Living the Dream

Morning All Just read all your comments especially the ones relating to my son and his hair. No he is not gay or effeminate. He is 19 has shoulder length hair and straightens it....problem?????. He is at Uni doing very well studying for a music production degree he is also the best son anyone could ever wish for Yes he was told not to use such things as hair straighteners from the boat unless the genny was on........Son is paying for new inverter......end of. The bank of Mum and Dad collapsed during the recession and he earns his own money which is more responsible than a lot of adults. So anyway back to the inverter. All the advice about contacting Sterling was good and they are in fact either going to fix it, update it or I can get a more powerfull one at a discounted price so thankyou everyone. Regards Dave

No its about 4 years old. I had a look at the manual (thanks for linking that) it doesnt look anything like the one in the picture so it must be an old model. I reckon I will give stirling a ring as you suggest. I think its time for my son to buy good old dad a new inverter! Thanks again Dave

Hi All So there we were with my son and his girlfriend having a nice weekend cruise. On Sunday morning my son informed me that his and his girlfriends hair straightners werent warming up!!!! PANIC!!!!!!! I ran into the bedroom to find they had switched the inverter on and had two hair straighners plugged in! The problem now is that the inverter is not giving out full power i.e. it wont run the central heating pump. Its wierd because it still switches on but only gives out a little power. I thought they had a cut out on them to stop overloading. The question is can it be fixed or is it a new inverter to be bought by my son? Any help would be apreciated. Thanks Dave

Hi I bought the Honda EU20i and had it converted to gas. I had been messing around with generators and petrol consumsion etc. Must admit, touch wood, its been great. It runs the washer, charges the batteries. It runs for ever on a 13k bottle of gas. We just plonk it on the towpath or the front of the boat if we do our washing while cruising. Regards Dave

Hi All And the expert said..........................................."Its the head Gasket" Regards Dave

Thanks for all the comments everyone. Yep Ive been thinking head gasket but I checked the oil and water and there is no oil in the water or viki verki. Apparently the he had the problem before the waterpump belt went. Some one else mentioned that this engine was self bleeding so I binned the air in the engine water system idea. As I said he is going to change the thermostat but if that doesnt work I told him to get an expert in. Im really worried he is making it all worse by running the engine with the header tank cap off. Will let you all know what it was when its fixed for fututre reference. Thanks again for the replies Regards Dave

Yes it was running fine. I must admit I thought it must be an air block or maybe some other kind of blockage in the system i.e. some dirt build up or something. i have helped him bleed the system and it heated up his water but then it went cool again, that says to me its air. to be honest I really think he should get someone in who knows what they are doing. He is on about changing the thermostat and seeing if that helps. Thanks anyway, I will let you know what it was when its fixed. It may help others in the future. Regards Dave

Hi All My neighbour is having a problem with his engine cooling which I think is affecting his caligrofier (spellcheck?) Basically the engine is not heating the water in the cally thing. We have discussed air in the system, we have discussed possible thermostat problem due to the fact the engine overheats for a period when cruising but then the temp drops. At present he finds the only way to run the engine without it overheating when static is with the header tank top off!! I have told him to get someone who knows what they are doing otherwise he will damage the engine. So basically the engine temprature is erratic and the engine is not heating the water in the caligrofier. Any thoughts? Regards Dave Furthermore the water pump fan belt snapped and they continued cruising for 10 mins or so. I really reckon its get the experts in time. Dave

Thanks Andy

Thanks for the replies. I also thought it was a bit strange running the inverter to charge the batteries. As I said in my original post, I havent got any major problems, batteries are fine, everything runs ok its just that it seems daft running the generator and not being able to charge the batteries. Think a trip to halfords is on the cards. Thanks again Dave

Hi Everyone I have just had a converstion with a guy who is building his own boat. He has just bought an all singing all dancing battery charger. During the conversation I mentioned that my problem is that I have three separate power lines in the boat, 12v, 230 and land line. My problem is that when on land line or generator the way it is set up it doesnt charge my batteries. I am not having any problems as I only use the generator for the washing machine and ironing. I just thought it would be good to charge the batteries while running the generator. The guy then said "Why not use a car battery charger". My question is would this work? I have 4 x 110 amp leisure batteries. He also mentioned running the charger whilst using my inverter. This would mean my batteries would be recharging as they supplied whatever i was using. I generally only use the inverter for the laptop or Satelite TV. Not being the kind of guy that understands whats going in and out of batteries I wondered if anyone does this (car charger) or thinks it may or may not work. The final option of course is to buy an all singing all dancing battery charger which I dont think I need. I would appreciate any thoughts please Regards Dave

Yes have checked for water, it may be the vegitation as you say. I was thinking of getting one of the metal digital arials (B&Q) as they are deemed to be better in respect of a stronger signal. Its strange that its all of us with the same problem. Thanks for the reply Dave

This is doing my head in!! Good evening all A few of us on our mooring in sunny Lancashire have bought the Image arials for our freeveiw. Initialy they were brilliant but as time has gone on......2 months, the channels that we can pick up have really gone down hill. We have turned the arials, put them higher, put them at different angles, thrown one in the canal!!! asked people at other moorings if theirs are ok.....they are. I just havent got a clue what is up with it. I wouldnt say we are in the best reception area in the world but they worked fine initialy. I already have free sat and that is fine. So are there any experts out there that can help us please???? Thanks in eager anticipation. Dave

Hi Everyone Pressure problem solved. It was the pump diaphragm which was worn. Bought a new pump this afternoon, fitted it and everything is back to as it should be. Apparently the tell tell sign is the noise of the pump is louder if the diaphragm goes. I have to be honest it was my ignorance of not knowing that fact. The new pump is so quiet and the pressure is better than ever. Thanks again to everyone who suggested things to try. To me it typifies what boaters are all about, they are always there to offer advice and help. Regards Dave

Guys/Gals It seems the question is "To tweak or not to tweak". Im not tweaking. I will call the plumber. Take care all Dave