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hector

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    south west
  • Occupation
    Artist
  • Boat Name
    New Beginnings
  • Boat Location
    Saul

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  1. Thanks Tony, I'll head slowly up the canal. I've tracked down an available engineer a few miles away. I'll monitor the fuel and batteries, but yes I've often suspected the lights and alarm sometimes come on when we are heading out from being on shoreline for a while, and fully charged. We have no solar but the inverter was off so batts were reading 14.3 and not really any load on them. Maybe the fridge came back on! PS Yes, I've been on multi-issue threads on other forums... total nightmare, my original one was bad enough!
  2. So... in the course of various investigations for the last question I asked, I now think there is a slow diesel drip under the engine which I only noticed (heard) after I switched the engine off, and I am fairly sure that... 1. It slowed to a stop as the engine cooled 2. That it *wasn't* coming from what the last thread identified as my fuel return pipe. It seemed to be coming from nearer the gearbox end, below the sump pump on my Barrus Shire 40 (04 build). However it's a trad stern boat with a compartmentalised bilge and so it's really difficult to see what's going on around the engine anywhere below half way down. Engine sounds a little farty and rhythmical out the exhaust to me, but I have been listening to it a lot, and just had the fuel cleaned so it's possible I am either just listening too hard or I have got used to the sound of dirty/wet fuel... If it's not the fuel return, what are some other problems? It's not pouring out, as there's only a few mm under the engine in a puddle to one side which I've only just properly noticed (it can often be damp down there, and only a torch revealed a pinky colour...) I'm about 5 miles out from our base marina with more skilled friends and mechanics, or a couple of miles from a usable mooring spot, so I suppose the other question is can I proceed up the canal with caution, or is there a possible cause of this that means I should definitely stay put? The engine is running, and doesn't seem to be spluttering or smoky or overheating or anything else. One (only one) of the battery lights briefly came on and went off again earlier today. Irrelevant? Thanks, Hector.
  3. Yeah I think this could have been a factor for sure. I need to stand on the same side as the take off point in order to change the filter and prime it, so I could have been sucking up fuel then, and then standing across from it, or levelling off, to leave the engine running. At the moment we seem to be running (only one cut out since, dropping to idle when mooring, and it restarted straight away)... however immediate investigations after led to another issue I'd better restart a new thread on 😕 Thanks for you help everyone!
  4. I’ve definitely been looking at the feed - but if there’s a return that would make sense. I didn’t realise there would be a return (or a reason for one). Thanks!
  5. Yeah this was a first thought of mine too after having gunk stirred up… but I figured that would affect the filter priming process if it was jammed on the intake. I must have drawn a couple of litres through there over last couple of days. I’ve just put 60 L in and it seems to draw into the filter with the primer very easily. Engine not yet run long enough to know if problem gone though 😕 I have just done this, excellent idea! I’ve had another look and pretty sure there isn’t a lift pump. Fuel line seems to go from side of tank to the filter, then on a flexi hose to what I think is the throttle, then the distributor. something that I’ve taken for granted but someone pointed out is anomalous is that the feed to the heating is not on its own pipe from the tank, it branches off the same supply as the engine, between tank and filter (it has its own cartridge filter). I’ve currently got that line switched off on a stopcock though, as I figured it might be drawing rubbish or air backwards out of the heating system filter? weirdly, though, there is a second copper pipe coming out of the tank, which meets a flexi hose and then disappears under the engine… (but doesn’t seem to be hanging loose, I just can’t see where it goes). Any thoughts what this is? Would a diesel tank have an overflow outlet into the engine bilge?
  6. Thanks both - that’s interesting it was doing this below half tank… Our engine is a Barrus Shire 40. It’s a brand new filter, which I’ve since checked is seated properly and have bled that, and the injection points a few times. there’s no independent water trap just a drip point on the bottom of the filter. I’ll put 40L in in the morning and see where I get to if I bleed and prime the whole thing again. in terms of fuel pumps what am I looking for? Bit of a novice with engine stuff. I don’t think there is a pump in the fuel line to the engine… but is there always one? The filter needs primed by hand on the filter header, and the engine needs turned over to check if the injection points are spitting (as opposed to just having the ignition on… which I gather is sometimes the case). h.
  7. Hi everyone - we’ve been stuck with an engine cutting out after about half an hour yesterday and the day before (stationary boat, cuts out quicker under load). This is actually after having the fuel cleaned so assumed that we just had some crud kicked up into the pipes that needed worked through, or air trapped. the problems persisted through several attempts though, since Sunday afternoon. the fuel cleaners actually took about thirty litres of filthy fuel away though and I’ve been running the engine for a while… so it suddenly occurred to me to actually check the level. At first I thought it was fine as a good four inches left but after some further research it seems like the take up pipe could be that high? I had thought maybe an inch or two at most… so I guess the question is, have I solved the gunk/air in pipes issue and run out of fuel in the process 🫣 Thanks for any thoughts! h.
  8. Hi everyone, well thanks for all this - the basic Q answered, but plenty more to think about I've had my eye on an all-in 200W kit from Renogy which afaik is 12v only, and I'll consult with them about if/where/when I need to be able to break the circuit. I agree that where that problem exists it seems like wilfully bad design, but I've bought plenty wilfully badly designed technology in the past. But the fact I can add panels onto the system without completely reconfiguring it is good news, I can proceed with caution. Cheers! H.
  9. Hi everyone, I know this gets asked a lot, but the answer always seems to involve a certain amount of "every boat is a one-off" so I am asking again... Our narrowboat currently has no solar panels and I want to install a basic 1 or 2 panel kit, which will come with an MPPT, to keep the leisure batteries up. The starter battery has it's own alternator so I'm not planning on trying to have the solar charge it. My question is simply whether I can just connect the MPPT directly to the + and - of the first battery, with an appropriate fuse in line with the + (they are 12v batteries connected in parallel), or whether I have to worry about some more complicated integration with the shoreline charging controller (not an invertor combi) or charging from the alternator. So, I will have the alt, the charger, the MPPT and the batteries all wired in parallel, and in this case am I right in thinking they will all just 'see' the highest individual voltage and behave accordingly... so to speak. I have attached (I hope) to this post, a rough block diagram of the domestic power set-up as is. Many thanks, Hector.
  10. Oh great! I actually have loads of those little pads lying around, I'll have them to hand in case the nylon turns into a faff.
  11. Good to know this worked! I had mentioned oak only because there were some cheapish strips of it exactly the right dimensions in my nearest B and Q, but I have a couple of pals who do woodwork, kitchen building etc. and a decent timber merchant nearby so will look into teak or iroko... Hadn't heard of Quebracho, I can always ask! Thanks, H.
  12. Thanks Tracy - I can see that would be a problem, yes, but just to restate the plan, I'd be putting either blocks or strips of the old nylon / acrylic runner material under the hatch, fixed to the plywood lining, so the movement would still be wood against nylon, just the opposite way round.
  13. Hi there, our stern hatch is lined with ply (underneath) and runs on nylon runners which are screwed onto the steel runners - has worked fine, but ply needs replaced and nylon is quite worn and has come lose so at least needs reattached. Anyway, having the job to do made me think it would look much nicer to fix small bits of nylon to the ply under the hatch and have the long runners be strips of wood. Can't really find any evidence of anyone else doing this though, always a plastic or brass if not bare steel. Is there a reason why it wouldn't work? It's the same two materials sliding against each other after all? Obviously even with many layers of oil the wood will be a bit sacrificial, but I can get the strips in oak for £20 where it seems to be £100 for brass right now... and imo wood would look nicer. Any thoughts on something I'm overlooking very welcome before I give it a go! H
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