[Help - I cant shift the damn thing!]

Worst we had was a small tyre that slipped itself quite neatly round the whole prop

[Battery woes...]

Cheers both, have removed the two old batteries from the circuit

 

 

[Battery woes...]

Morning all,

 

I'm having a bit of a headache with my batteries, wondering if you could help me diagnose the issue. For context, we're liveaboards at a marina, so we're almost always plugged in to a shoreline

 

Around 3 months ago one of our batteries started offgassing pretty badly - I assumed it was just a knackered battery, so took it out the circuit. Then a second battery started offgassing a day later. I did some fault finding and reckoned that the old dusty battery charger was the issue. I got another new battery and a shiny 12V 30A Victron blue smart charger. I set that all up and everything was working flawlessly...

 

...until last night - at around midnight I noticed the smell again and another battery was offgassing. I disconnected everything from the circuit and this morning inspected everything. The dead battery is another of the old ones that came with the boat. Looking at the victron app (pictures attached) it seems the last cycle lasted 50 days and the vast amount of this was in storage mode. I've also attached a picture of the batteries, the duff one is the second from the bottom (although the bottom one has also lost its green 'healthy' indicator)

 

Any ideas what's going on? My plans for temporarily fixing this is to either remove the old battery from the circuit, or to go all the way and set up the charger as a power source, with no batteries connected. A long term fix would be much appreciated as I don't have the funds to replace my battery setup every 3months...

 

Thanks

[Voltage drops by 10V under load?]

26 minutes ago, bizzard said:

If any of them are let into the ceiling panels quite often roof condensation can short them out, more so during the winter.

 

13 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

There is an intermittent high resistance connection upstream (ie battery side) of the terminal block, probably caused by corrosion. Slight vibrations, changes in humidity etc can make the difference between a good connection and a bad high resistance connection. When the issue is manifest (voltage at the terminal block 3v), trace the wiring back towards the battery and find out where 3v suddenly becomes 12v - that is where the problem is. Most likely corrosion on a fuse holder or any other place where there are connections.

 

Cheers both, I'll try tracing it back and see where that gets me

[Voltage drops by 10V under load?]

2 minutes ago, pearley said:

Try connecting each lamp one at a time to see if it's one of them causing the problem.

 

 

Hmm, I've given that a go but the problem is still there no matter which of the three are connected (and even when they are all disconnected)

 

The only other thing I could think of is something else being connected, but the only other things that are remotely near are the horn and the water pump, both of which are on seperate circuits.

[Voltage drops by 10V under load?]

Afternoon all,

 

I'm trying to fix a recurring problem we're having with the electrics. Every now and then, a string of lights (all on the same 12V spur) will stop working. This happens pretty randomly - today I dropped something heavy on the floor and they switched off, but other times it's happened with no apparent cause.

 

I've done some digging in the cables, this is what I've found. The problem is with a spur of 3 lights - a 12V strip light and two 12V touch led lights. When this spur is disconnected, the voltage across the terminal block is 13.5V. Once I connect the spur, the voltage drops to just under 3V. At this low voltage, the lights just don't turn on. When the lights are working and on, it measures about 12-13V across the terminal block.

 

I'm struggling to work out what the problem is, and why it's so intermittent. I'm fairly sure that it's only those 3 lights connected, but I can't easily access the wires as they're buried into the ceiling.

 

Any ideas what the issue could be, and any possible fixes?

 

Cheers,

Jacob

[White spirit in water tank]

Cheers all - we drained it out, sprayed it down and shovelled out a carrier bag full of silt and crud from the bottom, it's running clear and fresh now

[White spirit in water tank]

Evening all,

 

I recently repainted our well deck, which was pretty much caked in rust. The water tank hatch was also rusted down, so I drilled out the bolts and prised it out. The paint job was a success, but now about 5 days after the event our water smells of white spirits and has a bit of a chemically tang to it - I used white spirits to wipe down the metal before painting it, and reckon that a small amount got into the tank through now unsealed hatch.

