elessina

Ours (from harworth with rotating cowl) is 2ft long and unscews at base to allow boat to go under low bridges. It survived the recent storm intact..... but not sure a 3ft tall one would have done. We are on a rather more open river (R Medway - off the R Thames) than canal, so winds tend to be stronger. I think if it were 3ft long I would have to secure top with 4 x wires, making it more difficult to lower. With 2ft high the Bubbles stove glass window smokes over with very high winds and the eco fan slows down if stove is left on lowest setting...... but happy to put up with these problems as they only happen on very windy days..... we have never had smoke inside and it has never blown out...... and it is on 24/7. Ian

Ref. angle of solar panels. If the panels are static all day (which I assume all are) then there must be an optimum angle to get best of the sun during the 'whole day' and not just at mid day. Chris, as you say, angle at 14 deg (nearly vertical) to get the best of the mid day sun, but surely at this angle a few hours before and after you will hardly capture any sun. To explain further. If the panels were flat whether the sun was from east, south or west you would capture some of the sun. If the panel was vertical facing south in the winter you would capture most of the mid day sun, but when the sun was east or west you would get nothing. So maybe 45 deg is about right during the winter months, gradually getting flatter as summer approaches. I do not think you would want 45 deg in summer as you would not be capturing any early or late sunshine. Ian

My understanding is the marine version (the one with s/s mounting plate etc.) has a two year warranty, the automotive version has a one year warranty. The marine version has many s/s parts used in it's manufacture. We have the marine version. Ian

Programming the Victron is explained in the installation manual (not user manual), but if you do not have one it can be downloaded from the web from here victron manuals. There are two ways to programme the Victron, one is with dipswitches – see installation manual (I have never used this method) the other is with a laptop / pc. This I have found to be reasonably straight forward, but you have to be careful because there are many settings you can change. To use the laptop method you need to buy a Interface module (Mk2b-VE-Interface Victron interface module - to connect PC to Phoenix Multi & Multi = £45.00 = Energy Solutions list price) and a RJ11 patch lead (£2 to £15 depending on length). If you do not have a serial socket on your laptop (many new ones do not) you will also need a USB-RS232 Converter USB (v1.1 compliant) to RS232 (Serial) Converter (for Mac & PC) c/w driver software on CD. which is around £25. Hope this helps Ian elessina

Mike, We have around a 15m long pipe run (no joins) in 10mm. No problems feeding oven and hob, even with all on (we only have oven and hob, no other gas). When I checked the Calor site it advised us to have a larger pipe, if I remember correctly it was temperature dependant, and I was worried it would be a problem when cold.... but we have not had a problem, maybe because the inside is nice and warm, so heats up the gas in the pipe!!!. We are on Propane (red bottle). I can not see an issue with using two pipes in parallel, although the BSS does (or did?) say you must keep connections to a minimum and have them accessible. I guess you could run one pipe to oven, another to hob, with Tee off one of them for fridge. Ian

I understand that is the problem, they need to be run hard (eg. not reach their max water temperature cut off point) for around 2 hours. This to avoid the vaporisor gauze in the base of the burner getting totally clogged. So better would be 836 hours running, 400 starts. The 7 day timer I received with the webasto kit (not a webasto timer) has around 20 muliprogrammable on-offs, so you can for instance switch it on every friday at 5:00pm and off every friday at 9:00pm. Only issue is it does not indicate fault codes. My webasto is also not functioning correctly, but vapourising gauge is ok (very little build up)..... problem is it just cuts out for no apparant reason (maybe after 5 mins, maybe after 2 hours) and they can not determine what is wrong as they can not get any fault diagnostic, even on their pc.... so it is back with webasto, under warranty. Ian

The Victron BMV-501 Battery Monitor comes with a 500 amps / 50mV shunt. see Victron . and click on data sheet. I purchased my BMV-501 from Energy Solutions, their list price for the Victron BMV501 battery monitor complete with shunt, Low battery alarm contact, historical information and facility for data interface is £199.00 see Energy Solutions. The Communication data interface kit which links it to a pc is an optional extra £128. I have found it to be very, very good. To get accurate battery condition status I have to synchronise it about once per month (push two buttons at same time), but it has never been more than a few % out. But as said before, from what I can see the NASA has the main functions that BNV501 has and is under £100. But it does only have a 100 amp shunt, which is probably ok for most (but not all, including my set up). Ian Elessina

