Sneill

Thanks Jen so no issues with temp or pressure then ?

Hi Guys part way thru my calorifier replacement and ai have hit a hitch ! The 2 connections used for the pipes from the engine coolant are designed to take a hose with jubilee clips to secure! the existing pipework is ok but the bore of the pipe is too narrow to fit over the tank connections ? my question is can I convert existing pipe to a run of copper then add hose to fit the cylinder connections, or is there a reason not to use copper? ta in advance

Thanks guys lots to think about so if there is a rising oil pressure switch in circuit. I assume switch closes once pressure is sufficient ? Any ideas where to look to Identify it ? thanks again

The alternator hasn’t worked since the boat was bought 8 months ago

Hi Guys I am trying to trouble shoot a non charging issue aboard my mates boat. He’s running a R N engine and I suspect that it revs to low to activate the alternator. Alternator has been bench tested and performs as it should , however when on board it doesn’t? Can this be down to size of lamp in exciter circuit or do these engines req special alternators ? cheers in advance

We know that the pipework to Radiator has been added more recently than the original pipework to the Calorifier the fire sits centrally with one heating loop going to the rad and the other one going to the Calorifier

Hi Guys and thanks in advance for your guidance in this matter. I am currently helping a frien replace his heating aboard his narrow boat and wondered if I could pick your brains ? He currently has a wood burner with back boiler heating a radiator and Calorifier on gravity fed pipework . not sure why but this system isn’t very effective ( even the wood burner doesn’t seem to get awfully hot) so it seems that this system is fed via single pipe header tank , but also this header tank seems to feed the pipework coming from the engine to the calorifier as well? Now my question is , is this correct or should there be two separate tanks ? As some of the pipework is difficult to see or get to it’s a little tricky to see the exact layout? Would anyone have a simple diagram of how this system should be plumbed ( and perhaps any advice along the way would be great ! be gentle we are new to all this malarkey ! cheers Neill

Would you know if this set up would be pumped or just working on convection?

Hi guys I am assisting a mate onboard his newly acquired boat which is running a DM2 engine. Is it normal for a pair of water pipes to be connected from the engine to the circulation pipes that run from his Multi fuel burner with back boiler to his Calorifier ? This is in addition to two more smaller pipes that run from the engine to the coil of the calorifier. Your assistance as always greatly appreciated Tia

My point being is the calorifier doesn’t get hot the only time he successfully heats the water is from the secondary coil running from the engine

Hi Black Rose yes normal solar just to help with hot water through the summer months Hi Tony when lit the back boiler only manages to “warm “the high pipes , the lower pipes and calorifier do not warm at all?

Pls see attached scribble ! How much rise should be present in pipe work from boiler ? I assume that the rad was added Recently as pipework appears fresh compared to the rest of system . I am sure the problems are due to not enough rise in pipe work? Also is there a technical reason for the pipework arrangement in second photo ?

Thanks Tracy the set up as it stands has one radiator to the front of the boat , back boiler central to the boat and a calorifier towards the rear adj to where the feed and vent pipes are .Any chance you could scribble down a drawing of how it should all be plumbed as neither the rad or hot water are very successful atm! any help much appreciated

So Tracy I understand about the rising pipe work but if the calorifier is lower than the back burner the rising pipe work will eventually have to fall, will this work ?

Hi Guys excuse my naivety but I am new to this Malarky! my mate is in the process of updating his boat and in doing so is replacing the calorifier for one that has an element that can be powered from his solar. my question is if we relocate the position of the calorifier so that it is sited lower than the pipe work coming from the back boiler , can we still use the back boiler if we add a pump to the system ? thanks in advance Neill

Hi guys need a bit of guidance on my my mates plumbing issues . As I understand it the system has 2 vessels plumbed into the pipe work . One being an accumulator and one being an expansion .what pressures do these need to be set at for the pump to work properly? ta in advance

Hi Guys I am asking on behalf of a mate , he has just bought a trad working style type canal boat. It is heated by a wood burner with back boiler heating a radiator and clarifier . As he wishes to update the boat and renew the clarifier and re site it , am I right in assuming this unit needs to sit at a higher level than the burner to allow the water to heat by convection ?( this is how it sits at the moment ) There are no pumps in the system at present so all heating is achieved by convection albeit a tad hit and miss! any suggestions greatly appreciated

Hi guys asking for a mate he’s just bought a trad narrow boat which has a lily king connected to one rad and a calorifier. he’s struggling to achieve a good heat( both water and cabin temp without going thru loads of coal ?) is there a technique to these burners that he is unaware of ? thanks in advance

Many thanks for your input

Thanks what sort of provision for pump failure ?

Let’s assume you are correct and there is some sort of pump connected to the loop from the engine . This will obviously only be in use when engine is running? As we wish to use the wood burner ( which I am told is 7 kw output) . The additional pump idea is to help out whilst we are only using the wood burner for heat ?

Tony isn’t the loop from the engine working on Convection as well ? Not sure there is a pump in the system ?

Right Chaps quick update , after further investigations ( and remember we are new to this lark !) we realised that the coolant level was low , so after attending to this there is a marked improvement in the system! however we are interested in adding a 12 volt circulating pump to the system . Can anyone recommend one ? Also if the pump is fitted but was off for any length of time would it impede the system or does the pump need to n be on 24/7 ? as always TIA

Tony , how would I correct this if it was air locked ? Tracey, if it’s not higher then how does it heat via convection?

Will need to get back to you on these points Tony Ditchcrawler all I can tell you is the burner is a Lillyking ?