 

Does anyone have any ideas for how best to go about flushing the system clean? My current thinking is to just leave the taps running and a hose in tank to cycle everything, but if anyone's got any experience with this fairly niche incident that'd be helpful

 

Cheers!

Jacob

[Installation of multi fuel stove price]

Installed mine over the summer - £1360 for a Hobbit stove and flue kit, then maybe a good 2 days work building the hearth and installing it. At £50/hour, that'd come to roughly £2.5k all told

[Sourcing an alternator belt]

cheers all - I've dropped an email to Beta

[Sourcing an alternator belt]

Heya,

 

The belt for our leisure battery alternator is knackered so we need a replacement, and I'm struggling to identify the belt so I can get a new one online

 

It's a beta 43 engine, and the belt is 10mm wide. There's a few codes and numbers on it that are a bit worn, but from what I can make out they're 3108, 13AY1087, 661 1130 54940 161 and FA1 AUTOMOTIVE <something> - pic below

 

I've found this one at midland chandlers, but it doesn't match any of the codes on the belt so I'm not sure it's the one...

 

Any ideas?

 

Cheers,

J

 

 

 

[Average cost of electricity (shore power)]

£0.15/unit, £0.11/day for service

[Prepping roof for a new ceiling]

I screwed the batons straight to the steel beams using self tapping screws (had to predrill a small pilot hole first). The batons I used were pretreated  - I've got a few spare I don't need so if you happen to be around the Limehouse area you can have them

[Rust inside ?]

Heya - I recently replaced my deckhead too

 

Essentially get rid of as much loose rust as you can, paint the rust with vactan, add a layer of primer to seal everything in and then replace the insulation

 

[Taking the Tongue-and-Groove off Tongue-and-Groove Cladding...]

A nice sharp chisel will easily shave off the tongues

[Mains water pump]

13 minutes ago, David Mack said:

If your pump is rated at 11 lpm and you are getting 4 lpm at the showerhead I would suggest your problem is one of pipework which is too narrow/long/too many tight bends, or a shower valve/head which is not capable of carrying the flow you want. Doubling up on the pump without changing anything else will just mean two pumps running for half the time each, the maximum pressure at the pump being determined by the cut out pressure.

Hmm, ok - there's 4 fairly redundant 90deg bends right next to the pump, so I'll have a play with that and see if things improve, cheers

 

[Mains water pump]

3 minutes ago, PaulD said:

Whale Gulper 220 = 14 l/min

Parmax 2.9 = 11 l/min. Two = 22 l/min

 

Did you measure the actual flow at the shower head ? Or have I got the wrong Whale Gulper?

 

Not sure how the Whale Gulper will have 3 x the needed capacity.

You've got both right, but the flow from the showerhead is 4lpm.

 

If the flow does get too much for the gulper, I'll find a stronger replacement, but for now I won't solve a problem we don't have

 

10 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

I suppose if he ever decides to use it as a boat they could always 'go dirty' for a couple of weeks.

 

There just seems to be an ever widening gap between boaters and those living on a boat because they cannot afford anywhere else.

I've wanted to live on a boat for the last 5 years, and while I'm used to a less luxurious lifestyle, I'm not the only one onboard Could afford to rent a teeny tiny flat in London, but where's the fun in that?

[Mains water pump]

Heya all

 

Cheers for all the info - we've got a calorifier, I'm happy with a cold shower and me and my partner shower at different times of the day so it'll give the immersion heater time to recover. As for running out of cold water, we've got a hose very close indeed so that's not a major issue

 

17 hours ago, Detling said:

Increasing the flow rate to your shower will also decrease the time you can spend in it, before you run out of hot water. If you don't also increase the shower drain pump capacity, you may get overflow from the shower tray into the boat. Everything in life has to be balanced and comprimise is something you have to live with.

I've checked the gulper and it'll be able to cope with about 3 times the current flow

 

16 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Well with my shower the pump cuts in and out while having a shower, so for me fitting a higher flow pump would not increase the amount of water coming from the shower. This is why I asked the OP if his pump runs continually while the shower is on. The pump as others have said may not be the limiting factor

The current pump kicks in shortly after the shower starts and runs continuously until the shower stops.

