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Jackofalltrades

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Everything posted by Jackofalltrades

  1. Many years ago we bought a barn for conversion. Turns out we outbid a yokel local who it also turns out had a relative in almost every house in the village. We turned up one day to find someone had chopped several large trees down on the land that now belonged to us. Of course no one saw or heard a thing. B'stards. What's this got to do with the above story? Not a lot, but it just took me back... It's a horrible thing to do. Maybe someone has a grudge, or a screw loose - there's a fair few of both types wondering around out there.
  2. Have any of you ever had your narrowboat or widebeam struck by lightning? I've read various yachty stories over the years but these have almost always been GRP yachts with a tall alloy mast stuck on top. When it happens reports of fried electronics seem commonplace. So what happens on a steel-hulled boat? Does the lack of a 20 metre mast pointing skyward mean it almost never happens? Does the steel hull act as a faraday cage and protect everything that isn't electrically connected to the hull, like phones and laptops? What about electrical appliances that are permanently wired in or plugged in at the time? And what about solar panels on the roof, or [gulp] your shiny shiny electric propulsion motor & electronics?
  3. Jackofalltrades, killing threads since... Tuesday ?
  4. There's a saying in sailing circles that "gentlemen don't sail to windward". Perhaps it should be b'stardised on the canal system to become "gentlemen don't cruise in the rain". This is after all supposed to be fun (which standing still in the rain whilst gripping an ice cold tiller certainly isn't).
  5. Viewing the image at full resolution there's a sticker with your and J's name & address at MV on it!
  6. Very good. But you might want to delete that image pronto if you still live at the same address.
  7. This Installation guide for the Eber D4 states (P8) "Only overpressure valves with an opening pressure of min. 0.4 – max. 2 bar may be used in the coolant circuit." Can't find the D4E spec for the water pump - only had a quick look - but guessing it won't be much different. https://www.butlertechnik.com/downloads/Eberspacher_heater_Hydronic_4_Hydronic_5_Marine_Installation_Guide.pdf This looks like it might do the job: https://www.buildbase.co.uk/automatic-bypass-valve-du144-10030-2201311 with a differential pressure range 0.1 to 0.6 bar
  8. Ah, thanks. Off to google...
  9. Stan Roberts used to run Island Sea School out of PD (lock side) on a Rival 41 (he also had a Sigma 33). That's where I first started sailing 20ish years ago. He had a GPS but no one was allowed to use it. We all had to work out CTS, etc. Even the sails were hanked on. Happy days. On our other boat we have two plotters, radar, autopilot & wind/speed/depth duplicated inside & out, all networked together, Works marvelously.
  10. I wonder if there is such a thing as a valve that is normally closed (fitted at the end of the pipe run, connecting flow & return) but it opens when pipe pressure increases beyond a pre-set limit - such as when radiator TRVs reduce flow?
  11. See, if something goes wrong with your heating you can always blame the doofus that originally fitted it. To my other half I will be that doofus.
  12. Exackerly. Sadly, salespeople at boat shows want to sell newbies every gadget under the sun and yachting mags perpetuate the myth that you really should have this, that and the other before poking one's bow out of the marina. ...The likes of Eric who went to sea with an RAC atlas doesn't help the cause though ? ...Port Dinorwic - did you ever know Stan Roberts by any chance?
  13. I don't get it! If you want a bike, get a bike. If you want a boat, get a boat. It seems to me this is either very inefficient cycling (water being denser than air) or an expensive boat with no accommodation, heating, cooking, compost toilet facilities, etc. Still, someone, somewhere will be making a pretty penny out of it. Edited to add, at least in that picture the man is not wearing Lycra. Should be against the law. Lock 'em up. Four swans?
  14. Whoosh. that went straight over my head I'm afraid. Not sure where the mention of gas came from. I'm purely talking about pipe for wet heating systems to connect boiler to radiators & calorifier. If I do decide to use copper pipe for the heating system my usual port of call would be a plumber's merchant - not sure how that everyday regular plumbing pipe fits with your statement?
  15. My heating design & installation has mainly been domestic (house renovations) + fitting a Thermo Top system to a lumpy water boat. All of the above have been conventional two-pipe systems with no connection between the flow& return at the end of the pipe runs. I can see the logic though with the need to avoid cycling on the Eber/Webasto systems. Do you have a balancing valve fitted at the end, as per @Tracy D'arth's comment above?
  16. I've never seen the difference in expansion rates quantified before but those figures ring true based on my experience. It does make it hard to envisage using plastic pipes for heating on a narrowboat with relatively long pipe runs. Copper pipe might work harden over time but those plastic pipe fittings that grip with sharp blades and seal with O rings must be subject to a fair amount of wear over time due to expansion & contraction.
  17. I had a feeling that's what you might have meant but it flies in the face of conventional two-pipe system design so thought, nah... Presumably it works well or you'd have changed it. Food for thought. Maybe!
  18. An interesting video. Offshore & sailing high latitudes, then yes, I agree, ish, to a point. But as a self-confessed geek who loves gadgets and tinkering our lumpy water boat is full of gadgets and I wouldn't want to be without them. I expect our narrowboat will gradually end up the same, but as our 60' shell is currently still in build we've got a long way to go.
  19. When you say "an out and back run" I assume at the very end of the run the flow and return pipes are *not* connected together? Part of me thinks having copper pipe (radiating more heat than plastic and expanding less) in a vented/grilled enclosure would be a good thing, but I can't help wondering if using plastic pipe with less radiated heat loss might be more efficient as the air is heated as designed rather than more randomly/everywhere there's a copper pipe. But the expansion of plastic pipe would be massive along the length of a 60' narrowboat. Using any pipe clips at all might be an issue at it would restrict expansion.
  20. Having seen how much hot plastic 22mm pipe expands over only a 10ft length I'd been wondering whether to use copper on our 60' narrowboat. The downside of copper though is much more heat loss and a pair of 22mm copper pipes + pipe insulation is bulky lump to hide down the length of the boat compared to 22mm plastic uninsulated pipe.
  21. Is your floor insulated? Are the insulated walls and floor sealed together at the joint? Do you use a dehumidifier or heat recovery/ventilation system? Are your bilges ventilated passive/forced? Is your heating (what type?) on a lot in winter? edit: Lots of questions there, sorry!
  22. I'd read the Energy Solutions narrowboat page a while ago. Doesn't help to re-read though. But basically... Victron. As for the solar install on that boat, I can't help but think it's leaning towards being fugly. I know function over form has to be a priority (for me at least) but that solar install takes it to a level I couldn't live with. But each to their own... I've looked at the Mastervolt website and their product range doesn't seem as comprehensive as Victron's. Also, googling for prices of various Mastervolt items in the UK didn't show many results, unlike Victron. Never heard of Studer before. Similar issues as with Mastervolt, but more so. On balance it seems that Victron is the de facto producer of quality 48volt inverters, chargers, and inverter/chargers. I think the idea of having two Quattro 48/5000/70s offers a good enough level of redundancy. But if we're now down to two boxes then that brings the Multiplus 48/5000/70 into play. Cheaper than the Quattro but otherwise the only difference as far as I can tell is the Quattro auto-changes from generator to shorepower whereas the Multiplus would need a manual changeover switch, but is this really an inconvenience twice a year? I think not. Apart from dual AC inputs on the Quattro is there anything else I've missed that would be a showstopper in terms of going down the Multiplus route? The other question with the Quattro & Multiplus is how loud they are under part & full load? Does anyone have any real world experience of them? Heating - diesel. But that's for another thread.
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