[Calorifier leaking problem]

Thanks everyone will give it a go myself I was just looking for the tank I need and I understand I need an 8 litre for a 55 litre hotpot does that seem correct was looking at surecal products 

[Calorifier leaking problem]

4 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Do you not have any DIY skills at all?  I’m not being rude, simply asking the question. The reason for my question is that fitting an expansion vessel requires nothing more than fitting a T into the hot water outlet and piping that to the vessel; a very simple plumbing job for even a DIY novice. 

I personally am not that good however my husband will probably have a go at it but wanted to know if someone knew someone in case he had any issues as he would not of done it before,

[Calorifier leaking problem]

2 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I wouldn't fit one on the Thames, it would have to be pretty big to cope

 

Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help it....I'm trying to mend my ways, honest!

?brilliant thanks for making me laugh today I needed a bit of that !!

[Calorifier leaking problem]

11 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Strictly I think you mean "no expansion vessel", rather than "no accumulator tank".

Although both may be physically identical looking bits of hardware, an accumulator is something fitted in the cold water line to provide more even flow from the pump, and prevent pump cycling, whereas an expansion vessel, (EV), is fitted to the hot water outlet of the calorifier, and is, as you correctly suggest, to take up excess water caused by expansion on heating, and hence stop it being forced out the PR
To me the HotPot calorifiers appear to be identical to the SureJust/SureCal ones, and I suspect they are, just being marketed by some outlets under a different brand.

If what you have is effectively a SureJust one, then they clearly state they must have an expansion vessel on the hot water side, or the warranty is invalidated. (These calorifiers incorporate a fairly unobvious non-return valve, so water can't be forced back into the cold system, as it expands, so any accumulator on that cannot in any way act in lieu of an expansion vessel.)

For a 55 litre tank, the EV should be a surprisingly large volume, maybe 8 or 10 litres.  This may be difficult to find space for, depending on how and were your calorifier is installed.

If you have been told you don't need an EV, but the calorifier plumbing contains a non return valve (NRV), as I'm pretty sure it will, you have ben misinformed.

 

Hi Alan yes sorry that is what I mean expansion vessel.  It is a SureCal hotpot.  There is space for an expansion vessel I think this is a case of the person installing it, supposedly knowing what they were doing did not bother to fit one when he should of knowing that we would not know until there was a problem due to lack of expertise in this area.  However we know now so can resolve it.

 

Can anyone on here recommend an honest person that could fit one of these on the Thames near Teddington, I say honest as unfortunately we have come across a lot of dishonest people in our journey with this boat and had our fair share of being ripped off !!

[Calorifier leaking problem]

4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

IT is certainly not unusual, I think every boat I've had has an 'overflow' overboard from the calorifier to allow for expansion.

Current boat calorifier has its own bilge.

Thanks do you think attaching a regular hose to the valve and out overboard would suffice or is there a more suitable sort of pipe that could be used.  Am thinking about a short term solution until we get an expansion tank.  Thanks

[Calorifier leaking problem]

27 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Yes. 

 

Have a read of Tony B's site. 

 

http://www.tb-training.co.uk/17Bdomwat.html

Thanks rusty that is an excellent article and confirms what we think 

[Calorifier leaking problem]

Hi would be grateful for any advice on this.

 

We have a relatively new calorifier installed a 55L hotpot .  After a relatively long trip we noticed that the pressure release valve is dripping water onto the floor of the engine, my husband thought it might be the release valve so changed it but the same thing keeps happening as soon as either the engine or immersion starts heating water and not when cold.  What we did not realise until last night is that the person that installed it had not put on a accumulator tank so we now think that as soon as there is expansion, water is releasing onto the floor as there is no tank to allow for expansion.  Would that be a correct assumption or does anyone know if we are missing something ?

 

Apparently it is normal not to have one when I spoke to the person who installed the calorifier and water system but I find that hard to believe and am wondering if anyone knows more about this to point us in the right direction 

 

Thanks

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

Hi everyone the boat is safely moored in the Thames now thanks for all your help with this.

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

1 minute ago, OldGoat said:

Methinks 'we' do fret too much -

Folks come on here with quite a noarrow question, take umbrage when 'them 'as knows' try to put the issue / problem / challenge in perspective and said OP does a wobbly / whatever. 

The result is that 'we' get frustrated and the OP goes away in a huf.

I can only say that -

• Currently the River has a lot of fast moving water which would challenge most NBs 
• There are changes to the winter repair schedule mahing upstream journeys from the K&A impossible
• ditto downstream from Reading until after the Christmas season.
• The OP wants to move 'soon' for "whatever reason".

 

'We' can only go so far and are NOT trying to be obstructive - just helpful but can't do much if the enquirer keep schtum.