 

I've ordered a 2nd Jabsco, couldn't find the pressure switch right away - if there's problems once both pumps are installed I'll get one

 

[Mains water pump]

13 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Why not move into a house as they have unlimited water supply and are purpose built to waste water?

 

I will get right on that, cheers

[Mains water pump]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I presuming this has some modern language connotation - maybe you can explain. (remember that 90% of the forum members are over 65 years of age)

Do you simply mean to increase the flow rate ?

 

Apologies - I'll flick the 'youth speak' switch off   Amp up = needs more oomph - we young people have been mollycoddled to expect, nay, demand, a powerful 30min shower twice a day

 

So it looks likes the best solution is to add an extra Jabsco to the mix  (and it's also about £200 cheaper) - should I install it in series or parallel? My gut tells me that having one pump feeding into the next would be a bad move, but it's been wrong before...

 

 

 

[Mains water pump]

3 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

Higher pressure does not increase flow rate. Your 2.9 delivers 11 litres per minute. There are lots of options that deliver up to 20 litres per min. or more. Just be aware, if using one, your water tank will empty a lot quicker. It is too easy to let more water in than you intend.

 

We're at a marina with a tap 2m away so can have the luxury of long showers 

 

[Mains water pump]

Cheers for the replies

 

20 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Why not put two parmaxes plumbed and wired in parallel? That should double the flow rate without the need for switching, and gives you a fail safe if one pump fails. As the cut in and cut out pressures on the two pumps will not be exactly the same, one will probably do the lions share, with the other only cutting in when the flow is highest.

Good shout, hadn't thought of that - I assume they've both feed into the accumulator?

 

6 minutes ago, springy said:

I'm not convinced that mixing a diaphragm pressure pump and a centrifugal pump is going to work without at least some isolation, though that could simply be an "L" port valve joining the two  outlets, (the handle of which could operate a switch controlling which pump ran), but don't forget to consider the size  of the inlet - that pump has a 22mm inlet, if the pipe from your tank is 15mm it will restrict the flow, less of a problem if the pump is close to the tank but could be significant if the pump is some distance from the tank, any filters or valves in the line may also restrict flow.

Both pumps will be right next to the tank, so the change shouldn't be an issue. Will look into L valves

7 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Or why not just get a higher pressure Parmax pump and avoid the complexity of two pumps?

I've had a look at the parmax range, and the highest 12v flow rate @ 25psi (from what I can see) is 11lpm, which is our current one. I don't want to increase the pressure because I'm not sure what the rest of the system is rated for, so I'll play it safe and keep any alterations under 25psi to avoid a leak

[Mains water pump]

Heya,

 

I'm looking to amp up the water flow rate in the boat by adding in a mains pump to the system - we're on shoreline pretty much all the time, so power isn't an issue.

 

Currently there's a parmax2.9 Jabsco installed with an accumulator, and we'd keep that as-is so that we can switch back when we're on the batteries. It's 25PSI (1.7 bar), so this looks like it would suit without blowing the pipes apart, and it has about twice the flow rate of the Jabsco

 

Here's the old layout and a rough plan of what I think might work for the new one:

 

 

Before I go and order the pump, is there anything in this setup that looks off? The pump not in use will be turned off so they won't fight against eachother, but do they need their own individual stopcock to prevent the other pump putting negative pressure on the seals etc.?

 

Cheers,
Jacob

[Prepping roof for a new ceiling]

10 hours ago, Nemysys said:

Currently going through a complete refit.

 

with regard to itchy fibreglass, we used 

https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-insulation-roll-l-6m-w-0-37m-t-100mm/3663602481812_BQ.prd

more expensive but no itch!

 

we have also gone for a baton / t&g approach, big learning curve, but the first room (which we have learnt and improved on for the next room) has lasted well.

 

here is a before and after photo, the whole thing is still work in progress. 
 

 

looking very swish

[Prepping roof for a new ceiling]

bish

bash

bosh

 

needs a trim round the edges and I'll put the vents back in, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out