Tash and Bex
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Posts posted by Tash and Bex
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Another addition, the floods did bring some silt down, and caught out the water management people, so the bottom is rather closer to the top than it ought to be, and if flooding is expected they drop the level which makes navigation more than tricky. Fortunately this is rare and very temporary.
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17 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:
I would say plan to get to Manchester in the morning then if no space at Castlfeield or that area go up the 9 and down 2 on the Rochdale or even stop just clear of the top of the 9
there are many "no mooring" signs on the little wharves that are behind lifting bridges, but the majority of the basin is free to moor.
There are lots of places near the ymca, and back towards the viaduct, the entrance to the basin is usually free, though has quite a high wall, and there is space for four visiting boats near the grocers warehouse.
A lot of us have put signs on our moorings (bridgewater approved ths) saying they were private, personally mine says "Private Mooring, NB Helena will return ________, please feel free to moor here until then", I'm trying to encourage others to do the same.
A couple of times a year the Lymm club "invade" the Basin with around 20 boats, and though they do breast, they all seem to get in.
Bex
I should add there is always space between locks 91/92 and I have never heard of any trouble, it's a pleasant place to moor with the cottage on the other side and the gardens, and is safe, though can be a little noisy while the restaurant is open.
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5 hours ago, dmr said:
Trouble is, there are only going to be one or two spaces and its several hours between the last "safe" outer Manchester mooring and Castlefield so once you set off you are sort of committed and who knows how many boats will arrive from the other directions before you arrive?
Start early and hope for the best. If all the good moorings are full maybe someone will let you breast up, or there are a couple of non ideal spots where you could manage to spend a night.
...............Dave
I have just had a walk to the shop and spotted around 12 empty moorings that could take a 60' boat
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On 05/10/2019 at 18:52, 1Arthur said:
Hello Tash & Bex are you a long term moored at Castlfield or just there for a short time . The reason for asking is it would be good to have someone on the ground to let us know if there are any spaces. Maybe you know someone that’s there willing to do that.
Arthur
Yes I am Arthur, I'll be happy to help out if I can
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I think I will just stick with the calorifier
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Just now, 1Arthur said:
I’m sorry to hear of your experience in Birmingham was it during school holidays
No, I don't think so, we came through in mid november a couple of years ago.
I should add, despite others experience, I have never seen castlefield basin full, there are usually moorings up by the grocers warehouse, but it is a huge area and there is usually something available somewhere.
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On 26/02/2019 at 22:00, ditchcrawler said:
Come back to us when your centre line is round your prop
I've had my centreline round my prop, just once, but I like it to be long, particularly when locking single handed
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It seems like quite an aggressive culture has formed there, but the canal was full of industrial waste, and there were some worrying "hoodie" gangs about, we had a couple of bits taken from the roof, and I just didn't feel safe. I was very glad to leave!
I did spend a couple of nights on the moorings at star city, or rather the boat did, if it wasn't for a security guard coincidently looking after some plant who said he would look after her I certainly wouldn't have left her there, I was very glad to see her when we got back!
55 minutes ago, Goliath said:?In what way?
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13 minutes ago, Goliath said:
I found lots of new (to me) pubs you’d like.
I’m not anti-Manchester either but....it’s not a place I like. I lived there for a year in 1990. Never took to it. And I don’t feel it’s improved since.
Liverpool’s ok if you stick to the centre. I was very impressed with it when you introduced me. Lots to do, and of course it’s got the River Mersey!
But you obviously can’t beat Brum because it has the canal system second to none. ?
Interesting how opinions are formed, I had to come through Brum on my way up here from London, it was terrifying!
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2 minutes ago, IanD said:
When we visited every visitor mooring was taken, mostly by boats that looked "semi-permanent". The only spaces were right down the far end of the basin where it's shallow (where we were advised not to go, but had no option), we couldn't get in to the bank on the side next to the building site and were then faced with the joy of turning a 69' boat round there -- just managed it (with about a foot to spare) by grounding the bow on the mud about ten feet from the bank in the widest section and gradually pushing the stern round.
Probably not a one-off occurrence, we had exactly the same problem mooring last time we were there about five years ago. My strong suspicion is that boats are moored for far longer than allowed on the visitor moorings but CART is doing little to enforce the time limits -- during both visits no other boat arrived or left while we were there.
