SarahB

Hi again I'm fed up of paying over £3 for a bag of "kindling" from the supermarkets but as I tend to work all week and most saturdays I'm not able to get to wood yards in time to smile sweetly and request any spare offcuts for kindling. Another prob I seem to have at the moment is that our £5 something 20kg smokeless coal isn't burning that hot and I'm stuck for alternatives. I wondered if anyone had any suggestions for sources in the Notts, Derby, Lincs areas - would be willing to travel and stock up if it was worthwhile? Cheers Sarah

That sounds v familiar so I'm thinking I have wet lead/acid. Now I'll just borrow a neighbour to get them to supervise my first attempt. Cheers I'll add that to my wish list! S (edited cos my editing missed out some of my reply!)

Now that's a brilliant idea - I'll be sending my brother the link for him to have chats with Santa!! Actually he's the kind of brother that knows stuff so as long as I can give him the requirements he'll be happy. Now I've read the top two on the link it says the 15amp says suitable for a 25ft boat - I won't ask if that means if I need two Cheers S

I now know that I know very little about a lot I've no idea what sort of batteries I've got, in fact I'm not sure even what to look for! Please can I have the beginners answer to looking at batteries and I'll go investigating. I'm shocked at how much the expensive ones were - more than I'd want anyone to spend on me so either I have to save like mad or see if I can do with the cheaper version. I am on shoreline so fingers crossed that is an option for me. I think my next investment should be a notebook to start putting all this useful information in! All I really know is my small battery charger has been well used in it's life and it's a mkII - I can just about make out "Max...." but that's about it. My batteries have been charging for about 2 hours and are at 4 amps. Again I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad? Sorry for all the really daft questions (and answers I seem to be providing!!) S

Hi everyone - seeing there's a topic about batteries I thought I'd ask something too! I have a battery charger that although does the job (or so I think!) when my batteries were really flat I had to borrow a "booster" charger from the marina... The difference that made to them charging - how charged and how quickly - was amazing. If I were to ask Santa for one for Christmas (along with my additions to my tool box!) I wondered what sort of budget would be needed? And where to get one? And what sort comes with recommendations? I run off 24v not 12v if that makes any difference? Thanks Sarah

Thanks for your help!! As for the engine-room forum - duly bookmarked. The question you pointed out sounds like my problem - sometimes it'll happily chug slowly and then all of a sudden the rev ghost appears and has a tinker! I will try to borrow a camera and stuff so I can upload pics of it.

Thanks - now you've mentioned cranes I'm sure that's what I was told previously! I'll go digging for enthusiasts (not literally). I have a lot of contacts in the mechanical world so I keep mentioning my engine to the ones I meet - normally to be met with a look that almost says "why on earth would you have a vintage engine??" Thanks again for all the help and info - I know more about my engine now even if it's what sort and where it's likely to have come from... Sarah

Ack now I have to start looking at it to see what it will tell me! Now I've been looking at it I've found the plate that says 2VTH (guess the 2 is two cylinder?) and full load max 1100 and no load max 1170? From word of mouth (two previous owners ago) it was in something MOD to start with (I think it was a crane or dumper??) I have two orginal spare part lists (think old school books) which cover the following: VTH, VTHZ, VSH, VSHZ and VSHL - the other book states VH and VHM (sizes 1VTH - 2VTH, 1VSH - 4VSH, 3-4VSHM) And I was left with all sorts of o-rings (?), coils, lucas bulbs and other bits n bobs - all nicely labeled with part numbers! They are now stored in a "treasure" box for future use. I'm not able to upload pics at the moment as the camera/USB thing is still lurking somewhere unpacked (I think mums loft!) but next time I'm south I will look for it or borrow someone's here on the marina. Cheers Sarah

Ack indeed it is a Ruston! I have a few spares that the last owner left for me along with an original drawings book! Right then I'll get someone to do a basic tune up, clean, changing of stuff (and see how much I can annoy them by asking questions and wanting to have a go!) and see how it sounds after that. Any names in the Notts/Derby area worth getting in touch with? Thanks everyone - sometimes it's just knowing where to start eh? Sarah

Cheers Bazza - yes been lurking for about a year now! Bought Debonair in the summer, then got stuck at Shardlow for a fair few weeks so it's only now I'm settling in and planning! There's a end of the Erewash thingy in May and I want to get Debonair all ready to show off for that seeing it's literally on my doorstep. I couldn't possibly have a Rushton on show without it being in tip top condition really eh? Sarah

Hi all My home "Debonair" is the proud owner of a '53 Rushton and my next investment is getting it serviced as I want to make sure it's running to its best. I'm sure there are a couple of "bits" that can be improved - firstly it wavers when it's idling and I'm sure it would idle lower if it was serviced. Also not sure about the compression (but I had heard that that's not a good thing to be worrying about!!) but saying that to be honest I'm not sure I would know if it has a problem or not! I'm based on the Erewash, Notts and I wondered if anyone here would know anyone they could recommend to service it or if nothing else have a look/listen to give me some guidance on what may need doing? I guess asking for a budget is a "how long is a piece of string" question but if I put aside £500 would that even begin to cover it? Ideally if I could find someone who would be willing to show me some basics that would be great, even if it means I could do a couple of bits independently I would be chuffed! Thanks in advance Sarah (still to upload pics)

Hi everyone I've been lurking for months now and finally decided to get into the swing of things with posting. I've recently moved onto my 50ft narrowboat and I'm loving every minute of it! I will get round to posting pictures of Debonair and no doubt asking for help when it comes to my 1953 Rushton... A great site and always something interesting to read. Sarah

Hi there - first post although a long time lurker! I've just got a 3 blade fan from Ebay (but a US seller) for about £75 including postage. It's great and even manages to warm past my engine room to the back of the boat. Best purchase so far for my boat!! Sarah