Bobbybass

They used to have them in Poundland and the Bargain shops. Loads on eBay. They're really sold for house use around washing machines etc.

I have three CO detectors....one at head height in the lounge/kitchen where the cooker and fire are. One at sleeping head height in the lounge and one at sleeping head height in the rear bedroom. Three fire angels...which I like. Once again... lounge near cooker/fire. One in corridor. One above the electrical switches/fuse panel rear which is inside a wardrobe. I also fitted lots of cheap £1 flood alarms in various spots...under the bed with hidden pipes...under the kitchen sink...etc.. I put one in the engine compartment....put the sensor wires into a choc block connector and on the other side inserted two lengths of brass rod which go down into the bilge...so if it starts to fill at a pre-set point it sets the alarm off. Saved my last boat as some bad gates on the Wigan flight were flooding over the back deck and the scuppers couldn't cope... I hadn't realised,

As you can see.....I soldered copper 'tags' to the copper pipe..and these were then bolted firmly to the aluminium plate...so maximum heat was passed into the pipe. I sprayed it with matt black thermal paint (Halfords) ....then enclosed it in a box with glass on one side ( the non pipe side )..and roof insulation on the other with a layer of tin foil between the roof insulation and the pipe side..so sun heated the aluminium plate on the matt black painted side...and any that passed through the plate was reflected back. It worked a treat. I've since sold this boat and removed the 12 volt controller. Its in my garage..languishing.. It has two thermal sensors...one on the tank and one on the roof collector...the unit has a differential controller to stop it pumping your hot water up to the roof should the plate outside be colder.

I made this collector.....10mm pipe. Couldn't believe how well it worked. Burnt my fingers while bleeding it on an overcast day !

Some of the ground-source heat pump engineers around me...say they are removing more than they are installing as they just don't suit the UK.

He wasn't from.one of those. He was on the other side..set about 50 feet back from the canal. Apparently bought a canal side house..but doesn't want the boats...so I was told in the pub

I recently moored on the K&A at Bathampton. They had cable tied.."quiet zone" notices to their mooring rings. I stopped at 6pm..and let the engine run for 5 minutes while we microwaved tea. Knock knock knock on the side of the boat...and some obnoxious **** telling me it was a quiet zone ..in a very unpleasant way. !. I told him where to get off. We moved on then..A few weeks later ...a fellow boater in a pub told me the same story...and he had so told the obnoxious **** to go away ? Apparently his house isn't one if the houses we were immediately outside..it was some way away. As I understood it ..CART quiet requirements are 8pm to 8am...but are these homemade looking signs enforceable ?

Do they know what you do with a windlass..? None of them used one on tonights program...then they retreated to the pub and said they were exhausted...! They even called the windlass a SPANNER !!!!!

Did you read my section above...about our use of blue freezer-bag blocks?. Even in the hot with door opening ..it was rare the compressor ran for any period.

We have 6 of those blue freezer.blocks. When cruising we put them in the ice section so that they freeze without consuming battery power. After we moor up..we move three into the regular fridge. They act as a buffer when the door is opened. Before going to bed we take the warm blocks out completely and put the still frozen blocks from the ice tray into the regular fridge. They buffer the fridge during the night. Once we start the engine next day...all blocks go back into the ice tray.

12 volts.... parallel...nothing to do with converting 24 to 12 volts ? Thank you all...subject closed.

I am installing two 100w panels with a 20amp controller. The controller is inside just above my back steps. Under those steps is my 1500w inverter connected to the batteries with 70mm cables. My question is : rather than run a set of cables an extra couple of meters to the batteries, is there any reason why I could not connect the solar controller into the inverter terminals ?. The solar output would then run back to the batteries via much thicker cables. Thank you !.

I found it ok up until Caen Hill. After that it was a tip. There are many boats displaying a licence..but they are covered in junk and crap and some are half sunk. To get my license I had to have BSS and insurance but there is no way they have that which leads me to think that CART don't check..or just want the money. Going east from Bradford on Avon today..there are areas as you describe. You can smell the excrement in the bushes ..its disgusting...but why is nothing done ?. I came back to boats after a break but I'm totally shocked. I will be in Bristol in a few days and then head back to Newbury. If anyone wants to buy a 43 foot cruiser stern ...let me know !

Lock gates fallen apart... Miles and miles of tick over...I moored on a 48 hour mooring outside a pub and instantly someone knocked on the side at 6.15 and told me it was a quiet zone...and I must stop my engine. This is s nightmare. When I started 12 years ago...the canals were in a reasonable state of repair. Is the rest of the network in this state ?

I've been on the canals for the past 12:years. I'm now based on the K&A. I've been traveling down to Bath and Bristol and think it's the worse I have ever seen it. The locks are in terrible condition and haven't been repaired in years apart from the very gallient efforts of volunteers at Caen Hill and Croften ...there is not a single...a single paid person doing any repairs ...ANY repairs... It truly is finished isn't it.?. I was warned of this .but had to see it for myself. RIP canals.

Thanks Tony. Spot on...the cup had seized on the stem. Have now freed it and all well. Thanks again !. Bob

Photo as requested...thanks

Thanks Tony !

1.88 amps...at 240v ... will draw (allowing for inverter loss)...about 40 amps from a 12 volt battery.....that is the 'late' 12 volt battery....the one that has just collapsed in a heap... ?

Thanks.....but I emptied half a can of oil down it.....40 hours ago and it's getting worse ?

On my Beta engined boat...I have the normal screw on fuel filter. I also have (what I'm told ) is a washable filter...which is in a canister type fitting secured by a bolt at the bottom. 1: Do I remove this...and immerse it in a dish of: Parafin....petrol..diesel...fairy liquid (kidding) and scrub with a tooth brush. 2: When I replace the screw on filter, I fill it with diesel to aid bleeding. What do I do with this washable type ? Thanks !!

I was going to ask this same question. My rudder is stiff...and getting stiffer. It has now started making 'groaning' noises towards the end stop. I tried working oil down it..but it's made little difference. Maybe an ..out of the water and take bearings out...job

I'm moored at Devizes ready to descend the Caen Hill flight. The volunteers tell me that for the foreseeable future..it will only be open 10am until 1pm.

Ok... They opened it 10 until 4pm..today . Friday.. They told me it will not reopen until 10 to 4 next Friday. This seems to be the pattern...Fridays. .6 hours..that's it.

Limited opening tomorrow. Just took train from Bedwyn to Newbury. Near Kintbury..some boats were leaning and there was a "beach'..so levels low...