Withywindle

Yes the antenna aren’t great, having said that they are tucked away at the top and in the case of the machine at Anderton it would have been very difficult to hit them with the pump out hose. My biggest issue is, if this is supposed to be a trial CRT could have presented it a little better. By that I mean amending the old instruction plate to reflect the new card reader and perhaps putting a notice in the cabinet explaining that it was an evaluation and perhaps providing and email address so people could give their feedback.

The latest CRT boater update announced the trial of contactless payment pump out on a handful of machines in the North West which if successful would be rolled out nationally. I came across one today at Anderton Services. Initially it had me confused, mainly down to CRT failing to update the already outdated instructions on the machine or explain what the new gadget was. I have to say, however, I thought it was a vast improvement. It will accept and contactless payment card and you can also use your phone, as I did, if you have it set up for contactless. It worked flawlessly. My only worry is what will happen if I don’t manage to use the old style cards I still have before the old machines are phased out. Will I get a refund or credit from CRT I wonder? I hope they’ll think of that one.

Will do 👍

Thank you everyone. You’ve convinced me. I should really get this changed ASAP. Jem Engines will accept returns for 14 days so I think I’ll order both versions and return one of them.

The water pump on my 2005 Beta 38 (keel cooled) is starting to leak, only slightly at the moment, but I want to carry a spare on board in case it suddenly fails There are two different pumps available for the Kubota V1505 engine the difference being the integral impeller size which is either 60 or 69 mm. Ideally I’d rather order the pump rather than removing the pump to measure the impeller then having to wait for the new pump to arrive. I’m looking at Jem Engines in Falkirk who seem to offer good quality aftermarket Kubota parts, £75 in this case including a new gasket which I think is pretty reasonable. I asked Beta Marine but they weren’t very forthcoming with the impeller size but predictably were very keen to sell me one of their pumps at their usual ‘premium’ price. Can anyone advise on the normal impeller size for the Beta 38?

Yes it was good and hot and all the connections seemed dry.

Thanks Tony, That’s a good suggestion. I’ve just been and had another good look paying particular attention to the water pump area. It’s bone dry. The previous owner was a marine engineer and always kept a container under the pump so he could spot any leaks early. A practice I’ve continued and that’s dry and clean. I’m currently running the engine up to temperature again to double check all’s still ok today. I spoke to a chap on our Marina today who has a fair amount of experience and he immediately said ‘air in the system’ which was my thought. Odd that it should show up now though, I hardly had to top up last season.

Our boat has been tucked up on its moorings until yesterday when we returned to get it ready for the new season. The engine is a Beta 38. Before I started her up I checked everything over including the coolant level and was shocked at how much it had dropped. I could actually see the bottom of the header tank on top of the engine. There was no evidence of a leak anywhere in the bilge area including the bunded area immediately beneath the engine everything was bone dry. Similarly the calorifier pipe showed no signs of leaks along it’s length. My antifreeze was at 50% concentration so hopefully no real danger of freeze damage to the block and the oil, which I had changed immediately before the winter, was still perfectly clean and at the correct level with no sign of water contamination . Anyway I topped up with over two litres of coolant and ran the engine for one and a half hours, monitoring everything carefully during that time. No sign of leaks and once cool I checked the level again. It was fine and it hadn’t lost a drop. This all strikes me as strange. I’m glad that on the face of things everything seems ok, but it bothers me how it could have happened. The only thought is that there has been an air pocket in the system somewhere and with the engine not been run for quite a while it’s resolved itself and the corresponding level in the header tank has dropped. I shouldn’t mention that that I visited the boat in January and ran the engine then for half an hour. I noticed then that the coolant was a little down on normal but not excessively so. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone else had anything similar happen after a winter lay up?

Confession time here. My first gearbox oil change on my boat was by sucking out the oil via the dipstick hole and I noticed the oil quantity I removed was nowhere near the amount it should have been. So I decided I needed to do the job properly next time, hence this post about sealing washers.

Well I think ‘Bee’ might be right. Who knows, PRM might have substituted copper crush washers for a while if there was a problem with supply of the bonded type. I’ve only come across bonded sealing washers once before - the sump washers on a Toyota Yaris my daughter once had, they were extortionate from the main dealer too! Anyway, in this case I’m about to buy some M16 bonded washers from Simply Bearings at £3.99 for five. It was going to cost getting on for £10 for one genuine PRM washer once I’d added on the carriage. I’ll leave the copper one under the dipstick alone I think. 😊

Yes I thought the dipstick one wouldn’t be critical as an oil tight seal. Perhaps PRM fitted it for that reason and because it would be more durable in day to day use? I’ve just checked the parts list and a 1/2 BSP Bonded Washer is listed as the dipstick seal. Out of interest, here is the list and diagram I’ve been referring to…

That’s interesting. The dipstick washer on my gearbox is copper not a Dowty bonded seal. Perhaps I’ve got the wrong part number. 🤔

I need to get some sump plug seals for my PRM 150 Gearbox which was first commissioned in 2005. I downloaded the workshop manual from PRM which specifies an M16 Dowty Bonded Seal (part number PRM 0191716) as you’d expect the genuine PRM seals are expensive when I see generic M16 Dowty Bonded Seals are widely available elsewhere at a fraction of the price. Before I bite the bullet and buy the genuine PRM seals I was wondering whether other owners have used generic seals without any issues? If so, any recommendations for good quality aftermarket seals?

