jimlong

you loose your fingers and toes due to frostbite...!!!

No need to be sarky chris, unless that was supposed to be funny? Someone asked a question and I gave my answer based on 18 months of practical experience of a product. period regards Jim

I fitted a NASA on my sea boat 18 months ago and very recently fitted one on my sons widebeam, I have learnt from experience that the "state of charge" indicator is fairly accurate providing the batteries receive a full charge from the shore power 3 stage charger from time to time, if as has happened recently when the only charging available was via the engine alternator, the SOC indicator was fairly inacurate, however, because the NASA gives a very accurate voltage and current reading (very handy for seeing how much juice is being used by various appliances, even 240v stuff via the inverter) I can determine what the SOC is approximately enough to decide if charging is required. Jim

If you are anywhere near Castleford, there is a good stove shop there that stocks boilers for all types of stoves

The size of cable is measured by the "cross sectional area" not the diamiter accros it, the on the length of run as Nick has pointed out is a significant factor, if your cable run is say no more than 3-4 metres you would be O.K. with 35mm cable, the same size should be used for the negative too. Remember to insulate the battery terminals if they are open to touch (BSS requirement) Jim

The cal is horizontal with short pipes from the engine, the pump I think would need to be on the flow to the cal and bedroom rad after the tee that feeds the towel rail, as you say it a suck it and see job but by using hep-20 its easy to modify if necessary. I will seek expert advice from a heating engineer before I start this one. Thanks for your input. Jim

Hi alex, O.K. I see no problem in putting the header tank in the engine bay, it would be well above the calorifier which is mounted at low level on the steel rails that the engine is mounted on, do you think that the concept of having the towel rail in the bathroom on gravity and the calorifier/bedroom radiator being pumped would work? all I am trying to avoid is the boiler boiling if the pump fails AND having to use power everytime the stove is lit. Jim

I assume by gutted you mean the cap is just a cap with the spring removed? If I mounted the header tank in the engine bay it would still need to be higher than the highest point in the system yes?

Thanks for that guys, I am hoping to install a big towel rail in the bathroom which is directly behind the stove and plumb this in to work on gravity, this should be a good heat sink for the boiler I hope, I presume I could mount the header tank above the towel rail?

I am fitting out a new 57x10 widebeam, the heating will be via a multi-fuel stove (Olymberyl Gabriel 6kw with back-boiler) fitted central to the boat. A twin coil calorifier is installed in the engine compartment but is mounted at low level (below the boiler flow) so I guess a pumped system is necessary, I intend to fit a heated towel-rail in the bathroom (centre of boat) and one radiator in the bedroom (foreward). After reading several posts on the subject, I prefer to opt for an open vented system. I have a few Questions however? Best location for header tank and what type Is a dedicated expansion pipe required from the boiler to the tank (like domestic systems) Best position for the pump Pipe size and type (Hep20 preferred) Thanks