We have a Victron Battery monitor. It is very good and I am constantly referring to it when on battery power. It has many functions, but 99% of the time I only use the Volts, amps (in / out) and percentage power remaining. Just knowing these three values is, in my opinion, sufficient to know roughly how long it will be before thinking about the need to charge batteries etc. I think the Victron is around £200. It can even be connected to a laptop for historical data, but that's another extra (which I have not got). If on a tight budget and can get a battery monitor that has the above functions for less than £100 (eg Nasa clipper) I would go for it. Indeed the Nassa has the advantage that it shows all three functions together….. The Victron only has one display, so I have to scroll through the different displays until I get the one I want Ian Elessina

Red and white diesel are both known as "35 second oil". Parafin and kerosene are known as 28 second oil. I believe home heating oil is also a 28 second oil. The 35 second and 28 second statement is the viscosity of the fuel. A given volume of diesel takes 35 seconds to go through a test orifice and a similar volume of kerosene take 28 seconds to go through. If you just switch fuel from diesel to a 28 second oil, then at 4cc on a diesel calibrated valve (min setting) the oil flow would increase to say 6cc. I think I am correct in saying this means the heater will be 50% hotter at low setting (and will burn 50% more fuel), but importantly it may be a safety issue in that if the valve were to be fully opened, the level of heat may be more than what the stove was designed for…. Dangerous!!! According to Harworth heating, the manufacturers of the oil valves will not sell the metering stems as a separate part and so you have to buy the valve complete and simply swap the metering stem. Valves vary from £80 to £120, see http://www.oilstoves.co.uk/webdocs/prices/...res_July_06.pdf you will see all the oil valves at the back of the catalogue Maybe someone can correct me if my understanding is wrong. Ian Elessina

We leave our Victron Multi connected all the time, have done so for about two years now. But yes, make sure it is switched to 'charging only'. No problems so far!!. Ian Elessina

I am very interested. I am sure anyone thinking about buying a Rutland would be interested. Hope it gives you the output you are hoping for. Ian Elessina

Any idea who stocks the Ruboy..... canal chandlers, fireplace shops etc.? Unless very cold or windy, ours is on low all night and day, only turn it up in the evening and maybe weekends...... I had actualy thought they coke up more when turned up.... so thanks for info. Ian

Tom, I have also considered a Rutland. A couple of points to consider:- 1). Power output around 40 amp hours per day seems possible, but likely not if you are in a sheltered location with trees or hills around you (typical canal mooring). Even on a breezy day, I have heard people say they get little output because the trees around them disturb the wind flow. 2). To ensure that it does not disturb your sleep, best to locate / install on land. If this is not possible, as far away from your bedroom as possible. Ian

There are some 20 to 25ft trailable sailing yachts that use water as ballast in the keel for same reasons Ian

For those of us that live on board, we were probably better off at work! Wheelhouse roof of a Replica Dutch Barge at our mooring blew completely off, landing some 100 feet away, just missing another barge wheelhouse. When we got back home (on board) our dog greeted us much more so than normal!! Our friends moored adjacent to us (on a 30' GRP cruiser) found everything that was on shelves / worktops on the floor. Waves were apparently 4 to 5 feet high. Ian

Lighting stove in centre of burner made no difference. After 6 weeks coke build was up not as much as I expected (taking into account all the high winds we have had), a pile about an inch high 2" diameter. It was not affecting the stove working, just that 6 weeks had passed since last clean. I think it would have been ok for another 2 weeks, maybe 4 weeks. Yep, this works well. Thanks. I checked with Harworth Heating (Stove manufacturer), and yes it will but have to change the oil valve, at a cost of around £100….. Not worth doing yet, but maybe worth considering if red disappears from marinas Ian

Try Halworth Heating harworth, the manufacurer of Bubbles Stoves. Most Bubble stoves seem to have them, maybe Harworth make them. We have a revolving cowl. Pleased to say we still have one after the recent winds!!. The glass door on the Bubble stove is now smoked over (after the winds), but no smoke inside the boat. The stove was alight all the time during the winds. Ian Elessina