Thanks. Yes he was indeed right. After some very gentle prising the cover came off. Not so much a cap but more of a ‘plug’ shaped arrangement with a silicone seal beneath. The bulb was the real issue to get out. The rubber tube method failed in this case, not enough grip. In the end I used tweezers with the ends covered with two rubber float caps from my fishing tackle box to provide the grip. The bulb is a tiny type 386 ‘midget groove’ 14v bulb. These are still available on the web as panel lights, however Vetus do also sell them in packs of five and quite reasonably for them! I’m near the Vetus dealer at Kings Lock, Middlewich, later today so intend to drop in and see if they have some. This was mainly why I was keen to get the bulb out, so I knew exactly what I was looking for.

Fair enough.To be honest I don’t visit forums myself very often so hadn’t realised. Never mind, worth a try.

I know this is a very old thread but did you manage to fit a new switch or replace the bulb? Mine has ‘gone’ too and I see Vetus do actually sell the replacement bulbs for this switch. I too can’t see how the switch comes out of the panel and I don’t want to break anything by getting over enthusiastic!

No I think it’s genuine Beta. It matches all of the others. In fairness the belt only just touches probably at high speed , but over time it’s going to wear as the one the previous owner left me bears testimony. I’m confident I can fix the problem using a lower profile bolt now I know It’s not the belt sizing that’s the issue.

Indeed, I’m going to replace the bolt with a low profile version or perhaps just a standard hex. 🤔 Current clearance is about 5mm. Will post a pic tomorrow all being well. Beta have told me 214-02954 for my build.

Someone needs to design a fridge that runs on ‘ever decreasing circles’ you could wire it up to threads like this and it would keep going for weeks. 😂

With a heavy heart I just removed our ageing 12v fridge and replaced it with a 240v model. I did this because I couldn’t get a 12v model which would fit the rather odd sized fridge gap in the galley. I have been pleasantly surprised, having expected problems. The 12v fridge was worn out, I suspect it had lost most of its refrigerant and consequently the compressor was running far more than it needed to so it had clearly been putting a high drain on my batteries. They are in much better shape each morning than they ever were with the old 12v fridge. My beer is also much cooler. 👍 The best is that I sold the old 12v fridge on eBay as ‘parts or not working’ and got more for it than the new 240v fridge cost! The chap who bought it was a non boater who was intending to run it off a single solar panel in his garden shed and keep cold drinks in it. I tried to subtly point out some of the flaws in this rather hair brained idea but he was having none of it!

Just an update to conclude this. I received a reply from Beta Marine who confirm that the 6PK1300 is indeed correct. My engine build is an unusual one for Colecraft with the Travel Power Generator and consequently the part number for the belt is not widely listed. Thanks to everyone who responded. As ever your advice and comments where very useful.

That’s great thanks, although it now looks like my belt will be different to yours. The travel power is indeed a great bit of kit, not something I was looking for when we bought the boat, but it’s been a real bonus.

Well that’s true, you’re right of course and the belts I have do fit albeit they’re at the very maximum end of the adjustment. It’s just the way they run too close to that Allen bolt that is bugging me. I guess I just want to know the correct size, hopefully I’ll get a reply from Beta soon.

Quick update. After further digging just realised my belt is an unusual one as I have a Dometic Travel power unit installed. Part number is 214-04218. Oh joy! Still need to verify belt length but probably only Beta Themselves will be able to answer. Thanks for all of the help and sorry my original post was misleading.

Now that is interesting. Your belt is over 7cm shorter which reinforces my hunch that the belts in my service kit are wrongly sized. I don’t suppose you have your original operator maintenance manual? If the Beta part listed in it is either 214-0613 or 214-0614 then that would confirm we have the same engine and I’m running the wrong belt size. If you see what I mean. Update: See my latest post below - I’ve been quoting incorrect part numbers. So unless you also have a Travel Power unit our belts will be a different length. Thanks, it all looks to be in alignment. The previous owner a marine engineer had the belts running rather looser than I would have done, but they say better loose than over tight as that can prematurely wear the bearings. So I left them. I now think the belt may have jumped on the crankshaft pulley as a result which caused it to shred. You live and learn. I’ve fitted the new one somewhat tighter but I’m still concerned how close it runs to the adjustment bolt hence trying to establish the correct sizing. I’ve asked Beta for the correct belt length for my engine but haven’t had a reply yet. I suspect they may just say buy a Beta genuine belt for peace of mind. We’ll see.