Robin2
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Posts posted by Robin2
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I'm thinking to sound proof the engine room, either by boxing in the engine, or, by installing sound proof material to the steel work. The engine is an Isuzu 43hp, with hospital silencer. To the outside, there is hardly any noise, exhaust or otherwise, but stood on the counter, I hear all matter of clatter.. any thoughts, or suggestions.?
I put 3M Thinsulate around most of my engine compartment including the underside of the hatch and decks and it makes a huge difference. Its easy to apply using some sort of contact adhesive - I got expensive water-based stuff made by 3M, it's a bit like Jiffytex.
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Just a simple query really.
I have 24volt system which i tried charging with 2 40watt panels via a controller from Maplins. Lights come on to say charging but can 24 volt panels which where only giving 20volts on reasonably semisunny days actually do anything to 4 110 amp/hr batteries wired up to produce 24volt?? thinks not
Nothing on voltmeters even when leaving on all day.Would l be better charging them as seperate 12v or would that even work if wired 24volt?
Controller will do 12-24volt and can do 2 batteries individually it is a Kemo #M174 unit
Why is electricity so confusing
What is the nominal voltage of the panels? If it is about 17v to 20v and they are wired in parallel then they won't be able to charge a 24v battery even on a sunny day. If your controller would allow them to be connected in series (giving 34v to 40v) they could be used but it is probably unlikely that the controller would like the high voltage.
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A regular domestic hot water cylinder would work fine if you have space for it - they are usually intended to be installed upright which makes them better because the hot water collects in a smaller space at the top than when the cylinder is horizontal. Domestic cylinders probably cost less than £150 - try your local plumbers' merchants. They should also give you all the advice you need.
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I presume all the woodentop naysayers have 4mm steel sheds, in case of a leak.
Not a single one on this thread - everyone has been very constructive.
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When it was run in the test tank was it loaded like when it is in use on the boat? And, for instance, was it throttled up and back as you would do in normal use? or was it run at a constant speed?
Is it possible the carburettor is dirty or has one or more worn jets so that it works ok at some power/speed levels but not at others?
The ignition system also might work well at lower loads and not so well at higher loads if some part is out of specification.
If it works well when it works - i.e. the proper power output and no smoke I imagine you have a good engine that can be fixed.
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Nothing at all wrong with buying a low priced boat but I think it would be wise to have £1k or £2k left in the kitty after the purchase price and surveyor, licence fee etc have been paid - just in case something unexpected happens.
Mind you I might not take my own advice
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That would, of course, be the ideal.
Even with all the doom mongering that is going on about NWC and its draconian powers, we could possibly stop to think that the powers that it is seeking are not, objectively speaking, unreasonable powers for a navigation authority to have.
One of the problems with BW is that whilst it has all the powers that it needs to manage the waterways, they are formed from a patchwork of legislation, and this leads to fertile territory for those who want to evade the powers and would seek to embroil them in endless battles over what powers they have.
If NWC is to succeed, then tidying up to more clearly define the powers must be a good thing, so far as those who obey the rules are concerned.
Naturally any change in powers that makes arguing about what the powers are will be detrimental to those who seek to push their luck. The CMers and overstayers won't like it at all.
I agree with all of this, but there is another side - the obligations that the legislation puts on BW and, hopefully, on its successor. Such as an obligation to maintain the waterways in a navigable condition. That's the aspect that bothers me the most when the Public Bodies Bill states:
The Minister must have regard to the following objectives—(a) achieving increased efficiency, effectiveness and economy in the exercise of public functions; -
Its probably worth asking them to state in writing whether the boat was ever used as security for finance - just so there is no opportunity for the vendor to say later on "you never asked". If the boat was used as security then you can ask to see the relevant documentation, or, if it doesn't exist, the vendor should be able to get info from the finance house.
If they tell you lies then I suspect the finance house would also take a dim view of it.
ETA if they borrowed money to buy the boat but the boat itself was not the security then I assume you would have no problem even if some of the loan was still outstanding.
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The cloth is only really for sheathing,if thin, will crack if warped by treading on eg. Chopped strand mat and Polyester resin has the flexibility with strength. bizzard.
Not true. Cloth can be used for structural purposes also and is always better than chopped strand mat simply because it is woven and has a textile structure. If applied properly it will flex without any problems. Chopped strand mat is only used because it is cheap.
Polyester resin is not nearly as good with wood as epoxy.
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Hope this was helpful
Ian
Thanks for all that - food for thought.
