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FYI it looks like the Middlewich tip is due to close this summer https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_information/media_hub/media_releases/update-on-household-waste-recycling-centres.aspx BTW a very good tip is in Selby. Just walked across the road with used oil, got told where the tank is and disposed of the oil, no drama needing 2 forms of ID and a car nonsense 😃

Boroughbridge was working last summer and I remember it was paper swipe card, naburn I’m not sure about as I use cassettes and I only know about boroughbridge because another boat I was travelling with was on pump out and it worked for them (once the swipe cards worked) might be worth ringing crt and asking if they’re working and if they’ve been dragged into the 21st century method of payment. Failing that I have a feeling York marina has a pump out facility but double check.

I use my friends address. Management at my winter job are aware I’m of NFA and are not phased by it at all, I think they just want someone to turn up on time and gets on with working with minimal drama.

The tank pre hatch was in a diabolical state, all sorts of crud at the bottom, which was probably the downfall of the last eber when we was on the bridgewater, all it is now post hatch is this milky diesel. The engine is a barrus shire so the system goes tank->lift pump->primary->secondary->engine->tank so most of the system is under positive pressure and is self bleeding. It is also all under the pick up pipe in the tank so there’s an element of syphoning too. The past couple of starvation issues is the rubbish electric lift pump which has been documented on this forum in the past from other barrus shire owners. Hopefully the faucet pump with an inline 74 micron filter between the pump and tank will sort out this issue. Most of the breakdowns I had last summer was caused by a plastic thing inside the tank belonging to an end of a mop which was only discovered when I installed an inspection hatch in September (pictured) a worrying thought as I was the Ribble link and tidal Ouse last year with that inside the tank

Thanks Tony I’m at the point of suck it up, stop worrying and enjoy boating, I tend to overthink things sometimes. HVO will hopefully be a commonplace soon which I believe is a far superior fuel to the current stuff we get.

I might do, the high energy content of diesel will render expensive food obsolete so I can save some cash 😃 as long as you put a mask on your boat it should be fine

I can confirm that the cheapo pumps are complete rubbish. Had a fuel starved engine in October after about 200 hours ish since that post but got it going again and again a few days ago with 60 hours added. The latest breakdown I swapped with the spare (many thanks to Tracy D’arth for suggesting to get a spare, had guests on the boat who never been on a narrowboat before so it was only an hours delay rather than a cancelled cruise). Now I’ve put a facet posi-flo on and hopefully that will last for years. kicking myself for buying cheap, hey ho lesson learned 😃

Hello all a little update. I’ve moved since that post and in my new spots there’s no oil slick so I can thankfully rule out stock tube leak 😃 I’ve opened the inspection hatch and took a sample of diesel on the top and it’s just as milky so it’s not separating out. I’ve also pumped from the corner and got a minimal amount of water (literally 30-50ml). the pick up pipe for some reason only known to STS boats picks up the fuel from the bottom so any little water will end up in the trap. I plan going forward to regularly drain the water trap. I’ve changed the filters, and cut the old ones open on the advice of Tony. pic 1 is the primary which looks like it does have strands of bug however these filters have been in use before I cut the hatch and cleaned the bottom of the tank. Pic 2 is the secondary which is clean. pic 3 is interesting, this shows white flakes from the water trap. (the brown bits are gritty so not bug) so I’ve took a sample with the white flakes and after some heating they disappear and the diesel goes clear. I can only conclude that the white flakes is waxing left over from the winter and also the milky appearance may be waxing that simply hasn’t dissolved back into the diesel? the diesel heater still works and the engine runs fine (apart from a fuel starvation issue a few days ago but I had a rubbish £3 Alibaba special lift pump fitted, now replaced with a facet posi-flo). However as I do tidal at least twice a year I am a little paranoid about fuel quality and engine maintenance in general. comments are appreciated many thanks

Yes that makes sense Tracy thanks Thanks for your reply. I last put in marine 16 in September and had clear diesel in December, also I believe marine 16 is a de-emulsifier which causes the emulsified water to drop into free water. that is a frightening thought! I’ve not noticed a film of oil around my boat but I will keep an eye out for it again. The water trap is doing its job so I’m not too concerned with water making it way into the engine. The engine doesn’t smoke at all (apart from a little blue smoke when warming up). I might be wrong but the fact it’s all pretty much emulsified water and the only free water is in the water trap would suggest to me it is the hydroscopic element of the diesel rather than leaking fuel caps, inspection hatch or (god forbid) a hole in the rudder tube as these sorts of water ingress will surely just collect as free water on the bottom of the tank? also I’ve just heated up a sample and after producing a little steam the diesel turned clear. Is there an element of waxing occurring too while the canal water is still cold and the diesel looks worse than it actually is?

