Froggy

I'll try to look in this evening, especially if there's some real ale going.

1 hour ago, TheBiscuits saidaid: Ah, but did you ever name the expansion bottle? I suggest calling it Ed Urtank. 1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said: Ah, but did you ever name the expansion bottle? I suggest calling it Ed Urtank Ah, it's pretty clear that you lot have very little to do atm so have wandered over from the Skippers Wanted thread.....

Thanks, but this has now been sorted as per later posts in the thread.

I guess i should have known better than to have stirred the pot!

Thanks. I've taken a chance and ordered a copy of the manuals; if they help me to see how they are put together it might make it easier to take a few panels off to reach the thermocouples and thermostat. I probably wouldn't remove the thermostat myself but i can at least check there are no obvious mechanical issues with both that and the thermocouples and give everything a good clean up. As for the GAS website, you are right, their prices are very good, but unfortunately everything they list is shown as out of stock! I doubt they will be getting more in. Fortunately, there are still a few websites out there that do carry stock.

I think i was spared those!

Just as i thought. This is still a very silly thread.

Can you really have too much antifreeze though? Maybe just adding a higher concentration sufficient to make it visible would work. Magnets are really useful things, no doubt. We've had about 8 button batteries lying on the boat for about a year waiting for a use. All but one are tiny, about 7mm diameter, but extremely powerful, so much so that a considerable amount of force is needed to separate two from each other. A few days ago i found a great use for a couple of them. Now we've left the marina and the shoreline behind the two things that clobber our leisure batteries are the tv (too big a screen but we already had it lying about before buying the boat) and the fridge. We found a workaround for the latter: we simply use the ice box as a fridge (no thermostat, so you have to keep an eye on it, but it means running the fridge (and inverter) for 30 minutes several times a day rather than 24/7. Anyway, i digress! The fastening clip on the ice box door has been bodged since we've had the boat, to keep the clip in place after the plastic started cracking around the mounting screw. Last week the crack got bigger and the clip wouldn't stay in place, so i cut into the door sealing rubber and glued in two magnets, then screwed a couple of small screws into the ice box body, standing slightly proud, to connect with the magnets. A really neat solution, the door closes with a satisfying pull between the magnets and screws, and no worry now every time the door is opened that the spring might need fixing back in place yet again just as you're about to settle down with a cuppa or something. Two more of these magnets are going to be glued onto the windows in the front of the saloon so that our DAB aerial can be held in a choice of positions to maximise reception as we move around the cut. One bigger magnet has been used to hold a lock hasp onto the rear sliding hatch out of harms way when not in use. I'm sure it won't be long before the three or four remaining magnets are utilised for other applications that just make life that little bit easier, allowing one to mellow out a bit in between the seemingly incessant diy jobs!

Hi, thanks for your help. I noticed the manual but am not prepared to pay the price. It's a user manual by the look of it and therefore not going to show how to disassemble parts. I'm now guessing that service manuals are deliberately withheld from the Web to discourage the inexperienced (that's me!) from tinkering around with dangerous gas appliances. Is GAS an acronymn, i can't find it? I've now found some decent prices for the parts, the lowest for the thermostat is around £104 and the thermocouples below £10 each (even the control knobs are still available for about £9 each), but since i think replacing the thermostat involves disassembling the gas pipes i wouldn't feel confident or competent doing it, and i fear that a qualified engineer would charge a fair bit. If it could be done with just one hour's labour (including both thermocouples) i would consider it later in the year, but i'm guessing most engineers would quote for 2 or 3 hours. EDIT: You prompted me to have another look at that ad, i was tired when i looked a couple of nights ago, and you are right, the manuals appear to include installation of the equipment. I've sent the seller a query. Thanks, that's definitely worth a greenie.

Wouldn't it just be simpler to drain the coolant and replace with a coloured anti-freeze?! You're not likely to need much for a diesel heater circuit.

I will still be looking to get to the gas jet for the oven if i can easily remove the burner assembly. It's got to be worth a try to potentially save the cost and hassle of fitting a new thermostat. However, it is beginning to look likely that the grill issue is due to a thermocouple that has broken down rather than the jet. We wouldn't be able to afford it right now, have had all sorts of expense on the boat and are also currently dealing with the Mansfield Traveler loo (as per my Shurflo thread, but even when the flush motor has been replaced, hopefully this weekend, the ball seal and other parts also need replacing). It would possibly be viable in the future, so if you do find what this cooker model is i'd love to know.

We can actually cook on hours (although not sure i would chance it with raw meat or fish), you simply allow 4x the stated cooking time and the food is hot and cooked through. 2-3 hours is a long time when you're hungry though! We've lived with this for best part of a year, although my other half is a very keen cook and would love to replace the cooker if we had the money to spare. However, the grill thermocouple has only just exhibited a fault. This would be really annoying if you couldn't keep the flame alive especially as, given the fault with the thermostat, the grill gets used more than it otherwise would. An obvious temporary bodge would be to tape the control knob in the pushed-in position and just keep an eye on it in case the flame cuts out, but it's asking for trouble in the longer term.

Ah, so what you seem to be implying is that i could remove the hob top panel (without disturbing the hob burners) and that this would give me access to the top of the oven assembly including the control valves? And if, as the .pdf diagram suggests, the oven thermostat is directly connected to the oven control knob (presumably the oven valve is part of the thermostat assembly) then this is also accessible (even though i wouldn't replace this myself if it is directly connected to the gas supply). Incidentally, the .pdf document is the correct document for our model, which is why i posted it. I would be confident enough to replace the thermocouple and any other part as long as it didn't involve dismantling the gas supply line at any point. I would expect that insurance companies would have a problem with any work done on a gas system not undertaken by a qualified gas engineer. Regarding the exploded diagram, you might also have noticed that some of the parts, such as 114 and 878, aren't even listed in the table.

Ok, thanks, this is a big help, but i don't think i can get to the other end without removing the oven from its housing. Wouldn't i have to disconnect both the grill and oven gas supply pipes to do this? It's something i wouldn't be prepared to do since it would surely invalidate our insurance policy. I'm sure you're on to the source of the problem though, because i noticed that the flame also cuts out if, once alight, you push the control knob in again and release it abruptly.