dor
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Posts posted by dor
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Quote: "If you look at these pictures on this narrowboat for sale, what sort of finish/wood is this?"
OTT ply to my eye!
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Can I put in a vote for danish oil?
I have used it quite a bit. As I understand it, it is a mixture of oil and a sort of resin. It does dry completely if not put on too thickly, is well absorbed by the wood, gives a nice colour and finish, and can be very quickly spruced up with a oil-soaked rag wiped over now and again (by which I mean about once a year).
Just personal experience, but I like it. Maybe I am one of those people that are "completely devoid of any skill". One point though: in my experience there are danish oils and Danish Oils. I have bought some in a plastic bottle from B&Q and it was darker and less inclined to dry; Some that was twice the price, in a metal can was much better. you getwhat you pay for.......
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The article is at home, but I will try and remember to pick it up for tomorrow. It was quite an extensive article, with schematic diagrams etc. Clearly quite a lot of thought went into it, with a fairly sophisticalted control system.
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I was just about to say much the same as rustyduck. To get the "instinct" to work, think of which way you want the stern to go, after all, that is where you are. On a bike or car, you are more or less at the front, and you steer in the direction you want the front to go. On a boat you are at the stern, so push the tiller in the direction you want the stern to go.
I have found that explaining it this way to young children having their first go at steering helps them to work their "instinct" the right way.
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Have you read the article in (I think) the september WW? It was about an all-electric boat and the various options.
They did however incorporate a Whispregen in the scheme which I have my doubts about. Basically they are very expensive diesel heaters that produce a bit of electricity rather than being generators proper. But their system combined various types of equipment to run a lot of electrical stuff (inc fridge-freezer).
Looked VERY expensive though!
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I've noticed at Grindley Brook that after the top lock has started emptying into the middle chamber, the lock keeper raises the top paddle for a bit to let some more water through before the top chamber has fully emptied. This is because one of the cills has little clearance and the normal procedure leaves a deep boat dragging on the cill.
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Holiday swap, wife swap, house swap etc. etc........
Geeez how does anyone watch these programs?
Read an interesting thread on a biker forum about someone that was approached to do wife swap. It was clear to them that they were approached for their dysfunctional family and unconventional views of society. They sensibly turned it down. A week of filming edited down to half an hour or so. So really it is just down to what the director wants to put across - (the same goes for many so-called science shows).
They sensibly turned it down.
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I had a Honda genny coverted to Propane a few years ago. It appeared to just have a rubber tube connected to the carburettor, with a special regulator (although I don't know what was special about it, i.e. pressure). It still worked fine on petrol, or you turned the petrol tap off and gas on and it worked on that. didn't really notice any difference, though in theory the power will be lower on propane.
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My toothbrush charger was cooked by my Sterling alternator.
My DVD player works fine though!
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Every year I have to go through the same old rigmarole:
My 12 months is up and they offer me a much poorer continuation to the contract. I say that is not good enough, they say it is the best they can offer. I then have to ring again and say I want to cancel. Then they make me a new offer which is much better, including a new phone. But I already have a perfectly good phone, all I really want is a new battery. So why can't they just say - OK, pay £5 a month instead of £15 and we will send you a new battery.
And they are the ones who try to tell you "Well of course the real cost of the phone is £400 but it is subsidised by the rental".
Why do these people treat me like an idiot (probably because I have to finish up with a new phone each year).
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Re the Ecofan:
Having had reports of hoew incredible these were at sending heat all the way down the boat I bought one to put on my Squirrel at the front of the boat.
I am not yet convinced: the draft it produces is quite gentle and can't be felt by hand a couple of feet away. So the Jury is still out on that.
Parrots are probably far more efficient.
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I found what I think is the ideal solution ot occasional beds on Narrowboats. I bought them in Ikea, but I think Argos do them now.
They are "guest beds", and cosist of a metal fram with a springy wire base with a 2 inch foam matress. Despite their appearance, they are remarkably comfortable to sleep on, probably as they act a bit like a hammock. What is brilliant about them is that they fold up to 4 inches thick, including the matress. They can therefore be hung up under the gunwale and thereby take up effectively no space. Just tell your guests to bring a sleeping bag.
Not a sofa bed I know, but an excellent way of putting up occasional overnighters.
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Fitting a rad CAN increase the heat output from the stove. The stove will radiate only so much - a direct result of surface area and temperature. The rest of the heat goes up the chimney. A boiler can take some of the heat away.
To prevent boiling, I once had a domestic system with a large wood-fueled multi-stove, in series with an oil boiler. (The oil boiler was just used to top up in cold weather - or when the stove went out.). Because the heat output of the stove was very high, it could easily boil if the rads were not on, even though there was a 28mm gravity syphon to a hot tank above. I solved this by putting a tank stat on the pipe immediately behind the boiler. If the water got to about 90deg it switched on the pump to dump the heat into the rads.
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I too would be wary of installing one of these enclosed pumps under the floor.