It is behind a wooden box (pic 1). Pic 2 is with the box removed

Thanks for your reply Tony. the filler cap is one of them lockable ones where the lid overlaps onto the tank as opposed to one of them male caps that does leak water with a perished o ring. The inspection hatch has a gasket and the hole is much smaller than the lid (see pic for reference) regards to diesel bug I put so much shock treatment in last summer that I would have though the diesel is sterile. I put that diesel into Jerry cans to install the hatch so I would have thought there’s no bug but I cannot prove it. The fuel tank vent is situated inside my stern cratch cover and it’s never taken down over winter. On some mornings there’s so much condensation that the water is dripping off the ceiling on the cratch cover. Maybe when the tank breathes it takes in some of this moisture?

Hello all, I would like some opinions and experiences of the longevity of diesel. It’s a little long winded but please bare with me. Last summer I was having issues with the engine getting fuel starved. Had the diesel polished, replaced the lift pump, added loads of marine 16, etc. In September I finally snapped after the 12th breakdown and installed a fuel inspection hatch where I found a plastic end from a mop handle. Great I thought, that would block the intake pipe. I also took the opportunity to clean the bottom of the tank and dispose of the crappy diesel before filling up for the winter. I filled up Jerry cans and topped off the tank late September. I added some marine 16 preventative additive (the tea coloured liquid, not the shock treatment). In mid October I topped off the tank using the Jerry cans. In Mid December I took a sample of diesel from the water trap of the primary filter - picture 1 and 2 shows its nice and clean diesel. At this point the tank is about 3/4 full. Today with the tank a little less than half full I’m horrified to see loads of water in the water trap and emulsified cloudy diesel coming out (picture 3 and 4). I know about keeping tanks full or nearly full but unfortunately where I winter there is no fuel boats or canal side red diesel to keep the tank topped up (although there is a petrol station selling derv). I’m just after opinions and experience from others in this subject - does your diesel go cloudy like this over the winter when the tank isn’t filled? Is diesel now really that hydroscopic that it cannot last 6 months over winter in a tank? I’m I overthinking the state of the diesel? Is it a case of just putting in some fresh diesel, regularly draining the water trap and it will get better again over the summer? I can only think it’s tank condensation, if it was a hatch and/or filler cap leak then there would be signs of water in December. Many thanks!

I used jotamastic 90 a couple of years ago, cannot comment on the longevity yet but theres no sign of rust on the waterline or coming off in clumps so it looks good so far. prep was with the powerful jet wash at Northwich, I used winter grade as I concluded reading the data sheet 1 week in dry dock wasn’t long enough for summer grade to cure, however that means it starts to harden after about 45 mins to an hour after mixing so I was mixing in small quantities rather than just lobbing the whole tub of hardener into the paint. plan to dry dock summer next year (anderton boat lift permitting) to see how it’s gone, hopefully not going to come off in massive clumps when it gets washed. also after a while the paint starts to go grey so if you want a jet black hull then I recommend a show coat.

I suspect these pics might not be any help as mine has also worn out but in the first picture the knob is on the lowest setting (I remember numbered 1/2) so I suspect the little white mark is 1 and you can see 4, 5, 6 and so on

Mooring is free like on a crt canal but crt registered boats only have a week (or 10 days by ticking the 3 day extension box when booking Bridgewater passage) for free as it’s a privately owned canal owned by Peel Holdings example pictured below

I’ve stayed near where beerbeerbeerbeerbeer points out for a night and found it okay, a few boats moored on the towpath as well which is always a good sign. Regards to castlefield I believe you can stay on the Bridgewater for 10 days by ticking the “extend by 3 days to return to your home navigation” box but there’s no return for 28 days. Bridgewater licence is £40 a week once the free trial ends last time I looked.

summer it’s on for about an hour for hot water for shower when I’ve not moved (I.e ran the engine) for a couple of days. This also heats the towel radiator in the bathroom as the other radiators are switched off. March/April and September/October usually gets ran for a couple of hours in morning and evening with radiators on as it’s too warm to fire up the stove. winter it’s on for about an hour and a half with radiators on whenever I need a shower as the stove is running. On one of my winter spots there’s a service block with a shower so as I tend to use that there’s times the eber doesn’t get switched on at all for over 2 weeks. I personally wouldn’t like to use the eber as my primary source of heating. excellent though as a back up to the stove, heating up water in the calorifer and taking the chill off a spring/autumn morning and evening.

There you go, I use nature’s fridge in the winter. If the fridge freezer was on 24/7 then I’d have to use the generator for about an hour every day just to replenish what it uses. Im also currently working in the mornings and out on walks in the afternoon so I think my actual consumption is about 250w/h a day for a bit of tv in the evening, lights and water pump and with the panel south facing on sunny days I recon I get about 500w/h so over run of sunny days the surplus does add up.