The reason I thought you meant -18 or warmer is that my freezer compartment rarely goes that cold unless the motor runs for a very long time (using too much electricity). I think I have it set now to operate roughly between -10 and -14.
I have a thermocouple on a multimeter that I use to measure the temperature with the door closed - I used it to adjust my electronic thermostat circuit.
I never took much notice of the fridge temperature but, before I "intervened" there was often a situation where the fridge motor would be off for a very long time allowing the freezer compartment to warm up to -1c or 0c. That would be followed by a long motor run. It seemed to me that whatever sort of thermostat mechanism was built into the unit it was either faulty or it was not measuring the temperature in an appropriate way. I am much more concerned to maintain a low temperature in the freezer compartment. I can't see any means to access the works without potentially damaging the unit.
Obviously because of the way I am regulating the unit it does not have a defrost cycle, and I can't see how I could develop one.
I assume from your description that the defrosting only applies to the fridge compartment and I have no problem with frost in that. But it seems that I would have to allow the freezer temperature to rise above 0c to defrost it, and presumably that is not good for the contents.
Any other thoughts you have would be welcome.
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Whilst West System is undoubtedly good stuff (and their big book on wooden boat construction is well worth a read), for a job like this, I'd look at buying epoxy resin from another source, as it's by far the biggest expense and unbranded stuff could be half the price or less of West. I'd also suggest that glass cloth rather than chopped strand mat would give a better finish, although I doubt it makes any difference to the waterproof qualities (it'll also require less resin to wet out properly).
As I understand it the glass cloth / mat for use with polyester resin is different from that for use with epoxy - the epoxy will not "wet" the polyester resin cloth/mat properly. I can't recall whether West System sell chopped strand mat.
I do agree about cloth being better. It is quite possible to apply the cloth so that it is invisible (i.e. looks like clear varnish). Probably not relevant for this type of repair. But you could cover the roof with veneered ply and have an attractive wood-grain look.
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Normally the temperature in a single compressor fridge freezer is controlled from the fridge to allow for full defrosting of the rear wall evaporator, and the freezer temp is "engineered-in" to be at or below -18.
This only works if the ambient temperature is above the designed minimum limit of 10c.
If the fridge freezer spends too long below this minimum, the defrost cycle takes too long and the freezer temp will rise above the safe storage temperature.
Some manufacturer's overcome this by simply having a switch that leaves the interior light (10 - 15w) on all the time to ensure the defrost cycle takes place quickly enough to maintain the freezer temp. Look at the climate category on the rating plate, if it is N the above applies.
This sounds like I should understand it, but I don't.
I presume you mean "at or above -18".
I think what I don't understand is the minimum level of 10c - the normal interior temperature of a house (and my boat) is rarely that low, and usually at 20c or higher in summer - which is when I had trouble with the freezer being too warm. The impression I get from your comment is that the freezer is more likely to be at the correct low temperature in warmer weather???
Is the evaporator on the rear wall of the fridge or freezer compartment?
How often does a defrost cycle take place and how would I know that is happening?
Thanks for your help.
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I have had a quick look for the legislation that will set up the NWC and I have discovered that it is a short Section 5 in the Public Bodies Bill. All the section does is give the Minister power to make Orders to modify or transfer the functions of BW to an eligible person (as defined in the Bill). There is nothing specific about canals in it.
If and when the Minister makes an Order with the details in it the Order will not be debated in Parliament unless some MPs demand it within a specified time after the Order is made (afaik). It would be very unusal for Orders to be debated.
This means that the Government will effectively have the power to do what it likes without Parliamentary oversight.
UPDATE
Apologies for misleading readers. Section 10 of the Bill does require the Orders to have prior approval of Parliament.
However that means that there is still plenty of scope for trying to influence the new legal regime.
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I agree that West System is the way to go.
It might have been better to use West System to fill the gaps instead of concrete as it would adhere better to the old timber. However it is expensive stuff. You could perhaps use scraps of new wood / ply to fill the gaps so as to require less epoxy to fill the old gaps.
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If they never say anything positive then it's difficult to pick those bits out.
That's your challenge for today - find three positive things in the OP's comments
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I was prompted to write this arising from comments on a boat sale thread. When I did a little Googling it seemed it might be useful to deal with it separately.
The discussion that interested me on the thread was about the merits of a 12v Coolzone fridge freezer.
