Mikexx

I would like to see some temperature measurements. The inlet and outlet temperatures and some reassurance the skin-tank inlet (hot) is at the top and outlet (cold) at the bottom. I've never come across waterless coolants before and I believed water was the best medium from having a high heat capacity and efficient nucleate boiling.

I received the timing kit from eBay - mgbhiveltd I placed the parts over the old timing sprockets and they lined up well. Obviously this is by eye but with shining a torch down the woodruff key and making sure this reference was in line. Of course that could mean the wrong kit was fitted last time! I think the old chain was stretched given the position of the tensioner, but perhaps a better indication of age was the broken spring within the tensioner. The old sprockets looked in good condition and perhaps I could have re-used these. However, in pulling the crank pulley off with a puller, I took out two major chips from the pulley groove. :-( The chips have that brittle look. It is the MGB variety, ie a nominal 5" one, not the larger diameter one you often see. Other bad news is that the cause of the slight leak at the thermostat housing was that someone had previously sheared one of the studs! The nut and what was left of the stud was mastic-ed in position!

The problem I have is there is no true comparison of one 2-pack over another. I would want evidence that paying twice as much gave me a result twice as good. On a parallel note I recall a comparison of alkaline batteries that showed they all had the same nominal capacity, yet the variation in price was ludicrous. Buying a name didn't necessarily translate to a higher capacity.

Just looked up the price of Interzone 954 and it's at least twice the price of Sigmacover 300. Ouch

Many thanks again. The current epoxy coating on my boat still looks black after a few years. I can see a variation on grey, is the darker area due to being wet? If so, it seems more a surface deterioration issue rather than from lack or loss of pigment. The photo does indicate a slight rust/brown background colour?

Many thanks. The existing paint is 2-pack and I don't want to undo all the good work by using bitumen! The fading is a concern, how grey does it go after 2 years.

I believe you are correct. I recall many washing machines and other 'wet' appliances would have earthing bolts and if installed in a bathroom you would connect them using a fused outlet or similar. Now equipotential bonding isn't necessary if all circuits are protected by a RCD. I guess it's call progress?

Are there any recommended types? And suppliers? This is for mainly touching up and small areas so only need a small quantity.

You may be right, but my personal experience is not so clear cut. If there was a independent review of how these batteries behaved over a period of a year or 2 then I might be persuaded to pay for the name. If a battery is well looked after and fully charged for most of the battery's life then that's about as good as it gets. I'd sooner get £400 of cheap leisure batteries on the basis they will have less onerous discharge and charge cycles from the increased capacity than £400 of expensive ones.

I have searched high and low online to see if there was a prosecution in respect of Mary Wherry's death but I can't find anything? I don't recall one. Prosecutions are very rare. I also can't recall when the concept started with safe-zones as per: http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Safe_zones_for_electric_cables but I do believe this was since her death, again I could be wrong. At the time of the install, 1999, I don't believe it was obligatory for cables to run either vertically or horizontally from fittings. Similarly, the 50mm depth rule or mechanical protection without the circuit being protected by a RCD. What is criminal is that a number of family members felt a shock when they touched the rack and did nothing about it. Also around the time of the install the IEE, criminally in my mind, mandated that all metal trunking should be earthed which had the effect that every electrician switched from galvanised steel to PVC. It was trivial to detect steel trunking and it stopped masonry drills going any deeper. Ironically a few years later, after seeing the error of their ways, they allowed short lengths of unearthed conductive trunking. I wondered at the time that anyone putting a screw into a wall should also be a member of some regulatory body!

That was the excuse the then IEE and NIC needed to get in place their exclusivity for their members. It's not a qualification thing, it's a membership issue. Generally there is one death per year from fixed installations AFAIK so it wasn't based on risk. There are many, many more thing that kill that don't attract interest groups. I'm not aware of any DIYer being prosecuted for a good install. Mind I'm not aware of anyone being prosecuted for a bad one either?

I had a look on their website: http://mgbhive.co.uk/ and after a search on their website I can see their MGB Duplex Timing Gear Kit. It's the same company and kit I saw on eBay except their postage is half price on eBay! As you imply not all kits come with the prerequisite locking tabs. Are these engines the same as the old 1.7d which had pressed steel rockers that bent before any serious mishap? I know of one that bent all by itself during the MOT acceleration test.