Lol, CaRT does nothing to enforce it, it belongs to bridgewater. I can assure you that it is well enforced though.
There are no "visitor" specific moorings, just find a gap amongst the people who pay to moor here!
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6 minutes ago, Bod said:
I was planning on something similar for the rear deck, if I ever get round to building a widebeam!
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36 minutes ago, IanD said:
Always assuming you can find a visitor mooring not taken by boats who have the air of being there for a lot longer...
there are permanent moorers here, we have obviously been here for longer than 72hrs, but there is at least space for 10 or 12 visiting boats around the basin, it is very rare that we are full, and even rarer to see breasted boats
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6 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:
Well, I don't have use for an Elsan, so that made no difference to my boating experience (offered earlier). It's the apparent paucity of policing, the lack of responsibility by the pubs and businesses with frontage (or the reverse), and the abscence of visits by the council maintenance and cleansing departments that ruins the canalside area for me. Not directly their responsibility, but CRT really ought to be pressing for those things. It's clear someone made an effort to improve things at some time but, sadly, it's since been neglected. There may be much that's good about Manchester but, again sadly, the canal area doesn't have a place on the list.
I have to agree, but that said, with the amount of development currently going on, I am sure they will get to it eventually.
It's changing constantly though, so if you haven't visited in a couple of years there may not be too much you recognise!
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I've lived in Manchester, specifically Castlefield Basin for a few years now, and whilst the Rochdale 9 don't look very nice to cruise I have not heard of any issues with passage except those related to bad maintenance
Castlefield Basin is quiet by night (though there are currently building works between 8.30 and 5.30) and excellently placed for a visit to the science museum, the John Ruskin and central libraries are stunning, and there are many excellent quirky boutique shops in the northern quarter near New Is or Pic basins.
The city itself is vibrant and very explorable, and you can spend 72 hours in the Basin to explore it!
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1 hour ago, Sir Nibble said:
Scotchloks! Horrible things. Blue one where it should have been red?
yup
though "should have been red" should read "should have been burned and cast into the flaming cauldron of hades"
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7 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:
After all these good ideas the op is going to need a bigger bath to take advantage of all this hot water ?
I'm trying to fit one in as we speak
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1 hour ago, Eeyore said:
So plumb the “engine” coils in series, with the flow going to the calorifier nearest the tap first. No need for a valve on this circuit as any excess “free” heat will automatically go to the second calorifier. You just need a single valve in the “webasto” coil plumbing to change between single calorifier nearest the tap and both in series on bath day. A single valve to achieve your stated aim. Pumped recirculation is fine in large installations like hotels where you need hot water fairly quickly at all taps, but seems a little complex for what you want?
that would certainly work, but wouldn't get me both full of solar hot water? and while I agree regarding recirc, (I installed it at home) but only on a single HWC
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11 hours ago, Eeyore said:
Try this: remove the pump and related pipework. Take the returns from each coil in the lefthand calorifier to the inlets of the coils on the righthand calorifier. Use two 3 port valves to change from lefthand only to both. Link the valve handles (or use a duplex valve) to change from grubby day to bath day.
edit to add the theory.
The left hand calorifier will heat up until its contents are at the same temperature as the hottest coil. At this point the temperature drop across the coils of the left hand calorifiers is effectively zero; meaning that the available heat transfers to the second calorifier automaticaly once you select “both”.
On grubby days the righthand calorifier is nothing more than a fat cold water feed pipe for the lefthand calorifier.
Buy a triple coil calorifier and plumb it in as the lefthand calorifier, and replumb the existing calorifier as the righthand one.
disclaimer: typed under the influence of “Birra Maretti”
Lol, have to say "grubby days" are few, there is plenty in the existing system for a shower, so really it is only the two calorifiers for a bath, however if the heat is "free" ie engine or solar, I'd rather have it.
When it is just the webasto running, I just want to heat the minimum of water.
13 hours ago, stegra said:Quite a few assumptions here so this might not be relevant:
Assumption 1:
You're going to use the bath occasionally rather than daily.
