mudslide

Thanks for that , it was the 70's , a bit more than 20 years ago as stated .

yes don't get me wrong we didn't rob nests , just found the occasional egg by the side of the cut , once right by the gangplank , an early morning delivery , better than the milkman .

Has anyone heard of the elver eating competitions held in some villages on the Severn . I saw one 20 years ago , pints of elvers washed down with pints of cider . I wouldn't like to have mowed the village green the day after !

I believe the same problem occurs if you remove adult crayfish , it actually increases the population and so is illegal . But what about ducks , I have to restrain my Asian wife as she likes her poultry fresh . We have dined occasionally on ducks eggs though that we found in the hedgerows .

Everythings fine now thanks , I eventually received a reply so there was a delay . I e-mailed when I didn't receive a prompt reply because I'd been trying before over a 3 month period with no luck . Thanks for your help.

Thanks Paul , that worked . Wonder why the passwords never arrived ??

Thanks for the confirmation . I suspected the genset was at fault and have isolated any sensitive 240v appliances . I only now run these from the inverter or the landline . So the message is 'beware before spending a fortune on a large genset' , I don't need 6kva just to charge the batteries , I was hoping to have the genset kick in to relieve the inverter load or when the batteries reached a low voltage . All this is possible with the Victon but not practical if the genset fries the appliances. I have yet to try 'surge protection' as suggested , I will get round to it when I can afford to risk another induction hob . I like your modification to the Vetus , I'll study it a bit more and get back to you with some questions .

No I haven't tried surge protection , I'll give it a go. Thanks

Reading through this thread I noticed a few people have an inboard genny which they run while watching the TV and using other appliances. I have a 6.5 kw Vetus connected to a 3kw Victron combi so I thought I would be fine . However when running the genny I've fried the following 240 volt appliances :- TV,DVD,Microwave,Induction hob and chargers for phone and computer . This happens intermittantly so it's obviously spikes in the system that I can't predict . I now only run simple devices - kettle,toaster,radiant hob,immersion heater,iron,power tools etc . The Victron is supposed to smooth any spikes from the genny but I'm not happy , everything works fine off the inverter but not being able to run the genny without switching off certain appliances defeats the point in having it. Has anyone else experienced this ? Should I be looking for a fault in my Victron ? (trouble is it's an expensive business replacing appliances to test any changes).

Yes the Toby's behind the stove , it's in a corner but not the corner model . Was hoping to travel from Derby to Lymington for Christmas but I may be staying on the boat. Have a good Christmas. Roy and Ly on Bentley

Thanks again , I meant that it's too damn hot when it runs blue but if I turn it down it runs yellow !! Will try all your ideas - Ice and snow again tomorrow but I'm warm with my Bubble. Update :- the morning after . Well I did my best ! The low fire screw is impossible to turn . Access is not good so after burning my shoulder on the flue , dropping my glasses behind and melting my torch I've given up until I can turn it off and apply some wd40 - won't be for some time yet

Thanks for the info , and thanks JR also . Seems like I'm not getting the best out of my Bubble . I'll try a taller chimney . When run on 1 it also use about 3.5 ltrs in 24 hours but cokes up in a few days , also on that setting it doesn't heat up the rads enough in this weather. I'd thought about adjusting the low fire screw but chickened out when the manual implied it shouldn't need to be adjusted. Then thought about it and assumed that I would only be adjusting the low fire setting (1) to the burn that I now get on (3)-i.e would it make any difference to my fuel consumption . If I leave it as it is , at least I can turn it down if I'm prepared to clean it more often . Must admit with a nice blue flame it's running hotter than necessary . Why did you replace your Toby ?? - maybe I need to do that but I'm hoping not. Cheers

Good thread this as there's not much info on Bubbles here . Now to my question :- I've never been able to run on low setting without a yellow flame - the optimum setting seems to be 3 when I get a nice blue conical flame . On this setting I use about 7 liters in 24 hours and have to de-coke it every 12 days to keep it blue . How does this compare with other Bubble users ??

They stated that I'm not paying the tax so I don't qualify - fair enough as long as I know - they suggested that I could pay the tax but didn't insist.

I've just been refused my bus pass . A boat dweller not paying council tax is not entitled in Derby-shire .

Thanks Neil ! that'll give me something to think about over the dull winter - doesn't sound too easy and probably expensive to transport 60ft to Calais . Perhaps I'll try hiring a barge first (http://www.cruisefrance.com/barge-holidays-map.htm).

Try these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WARM-WHITE-G4-12x5050-SMD-LED-120-LUMENS-12V-AC-DC_W0QQitemZ300465813836QQihZ020QQcategoryZ109067QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem You can e-mail him from e-bay and deal privately . The LEDs are as good as those from 'other companies' . He is reliable . If you want the 'spike suppressor' offered by 'other companies' you can get the components from http://uk.farnell.com/ part nos 1175867,9884971 the 'other companies' do offer a nice bulb adapter so you can fit your LED into a standard socket .

Please please tell me more . I've just returned from two weeks of sun and wine in France to the wet and windy Midlands . My thoughts turned to a long cruise on the French canals but I can't find much information on how to do it ! Don't fancy the 'Narrow Dog' route so any info would be gratefully received .

I bought this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Knots-Cut-Clive-Field/dp/095576002X Have just re-covered all my fenders at a very reasonable cost . Buy the rope in drums from a specialist rope supplier - 30 pounds bought enough to make two tipcats and a button . It was simple to do but took a while . You'll need a Swedish fid too , I got mine at Crick from the book supplier.

Ok got to put my twopenneth worth in !! I'm now the proud owner of 'new' batteries - I've got my 3 quid hydrometer (recently) which did a grand job of showing up the faults in my old setup. I'm going to use it to check all the cells of the new bank for future reference . I've got a Victron monitor which is good for measuring amps in/out and volts but for measuring true SOC using the hydrometer it would appear that I have to disconnect everything , leave it for at least 2 hours , then isolate each battery (if i want to check voltage) and take it's SG readings - seems to me that a smatgauge would make it a helluva lot easier . I want one but I've blown the budget on batteries - should've contacted Vince sooner - should've bought that hydrometer sooner

Thanks for that . I was commenting on the ease of using a hydrometer to check for dud cells without having to isolate the battery from the bank . Can't think of an easy way with sealed batteries ?? Good point on the fire risk - 2 cells had boiled dry and must have been a recent failure as I checked levels about 2 months ago - the other duds still had plenty of electrolyte. The hydrometer check is going to be a regular thing with me from now on - so is drilling a hole in sealed units the way to go ??

Yep , I guess that was why - just checked the installation guide and it's very clear where it should go

Too true - mine aren't - A yard installed the bank and Victron and apart from routine maintenance I never checked it till now . It obviously needs a few more straps to balance it (see other posts) and I'm still investigating why the monitor is connected to the + in the middle of the bank ?? Thanks for the reply Gibbo and your other helpful threads - just need one of those 'other' devices now to keep the juices flowing .

Thanks gentlemen , I'd almost expected that !I'll pull them out tomorrow . Just thought that a bank of 36 2v cells with 7 bad might have more capacity than a bank of 18. Already posted to Vince - hope he gets some more soon.