Eeyore

The 70 amp is a direct replacement, however you may find (as I did) that the belt squeaks a lot unless as tight as a bow string. The 4PK section belt used on canal star engines just doesn't have enough wrap if yo use the original alternator pulley with the 70 amp alternator. You could of course use a larger alternator pulley to stop the squeak, but this reduces the alternator speed and output. You can probably guess that I'm suggesting that you stick with the cheap and plentiful 55 amp unit.

Agree that the OP would have been better off with a larger charger to start with; and that a 10amp second charger would provide some redundancy if the 20 amp failed. However something like http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_895219_langId_-1_categoryId_255205#tab3 would be sufficient, and cheaper, allowing the OP plenty of time to save for (and reflect upon) any required upgrade. Steve (Eeyore)

Yes please :-)

Llangollen of course has a direct bus service to the seaside at Barmouth, the X94 Wrexham to Barmouth service. Not a journey for the faint hearted (or weak of bladder) at just under 2 hours; it does however stop at Bala where you could go for a paddle in the lake (and a piddle at the conveniences). Of interest to some as it is one of the few remaining "rail replacement bus services" introduced in the mid 1960s when the railway was closed.

Yes that's it. On the Shire 50 the cooling system is arranged to use heat from the exhaust to shorten warm up time.

Hello Martyn Your engine with a number starting with 22 will have been produced sometime between 1998 and 2003 (can be narrowed down a bit if you have the next two numbers) all of which use the Yanmar 4TNE88-BME engine. The OPs engine will have a number in the format introduced in 2004. The first two digits being the build code (generally this can be associated with year in which the model was introduced, but it wasn't considered as a year code when I visited the factory). The second pair of digits are the model (usually the nominal horsepower). There is then a group of digits to indicate optional extra fitted to the engine; which in the OPs case will probably be E or EE to indicate the model of TravelPower alternator fitted. The last five digits being the serial number. At a guess the OPs number will read something like 10 45 EE xxxxx, and use the later Yanmar 4TNV88-DSA engine. The Shire 50 is the largest to use this base engine (easy to spot as it usually has the water cooled exhaust manifold). Eeyore (Steve)

Hello Bazza The Beta 35 and 38 models use a Kubota 05 series engine, the serial number can be found along the top edge of the block above the starter motor and will start with either V1305 or V1505. The beta 43 and 50 models use a Kubota 03 series engine, the serial number can be found along the lower edge of the injection pump mounting face and will start with V1903, V2003, V2203 and possibly V2303. The base engine/Beta model relationship changed a few years back, something to do with emissions; which explains differing sizes of base engine using the same model name. Hope this helps. Eeyore (Steve) If I needed to fetch my coat it would be an anorak.

coopers, fram, purolator, crossland and fiaam are all brand names used by the Sogefi group, who seem to have merged the coopers and fiaam brands creating even more part numbers to contend with. The filter you want is still made by them as a CoopersFiaam FL9168; your usual supplier should still be able to get hold of it.

The resistive load trick certainly works with some frequency meters, mine usually reads the 150 hz harmonic until the conventional filiament lamp load is added. Unfortunately I didn't have a scope to observe the waveform.

Do tell!

Hi DJW Is the gearbox securely attached to the engine? Zooming in on your photo gives the impression of a slight gap between the gearbox and the adaptor. Could be a slight leak on the input seal combined with a little aluminium dust; both caused by the box moving about? Steve (Eeyore)

PM sent

Not strictly a boating question as the ones I'm looking at are on preserved trains, but maybe someone on here knows about or has one of them? The 60 amp and 80 amp versions of the AC203 have their output current controlled by the voltage drop across a shunt (mounted in the 460 control board) being applied to the M1 and M2 terminals of the 440 type regulator. I know that the control board and its associated shunt are specific to the alternator type; but does anyone have the technical specifications for the two different 460 control boards please? The 60 amp one I'm looking at is working at the moment but has some loose terminals in the "Bakelite" of the control board, and I don't want to proceed without a spare, or the ability to fit a substitute part. Thanks Steve (Eeyore)

Virgin are on the Orange network according to their small print.

Sorry, got called away after my last post. The antenna formed by a track on the printed circuit board seems to be close to 160mm which is full wave for 1800Mhz (vodafone & O2) and half wave for 900 Mhz (orange & Tmobile) Think thats the right way around. There could be some signal gain available by doubling the length, but I'm not now certain about mixing antenna types; so best to go with extending from the inner core of the coax. The extra length just needs to be attached to the inside of the front cover which may improve signal without the need for an external antenna.

