Bobbybass

2 further ideas based on my own experiences...they have both worked. When you instrall the Non-return valve...you then attach the outlet pipe that goes to the tank.... Most non-retun valves are quite shallow and you have to be careful that the solid outlet pipe is not pushed too far 'home' that it actualy jams the little rubber butterfly valve. Secondly...if you have the little hinged butterfly valve..make sure that you put a mark on it to show which side the hinge is on and when you reassemble make sure it is on top. Although the pressure will push the flap shut, if the hinge ends up on the bottom particles etc will fall between it and the valve ...this will stop it closing. Making sure the hinge is at the top gives extra time between having to clean it out. Bob

They don't really promote it on the site. You have to get a SIM and then register on the site. Once you have registred your SIM and the dongle is working..it will bring up a control 'window'...one of the options takes you to a the suitable part of the 3 site... You can then 'purchase an add-on' THere are various add-ons on the site...for phones etc.. and one of them is internet whcih will work with your SIM The aerial and suitable adapter plug came from the Boaters Phone Company. Bob

I have used a 3 dongle for several years..the oblong one with a little aerial socket. I have a 3 PAYG sim....with 3 gig monthly allowance.... You top it up initially with about £10...then you register yourself on the 3 site.... You register a credit card whcih takes about a week... You can then top it up for £5 a month for the 3 gig alowance...on the site...go to 'purchase add-on....internet add-on'. Before the end of each month...purchase another 'internet add-on'.......it will then queue it ready for when the other one expires. There have been times I have let it expire for a few weeks...but I just purchase another 'add-on' and it kicks off again from that date. There are people 'seeling' this information on Ebay... Bob

Hi.. We have had a marina mooring near Rugby for the past 2 years. We would like to relocate to Yorkshire now and explore the canals in that direction. Currently paying around £2k for our sixty-footer and we have a jetty with electricity and power. We are not liveaboard in the winter...but may stay in the marina for a few days when we prepare the boat and need parking for our car while away. At present, the marina has no facilities other than the secure mooring..power...water... and the village is some distance away.. We would like to be much nearer a shop ( pub most importantly for me...)....even onsite bar/cafe would be nice...( very nice for me !!) Also...would be nice to be in a convenient position for exploring the Yorkshire area... What do others think is a good central point for exploring on our 6 month summer jaints...? Thanks for your help. Bob

Hi.. My rear deck is also the top of the tank...so I cannot weld/ screw onto it. I had an ordinary 1 1/2 inch pipe stop end as a fuel cap...so I got a mate to weld a shackle loop to the top and then I can put a short chain through that and then padlocks onto one of the deck loops. Obviously someone could saw the chain...but it stops opportunists. I'll take a photo when I'm back at the boat. Bob

I have just rebuilt mine myself (D5W) and found it fairly simple. The most difficult bit was getting myself upside down and sideways to undo the screws and get it out ! I had the symptoms described in the magazine article...a burnt out air turbo fan due to the engine room temperature exceeding 25 degrees.....well in the 30's it is... I bought a shot blasted body/funnel from a guy on Ebay for £30 and a second hand fan for £70. I actually found it easy enough to transfer the bits and build a new unit without even a manual. THe most significant change I have made for mine is the fuse for the glow plug. I used to get lots of glowplug failures...and then someone tipped me about the actual holder itself. THe spring conatacts take a lot of heat from the fuse...16 amp...and lose their spring. This means the fuse is often vibrated and intermittent...and although you don't notice this it damages the glowplug. I ran two heavy wires outside the control box and installed a large bakelite screw holder...and now my glow plugs go on forever....well...a long time anyway....and if the fuse blows...you dont have to faff about getting all the wires out of the way in the control box......... By the way..if you do take the heater out...wash the crud out of the water pump and then lightly grease it with water pump grease whcih catches small particles and stops them entering the pump.... Happy heating. Bob

Actually...there's an interesting article in this months Canal World about Diesel heating systems. It says that Eberspacher looked into why its heaters are ultra reliable in trucks etc...but the smallest part of its market...narrowboats...give rise to the biggest failures..... Its worth a read....some .factors they found were : The heater is designed for air intake not exceeding 25 degrees and many engine areas get hotter than that...and it damages the air turbo pump. Many heaters are too big for the boats...and keep going into repeated shutdown cycles that eventually lead to damage...burn outs etc.. They say they found that 3kw was more than enough for a narrowboat considering the insualtion..but many people had larger. Also..over specified heaters used in summer have nowhere for the heat to go after its done the calorofier and once again do unecesary shutdowns.... Fuel problems due to stale red diesel.. There were other factors... Worth getting the mag for a read... Bob

Well...knock me down...and call me sudsy !!. I understand what you mean...and sounds like a good idea.... Bob I changed the gearbox oil when I did the engine oil...so I have no indication of this new fault....the oil was clean.... According to my book...the PRM150 gearbox cooling feed is at nearly 350 PSI....! Plenty of scope for a seal failure... I'm putting my money on that...and hoping it will cure it.. Will let you all know how it goes.. Bob

You're all very nice...and thank you for taking the time to 'pool' thoughts and help me..... Bob

As I have already said...its new oil.....and the engine has only been run for 20 minutes with the new oil.... As yet there are no signs of water in the oil...but I don't want to run the engine for a long period and find out..! I like the gearbox cooler idea...as...by your description of the cooling stack....part of it would have been out of the coolant for the duration of the winter...and so seals could dry out....or the stack rust... I always have to leave several inches of gap on the coolant for expansion...and this would definatly expose the cooling stack. will bypass the cooling stack tomorrow and see how it goes... Thank you all....

