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tosher

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Posts posted by tosher

  1. 1 hour ago, n-baj said:

    Hello, I’ve been burning excel with a stovax 3, make sure both air flow controls is to the LEFT as that’s open (circled red).

     

    I also leave the door ajar for a good 30+ minutes when starting to get it going. When there’s flames coming off the briquettes then it’s well established then I leave the top vent fully open to the left and control the burn rate with the bottom vent.
     

    After keeping it in overnight to get it going again I put the door ajar with vents fully open and griddle the ash away and wait until whatever is left is glowing red then I add more in, leaving vents and door ajar for at least 30 minutes to get it going. I find if I just add a load of briquettes when they’re glowing and it doesn’t get the air then it just goes out.

     

    you’ll get into your own system and routine with what’s best for you.

     

    also does yours have a griddle knob (circled blue)? If it doesn’t then it’s not the multi fuel version.

    IMG_2622.jpeg

    This is exactly what I do on my Stocton  4 but when it was new 17 years ago the top air vent above the door was assembled incorrectly at the factory  and it would not burn very well. The manufacturer sent out a man who assembled it correctly and problem solved.

  2. I have used Tanya 3 times over recent years and found them very good with next day delivery. They delivered direct to the boat then I fitted them. I have always used Varta which I found to be excellent batteries.  I took my old 3 x 270 amp/hour batteries to the scrap yard and got £90 for them.

  3. I fitted my smartgauge about 12 years ago and only touched it once. It has always read what I expect it to read and to be honest the slight drop in volts after stopping charging is hardly noticeable. I fitted new batteries after 9 years and the smartgauge soon settled down on the new ones. I would buy again.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  4. Worried now.    Last year when out for blacking the 4 hull anodes were about 50% worn and not wanting to throw them away but worried they might disappear before my next lift out I left them in place but fitted 4 additional ones as well. After lifting back in the water I noticed the indecator needle on my galvanic isolator had moved from it's  usual pass zone position to half way between the pass and fail zone. I have measured the voltage between the incoming shore power earth lead and the boat earth and got 0.511 volts. Could this be due to too many anodes?  Thanks.

  5. Thanks cuthound and nikorman for your replies. I managed to contact them via the links you posted and spoke to a very helpful chap. Unfortunately my faulty water tank level transmitter is obsolete and the replacement one is not the same fitting so not a straight forward swap as I'd hoped.   Thanks again. tosher.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  6. Does anyone know if this company is still in business? I have a problem with my water tank level gauge and want to contact them. I have tried their phone number on tthe original documents but the answer is "wrong number dialled". Can't find a web site either. Has anyone got an alternative number please.  Many thanks.  tosher.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  7. Mine is West African iroko and cost £600 including toughened glass and about 9 years ago. A recent new cover cost £600. The wood has weathered very well and still in very good condition, it's varnished every year.  tosher.

  8. 1 hour ago, blackrose said:

     

    I don't understand it either, I'm just going by what Webasto recommend and previous threads on this forum. 

     

    Cuthound certainly found that reducing the antifreeze concentration to 25% allowed the tops of his radiators to get hot, whereas at 50% they didn't.

     

     

    I had a similar experience to cut hound but in reverse. I previously used a concentration of 25% and the radiators got really hot. Before last winter I changed the antifreeze and increased the concentration to 50% but now the radiators don't get get as hot.

     

  9. I thought it nonsense as well,  but  just to be on the safe side when we changed our boat's name we carried out the time honoured procedure. Done with the boat out of the water etc etc. All went well for a couple of years then my wife slipped down the companion  way steps and badly broke her ankle in two places and was hospitalised for 3 weeks. Not sure what to think now?...

     

  10. 4 hours ago, MichaelG said:

    Hi all, I have the pictured Sterling inverter charger, probably about 15 years old as I think it was fitted to the boat from new. It has a power saving function which keeps the inverter in a standby mode until a demand is detected. The problem is it now seems to be having a problem detecting when there is demand, particularly from small draw devices. I believe that it is possible to deselect the power saving function? Just wondering if anyone has or has had this type and knows how to do it. I am currently working around the problem by switching on a 230v lamp which brings the inverter out of standby mode so that I can then use the device I actually want. Thanks in advance for any advice. 

    Inverter.jpg

     

  11. 37 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

    Where does any fuel return pipe run to?

     

    Its not unknown for people to run on a temporary tank and get a high fuel consumption because much of the fuel is being returned to the original tank.

     

    It will also depend upon what speed "low speed" actually is and the hull design speed but assuming we are talking say 4 knots or less then extrapolating from known consumption inland where the water is not free to pass down the hull I would suggest about 2 to 3 litres an hour wont be far out.