Hello Biggles There seems to be a hole through the internal antenna between "GSM" and "ALM" at the bottom of your photo. Might be worth trying to attach something using a small nut and bolt, you will have to remove any varnish from the copper track to ensure a good connection. Steve (Eeyore)

Hello Junior Firstly just buy a 70 amp A127 type alternator with a bi directional fan, you can't be wrong if you do that; in fact buy 2 as they are as cheap as chips and by far the most common type in use. Its always a good idea to cruise with a spare. A little something just for info: The alternator currently fitted is designed to rotate in a clockwise direction when viewed as per your latest photos. I don't think its an LRA127 (Lucas aftermarket exchange part number - not the same as an A127 Type) as that is a 70 amp Jaguar part! The issue is that it may well be being driven in an anti clockwise direction as this is quite common on "vintage" engines installed in the same configuration as yours; also a close look at the black plastic back cover in your original photos suggests some distortion, probably caused by excess heat. The 70 amp A127 will definitely overheat (and melt the soldered connections) if driven anti clockwise with a clockwise fan fitted if connected to a substantial battery bank. I know this because I changed a friends 55 amp for a 70 amp, just swapped the fan and pulley to the new alternator and refitted, didn't even occur to me at the time to check rotation as the change was an upgrade and not a repair. Little globules of solder fell out as I removed it, I covered the cost of the repair, and don't want anyone else to learn that way. Still interesting that the 55 amp alternator survived; must have been running very hot though. Steve (Eeyore)

Sorry Junior, didn't mean to confuse you. Take a piece of chalk with you on survey day. Stand over the engine as in your second picture and note which way the flywheel moves as you operate the starter. Put a chalk arrow on the flywheel to indicate the direction of rotation and take another picture to post on here. Someone,if not myself, will let you now which rotation you have. Just for interest at this point here is a picture of a typical bi directional (radial/straight bladed) fan. Notice how the blades come out from the centre, unlike the one in your picture. They are not quite as good as ones designed for one direction of rotation, but are equally effective in either direction. Steve (Eeyore)

As everyone else says the A127 70 amp is the way to go. Just remember to check the direction of rotation when viewed from the pully end of the alternator. Clockwise means that you can use an inclined blade fan similar to that currently fitted, anti clockwise will need the straight (radial) bladed fan as inclined blade anti clockwise fans can be difficult to find for A127 type alternators. The existing setup could well be happy regardless of direction of rotation, but the higher output A127 will need the correct fan to provide adequate cooling. Nice looking engine - enjoy :-) Steve (Eeyore)

Try just pulling the fridge forward by an inch or two, the improved air circulation around the hot bits (technical term) at the back often reduces running times. Steve (Eeyore)

Picked up an AirHead toilet and a spare unrine tank from them last weekend; and yes they love to talk toilet! They have an Airhead and a Separett instaled on their hire boats, so best to visit when the boats are available to see how they standup to everyday use. Fits well in the space the PortaPotti 165 occupied. Steve (Eeyore)

No luck with a part number from the reconditioners; so lets see what we can find using this photo of the business end of Bobs starter. There seems to be a distinctive cut out to one side of the upper mounting bolt hole; any vetus owners know if that is required to clear something on the engine? http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu293/eeyore_boater/20130626_1138102.jpg (Had to change to a link, as site objected to me posting the image direct from either Dropbox or Photobucket. Says that the extention is not allowed on this forum?) This according to vetus is the later starter. It has a vetus part number of STM9973 (from vetus website), and a mitsubishi part number of 31B66-00101 (from mitsubishi parts catalogue Nov '07) The engine backplate and flywheel remained the same after the starter change, so the earlier starter should fit. It has a vetus part number of STM7964 (from vetus website), and a mitsubishi part number of 31A66-00101 or 31A66-00102 (from mitsubishi parts catalogue Nov '07) The earlier part numbers produce the largest number of search results, but as prevoiusly posted the cross references are very diverse/unreliable. There is however a recurring reference sugesting that the early starter is likely to be the same as fitted to the previous mitsubishi K4 diesels. Some evidence to support this comes from the fact that the clearance between the starter and engine block varies, the later one has room for fingers, whilst the other does not. Hope this is of use. Steve (Eeyore)