Tomorrows plan.... The idea of the gearbox cooler has set me thinking... I have no idea of the layout of the Beta gearbox cooler etc...but there are 2 pipes from the PRM150 box that go into one end of the cast box that has 'Beta' on top. I wondered if....the box had a gap duing the winter months (level is usually 2 inches down) and therefore could have dried out/ corroded through inside ? Does anyone know if it has a matrix inside...or is it just a box with an in and out section...? My idea...tomorrow...is to disconnect the oil pipes from the gearbox and bypass them so it just goes from out...and straight back in again... I will not be running the boat other than in the marina.... I will then pump as much of the surface oil from the coolant filler...and then refill with fresh...and run it...and see if the oil appears.. Anyone see anything wrong with this..?...Thanks... All advice very welcome.... Bob Thanks for this...but I can't answer as the boat was standing.....I ran it for 20 minutes...and then changed the oil/filers etc.... It was totally clean before I did that....but I'm thinking this is new 'winter' damage.....and I'd have to use it for a while to establish mayonias etc...and by that time...it may be too late... Thanks. Bob

I suppose my real question was : Do other people have slightly oily coolant...especailly after leaving the engine standing for months...as I said...my local engineer says that antifreeze can go waxy....but I have no experience of this.... Bob

Well....there are two hoses off the gearbox that go to the 'jacket' around the coolant tank...

Hi.. Beta 43 3ngine......PRM gearbox. Left my boat over winter....new antifreeze when I left it........40% mix....and well run into engine...checked with hydrometer...shows a strng mix... I'm used to doing this..and when I look down through the coolant filler....its usually a watery blue colour... Yesterday..I ran the engine...changed the oil/filters/fuel filters etc....and ran it up to temperature.... Looking down the coolant cap...it now looks oily...with oily bubbles on it....sort of blacky yellow colour... If you get some on your fingers......it feels waxey....and forms oil/water type bubbles on your fingers.... I spoke to my 'regular' engineer........who says it would be unusual to blow the head gasket on a Beta 43. He seems to think antifreeze can go like this...but I haven't experienced it before... No sign of water on the dipstick...but its early days.... Don't want to set sail if I'm going to damage my big ends etc... What do you think..?...Thanks.. Bob

Any rough idea on prices for this...? I have a 60 footer...and was pondering adding an extra 7 foot to make a nice sitting area on the bow... Thanks. Bob

You're all so cruel.... I have great things to watch...!!! There is this great new program calles Steptoe and Son.....and another called 'Whatever happened to the likley lads...' That's without things like : 'Cops with cameras....Cops with fast cars...Cops with helicopters...and Cops with loud American accents' Its all well worth it.... Hmmmm...now I think about it...anyone wanna buy a satellite dome..? Bob

Hi.. Camos dome....select satellite you wanna watch...wait for motors to do the rest.... No satellite link.??.raise 26 foot mast which also has internet repeater amplifier on it... Well...it is 2010 !!! Bob

I have made some panels over the years using several different techniques If you have a 'block' to label up...you can buy 2 bits of thin perspex.....one coloured ( maybe white) the other clear..both same size.... You buy some letraset from Ebay...and label onto the coloured panel and then put the other panel on top so that the letters appear 'suspended'. Another alternative......there are quite a few people on Ebay that make brass labels to order... I had some made up...they are brass with adhesive backs and priced at about £5 each... Just some ideas... Bob

Last year...I polished and polished until the the boat was difficult to look at in bright sun... At Kingston bridge..someone tried to break in...luckily I was alerted by my alarm... Next morning.....some 'random kid' on a bike....was a bit too interested in the boat and my examination of the break in damage... He said...'well..it looks like a nice boat...so it must have nice things in it'...!!!!! This year...the boat will be wearing...mainly 'dull' !! Bob

I'm with you !! Bob TSB. HGV. VD and scar

If you buy leather jackets abroad...especially in places like Turkey...the leather is tanned using urine...dog or pigeon t***s I asked a local salesman once why the leather smelt more 'leathery' than elsewhere....and that was the reply.. I didn't buy one after all !! Bob

Hi again........should probably just give up on this now.......as this is engine not gearbox ...but this is the extract from the Beta manual : Note: A good quality SAE 15W/40 mineral based multigrade oil as used in most car diesel engines will meet requirements. Do not use ‘Turbo Diesel Oil’ or additives, and the use of synthetic oil is not recommended.

Sorry to hear about your Granny.... The OP asked about oil for a PRM150...which is what I have and I told that the oil I use has done 6500 hours with no problems...so I'm not off topic.....but I can't see that the OP mentioned his Granny...? Happy Easter.... Bob

I think possibly you mean the 15W/40 enhanced mineral oil Note this is a API CF-4 CF SJ, so (according to some!) is not suitable in those engines that say something like "no higher than API-CC - or maybe API-CD, in an emergency". Certainly that would mean not recommended in a BMC or an Isuzu marinised by HMI, I think. I must admit I thought even Beta recommended something rated "less" than API-CF, but I'm no expert on the more modern engines. Again it's no cheaper than many Morris oils specifically marketed for "marine" use, although at least it's easy to find in 5 litre cans, without paying carriage. Hi...yes...sorry..I meant the 15w/40 Not recommended..?...Darn...I guess I'm facing a rebuild at about 12,000 hours... Bob

My Beta 43 engine has had changes at 250 hours (as per book) and the PRM150 gearbox at 750 hours as per book. Always had Halfords enhanced mineral 10/40 from Halfords (black container) in both. ( older spec for non-turbos) Hours are about 6500 now with no problems. First time start even in cold weather with no glow plugs used.....so compression must be OK. Proof of the pudding ...so they say... Bob