Denis R

And still looks a million times better than many of the installations I've seen, including some 'professional' ones.... And it's nothing a bit of trunking wouldn't 'prettify'.

I spent 6 months with a shore hook-up before moving to an on-line mooring with no mains and the difference is staggering. As other posters have mentioned you do need to be very aware of what's taking your power. I'm also staggered by the rate of deterioration of the batteries with the constant discharge/charge cycling. I recommend Gibbo's SmartGauge as it will give you a very good indication of how quickly you're using the juice and what the state of charge is. You have to be prepared for it to tell you some nasty truths mind you! I've failed miserably to manage an effective discharge/charge regime so far as I'm often not home in time to avoid the 8pm curfew and it's showing. Gibbo will probably tell you that batteries should be considered consumable and from my experience, he's right.

Absolutely, and if BW have allegedly gone on price alone, in about 12 months time when it is alleged that the allegedly hapless, tender 'winner' discovered that they've drunk from an allegedly poisoned chalice, somebody will pop along to quote the fabled Red Adair attribution at BW.... How does it go? 'If you think it's expensive to hire a professional, just wait 'til you hire an amateur' or something like that. Italics to avoid an 'Allan Effect'

Hi Kristian! You running it on some old clag mate? Mike'll be through on Sunday and if you've not got any, maybe a sack of Taybrite from him'll do the trick? Else ask him what he uses - I've an idea that it's anthracite. We've got a Premier and Taybrite really does the job - in the early days I had Matt knocking them down into half-size nuggets but now we don't bother. However, I can't keep it in all night and early morning usually needs some kindling on the embers to get it moving again. Another thought, it seems to perform much better with a properly lined chimney. An unlined one or the current one I've got, where the liner is too small to be a snug fit in the collar, just don't seem to draw the fire the same way. It may be co-incidental, but sometimes we get blow back into the firebox, which we never had with the original chimney. Check over the installation, but if it's the original Hudson, I can't imagine that there would be a problem with that - I really don't think you need to change the stove. Denis

Huh? Looks to me like it's been very sympathetically and fastidiously re-built. I love it. Now, if I could just find that missing stash up in the attic....

Well I guess it depends how long it was going on for and how long since the engine 'had its throat cleared' - if only a few seconds or you didn't leave the engine running at those RPM for any appreciable time to see if it cleaned itself up, it might have been just clearing out the clag?

And of course, where are the police whilst all this is going on? ....sitting on the A43 in their number plate recognition van.

Very eloquently put S'nib. Some of our local wasters exercised their power around Blisworth at the weekend by smashing the windows of two boaters' cars and ransacking the insides. They then reinforced their power by torching another boater's almost new camper van....

Yes, it's considerably more compact than the 'standard' 5Kg machines, which in my mind makes it a more attractive proposition on a narrowboat and the 3,5Kg capacity isn't bad. There are other 3,5Kg capacity machines on the market. My Candy Aqua 1000T will work off a poor mains input on the quick wash cycle but the more elaborate spin cycles don't like it. The quick wash does 80% of my needs anyway, so if I need the more intensive wash cycles I use the engine not the genny to keep the batteries alive. A 3,5Kg capacity machine is going to be a mite more pricey than a 'dime a dozen' 5Kg machine however....

Yes, and because it has all the functionality of a 5Kg machine but in a smaller size - a 3,5Kg wash load - which seems to be able to do all my washing OK.

I've got a mixture of LED, bayonet and halogen lighting and the LED lights are really no more than 'mood lighting' You might find that if you make a direct replacement, one for one, you'll have a very 'moody' boat.

Sounds like you might have a feint weep across the valve seats, bleeding water from the pressurised side back to the inlet side. Maybe it's time for a service kit? Parts explosion here: Flojet 4405 Data Sheet

My latest statement from RoyScot shows my interest rate has dropped from 10% to a still irritating 9% this month - which remains higher than when I took it out with the base rate at 5.5% or so..... Oh well, c'est la vie.