springy

Strapping the gate post - sometimes more reliable than reversing a Bolinder springy

Hi yes a bigger alternator looks like a sensible move for your battery bank, and I dont see that sourcing a suitable match for the mounting lugs sould be too much of a problem - there are a relatatively small number of options, as long as you get a match not a mirror ! Don't be tempted to go too far up in amperage - the standard 9.5/10mm wide v belt will struggle to cope with the loading, unless that is you have dual belts, polyvee or increased pulley wrap. My impression is that 80-100 A is about as much as a standard belt setup (3 pulleys - crank/water pump/alternator with approx 100-110 degrees of wrap on the alternator pulley) can manage - you just end up eating belts or bearings depending on whether you run tight or loose. Plus of course more of your engines BHP is soaked up by the alternator leaving less available at the prop. Also a higher rated alternator may have a bigger "frame" - the brackets line up, the pulley is the same size, but because the axis of rotation is slightly further out from the mounting points a significantly longer belt is required - not necessarily a problem - belts are supplied in a range of standard sizes. (I did a similar upgrade about 18 months ago - needed 75mm longer belt - not a problem, however clearance between alternator and engine side cover panel reduced from 25mm to 10mm - Phew !) springy

Hi Yes it looks like a fairly standard "bosch" alternator certainly standard "european" termination, however the layout of the mounting lugs is important and any replacement should be an "exact" match - it is possible to get two alternators which are identical at a glance but in fact the opposite "hand". If fitting a physically different alternator you should also check that the pulleys line up - all of which point to the fact that fitting an identical replacement will make life easier. Whether you go for an off-the-shelf remanufactured unit, or find a local specialist is up to you. However ... the second link is to a 55A alternator - what size is your battery bank, it may be an opportunity to go to a higher output alternator, depending on other factors - what engine is it? springy

Stay Alert ! Northgate Locks Chester, Middle chamber, two full length boats going down. Boater following draws top paddles to refill top chamber; as the level comes up the leak around the quoin post of the offside intermediate gate turns into a deluge onto stour's cabin top https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYHuZI_wUE stour is being driven from the engine room springy

much more friendly than the motorists between 7:30 - 9:00 am ! springy

As Grace & Favour suggests Its the size of the skin tank thats the crucial bit- I did mine a few months back and I seem to remember the final total being somwhere just over 50L (water/antifreeze mix) but this may vary considerably depending on the design of your skin tank(s) and interconnecting pipes, buy plenty, mixing it to the required proportion - (I would tend to go higher than the 30% minimum but it gets costly) and just keep going till its full, you may need to bleed any high points - I have one bleed in the top of the skin tank, and another on the high point of the calorifier circuit springy

Reading the blurb on one of the offerings suggests its not two heating elements but " *DUAL CORE TECHNOLOGY USES A COMBINATION OF 2 DIFFERENT METALS IN THE HEATING ELEMENT WHICH ENSURES THAT THE TIP WILL HEAT UP FAST AND HOLD THE HEAT FOR LONGER. " http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUAL-CORE-DIESEL-HEATER-GLOW-PLUGS-FULL-SET-OF-4-BMC-1-5-NARROW-BOAT-GP302-/151079218065?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item232d05eb91 springy

Simple answer - No ! Others with more knowledge will no doubt be along shortly, but at the very least the tank you linked to is designed for automotive use and needs to be filled with Liquid propane through an appropriate pumped filling hose, the tank also supplies Liquid propane to an evaporator. Standard propane bottles supply propane Gas even though they are filled with liquid. springy

The semi-diesels were generally purpose built marine units - often the smallest ones in a particular companies range, when weight is not a prime consideration but reliabilty and simplicity are, you can rely on substantial engineering. Its my impression that Petrol/Paraffin engines (i.e. spark ignition) from various manufacturers were tried but didn't really gain wide acceptance - suprising given that it was a popular choice for tractor propulsion. Maybe reliability of the ignition system was part of the issue, although I would also expect them to need a reduction gearbox to provide sensible shaft speed/torque profile, whilst the semi-diesels may have had reversing gear the shaft would have run at engine speed. springy

Wonderful map tony, - its not just an O.S. map its also an instant illustration of why its all here ! springy

Perkins 6354 ? springy

I'll confirm that the rails and sleepers of the line were gone by the early 70s, some time well before the opencast, however I've a feeling that the rails remained in at the road crossing for some time after. The track heading under the (still in use) railway for the motocross track was again slightly nearer to bloxwich, but IIRC was "wood farm land", wood farm itself being on the essington side of the mineral railway line. springy

The rail crossing was removed first, then (not long after IIRC) the road crossing was put in very close to the line of the original rail crossing, but slightly towards bloxwich springy

I seem to remember that it actually takes a suprisingly long time for ffds to shut off the gas - do you have to hold the button/knob in to get the flame to light or can you just turn the knob on, release & still light the gas ? If you have to hold the knob pressed in to get it to light then your ffds are working. springy

AIUI historically mines pumped water into the canal to "get rid of it and allow the mine to be worked" the fact that this also helped to keep "their" transport links working was a bonus/benefit and hence some stretches were lost when a mine ceased pumping but with the mine closed there was no need for the link, however the pumps at bradley are now CRT owned/operated to keep the canals topped up. springy

This link http://www.barrus.co.uk/pdfs/Shire%20Owners%20Manual%20(11%20Build)%2040,%2040H,%2045,%2045H%20&%2050.pdf has two photos of the front layout of the engine on page 12, the temperature sender is the brass item with an electrical connection vertically between the water pump pulley and the red valve handle at the top of the engine. Second photo is clearer springy

Smear of grease on the "cam" face, Motor bearings - tiniest dribble of oil if plain bushes, grease if unsealed bearings springy

Who needs a proper govenor - they fire when they need to !

Hi Chris Unlikely to be ring gear - they do get a bit worn in the places the engine usually stops, but symptoms would include horrible noises as the starter fails to engage and the engine would not turn over at all, When you say you can crank it over by hand - presumably spanner on the front pulley - relatively easy with tighter bits or very difficult ? - If it turns over fairly easily then it could well be the starter. Has the engine actually been run since ? Have you checked oil & water - could possibly be head gasket allowing water into cylinder ? springy

Don't know whether any access to the core plug is possible - I once "temporarily" sealed a leaking core plug (rusted through in the centre of the plug) by filling it with silicone RTV - lasted ok for qute a few weeks before I changed it (it still wasnt leaking but having bought a new one I thought i'd better fit it). springy

Ignore the pos->neg connection and plan as if you had two 12v batteries not 4 @ 6v, once youve decided on the rest then your two pos-neg leads turn your "physical" 4 @ 6v into two @ 12v Do you need bank isolation - do you have separate banks for engine & domestic ? or is that just not relevant springy

Hi Patrick 1 Yes mushroom vents count - many boats (mine included) only have mushrooms for high level vent. 2 Most screw up/down - but to a minimum (not closed) and it is the minimum area which is used for the calculations. some (older ?) actually have a handle allowing adjustment from inside. 4 Sounds like a houdini hatch needed. springy

Just remember that you will be taking heat from the flue gasses therefore slowing them down and reducing the "draw" of the fire - not an issue where a longer flue can be used, but on some days you may struggle to get the fire going. springy

When you do re-pack (and whenever you adjust the collar) make sure that you dont overtighten - you should be able to turn the shaft fairly easily by hand. springy

Gas fridges are not usally thermostatically controlled - just have (usually) Low-medium-high or 1-5 so on 5 on a hot day the milk may be barely chilled, but after a cold night left on high the milk may well be frozen. springy