cheesegas

I have the same one, but like most Zanussi machines it doesn't like Victron inverters. If you fill it with a thermo valve set to 10 degrees hotter than the wash temperature, you can unplug the element inside and it doesn't try to heat the water. Uses around 400w peak during the fast spin cycle.

I hope this is irony? It's particularly hilarious as recently in Kensal, London, a couple of trees came down and blocked the canal. Reported to CRT almost instantly but they didn't clear it, and the old guys continuously mooring in that area were firmly of the opinion that they pay their license fees and the CRT should fix it, despite it blocking the way to the nearest water point. In the end, a couple of young guys moored nearby popped out on a dinghy with a little chainsaw and chopped the tree up into little bits whilst the old boys looked on laughing...

Yep, thats definitely in the minority though. There’s a bunch of boats in Kensal that haven’t moved for years too, the CRT only seem to care in a small number of cases, or if the boat is abandoned. Sunk ones last years too.

There's multiple boats being lived on in London which haven't moved from a certain popular 7 day mooring area for a long time, the longest around 4 years - the CRT simply don't bother to enforce the rules. No BSS or visible registration number. As for living in London? I cruise from Leighton Buzzard to the top of the Stort to stay in the South for work, being freelance. London has by far the best public transport links, I remember being just 30 miles outside of it to get a bus to the station, only to discover it doesn't run on weekends and comes twice a day!

Always have backups for power and heating…even something like running out of diesel is possible with a new engine. A 5 litre can which you can easily walk/cycle to the nearest petrol station with will not be enough diesel to reach the pickup tube in your tank, but in a genny it’ll be a good few days of charging. Enough time to sort out a diesel delivery.

Thanks. Ordered a Facet and will get some new hard lines made up. Found some blurb on another forum which mentions that it’s a cam actuated pump, so it can only be the diaphragm. Or the injection pump…which I hope it’s not!

Thanks both. Unfortunately I can’t find even the complete lift pump anywhere, not even a part number. It’s a 30 year old engine but starts and runs perfectly. Hoping it’s a shaft seal rather than the diaphragm - if it is, I may have to remove the lift pump, blank off the hole and install an electric one. I’ll do the vacuum test on the pump too, thanks!

Hi all. Mechanical question this time… I’ve noticed the engine oil level is increasing, smells of fuel and seems thin, signs that diesel is getting in somehow. Going to send a sample for analysis though anyway. It’s an Isuzu 3KC1 with a mechanical lift pump, mounted next to the injection pump. What’s the chances of the lift pump leaking vs injection? And before I pull it apart, anyone know if the lift pump is rebuildable using off the shelf generic o rings/oil seals etc? I can’t find a rebuild kit anywhere… Oh, and all fuel lines are external so I’m guessing it’s got to be one of the pumps. I’ve attached the pages from the workshop manual about fuel delivery, and it doesn’t mention a lift pump at all, only injection! Thanks!

The gearbox and engine crossmembers of my 1980 Land Rover have been kept perfectly rust-free by this built in system...

I have a generator for two reasons - redundancy and the washing machine. Zanussis simply don’t play nice with Victron inverters, so once a week I fire up the genny for the wash. It’s also handy for power tools, as a 1600w chop saw inrush current will trip my 2kva inverter. Oh and one final use…with a 240v pump, it’s very useful to save a boat from sinking. Used it a couple of times to help neighbours like this.

If you view the boat as a hobby, you’ll be fine. There’s always something to fix and improve. If you see it as a chore, you’ll tire of it quickly.

On size, myself and my partner live comfortably on a 45’ cruiser stern. We work from home a lot too. It’s got a small front deck as the gas locker is at the rear, so little space is wasted and the water tank is big, 1000l - enough to go two weeks and run the washing machine twice. Rear deck is useful to hang washing out, and use as a workspace in summer. Also means that you don’t have to climb over an engine box and then go through a second set of doors to get into the boat. Saw a lot of trad sterns and didn’t like them because of poor access from the rear - I like being able to get in/out from both ends of the boat easily. The smaller the boat the easier it is to turn. 50’+ often means to have to travel for a while to turn it around. If you’re buying second hand on the lower end of the market, stuff will break on the boat. Lots. Get good at general repairs or it’ll be more expensive than renting. Are you going to be continuously cruising most of the year? Or in a marina some of it?