Last Tuesday night when we had gale force winds it was so bad we could not get off our boat onto the floating pontoons (the pontoons were moving about to much)….. Just about to leave for home…. Home is on board…. So hopefully I will be able to get onboard…. But I have to cross the R Thames and the Dartford bridge is closed because of the high winds!!. The R Medway is a little bit open where we are!! But compensated last Sunday when we looked out the window to see a dolphin swimming 10 feet away. Watched it for 15 mins until it swam off up river. Ian Elessina

I have no experience of Thinsulate, but I am sure it will be fine for normal use, as will expanded polystyrene and most other forms of insulation. But for liveaboard use Spray foam generally seems to be recognised as the best. Generally you can be sure that wherever sprayfoam is applied, there will be no condensation at all. That does not necessarily mean that a sprayfoamed boat will have no condensation, as this depends on how thoroughly it is applied as there may be parts that the spray foam is not applied to. But at least you know that those parts sprayed will not condensate. This is not true with all insulation because if air can get between the insulation material and the steel, condensation can still form. We have spray foam and live aboard and I am pleased we chose sprayfoam. We get some condensation under the floor boards on the angled chines of our barge where there is no sprayfoam. I have placed some expanded polystyrene on the angle chines, works ok until the outside temperature drops to around zero, then condensation forms between the polystyrene and the steel. A few more comments can be seen on another forum here Ian Elessina I have (unintentionally), it took me about a week to pick get it all off. Horrific stuff to get on your skin…. I had thin plastic gloves on but they split and the spray foam got underneath… only a quick 5min job with sprayfoam can touching up some underneath areas….. took 2 hours to get 80% off, the rest over the following days!!!. Longest 5min job I ever did!!! Ian

Peter, I found 'The Narrowboat builder's Book', Graham Booth, published by Waterways World, £14.99 very good for all basic aspects of fitting out, including electrics. I then progressed to; 'Boat Owners Mechanical and Electrical Manual', Nigel Calder, Published by Adlard Coles Nautical £39.99. but also find the Victon's 'Energy Unlimited' book very interesting, and it is free. See 'Energy Unlimited' Ian Elessina edited for typo

Snibble, Many thanks. I am tempted to have a go myself, but not done much soldering. What kind of soldering iron would I need? Any type or any specific?.... I guess a good quality crimp would not suffice?. Will PM you for further info. Ian

Thanks Chris, I thought they were. From memory the fittings from Screwfix arrive in an unmarked clear bag with no instructions, not that you need any instructions to use them, they are that simple…. Except if using chrome pipe!!. Ian

Snibble, I managed to 'work around' the high voltage output on my alternator last year. But now (we are not cruising) is the time to fix it. Since this post there have been others on getting good amps at relatively low revs, which I have followed with interest. I wonder if I am getting the correct output from my alternator. I have an 8" dia pulley on the engine, with 3" dia pulley on alternator. The 8" dia pulley has 6 slots (2 for this alternator belt, 2 for the travelpower generator and 1 for the engine alternator - 1 spare), so I guess the size is a compromise for all 3. The alternator is a Leece Neville 175amp 24v, 110-258, 8SC3009ZA, dated 200318. From memory now, the most output I have seen is around 100amps at 2,100rpm (my max engine revs), but my concern is that I only get around 20 amps at 1,200 rpm (5mph cruising speed). At 1,000rpm I get maybe 5 amps, below that zero. I am fortunate in that I can supplement this output with my TravelPower generator (through the 240v battery charger), and as I have a trolling valve I can do up to 1,200rpm (to get max amps output) and cruise at less than 1 mph, but this is not very efficient!!!. Am I getting the right output, given the pulley diameter ratio? Is there anything that can be done to the alternator to improve output at lower revs? With it not being in use, I wonder if your offer to repair is still open? Ian Elessina

Yes. I will do. In the mean time I checked and no leaks, and they look to be held firmly in place. Looking at the Speedfit web site fittings, the Scewfix ones look exactly the same (they are push fit, then turned to lock). Ian