a very long time.

What about going on the Shroppie from Norbury Junction or Breewood ? Wide straight canals and not too many narrow locks (unless you venture down Audlem) and lovely scenery ?

If you can't get round you will cause chaos if there are any boats trying to use the staicase .We came through last week and it was really quite busy, Why not go up the locks they don't take long and the lock keeper will help. Winding holes are there for a reason.

Hi I suggest you have a look at some of the hire boat websites to get an idea of how they fit in the number of berths you would need.Then have a think about storage space for everyone and think about how small a boat kitchen is ,it can be hard to cope with 4 never mind 7.Ask yourself where is everyone going to sit in the evening and how are your children ,all at very different stages of life .going to be able to have any space of their own. How are you gong to sit down for meals and how big a table do you need so everyone can do their school work ? I speak from experience when I say that if someone is trying to work then everyone else has to be quiet -sound travels in a boat.This is not so bad for us as there are only 2 of us but 6 other people ? The water tank would have to be very large or you could end up filling it every day.How are you going to do the washing and dry it. Remember all the fuel,food and other supplies have to be transported to the boat ,this can be a challenge in a marina and much harder if you CC . You would probably have to have a pumpout which would still need emptying regularly with the associated cost.Living on a boat has challenges which I feel increase in direct proportion to the number of people on the boat .

Hi What is it with the locks at Middlewich they seem to infect people in a strange way and make them behave irrationally ? A true story we were in the 3rd lock waiting to come up, and a boat was in the 4th lock coming down. OH said "walk up and tell them I will wait in the lock and then pass them in the pound " (this is our usual procedure ) I relay this message to the boat in the lock and get an an acknowledgement., boat leaves lock and I wait for OH ,At this moment a woman appears from the next boat waiting to go down and tries to close the gates and turn the lock " Excuse me " I say "what are you doing " she replies "We are travelling with that boat and need to stay together so this is MY lock ! " me (trying to be polite) *But it makes no difference if we are in the lock while you re-fill it " Her "NO NO IT IS MY LOCK" Me (loosing patience) "it makes NO difference to you if we come in " Her "IT'S MY LOCK !" I resolved the problem by sitting on the gate so she couldn't close it OH came in I filled the lock and then off we went with her muttering the whole time.

Have you checked the split charge relay. If you have a battery charge controller monitoring the domestics and the relay is goosed then the alternator will increase voltage in a vain attempt to charge to domestics. Easy to check by putting a jump lead between starter and domestic positives. If it all goes back to normal then that is the problem.

eeerm yes I need a husband he has a bad habit of posting as me !

Most small wind turbines only generate their rated power output at 45mph wind speed and the graph of power output vs wind speed is not linear so drops off rapidly below this. In reality you might as well get a hamster and fit a dynamo to it's wheel.

To be honest Rusty we aren't that bothered about it being unique but it is a nice name with no puns or word play which I have to admit I struggle with sometimes ?