Big COL

Steve There are a lot of different types of finrads. The heat output varies from one manufacturer to another. Select the right one and you will have a superior heating system than if you used panel rads. The real plus point is that they are sited in the right place (low down) an you get to feel the benefit from all the heat, no cold spots. added to which, obtaining an even heat distribution is easier with finrads, you can have all of the boat at the same temperature if you want to. Good finrads are not cheap, but the heat output will be better than panel rads.

Brilliant Dor

Charles This will probably start those little Welsh dogs yapping. They use gas bottles on fork trucks horizontally I believe on a fork truck liquid is delivered up to the regulator where it then boils off to a gas. If this arrangement can be used on a moving vehicle I can see no reason why it can not be adapted for use on a narrow boat so long as the regulator was within the gas locker.

Alan The choice of calorifier is yours to make considering the ease of installation, I have never had problems with air locks on horizontal calorifiers and if there was a problem with air locking then an auto air bleed would soon overcome it. If you want to be fully automatic with hot water source then you can use a tank stat to control two mag valves one positioned on the hot water outlet of the calorifier and the other on the hot water outlet of the morco. The tank stat will open one valve and close the other and visa versa. If the water is not hot enough in the calorifier then the stat will have the mag valve closed on the calorifier and open on the morco, once the water reaches temp in the calorifier the tank stat will then close the mag valve on the morco outlet and open the mag valve on the calorifier outlet.

Although names have been named Libel can only be against the person naming names. As itldo4me has a case in hand there can be no harm in naming the name so long as it is only itldo4me that does so. I feel that these builders should be exposed if they are proved to be in the wrong. Itldo4me has the protection of the sale of goods act to use if he feels the goods were of inferior quality.

Just a thought Perhaps the first socket is OK and the second and third socket on the radial have no earth( broken between first socket and second) this will explain why the first socket trips and the rest do not. The first socket is OK running a non earthed appliance, but trips when using an earthed appliance. I would first check the earth continuity through all the sockets and then check the appliance for an earth fault.

Hi Bottle Thats the overheat trip I was talking about.

I have just read about this new battery gauge. I think this may open up a debate. It operates on voltage only 2 wire connections and is supposed to give as much information as the current operated types. Reading the sales Blurb it sounds the bee's knees (tongue in cheek) lets see what you all think? http://www.smartgauge.co.uk

If you want the old timers way of starting a diesel engine worn or not then you flare started them. I was shown this 40 years ago and still use it some times when circumstances require it, usually when the temp as dropped below -10c. It will require two people to do this, first you make a flare which was a piece of rag with a welding wire or coat hanger wound around it dip this into the diesel tank to soak the rag in diesel, remove the air filter, then light the flare. when the flare is well and truly burning get the other person to turn over the engine as the engine turns over hold the flare next to the engines air intake, as the engine turns it will draw all of the flame down into the engine, it may draw enough flame to actually put the flare out but by then the engine has started. I think it was BMC that went on to automate this type of cold start. You held the ignition switch in the heater position which started a small element to glow at the same time a small amount of diesel was released over the hot element, when you heard a pop in the air filter you started the engine, which would then draw in this burning diesel down into the engine.

Bryan Switching the supply off for 30 sec should reset it. At least it does with all my lorries. Also on the ones that I have there is an overheat reset button on the heater itself that trips if the air intake or outlet get covered over. Thats about as much as I can help you with, I try to stay as far away from these heaters as I can. Hope this works.