Ooops. Didn't see that, thanks. One side of the switch needs to go to battery positive, the other to the engine - starter/alternator/control panel etc. You're allowed some things to go direct to battery bypassing the switch though - solar/bilge pumps/alarms/critical nav stuff but this must be fused seperately.

Yep he's correct. To pass the BSS, every boat needs a battery cutoff switch with a sign above the deck, visible if any deck boards/hatches are closed. https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/requirements-examinations-certification/non-private-boat-standards/part-3-electrical-installations/battery-master-switch/

Thanks, I’ve seen those. The issue here is that the operation of the unit doesn’t match the manual however, and there appears to be multiple hardware/software revisions and versions of the manual.

Thanks. I've looked but I can't see a way to update the software on it - as it's encapsulated in potting compound, there's no JTAG etc points to communicate with it. Unless there's some Balmar specific computer interface which uses a few of the pins in a weird way... I got it for almost free as I'm cheap and don't want to fork out for a Wakespeed or Balmar 614...would be nice it if works.

HI all, everyone's been so helpful in solving past problems, hopefully someone here familiar with Balmar regulators can help. Thanks in advance I've got a Balmar ARS-5 external alternator regulator here which I'd like to use with my lifepo4 build. Yep, I'm aware that it's not got a lithium specific program but after looking at the manual, it's possible to set it up so it's suitable. Anyway, I've got it connected up to a 13v supply (manual says it must be over 12.5v) to program in the comfort of being inside and not in the engine bay... Black to ground, red and brown to positive. It powers up fine and goes through the menu system fine too. However, there's a few oddities. I've attached the relevant pages of both versions of the manual I've found, which seems to refer to pre 2017 and post 2017. I have an October 2009 model with software revision 1.9. The manuals mention revision 3.8. From the advanced programming menu, the AHL (high voltage limit) and ALL (low voltage limit) are missing - it simply jumps straight from the option before it to the option after. Also, the pre 2017 manual refers to these settings as high and low voltage alarms and post 2017 refers to them as limits. It's also impossible to change the float voltage to below 13.7. I can get it up to 14.2 and then back down again, but not below 13.7. Note that the flooded program preset has a default float voltage of 13.4, if I try and change it up or down by 0.1v, it jumps straight to 13.7 and then can't be changed to anything lower. The manual says that the allowable float voltage range is between ALL (which isn't present in the menu) and the absorption voltage (set to 14.2). Any idea why it's doing this? It's almost like the ALL option is set to 13.7 so the float voltage can't be set any lower than that. However, the option is missing from the menu. Or, a manual for revision1.9 would be great. I've reset it to factory defaults by pressing and holding on the SAV screen, and also tried raising the supply voltage to 14v. Full manual - pre 2017.pdf Full manual - post 2017.pdf Pages - pre 2017.pdf Pages - post 2017.pdf

We helped the owners of a new-ish 40' NB shaped like a Dutch barge last winter...they literally bumped into us having lost propulsion out of a lock. It was built without a weed hatch, they'd picked up what looked like a mains extension lead in the prop and it had bound it up. It could probably have been resolved with a small saw through the weed hatch - we helped them bolt a sharpened hook and then a saw to the end of a piece of scaffold, but after a day of fumbling it they gave up. Ended up getting towed to get craned out the water. I have no idea why you'd choose to have a boat built for the canals without one...

Much appreciated, putting the brand names of commercial stuff less known about in this thread is really quite useful. I'll try and remember to get a photo of the franken-propshaft, I think this poor guy's been duped by the seller given how nice the boat is inside, compared to the bodged state of the electrics and mechanics. Engine isn't the original, it's a Dutch barge but the bearers have been chopped around and the mounts are bolted to a questionable arrangement of angle iron.