Make I feel sad....

Never mind The Management has just filled my glass with a large Whisky and some miraculous  culinary treats in store - why the expletive should I bother.

I don't care (having seen the latest post) per se where the mooring is - but an approximate location would help - just to point out the restrictions AND NOTHING ELSE.

When any major river is in spate an experienced navigator is of naught if the boat just doesn't have the power (etc) to combat the situation.

 

My Butlerese (?) has just announce dinner is served.

 

TTFN 

Not in a huff at all as I said I appreciate the advice the person who is the skipper lives very close to the mooring does the trip weekly and knows the conditions the days to leave have changed several times for this reason and we know that we have to heed the warnings otherwise it would be stupid to go but the route planned is safe and under control if there are changes we wont go on the day and change again 

 

The mooring is near Teddington 

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

5 minutes ago, Cheese said:

 

Not sure I follow this.  Your friend is going to give it to someone else?

 

I am not going to discuss my mooring arrangements on a forum and not even sure how that is relevant to my original question or how we get there but appreciate the warnings and comments. We have that all covered with a very experienced skipper who is not going to sink our boat otherwise we would not risk it.

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

46 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Good luck with that, I would just pay for the mooring even if I wasn't there rather than risk my boat.

We are not risking our boat we have someone that knows exactly what to do and does it all the time at this time of year and with the current condition.  He  has checked the conditions and the day that we are going exactly we are also doing it over a number of days to ensure there is no issues because this has been planned properly thanks

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

23 hours ago, OldGoat said:

It's still very nasty out there -

http://riverconditions.environment-agency.gov.uk/

 

Mapledurham lock - currently closed because there's a tree down blocking the lower gates - is showing a river level approaching flood conditions.

Given that contractors may have difficulty in getting plant to a site (much equipment is watre bound), I wouldn't be surprised is the schedules slip (the're very tight anyway - to keep costs down), so that the Christmas open window may be shut - and barred (!)

Even the rowers have had to cancel their 'races'.

We have someone who is an experienced skipper taking us and it is all planned and know about all the conditions at the moment but thanks for mentioning this as it is very important to know we are prepared for disruption but do need to go to the mooring asap otherwise we will lose it 

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

1 hour ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

I think this is because of the rather complex arrangements for sharing the income between EA and CRT, which do depend on where your home mooring is. Also, a gold licence (unusually) transfers when a boat is sold to a new owner. 

Yes agree I do think however they should have better systems really as to get a licence in early December means you have to pay a whole year for one month so no choice but to wait until January and get temporary licences from the EA until then.  Good to know we can transfer the licence if we sell in the future thanks for that.

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

On 23/11/2019 at 12:11, blackrose said:

 

I was moored at the head of a small island so the bow rope could only go about 5m forward of the boat. That's why I made a concrete anchor and put that in upriver on the port side which helped to keep the weight of the boat off the poles when the river rose. The centre rope I used went forward by about 20ft which isn't obvious from the pictures.

 

Looking towards the stern

 

Looking upstream towards the bow. The highest I saw it go was the top of that brown brick wall, but I left in the spring of 2013 and it flooded really badly the next winter.

 

There was a stone path alongside this side of the white wall - about 2ft below the water 

 

Hi thanks so much for providing those pictures in fact I was just about to ask a question on using scaffold poles for exactly this sort of protection that you have as the mooring will be similar to yours.  When you say you made a concrete anchor is that what the poles are attached to or what your boat is attached to very interested into how you have set this up.

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

On 23/11/2019 at 14:27, Scholar Gypsy said:

To answer a question above:  It's perfectly possible to buy a gold licence from CRT and to nominate your home mooring on EA waterways.  I've done that for the last five years 

Hi thanks I have been in contact with them though annoyingly have to start it from January as that is when the year starts but will be doing that in January and getting a temporary EA licence.

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

27 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I still cant work out if this boat is already on the Thames, If it is  how could you live aboard for a year and not know the water level goes up and down?

It is on the grand union currently I said near staines as we shop there quite a bit apologies for the confusion, it is on the grand union at the moment and registered with the canal and river trust 

22 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 A very good point. To explain:

 

Depending upon location the Thames can regularly flood by several feet most winters (as do most rivers). The scaffold poles are either to drive into the bed to stop your boat floating over the bank or to secure to the bank horizontally to hold your boat away from the bank. Th 60 Kg weight is to act as a sort of anchor in flood conditions, especially when a tree or similar comes down on the flood and hits the font of the boat.

 

Personally I would rig long flood lines from the bow of the boat to a substantial tree or soemsuch during the winter. I would not trust a welded on T stud and instead fit a dedicated bolt through one with a large heavy duty plate on the underside to spread the load..

