JoshS

Cheers! That doesn't seem to be mentioned on the Whale website 😭

https://www.whalepumps.com/Marine/product.aspx?Category_ID=&Product_ID=10324&FriendlyID=Whale-Accumulator-Pump-and-2ltr-Tank-Kit Looking at the installation instructions, it doesn't say whether the quick connect connectors are attached to the pump / accumulator by threaded connections or what size those threads are. So even if I did want to use a flexible hose (for example with a 3/4" BSP thread) I would presumably have to use a short section of their proprietary pipe and a Quick Connect to BSP adapter?

Hi! I'm getting a new water pump from Whale, which apparently uses 15mm "Whale Quick Connect" fittings. Has anyone got a pump that uses this to tell me if I'm going to be able to connect standard 15mm barrier pipe (with inserts!) that works with all the other push fit connection systems (JG Speedfit etc) or am I going to have to buy some Whale pipe and faff about with BSP connectors to connect it to my system?

Turns out that although the OD of the fittings are 35mm, it's still a good idea to use 32mm ID hoses for a snug fit! 😁

Well, it's taken a while, but I've finally got it all working! Blown away by how well it works tbh, can get the bedroom radiator up to 60°C in about half an hour, or with the saloon radiators on as well, up to 48°C in around an hour. Was definitely a struggle to get it all leak-free, I've learnt a lot about how to use PTFE tape and Fernox effectively, and am now competent at draining, refilling and bleeding my skin tank after having done it three times over the last couple of weeks 😂 Everything could definitely be neater but overall I'm still quite proud of the result. I gave up on the non-return valve in the end as I couldn't get it leak-free without screwing in the push fit connectors so far that they got in the way of the flap. Used a lever ball valve instead which in retrospect will also be useful in the summer to quickly shut off all the radiators and use the eberspacher purely to heat the calorifier. I've got the big red gate valve completely closed at the moment and have been monitoring the engine temperature with the infra red thermometer, which seems to be normal (around 80°C at the hottest point around the exhaust manifold). Will have to see what happens when we go for a cruise, as we've not tested it with the engine in gear yet. I'd really like a proper temperature gauge though, our engine only has a warning light. Has anyone got any suggestions for what, and where we could install one? Anyway, some pics below, feel free to point out everything I've done badly! 😂

Ended up managing to get the boat around just below Fosse Top Lock so didn't have to go much further than the water point after all! ☺️

Cheers, its 22mm x 3/4 BSP but looks like Screwfix have them too. Seems like a better idea than the brass ones!

Another question sorry. The brass compression fittings have come with copper rings which I believe are called olives. Since I'm using plastic barrier pipe (with inserts of course!), should I still use the olives too? They seem to fit over the plastic pipe ok.

Cheers all! Welsh Road lock is just about in dog walking range from our current location so I'm going to go eyeball that, but it looks like we have a few places we can try out. If the worst comes to the worst it'll be good reversing practise! 😂

Good knowledge, cheers! Think I'll be ready to put this all together next weekend, so I'll post back with how it turns out! When I looked into the price of a heat exchanger I thought it was going to be a cheap project, but now here I am having spent 4x that with a bag of parts I can barely lift! Still, it's worth doing these things properly, just hoping I get even a little bit of heat to the radiators from it now! 😂

Great cheers!

DN20 Female Thread Brass Non-Return Swing Check Valve 232PSI Prevent Water Backflow 1Pc https://amzn.eu/d/cn2nxzo ...and this... UKDD® 22mm Compression by 3/4" BSP Brass Male Iron Coupler (Pair), 22mm x 3/4" Straight Adaptors https://amzn.eu/d/fNeGTZo ...might do the job?

Cheers both! Will look for a swing check valve and some bits to connect it to 22mm push fit then 😬

Still collecting parts for this project! Just wanted to check (valve hur hur) that this was the right sort of valve I needed to be low pressure enough to not offend the eberspacher, whilst still preventing the extra central heating pump pushing the hot water back that way? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294715298693?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gHiU7mRwSvG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=0DnBHlu5Si-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Saltisford arm is past the stoppage at Cape locks, and Kate boats have moved their office so the wharf isn't operational put of season anymore unfortunately!

Cheers all, had the opportunity to walk between Bridge 25 and the bottom of Bascote staircase today and they both look like they are worth having a go at so I'll have two options if I do decide to head up that way. I also, noticed that they don't seem to have started working on Bridge 24 yet so depending on when that actually starts I might be able to wind at the arm anyway! My reasons for asking all this is because we're currently on the winter moorings at Radford Semele but have just found out that Delta Marine aren't currently offering pump outs like we thought they were (I know, we should have checked this before willingly getting trapped!). So if our tank fills up before the stoppages end and we have to switch to the emergency cassette, we're hoping to be able to be able to cruise up to the Fosse elsan point to make emptying them easier!

Interestingly, that isn't marked on any map either! Just an unofficial point that's wide enough? Thanks for the infos about the Cuttle winding point though, doesn't sound like it's worth risking winding there!

Hi and apologies if this is the wrong forum for this. I was wondering if it was possible to wind a 57' narrowboat at Bridge 25 on the Grand Union (by the Cuttle Inn and Two Boats Inn). Its marked as a winding hole without length restriction on the Waterway Routes map but doesn't seem to be marked on any other map or guide. Looking at it on Google satellite view it doesn't appear to be very wide there, but it can sometimes be deceiving. There is currently a stoppage at Bridge 24 preventing me from winding at the arm past Stockton Bottom Lock.

That sounds like a nice idea, I might look into that!

It does have a pressure cap. So if I was to remove the tank from the calorifier circuit when I replace the hoses, the calorifier coil will get filled by the water pump on the engine when it runs? Or will I have to somehow prime that circuit when I'm putting the hoses back on?

It seems strange to me that the calorifier coil ever worked though, since it is higher up than the engine. Surely all the coolant in the coil would just drain out into the header tank on the engine itself?

Thanks for all the comments with useful tips and advice so far! The heat exchanger has been delivered to my parents and I'm going to pick it up this week, and am starting to accumulate the fittings required as well. Since I'm replacing the hoses between the engine and skin tank, I thought I would also replace the ones that go to calorifier as well. These say 15.8mm on them and one side has a rather dodgy looking homemade copper tee which connects THIS header tank, which I've recent been told is a central heating header and therefore not appropriate! I was told by the previous owner that this header was just for the calorifier engine coil and that he'd never needed to top it up. We recently had the calorifier replaced and the engineer pointed out that there was a closed ball valve under the tank (explaining why the levels never changed). Since opening this the tank has effectively become the engine header tank too - I can no longer open the one on the engine with the pressure cap without all the coolant coming out of the tank! This is fine, but I guess the appropriate solution is to replace the crappy grey box tank with something which is suitable for use as an engine header. I'm struggling to find something appropriate though, so does anyone have any recommendations?

I was about to say having a bypass valve might be a better option than having it in parallel with the skin tank, good to hear someone else has implemented that option!

Mon return valves seem like a great idea cheers! Will definitely look into that.

Hmm yeah I did wonder if it would be a bad idea to restrict the flow, putting the heat exchanger in parallel is a good idea though and also covers me in case it gets blocked! The pipe fittings are definitely my biggest concern right now, I think I'm going to get the heat exchanger now so I can spend a decent amount of time hunting down the best connectors before I actually put this project together!