Assumption 2:
At least one of the calorifiers has two coils and an immersion boss.
Assumption 3:
You're so rarely on shoreline that an immersion won't be missed.
So. I think it would be best to concentrate on heating one calorifier for daily use and only use the second one on bath nights. Swap the immersion for one linked to by Chewbacka above and connect that to your solar collector. If you find yourself on a winter mooring with shoreline, it's not such a big task to swap it back. Use the two coils for engine and Webasto.
When it's bath time, circulate the water around the two calorifiers using a pump with non-return valves to prevent pushing the water back to the main tank (probably not an issue) or sucking air from an open tap (again, probably not an issue). The circulation pump might need to be weaker than the main pump to prevent problems (not sure about that).
Anyway, here's my expertly rendered diagram of how it might look. Not sure if either, both or none of the NRVs (marked as diodes) are actually needed and if they are, clack valves might be better given the relative weakness of boat pumps. As Onewheeler said, an expansion vessel might be needed:
Edit: Needs an NRV in the pumped circuit to prevent the cold water bypassing the calorifiers and flowing through the pump.
liking this a lot, strikes me that I could make use of the coils in the vertical calorifier, rather than the replacement coil in the left one. the temp would be evened out by the circulation surely? the pump would only circulate when either the engine was running, or the solar was producing heat.
not sure I would need any non return valves at all? wouldn't water pressure prevent mixing??
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2 hours ago, stegra said:
I think your circuit is too simple. The engine and solar collector only heat the vertical tank but you are drawing that hot water through the horizontal tank, which will be cold unless you heat it with the Webasto, so the drawn off water will start cold and only get slightly warmer as more is drawn.
It would be better if (other than bath-times) you were able to draw the solar or engine-heated hot water from the vertical tank directly. The Webasto-heated tank doesn't care that its water has come through the other tank, so that's not a problem.
Maybe you could have some kind of diverter valve at the top of the vertical tank and bypass the horizontal tank on sunny days or after the engine has been run. If the vertical tank is cold, the valve is directed through the horizontal tank and the Webasto is used. I assume from the drawing that on bath nights the Webasto and engine are used.
quite right, it should show the solar/engine circuit passing through the horizontal tank as well, my error
Oh BTW I do have immersions, but I am not on hookup at all so they are rarely used
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2 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:
Yes perfect I'll be on the boat all day.
OK, really not a problem. Flying out to do domestic bliss stuff now, I'll DM you later and we can sort it out.
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21 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:
Well if you could, I'd be ever so grateful. Would Congleton or Macclesfield be better? I'm due to move by Thursday, but could delay.
Congleton on Tuesday?
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Eddie would weld me one on, and he's only just down the road so it might work, just drawn up what I have in mind, which is pretty simple really, couple of plate heat exchangers and Bob is quite definitely your Aunty.
I'm kinda thinking this (see diagram) would do all I need it to do and is quite simple. I've obviously left bits of expansion and other exciting differential stats and control gear things out of the diagram for clarity.
My only concern would be thermal syphoning, but if it's only minor it's probably liveable with.
Base model logic circuit to handle temp differentials and start pumps etc.
Feasible?
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43 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
You appear to have 'black' wires connected to a red wire that disappears thru the wall, and
You appear to have a (Red ?) wire with a spade connector that disappears thru the wall.
Do you have a common 'negative' (black wire) busbar where all the 'appliance' negatives go to ?
It doe not bode well for fault identification.
If Bex / Tash is prepared to come and help you I'd take her up on her offer - I'm sure she'd be grateful for a mug of tea and some petrol money, but it will be quicker & cheaper than getting a 'boat electrician' to come out.
What He said.....probably wouldn't take me too long tbh, and Tash works in Northwich, it's about 30 mins from there, I can go in with her and take the car
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56 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:
Very kind of you! I'm going to be moving in the middle of the week, probably to Macclesfield. Hopefully sort it before then but right now, that doesn't seem certain.
I'm in manchester city centre and would be happy to take a look if I can get near
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Webasto Thermo Top C
in Boat Building & Maintenance
Posted
they can be quite voltage sensitive, check the volts at the unit on startup, when the glow plug is active, is the dosing pump working (a clicking sound) on start up?