This is what happened to me, a month with the new 460ah battery the soc indicator was at about 40%. After using kettle and microwave for porridge (nowhere near used 180ah) it was at 0% and so I suspected it does need cycling to zero and 100% to ‘teach’ the bms. I’ve only gone to fully charged (14.4v) /discharged(around 11.5v) a couple of times now and while it’s gone better it still does drift (no pun intended) and I suspect as the bms cannot detect any load/charge currents below 0.5 amps then the soc indicator does seem to over read the actual soc as low loads such as power saver mode on the inverter, internet router, even the lights on the dc distribution board isn’t detected by the bms and so doesn’t count the tiny drain on the battery, which causes the soc indicator to drift over time. The bms resets to 100% when the voltage reaches 14.2v and 0% at 11-odd volts. I see the indicator as a bit of a rough guide and tend to go off cell voltages as these are reported to 3 d.p in the app. Apart from the soc indicator not being too accurate over time I’m impressed with the battery. Generator was last used 2 weeks ago (and that was only to fully charge the battery to reset the soc indicator while I was not near anybody) and probably won’t get used for the rest of the year and as the recent sunny weather has put in more in than what I’ve been taking out decided to try to run the washing machine (2kw) at 40 deg c to take some charge out as the battery has been sat at a high soc for a couple of weeks now. As I use the hot water from the calorifer for the washing machine that has saved a couple of hours engine running on moving day 😃

Hello, I’ve been burning excel with a stovax 3, make sure both air flow controls is to the LEFT as that’s open (circled red). I also leave the door ajar for a good 30+ minutes when starting to get it going. When there’s flames coming off the briquettes then it’s well established then I leave the top vent fully open to the left and control the burn rate with the bottom vent. After keeping it in overnight to get it going again I put the door ajar with vents fully open and griddle the ash away and wait until whatever is left is glowing red then I add more in, leaving vents and door ajar for at least 30 minutes to get it going. I find if I just add a load of briquettes when they’re glowing and it doesn’t get the air then it just goes out. you’ll get into your own system and routine with what’s best for you. also does yours have a griddle knob (circled blue)? If it doesn’t then it’s not the multi fuel version.

Hello all, problem is now solved by putting the combi in inverter mode so it is a relay inside the combi that doesn’t relay when in charge only mode. many thanks to all who replied especially nicknorman thinking it could be the relay in the combi and jonathanA for clarifying it. hopefully this will help others with a similar problem. I’ll be honest and say the generator itself isn’t earthed as I only use it for the combi, as I have lithium the generator is running at max so it cannot power anything else. I did consider a N-E bond but I’m not sure if the generator will be happy with that. As the generator has a all plastic casing and the combi is earthed anyway I figured if the casing of the combi was live it would trip the rcd, plus the combi is hidden away anyway. *awaits posts of ‘you fool earth the genny!’* thanks once again

no I only bypassed the gi when trying it today, besides I believe it is odd to have both gi and it. when I asked my surveyor about it he recons it’s needed to have both? belts and braces I guess especially as I can count the number of nights I’ve been on proper grid shoreline with 1 hand. There has been muppets on the boat in the past as after a summer of occasional engine stalling from fuel starvation and much frustration trying to find the cause I ended up cutting a hole in the fuel tank and took out a large plastic thing that goes on the end of mop handles 🙄

Thanks I’ll deffo try it when it’s on inverter mode tomorrow and have a play about with the control cable. unfortunately I’m not near any marinas that can accommodate my boat and I’m literally about to start winter work but I do have a friend with a generator so when he makes his way up if I don’t have success then I’ll try it with his genny. many thanks

Thanks I think it’s just clicked after reading the combi manual, it might be the combi being funny and not passing through the shoreline mains as nicknorman said as well as not going into charge mode. The combi is approaching 20 years old so I have a feeling it’s on borrowed time ☹️ I’ll try again tomorrow. thanks to everyone taking the time to reply

The bulb is not blown as it works when the inverter is switched on. There’s 3 settings for the combi, power saver off , power saver on and charge only. My understanding is there’s no setting on the combi to turn the charger off when it detects incoming mains from the shoreline. If the inverter is on and I plug in shoreline then the combi automatically goes into charging mode. Also if it’s on charge only then again it automatically kicks in charge mode. normally when the shoreline is working the combi is in charge mode and there’s mains to all the sockets. When there’s no shoreline and it’s in charge only then the combi is off, when it’s in power saver off or on then there’s mains to the sockets from the inverter. what I currently have is the inverter works fine but when I try to feed the shoreline there’s no mains to the sockets and the combi doesn’t charge the batteries, this is in charge only mode. I’ve not tried putting the combi on power saver off/on (inverter) mode while plugging in the shoreline but I imagine I’ll get mains to the plugs but from the inverter, rather than the shoreline. if it was an issue with the combi then I imagine there would be power to the sockets when shoreline is plugged in but there isn’t. I don’t think there’s an external relay the combi knows when the shoreline is on and off and acts accordingly I hope that makes sense 😃