I use a Whale Gulper pump to empty my bath/shower. Compared to my experiences of other pumps it is far superior. Safe if run dry, pumps almost anything within reason including hair and bits of sponge (and the odd spider) without complaining and quick.
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Saw a boat with a satellite dish on it: the owner pushes a button and the lid folds back from this box on the roof, the dish swings up and then automatically searches for the signal. Can apparently hold it while on the move also.
Now that really is getting a bit carried away!!
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I believe that low voltage AC (i.e. 240V) and very low voltage DC should be separated in separate conduits, and I think there is a minimum separation distance between conductors so your switch would be a no-no.
But then you knew that really didn't you?
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John: The isolator does have a removable red key, but was fairly substantial, with 10mm termimnal posts. I'm keeping it as a spare - just in case (my life is full of stuff that only half works, but "may come in useful sometime" much ro my wife's despair - however I have just fixed up my old boat radio in my garage, using an old transformer I found in the back of my garage and the diodes out of a 20 year old Scaletrix power supply that didn't work).
I understand that electronic equipment such as a radio is permitted to have a permanent supply provided it is appropriately fused "as near to the supply take-off as possible".
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I recently bought a new radio for the boat, which needed a continuous feed to maintain the memory (30 ma – so only 5 amphrs per week). Now my battery isolation was on the negative, so this meant I would have to run a separate negative wire back to the battery or change the isolator. The former would mean that when the power was off, the radio wouldn’t necessarily be off so ran the risk of sooner or later being left on. This situation draws considerably more than the maintenance current of 30ma, so I wasn’t so keen to do that.
I decided it wouldn’t be too big a job to swap over the isolator to the positive (which is the recommended method anyway). Aquafax do a double pole isolator, which I used on the two positive battery cables, and a “powerpost” (basically a bolt set in an insulating base) which I used to replace the original isolator to join the negative cables. I also replaced some of the thick battery cables
Why am I telling you this?
After completing the job and starting up the engine, my charging rate had increased by over 25%. I have been concerned for a long time as to why my relatively new 110Ahr Elecsols seemed to have so little capacity, even after a days charging. Also very noticeable was the speed the engine turned over after only an hour’s cruising the night before.
My conclusion is that the old isolator switch had a slight resistance – probably only an ohm or two- which affected the regulator enough to restrict the charge. As the resistance in the charging circuit is very low, a significant voltage drop could occur across a few ohms resistance in the switch. (This is of course why split diode charging systems often significantly reduce the charging capacity due to a 0.6 V drop).
What is odd is that I have an external (Stirling) regulator with a battery-sensing wire. Theory says that this should increase the alternator voltage to compensate. Maybe it is because the resistance was on the negative side.
Anyway, the moral of the story is: If you think your batteries don’t have the capacity you think they should, check out the components in the charging system: switches, relays and cables, for even a slight resistance that shouldn’t be there.
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some modern taps are designed for "high pressure" systems, i.e. at mains pressure either directly or through a combi boiler.
THe reason is usually they have small-bore tails which can restrict the flow on a system with low pressure, e.g. upstairs taps fed from a water tank only a few feet above.
You shouldn't have a problem with a typical NB water pump, my galley tap is of this type and works with no problem.
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Both my wife and I step across the closed to open gate on narrow locks without giving it a thought. I recently saw some americans through a lock and told them to hop on and I would finish off (i.e. close the gates). When he thought I was being over-generous with my assistance I said I could easily close both gates without walking round. His response was "This I must see"!
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you can get a user manual and service manual from www.alde.co.uk, downloadable (quite large) in pdf format.
Maybe your external switch runs a different pump or something which would heat the cylinder?
There is a version of the alde that has a small water tank built in, but that doesn't sound like it. Otherwise your boiler soulds like the normal one, later versions being balanced flue with the "pagoda" type vent. (model 2928)
Incidently, if you can live with undoing one gas compression fitting woithout thinking it will result in you blowing up half the canal due to your incompetence - the service notes give a detailed description on how to remove the burner assembly. You can then send it to Alde who will do a complete service for about £48 + parts (if required), and you should get it back within a week.
Much, much cheaper than getting a boatyard to look at it, especially when they charge you £40/hr for their corgi fitter to fiddle with it.
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Sorry if this is obvious, but is there a two-way valve somewhere on the Alde heating circuit?
I only use my Alde for radiators at present, but am considering putting in a twin-coil calorifier as we do quite a few short overnight trips (just for a change of scene) which does not produce much hot waater from the engine.
If I do this, I will put in a diverter so I can select heating, hot water or both.
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I have known one or two people with split engines that told me "we are unlikely to get frosts so deep".
Make sure your engine antifreeze is up to strength (how many times did you top it up with plain water during the year?
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Now that is worth a LOL !
How much!
in Boat Equipment
Posted · Edited by dor
I imagine they are applying the same costing formula that chandleries use:
It's for a boat, so think how much is at the top end of reasonable then double it.
(or in this case - it looks more like quadruple it).