Withywindle

Can anyone tell me whether CRT still sells 'pump out cards' at the Bratch Locks on the Staffs Worcester? (I know there's no actual pump out facility there.) I know they used to sell them 10 years ago because I was the seasonal lock keeper and had a stock of them along with CRT keys and a few other bits and pieces. I sent a note to CRT asking the same question but never got a reply.

I agree but the problem I’ve found with both FSX and probably LSX is that they need a short while to cure. If the joint weeps in the meantime it doesn’t stick properly as I found out, and had to have two attempts, other than that Fernox stuff is great. If my current temporary repair with FSX fails I’m going the give Silweld Tape a go. I bought a roll ready for that. It’s brilliant stuff for binding the frayed ends of mooring ropes too.

I sympathise. I’ve got a very similar leak from a connection to the calorifier circuit. Just a few drips a week but irritating nonetheless. Same scenario, a connection between brass and steel. I’ve smeared some Fernox FSX on it and it’s just about stopped, but I’m not holding my breath it’ll last. Like you however I’ve decided it’s not worth draining the lot down. C’est la vie I guess.

What happened in the end? Did you find a solution?

Could it be this place maybe? - SPA Silicone Hoses

Funny you should say that I got a quote from Beta yesterday for a set of all of the 'bespoke' hoses on the '38' Greenline engine. I'm in the process of looking at it, one is basically a re-badged Kubota hose which can be cheaper to buy elsewhere, another one is just an ordinary 28mm 90 degree elbow, the others would have to come direct from Beta. Then I'd need the generic hoses for the skin tank and calorifier. Your right though, Beta Marine parts are a tad pricey. I came across this company, Hose World which seems to be the most competitive for the generic stuff and their range is huge and appears good quality.. Thanks for all the comments from folks running with hoses as old, or older than mine it's put my mind at rest but I think I'll start pulling together a spares kit soon and possibly swap them over when it's time to change the coolant... now there's another discussion. I won't go there for now, lol!

This was exactly my thought… ‘some things have improved with time’. Nevertheless running an engine with a set of hoses getting on for 20 years old kind of ‘bugs me’ hence my original post. On the other hand the cost and inconvenience of changing them is going to be considerable, so maybe I’ll just keep a close eye on them based on the advice given here and carry on.

They’re in very good shape visually and my engine bay is clean and tidy, however they could well be the original 2005 hoses hence my concern. Even modern EPDM hoses must have a lifespan 🤔. Perhaps I’m meeting trouble halfway?

I bought my first boat last year a 2005 Colecraft with a Beta 38 engine. Can I ask advice on how often people change their engine coolant hoses? When I first started driving back in the 1970s I remember vehicle coolant hoses seemed to deteriorate very quickly and you really had to keep a close watch on them to avoid disaster. Now with modern EPDM rubber you never seem to hear of problems and they generally last the life of a car. Narrowboats are clearly very different beasts and live a lot longer, so what’s the collective wisdom on renewing hoses? I’ve had a look through the forum and very few people seem to mention changing them as part of their maintenance schedule.

Thank you both I'm grateful, that confirms my measurements then. It's funny I searched high and low on Google but drew a complete blank, well found Alan I'm impressed!

Hope someone can help? I'm looking to renew our ageing 18 year old LEC L45M 12v fridge, the original one fitted by Colecraft when the boat was new. Our boat is currently tucked up for the winter on our marina which is two hours away from me. When we last checked on her I measured the fridge so I could research a replacement which would fit the into the gap. Problem is I now think I've messed up the height measurement. My notes say it's only 820mm high but that doesn't seem to correspond with the vast majority of fridges currently on the market which are a little taller. Is there anyone out there who is currently on their boat and has a LEC R45M who would be kind enough to measure the height for me? It needs to be from the very top of the fridge to floor level ie not just down to the bottom of the door which is what I think I may have measured! Thanks in anticipation.

I said I'd ask Starbrite and CRT about this issue and post a reply. Here's my message to Starbrite and their reply... Message: Hi, I live in the UK and I'm considering using your Pink Non Toxic (Propylene Glycol) antifreeze to winterise my canal boat drinking water system. Your instructions seem straightforward but a couple of friends have expressed concern that when I flush through the pipes in the spring the antifreeze will end up in the watercourse. I know Propylene Glycol is considered environmentally safe but can you confirm it OK for me to do this? Starbrite reply: Yes this would be perfectly safe, you just want to make sure it is completely flushed out after use. I sent a message along similar lines to CRT and received an acknowledgement but to date they haven't replied to the question. It's been five weeks, so I don't really anticipate hearing anything now.

Well, I've now emailed Starbrite about this point and also the ecological people at CRT for good measure, it'll be interesting to see what they say. I obviously don't want to risk damage to the environment. I'm always very careful to use fully biodegradable products for washing etc and wouldn't want to take any risks. To be honest, I'm not sure I'm going to bother with this stuff yet anyway, but it's more about the practicalities around disconnecting the pipes to the hot water tank than anything else.

That's in reference to another product ie their 'extended life antifreeze' which is an ethylene glycol product used as an engine coolant only. However, I'll contact Starbrite and get their take on this - I'll post their reply when it arrives.