Thanks for the heads up. I wasn't aware there might be a difference in timing. Since its the crankshaft sprocket I would expect to be more worn, I hope you're right!! Sadly even ASAP Supplies don't do the sprockets :-(

This is the set I was considering. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291030596932 It seems that duplex timing kits are quite common for the MGBs, such that the simplex and duplex kits are generally the same price. I'm conscious that the crank sprocket in particular wears and wondering if, for another £20 or so, I should get the kit that includes both sprockets? Many thanks for the replies.

I'm very tempted to change the timing chain of my engine as I have no idea of when it was last changed. I note ASAP do the parts individually and so naturally it works out rather expensive. From what I have seen the parts look identical to the B-series petrol engine timing chain kit that is somewhat more affordable. Is this the case?

Many thanks. I understand the principle, much like an indirect cylinder for domestic hot water. However there is a boiler, am I correct in assuming assuming this would also be supplying heat through the same primary?

It is something I'm considering. There are 22mm versions for about 1/2 the price which have the wider control range intended for underfloor heating. The types designed for hot water supplies tend to have a more limited range, with a max temp of 46C. Underfloor varieties are generally up to 65C. I'm genuinely surprised about the small pipes. Flow rates are a function of the diameter^3, where twice the internal diameter gives 8 times the flow for the same pressure difference. 12mm OD implies very little flow!

Thanks, and after looking up more about ballasting I feel a little wiser. I would imagine that removing the floor to remove any ballast would be a serious affair. I was aware that empty tankers are filled with sea water from old articles citing pollution from the practice and even the odd historical explosion through mists and consequential static discharge.

My bad, although the text doesn't mention glycol, the label in the photo does say Ethylene Glycol based.

Obviously 48mm is less than 2" and I was assuming the whole of the bottom would be plated. I have little knowledge why a boat would have ballast unless it was listing without it.

It says concentrate, and when used neat it protects down to -37degsC. Although it ways what it isn't, it doesn't say what it is and doesn't mention ethylene glycol. The reason I say this is that neat ethylene glycol freezes at -12C and has properties such that when diluted 60/40 : glycol/water it has a freezing temperature of -45C. I reckon it's a nominal 50/50 mix. The toxicity is what puts me off where the engine is used to heat hot water such I might consider using Propylene Glycol which is non-toxic, and depresses freezing point more than ethylene glycol.

OK - thanks. Will the calorifier have a primary circuit? Without the pulling away of panels I don't know how the engine circuit and the gas boiler fit with what I assume I have is a hot water tank.

I have no idea the make of the gas heater. There are 3 radiators as well. To be honest I need to familiarise myself with the heating system and this seems the ideal time!! I assumed I could estimate the quantity of antifreeze I would need from the engine spec and the size of the keel cooling radiators. I'm less worried about the exact quantity of antifreeze though a hydrometer would take out some of the guesswork.

I do, but it's not a cheap option. I might need a few kW if the temperature gets a few degrees below. The boat's insulation is poor. I first need to sort out a water leak engine side but I am thinking of adding antifreeze. It also means I can upgrade some aspects of onboard power and have the engine running. That's a good point about drain points. I'm wondering if I can open taps etc and used compressed air to assist clearing the pipes.

As per subject title. For convenience / cost and survey etc, I have arranged for the boat to be out of the water over the winter. My principle concern is frost damage, the 1.5 BMC engine is keel cooled with an engine heated calorifier. Because the boat doesn't have power I don't know how much is in the water tank which is a smaller plastic affair. There is also the boiler and hot water side. I will endeavour to empty this as best I can. Any suggestions where I should reasonably expect air temperatures to get down for -5C for a week or so? I'm conscious I won't be able to fully empty either the bilge, the engine and keel water tanks without a whole load of hassle and even then it may not be entirely effective. Obviously I'm reluctant to use antifreeze/ethylene glycol as I would never know if it had entered the hot tap water system. I was therefore toying with denatured meths (which would become obvious) or propylene glycol which is non-toxic. I feel I only need enough to stop solid ice, whereas even a weak mixture of water/antifreeze results in slush. Is my thinking flawed? Would be grateful for advice.