John You have a registration for your boat in your name with BW which will show the length of time you have been the registered holder. Your BS certs will also show you as being the registered owner. Actually proving that you are the rightful owner could be difficult, you and I, and I suspect many other owners are in the same position. Proving that you are the owner by suppling receipts or bills of sale does not hold water. In the interim period the boat could have been used as security for a loan of some type, if you do not declare this at the time of sale, then default on the repayments for the loan the new owners will soon be short of a boat, and you or I will have disappeared showing a handsome profit. Not having thought of this before when buying boats I suppose the only safe way to proceed is to do your own financial search on the previous owner - that way you can prove that you have done all you can to be sure that there are no other holdings on the boat. As for buying through a broker I know Wilton need a declaration from the seller that they are the rightful owner and there are no holdings on the boat. Just where you stand legally I wouldn't like to say, who is the actual contract of sale with? If it's the broker then they may be liable and may have to reimburse you. For the large sums of money that boats now cost it would be worth taking some legal advice. It's a sad state of affairs when it comes down to this when buying a boat, but you wouldn't part with this sort of money when buying a house without legal representation would you? I don't think for one second that Whilton would be involved in any shady dealings but they have to believe the information supplied, and in the light of the dealings with a builder who has recently walked off with a small fortune of other people's money I would be looking to protect my purchase in every way I could. This is why the banks ask for a declaration- they are putting the onus on to the purchaser so if it goes tits up they will still get their money even though the boat has been reclaimed by others. If I had to purchase a boat now then I would be doing financial searches on previous owners for any liens on the boat.

Gaggle/Moley I think basicaly it comes down to natural evolution. History has shown that natural disasters such as super volcanoes have wiped out vast numbers of living beings and caused dramatic changes in climatic conditions. With or without these natural disasters evolution continues in some form or another. What we need to guard against is man's interference, whereby the world evolves faster than its inhabitants can. In two million years it could be that the inhabitants of this planet are breathing CO2 naturally, and will be concerned that the oxygen levels are rising. If we continue to pollute the planet then we will force this evolution beyond the limits that humans can cope with and the race will die out, to be replaced millons of years on by something that has evolved from the then current environment. Modern technology is detecting changes faster than before, they may only be detecting minute changes but it does not mean they are not occurring. When they first said lead in paint is dangerous people said what rubbish we have been using it for years it's just a load of scaremongery, the same with asbestos, people died before it was accepted. When the time comes for you to visibly see the changes it will be too late. Maybe not in our lifetime but it could sooner than you now believe it will happen. Gaggle said the Mersey looks the same I am willing to bet the water quality has changed in that time period. In the end I suppose with individuals it comes down to whether you are members of Jack's club ( f--k you Jack I'm allright) thats OK so long as Jacks' Club is there to be all right in.

Bottle Unless things have changed in the past few years, it only applies to receiving signals from the BBC. If you adapted your TV so it could not receive signals covering the BBC channels, then you did not require a TV Licence. Commercial stations are private companies.

Am I missing something in this euphoria for electric boats. If a 70' narrowboat needs a diesel engine of 43hp to perform, then on a like for like basis you will still need the same amount of electrical power. A 43hp electric motor will be nearly the same physical size as a diesel engine, plus a considerable amount of control gear to find space for, and where do you fit the huge battery bank needed to sustain any reasonable amount of capacity. As I have already said I must be missing something, or the laws of physics have changed. regarding power outputs.

If I could invent CELLULITE Absorbant pads I could retire after a week

Dan I think you will find a forklift truck draws liquid from the bottle and boils it off at the regulator, which has a water jacket off of the engine. This overcomes the problem of the bottle freezing.

Does the oil pressure switch have a feed to it? or do they work like courtesy switches on car doors by switching the negative. I only ask this as in the old days to test to see if it was the circuit or sender I would short the cable to earth.

Make your own pigs. Cut the arms and legs off old clothes, tie off one end, fill them with kitty litter then tie off to seal.

No natural predator is correct. The otter like the mink is territorial, being a territorial mammal the otter will defend his territory and will kill mink if that territory is invaded. This does not make an otter a natural predator of mink, they do coexist. the otter is a natural predator of fish, shellfish, and water voles and any small mammals (nice of the waterways to reintroduce water voles I bet the otters are pleased). There must be some mink taken by large Hawks but this does not make them a natural predator. By natural predator I meant an animal whose staple diet is mink. Something to keep the balance at a reasonable level. I am only too pleased to see the otter numbers growing and may they keep doing so. The next complaint will then be from the fishermen who will complain that there are no fish. Talking of Territorial animals I once witnessed a fight between a swan and a Canada goose. I would have bet that the swan would win. It didn't the goose killed the swan, and the swans partner abandoned the nest, one of the saddest things I have seen on the canals.