     

    The engine size is not that relevant to sub plaining speed consumption but actual speed through the water will be. I think consumption is likely to increase by the  square of the boat speed.

    You are spot on there Tony. I learned this the hard way in the Bay of Biscay when delivering a 32 ft yacht and couldn't understand why the temporary 20 ltr tank I was using was emptying quite rapidly and the main fuel tank on the boat was filling quite rapidly.  Most of the fuel supplied to the injectors is used for cooling them and then returned to the main tank. When using a temporary tank the injector return pipe must also be fed back to this same tank.

  12. 4 minutes ago, BWM said:

    A better option than most portable electric heaters, which are responsible for more than a few house fires, i think the op had one of those of the two they were using. They are still designed for a non flammable outbuilding though, so unsure how insurers would react if the worst happened.  

    I have 2 X 125 watt of these tubular heaters and before using them on the boat I emailed my insurers (Newton Crum) with details of them including pictures. They replied they are fine to use as long as they are installed to the manufacturers instructions ie. screwed down. Been using them for several years now with no problems.

  13. Back in the winter of 2008 when I was a novice at this canal boating lark I was totally unprepared for what damage could be caused by frost. All I did by way of precautions was to switch everything off and lock up the boat. Big mistake as when I returned to the boat a month later and switched everything back on I wondered why the water pump didn't cut out, then I heard running water!!!!!!    To cut a long story short the bath/shower mixer tap was split in half, the bathroom sink cold water tap was split in halve and four pipes had burst in the calorifier cupboard all at right angle joints. I managed to fix everything myself at a cost nearly £200.  Some time later I learned that most freezing happens between the water line and gunnel height which is exactly what happened to me. 

  14. As a sailing instructor for 10 years I came across many students who suffered from sea sickness. To try and keep moral up we used to have a competition amongst those affected. The "competitors were judged on three things.        (1)---- colour content.  (2)----- distance thrown.  (3)-----artistic impression.      The winner received a coveted tattoo of an anchor & bucket on the fore arm. (pen & ink not a real one).  I was amazed how those suffering really entered into the spirit of it and tried their best to win.

  15. I saw exactly the same thing on moorings on the Shroppie last week. Bloke gets off his boat with his dog, walks 20 feet till dog craps, he then picks it up in a plastic bag and throws it into the hedge.          Not being a dog owner this set me wondering ---- what do all you boating dog owners do with the crap you pick up from your dogs??

  16. 59 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

    When they first came out, they really were the bees knees. Good performance and long life. Then as far as I can tell the company was bought by another, they traded on the original reputation by keeping the advertising the same, saying carbon-fibre etc and with all the original customer testimonials, but actually changed the batteries for ordinary cheap standard batterie which they sold at the same price so made a good profit until the public realised. The new owners were indeed rude and unhelpful on the phone.

    Very interesting. I bought 3 x 270ah Elecsols in 2006 which must have been the earlier models as they remained in service till 20.19 without any problems at all. I took them to a scrap yard and got £80 for them.

  17. On 25/05/2020 at 17:25, Mike Tee said:

    No, its not really funny - just another example of 'Trial by Media'.

    When / if  Dominic is charged and convicted (or just plain fined), then that is the time to demand his resignation or termination. The papers and TV just love getting someone on the back foot and filling their pages with innuendo - and I don't mean about him making the trip - he obviously did -  but whether or not he broke the rules. All I've read that appears to be provable is that his wife got the bug so it was odds on that he would get it, so he went to family for support for his child - and then isolated himself for 14 days very close by.

    If he has done more than that and broken any rules, let's see the evidence, and I'll be right at the front to get him out. Until then, he hasn't done anything that I wouldn't in the same circumstances.

    You couldn't they would not let you into 10 Downing Street for 6 hours having just left your wife with caronavirus symptoms.

    • Greenie 1
  18. On 02/01/2020 at 21:25, Bee said:

    Best thing is to make a project out of this and do it properly. Where is the tank?  If it is possible then cut a 6" dia. hole or so , drill a ring of small holes, enlarge them and with a cold chisel (Not a wood chisel) bash the disc out. then you can drain the gunge out and swab the rust and crap out and start again. Fix a plate over the hole, drill and tap bolt holes and with a decent gasket fix the whole lot back together. That is what I did. Its a horrible job but I can check every year now. If that is impossible then all  you can do is flush it many times and do the best you can.

    This seems like a good idea to me but will it have any implications with the BSS  like needing a second Pressure test with the new access hole plate in position ???????

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