Thanks. I'm talking about Propylene Glycol antifreeze which biodegrades extremely quickly and is considered non toxic and completely harmless to both the aquatic environment and humans. It's widely used as a food additive but does also have some properties that make it suitable as an antifreeze. It's actually far safer than regular detergent which, of course, boats discharge into the waterways all the time, every time someone washes up. I think you may be thinking I mean to use regular Ethylene Glycol Antifreeze which conversely is extremely toxic and would be highly dangerous in this application. Here's a good summary but there's plenty of other information about Propylene Glycol out there... https://www.monarchchemicals.co.uk/Information/News-Events/700-/The-difference-between-Propylene-Glycol-and-Ethylene-Glycol-in-antifreeze

I'm in the same position ie on a marina with a shoreline connected so could adopt the same solution as you. Just out of interest, over the average winter do the heaters kick in very often and how much power (credit) gets used? I'm not particularly concerned about the cost but more worried that my credit on the meter could get used up and the power go off.

Thanks I’ll check that. I also have one of those Franke water filter systems so I’m thinking I’ll need to remove the cartridge and tip the water out. Not sure what pink antifreeze will do to one of those either 🤔. Something else to research!

Thanks Peter, that was my understanding. My confusion here comes from domestic water heaters where just the coil is sometimes called a calorifier on boats it seems to be the entire unit, tank and all. The boat is 15 years old, a Colecraft, but yes I’ve checked the strength of both the engine antifreeze and the webasto with a hydrometer and both seem good. Interesting my engine is a Beta and reading the service manual they actually warn against using too high a concentration of antifreeze as they say it can influence cooling efficiency during normal running conditions. It’s all fascinating stuff!

Thanks. Yes I was intending to do that too that’s what I meant by the hot water tank - sorry not fully up to speed with my marine terminology yet 😊. Here’s my village idiot question.... I presume you don’t drain the actual heater coil too as that would be full of the actual engine coolant containing antifreeze and would mean draining the entire engine cooling system too. Sorry to sound a bit dumb, I’m still getting my head around this stuff.

It’ll be up to three months in my case so I really need to do a thorough job just in case. 😊

Looking ahead to winterising our boat for the first time this year I’m thinking about the most efficient way to drain or protect the potable water system. I’m sure just draining down in the usual way is what almost everyone will do, but I’m aware that you can also go down the route of using non-toxic pink Propylene Glycol antifreeze (eg Starbrite) run through the pipe work and left for the winter. The only down side I can see is the hot water cylinder which has to be drained in the normal way then the inlet and outlet pipes joined with a hose to allow the antifreeze to flow through and reach the hot water pipes. Well that’s what Starbrite recommend anyway - see their instructions below. Why go to this trouble of using this stuff I hear some of you say? Well I once owned a static caravan which I drained down thoroughly each year, or so I thought. After one particularly cold winter I returned in the spring turned on the water and found I’d got a burst. It turned out there was one short run of pipe that hadn’t properly drained. When I replaced it I found it looked like a string of sausages! Clearly it had frozen and thawed each winter, stretching the copper more and more every year until finally it gave up and split. It was a lesson well learned. You can’t be 100% sure pipework is fully drained, so I quite like the idea of a non toxic antifreeze. Do any of you use this stuff in your potable water systems and do you have any observations or advice?

Thanks for all the very quick replies. My boat was owned by a former marine engineer and his maintenance regime was meticulous. The bilge and engine area is pristine. He was in the habit of putting a jug under the stern gland and emptying it regularly so no water ever collected in the rear bilge area. I’ve continued to do this, so any water that did find its way into the bilge while I was away from the boat over the winter would be relatively clean. I certainly would keep the manual switch option option either by fitting a three position switch or more likely a completely separate switch for the automatic option which may turn out to be more practical in my particular boat given the current switch layout. Still waying things up I must admit. 🤔

Just a quick update. I purchased a test sample of three different bulbs from litecone in the end. All have so far performed without any faults and were good value. I’ll now be doing the whole boat but will leave the final choice of which particular bulb to my wife. Always the best approach I find 🤔😊. Thank you again everyone for the excellent advice, particularly onewheeler.

My wife and I are now proud owners of our first boat, a 15 year old Colecraft narrowboat. One of the comparatively few recommendations made by our surveyor was to fit an automatic float switch in the circuit to our bilge pump. This seems sensible and I was intending to go ahead, particularly as our boat will spend her winter on a marina and we will not be able to visit as often as perhaps we’d like, to check on her. Having said all of this, my research into suitable float switches has thrown up a few unexpected horror stories. These mainly involve them activating and getting stuck ‘on’ then burning out the bilge pump or running down batteries. One particular brand, Attwood, seems to come in for a lot of criticism in this regard. What are people’s thoughts on automatic float switches - a good idea or not? If so what is the most reliable brand, I’d rather get the best than take chances.

Brilliant! These are the same spec and very competitively priced they're also only 20mins from our home marina so I can probably even collect them in person! They also have some 2.2w tower LED's on clearance at the moment for only £1.20 each down from £3.65. The wrong spec for me, too bright, but someone on the forum might be needing some? Thanks for the recommendation.