Forgot to get a picture of it, but it's such a mess I recommended replacement. The scale jammed the tube stack in there pretty good, it took a lump hammer and a chunk of wood to shift it, and the mating surfaces where the O rings sit are all chewed up. Not sure if the brazing from end plate to tubes was damaged by our efforts with the hammer too, it was a good hour of whacking it back and forth a fraction of an inch before it could be extracted! The end caps' bolts are both sheared flush in the heat exchanger, and it's hard to work out what's bolt and what's brass! Could try and drill them out and tap the hole a size up I guess...but it's also not my boat, and whilst I'm happy to help him out after he's been screwed over by a dodgy engineer, I don't really want to spend hours on it. He's sourced a new tube stack at a reasonable price together with O rings and bolts, I'll help him fit it and hopefully will be on his way. Shouldn't be stuck again...but the Hurth mechanical gearbox or something in the driveline was making some pretty awful noises going into gear. Might just be the weird propshaft though...R&D coupling, then a double cardan joint, followed by two pillowblocks and finally a Centraflex. No thrust bearing, just a standard stern tube, all in the space of about three feet. Recommended that he avoid the semi tidal Thames until it's proven not to explode. Thanks for the info on descaling though, very useful!

Yep, it sounds like this was an ongoing issue, maybe caused by a poor coolant loop design which was impossible to bleed. Turns out the calorifier is at the front of the boat with garden hosepipe going to/from it, probably an 80ft round trip. I reckon air in the system continually caused it to boil over out the cap, they kept on adding plain water and it eventually scaled up the tube stack. There's no paint around the cap either, a clue it's been happening for a while. The boatmover then wasn't aware of it and didn't refill properly, so it overheated. The mechanic must have only flushed the raw water side of the tube stack, there's no way to rod through it with the alloy end caps bolted in place. Or he plain lied and didn't do it at all! Thanks for the tip on the thermostat, I'll recommend it!

Thanks all, think this is solved. Drained the system, bypassed the calorifier and refilled carefully to avoid airlocks. Still cold raw water from the heat exchanger, but at least the water level wasn't increasing with heat now. It still vented from the cap after 20 min of idling though. Removed the tube stack - the two allen bolts sheared as soon as any pressure was put on them as predicted. Luckily, they thread into the tube stack assembly and not the block. Got it out after a lot of whacking with a mallet and bit of wood, and the coolant side is completely blocked with crud and scale. Given the sheared bolts and state of it, he's ordered a new heat exchanger. As it's Vetus it's £££ but it should solve the overheating.

Thanks. Definitely no expansion tank at all in the system so it must rely on headroom in the manifold, using it as a header tank. Image of the engine below, it's the same model in a different boat. Just the one cap on the combined header tank/manifold. Just realised I may be using the wrong terminology for this sort of thing, I'm from a car background!

This heat exchanger doesn't have rubber boots - they're alloy caps to reduce the 3" dia to 1" of the hose, manual says there's an allen bolt inside in direct contact with water which clamps it on. Bet it's seized solid as well, hence it not being removed... Sorry, think you missed what I put above, it's been a fast thread! (thanks for all the replies). The cap is sealing properly, rubber against the seat and it holds pressure, it's got to be pushed down against the spring. If I release the cap with a warm engine, once the rubber seal unseats, it vents so pressure's being held fine. And yep, agreed that 1 psi is nothing, I was just comparing the current cap to the original cap. Although the new part number for this same engine states a venting pressure of double...wonder why it was changed. There's no expansion tank fitted to the system, although the Vetus manual says it should have one. Looks like two styles of OEM cap available, one without a pressure relief valve and one with (the type fitted to this engine), so I'm guessing the valveless ones are for the installations with an expansion tank. Will check for air locks and report back... If that doesn't work, I hope he finds a good engineer, I don't want to go pulling his heat exchanger apart only to strip bolts etc when it's not my engine.

Ran it with a warm engine, thermostat open and cap off and the water rose up until it came out the filler neck. Good point, didn't think of an airlock in the system! The air heating up might be expanding and pushing the water out the cap. I haven't drained the coolant since the engineer visited so he may not have bled the system properly. I'll advise bypassing the calorifier with a bit of hose, draining the coolant and refilling. Thanks.