I have a 230v version of that Coolzone fridge freezer which I bought in Comet 3 years ago for £140. When I bought it I was in a marina with shore-power and the extra cost of a 12v version would not have been justified. Now that I am a CCer I might choose the 12v version - however if the solar panels that I bought recently prove their worth the extra cost of the 12v version might still be hard to justify. However that is not the real reason for this post.
The boat seller (mrartisan) provided a link to Midland Chandlers for details of the fridge freezer. I had thought that these were made (or remanufactured by) Shoreline but there is no reference to the maker on MC's website. So then I went to Shoreline's website and, yes, they have the same fridge freezer but it's £100 cheaper than MC. Which seems very strange.
Another point ...
In the hope that mrartisan reads this I wonder if you have ever measured the temperature in your freezer compartment, and what did you find?
I found with mine that there was a huge variation in the temperature - say from -2 to -16 over the course of a regular "on-off" cycle - in other words the thermostat didn't seem to work very well. I have now made my own thermostat that operates from the freezer compartment temperature and everything is fine.
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I know this is
but I keep looking at the title of this post and wishing it was a spelling mistake -
We seem to be in a strange dream-world ...
... where some contributors believe BW is rubbish and the NWC will be just as bad and also believe that other contributors don't care;
... and some think the naysayers are so negative that their opinions are irrelevant;
... and some think its all beyond our control;
... and some think it will work out OK because there are decent chaps trying to do a decent job.
Wpuldn't it be better all round if everyone assumed that everyone else (including the OP) also wants a good outcome for the canals and tried to pick the positive bits from every contribution rather than the negative?
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I saw one recently...tied to a tree...and it had the thinnest string ever....very strange...dont BW have rope
?Give them enough rope and ...
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What do you mean, where?
He asked how it was negative. Nobody said his comment was negative so I assumed he was responding to the deluge of people who said the OP was negative.
I don't think his comment is negative but it bears no relation to what Peter and the NABO moaners are saying.
My reading of his question is "How is it negative to discuss and campaign for an appropriate set up" and I don't see any reference to the OP in that - hence I thought your reply was a bit unfair.
This thread seems to have degenerated into "slag everyone who has any doubts about the proposed changed status of BW just because there is some ill feeling against one(?) contributor"
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So the finance, governance, FOI status etc are not yet set in stone, all the more reason to discuss and campaign for an appropriate set up, how is that negative?
He asked why the OP was negative. I answered.
Where?
And what is your opinion on my comment?
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So the finance, governance, FOI status etc are not yet set in stone, all the more reason to discuss and campaign for an appropriate set up, how is that negative?
Describing the whole thing as a con is not only negative but such allegations lead one to be dismissed as a conspiracy theorist and not to be taken seriously.
There are problems with the NWC but it is the hand we're dealt with and when people such as Peter and the various naysayers from NABO dismiss it and throw around unsubstantiated accusations, the voice of the boaters who would like to make a positive contribution are drowned out and ignored.
Seems a strange reply to a fairly modest post.
As I mentioned earlier there is a difference between being constructive about the management (which I agree with) and being concerned that the changed legal status will leave the canals vulnerable to Government neglect in the future - a poor outcome for all the campaigning effort that it has taken to get them to their current state.
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Thats about it
It opens the new link in a new tab and takes me there, but also opens the link on CWDF page and I loose the CWDF page.
So I am not sure which is the original CWDF page until I find a page where I can refresh back.
I only use Google
Alex
Change to another browser if Chrome does not do it for you - that's what competition is all about (Opera, Firefox or the one whose name one dare not mention)
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I have had a quick look for the legislation that will set up the NWC and I have discovered that it is a short Section 5 in the Public Bodies Bill. All the section does is give the Minister power to make Orders to modify or transfer the functions of BW to an eligible person (as defined in the Bill). There is nothing specific about canals in it.
If and when the Minister makes an Order with the details in it the Order will not be debated in Parliament unless some MPs demand it within a specified time after the Order is made (afaik). It would be very unusal for Orders to be debated.
This means that the Government will effectively have the power to do what it likes without Parliamentary oversight.
Nothing on voltmeters even when leaving on all day.
but I keep looking at the title of this post and wishing it was a spelling mistake
Fridge Freezer
in Boat Equipment
Posted
Thanks for all that. I am preoccupied with something else at the moment but I will come back to the fridge in due course.
I suspect if I want the freezer to be colder (and I agree that would be better) I would use a lot more power. One problem is that because I don't know where the hot element is (its all inside the cabinet) I don't know where to put extra insulation.