Sorry I must brush up on my English !

 

I was just asking about licences on the thames and boat names as I cant seem to find a list of where they are registered and understand you cant have the same name as another boat on the thames however it appears a gold licence may be the way to go did not know they existed until now

[Continuous Cruising]

1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

This is worth emphasising because levels on The Thames can vary by the hour and certainly overnight, by a couple of feet or more. 

 

For boaters accustomed to mooring with tight lines on canals to prevent 'surge', this feels very counter-intuitive on rivers but don't underestimate the importance of mooring with slack in your lines.

The 'surge' effect of canals doesn't happen on The Thames so no need to stress about having loose lines. 

 

 

Hi thanks for that information that is very helpful as we would not of known this and don't want to find out the hard way 

[River Thames Boat Licencing Questions]

Hello I wonder if there is anybody on here that lives on the thames we are thinking about moving to the thames early next year and for a few months may have mooring there at a friends garden mooring if we do go we understand boat names cannot be the same is that true or false have no idea and if it is true that boat names cant be the same for licencing does anyone know where to check names as was looking for it today and could not find a list anywhere and if no boats can be the same name I guess it is a matter of adding something to the boat name ?

 

Would be really grateful if anybody has some info on what to do with licensing as we don't want to go on the thames for a few months unlicensed as it is probably enforced there

 

thanks 

[Continuous Cruising]

35 minutes ago, dmr said:

The River Thames and then the K&A would be a much nicer route for most people (a few appear to hate the K&A)

 

..................Dave

Hi Do you know how people deal with the risk of flooding on rivers we are worried about that as we are not experienced enough yet 

[Continuous Cruising]

T hank you everyone for your recommendations and I am very excited about this now and will look up the routes, I am sure there will be issues on the way we are new to this but from what I have seen so far the boaters we have met have been very friendly and helpful and I am sure if we get into trouble we can ask for help.  

[Continuous Cruising]

Hi there 

 

We have had our boat in a marina for the past year and are thinking next year we want to make a move to live on it and continuously cruise.  We are down South near Staines which is not the greatest area to be honest and plan to head up as far as Birmingham as our boat is too big for most of the other canals we have a widebeam.  

 

We are a bit worried about where to stop and will be planning our route early next year I have heard some horror stories about boats being set fire to and other things happening on the cut such as kids vandalising boats, drunks etc, can I ask has anybody experienced this sort of thing and is it as bad as some people have said.  We are currently in two minds about whether to do this or not and any advice on this would be much appreciated.  

 

thanks

[Canalboat Canopy Leaking On Sides]

15 hours ago, F DRAYKE said:

This is how I fixed it on my boat, it’s a piece of aluminium angle glued on with Gorilla Grip glue.

That is pretty much exactly how our roof looks thanks for this picture really helpful 

[Canalboat Canopy Leaking On Sides]

2 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

I have also built a dam at the bow of Nightwatch. When filling the water tank and when full, water can penetrate into the well deck under the cratch cover at the sides. I found a couple of short lengths of tiny plastic pipes and stuck and covered them with silicon. Once matured i painted them. A suprise to me is that it works.

I'll put a piccy up at a more reasonable hour once my eyes are operating properly.

 

Edited to add, Another possibility is to source some plastic, 'angle iron' and fix that across the front edge of the lower part of the cover. 

Thanks Nightwatch angle iron seems a good idea too 

[Canalboat Canopy Leaking On Sides]

19 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I looked for pics last night but couldn't find any - I cannot even remember which boat it was on.

 

I'll try and describe it.

 

We had water running down the gunwale (front to back) and because the boat was not quite level side-to-side it tended to collect in the are where the vertical cabin side joined the gunwale as it ran towards the back (and then onto the rear deck).

 

Look at the attached pic - imagine that the 'front is actually the back'

I laid a small 'snail trail of silicone' and set two matched into it (you can use as many as you want) at an angle running backwards where the cabin side joined the gunwale and then built up the 'dam' using more silicone until it was all deflected overboard.

 

The 'white line' in the pic is the silicon dam.

 

 

Thank you Alan that is really helpful 

[Canalboat Canopy Leaking On Sides]

8 hours ago, Iain_S said:

Is it possible the boat is trimmed a bit nose up, and water on the back of the roof is supposed to run forwards to the drain holes? If it's a cruiser stern, I would have thought the shell builder would have tried to avoid water from the roof ending on the back deck.

 

A few pictures might help

Hi am not at the boat at the moment to get pics, the drain holes are in the middle section of the roof so water after that point is hitting the back deck as it only runs down into the deck when it builds up on the roof as there are no further drain holes.