Ian F B

That is an essential tool.May I also suggest Turbo woodscrews from Screwfix,very sharp points,and they drive in really easily,so it saves the battery!. Cheers, Ian F B .

Im on my second refit at the moment,the most important thing to decide,before you even think about switching the "puter"on is,What do I use the boat for? How many berths do I need?What facilities do I require? and what is the resale value when Ive done all the work? Start with a good solid level floor,put in battens as fixing points wherever possible.and make sure you work out where all your services are going to be routed. Then start thinking about design and be prepared to change and adapt as you go along,as measurements on paper rarely translate into reality!. Get yourself some decent tools,take your time and you wont go far wrong. Cheers Ian F B .

I dont think there is a specific manual to help when refitting,Im on my second,and the method of construction is totally different in each boat,the only way to do it easily is to rip it all out and start again. Look at all your battening points and go from there,apply basic carpentry skills,agood sprinkling of tools and you should be O K Cheera Ian F B .

Thanks for your replies,much appreciated,it looks like the way to go is to increase my present tank size and re ballast after all. Cheers Ian F B

Does any one have any experience of connecting two water tanks together using just one filler? I cant think of any problems,but Im always interested in learning from other peoples mistakes!!! Seriously Im refitting out a 30ft boat and fitting a Thetford C200 electric flush,and a shower so I need to increase the water capacity,so I want to fit another tank on the oppposite side of the boat so as not to have to reballast etc. All suggestions,ideas,etc gratefully received. Cheers Ian F B

Borrowed from the bank,but the only real answer is the same for everything in life,if you want it enough,you,ll find a way to get it, life is more than existence,there has to be time for dreams and fancies,follow the yellow brick road etc,etc. Bloody hell whos been messing with my roll ups again!!!!!!. Cheers,Ian F B .

Hallo,just bought a boat,its fitted with a SaunierlDuval water heater,Ive never heard of them !!!!.Any info gratefully received. Cheers Ian F B .

Chris,It is possible to use 87a,it depends on what type of relay it is If its a 5 blade changeover this will switch the voltage from 87a to 87 If its a 5 blade double make or break this will allow you to use either 87 or 87a or both If its a 5 blade twin make and break both 87 and 87a are joined internally so either can be used. With regard to all things electrical,I can personally recommend Vehicle Wiring Products for quality and service.There catalogue is very good and shows diagrams of all the usual types of relays. Happy Boating and Ill try to post some photos of the Springer,(boat not dog) when its looking alittle less of a wreck. Cheers,Ian F B.

Reference your thougts on relays,a relay is simply an electrically operated switch,a current/voltage is passed through a coil which energises and closes a pair of contacts which allows a larger current,in this case the battery charge to flow into the battery. The basic connections for arelay are as follows; 86 warning,charge light, 85 earth, 30 start battery, 87 leisure battery. these connections are all marked on the relay and follow standard vehicle wiring codes. The use of relays allows a small current to switch a large current,hence saving on the use of large cables which are obviously more costly. Hope this clears up any confusion, Cheers,Ian F B .

Reference alternator problems,we are now talking about usjng a Lucas A127,and to clarify further,my qbservation was that the diagram I was using was suspect,as after connecting up as per the diagram it didnt bloody work,and after looking at the problem and rewiring it did.The basic principle of the alternator is a an electric motor in reverse,you energise the coil,and the mechanical rotation of the engine generates anA C voltage which is rectified by the diode pack and then fed as D C to the battery ccts etc.It is this voltage that is returned to the alternator side of the charge light that causes the light to extinguish as there is now 12 volts on both sides of the light,no potential difference,no current flow,no light,simple really. Cheers Ian F B

My suggestion is to spend a few quid on a multi meter from Maplins,Screwfix or where ever and see what the charging voltage is i.e.with the engine running.If your alternator is working O.K.you should get a reading of at least 14.00 volts any less and you may have a charging problem. Multimeters are wonderful things,they can save you hours of guess work and its not black magic,any body can use one! Should I hold seminars in the local hostelry on basic boat electrics,I wonder????? Cheers Ian F B.

Once again thanks fur your help,prior to revisiting this site I set to with my trusty voltmeter and and a roll of insulating tape.With a wiring diagram from a well known book on how to fit out a narrowboat,I proceeded to follow the circuit diagram.Two hours later,engine on,charge light glowing,start her up,no charge ,no light going out!!!!. On checking the wiring with my meter I noticed a 5.6 volt drop across the charge light,then it all became clear,the relay to switch from engine to leisure battery was connected directly to the alternator charge light output terminal,so of course as soon as the alternator powered up the relay,the 12 volt required to power up the alternator went down to4.4 volts,so no charge!!. A quick temporary rejig,which involved fitting a temporary engine/leisure switch soon had the system charging like a mad elephant,and normal service was resumed. The wiring diagram in question,is in my opinion not sound,unless you can find a relay that takes zero current on switch on and hence causes no voltage drop,perhaps a solid state relay using microprocessor control is the answer? Cheers Ian F B .

Many thanks for the replies,very helpful,upon further Googling I found two good sites which were useful,www.kampenwagen.co .uk,this shows how to wire in a split charge relay in non techspeak,and www.tb training.co.uk,this has sections on all aspects ofboat electrics including diagrams showing common alternator types and the correct connection points.Enjoy!!!! Cheers Ian F B .

Hello,Im in the process of helping a friend of mine do up his Springer,no sniggering!!!!.What started as converting the dining table from face to face to L shape ,has escalated into a full windows out refit.During this arduous task the alternator decided it had lost the will to charge and we were informed by the very nice man at the reconditioners it was not repairable due to its age.I think I can identify the dud one as an 11 A C,this apears to have had a seperate rectifier and regulator whereas the new one which is a lucas A127 obviouslyhas both these functions on it. I need to know if anyone has had experience of this swap and would they care to share it with me? I do have experience of restoring cars and motorcycles and after 25 years as a TV /Video engineer I do know one end of a voltmeter from the other.If any one is interested I have picked up a few tips while doing this refit so any queries on window removal etc,Id be only to happy to share. Cheers Ian F B >