-
Posts
1,148 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Blogs
Store
Posts posted by Onewheeler
-
-
If the water is literally below the engine, it's probably oily and mustn't be pumped over the side. On a narrowboat, the bilge pump usually operates separately from the engine bilge underneath the stern gland.
-
Drill speed should be fairly slow and use plenty of light oil as lube. For 31 mm I'd use a hole saw but a step drill is ok. Use oil when using a tap as well.
Unlikely as it may sound, I've found the tapered/stepped drills that Aldi and Lidl sometimes have as special buys are fine for steel up to 6mm thick (the thickest I've tried).
-
1 hour ago, another paul said:
Thanks for the replies,I will look at wiring at weekend to see if I can recognise this layout, I'm basically stripping out previous owners power hungry luxuries such as TV, microwave, kettle and toaster he apparently ran these off the two 110 amp batteries fed by the panel, from my understanding 2x110ah at 12v =@2500 wh .2.5kw would disappear very quickly using any of these, my jetboil stove makes a brew in about 2mins that's all I need till I start cruising
Did he have a charger run from shore power, or a separate shore power circuit for them?
-
3 hours ago, matty40s said:
I didn't actually look at that picture, it looks like Junior already has the bricks, or shaped metal plates at the sides in place of the bricks. The rear brick is almost certainly there.
It's a while since we got rid of our squirrel but I vaguely recall that you could buy very expensive metal plates to replace fire bricks if you wanted more room in the firebox. Or did I imagine it? 😳
-
1
-
-
The blue mdpe going to our mooring has been exposed to sunlight for at least twenty years where it rises to the tap. No sign of degradation at all.
-
I would have thought the static pressure requirements of a tank much less onerous than the ability to withstand the dynamic forces from a boat impacting a solid object when full of liquid.
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, Quatre_Bougies said:
I'm living in France at the moment.
In all the cities, composting waste bins, have been built everywhere and people are expected to use them, if they cannot compost at home. It’s working well and as far as I’m aware and is not being
Where a friend lives in France the council banned compostable waste from the bin collection, but didn't provide an alternative. It was therefore dumped outside the mairie. I must ask if another solution has been found.
-
59 minutes ago, blackrose said:
Mine's a Thermotop C. I wonder what the benefit of the Thermotop E is if it's using nearly 3x as much fuel?
A good question! I'm not clear what the difference is between the models C and E, but ours is getting on for 20 years old and doesn't drop back in power when hot which I understand some of the more recent models do. Whether the quoted fuel consumption is realistic I don't know, but we do have to top up the fuel tank after a winter on the mooring with a couple of days on board most weeks.
-
25 minutes ago, blackrose said:
My Webasto Thermotop 5kW drinks 0.35 litres of diesel/hour. That doesn't seem all that thirsty to me but it's just a secondary heating source and I wouldn't run it all day.
Mine, model E, also 5 kW, drinks about a litre/h according to the spec. It adds up with diesel at the price it is.
-
We run the webasto for an hour in the morning and evening when not out from the mooring to get hot water and towels. Otherwise the solid fuel stove provides heat throughout the day and night. Putting the oven on, or boiling the kettle, gives a quick boost when needed. The webasto drinks diesel, a bag of phurnacite lasts five days.
-
43 minutes ago, cheesegas said:
I'd also like to add that toilet emptying intervals is very very variable if there's two of you living on board but you both do a combination of working from home and from site/office.
Sometimes a 12 litre urine container takes over a week to fill if we're both not working from home and the hours are long, other times it's a few days if both on the boat working/eating/drinking there.
Likewise, the poopy bit of the toilet can go well over a month, or sometimes it's under a month.
My missus used to be in a medical research organisation. Someone was studying piss and the staff were provided with 5 L containers to collect their micturate over 24h. She was the only one to need two containers and was thereafter known as Pisser Douglas. She can fill a portapotti very quickly.
-
1
-
-
I asked when I took mine in for a repair and was told it's not an option to reprogramme it. Mine won't start below about 12.5 V so when we're not on shore power we usually use the engine for hot water. It pulls nearly 20 A for a few seconds at startup.
-
2 hours ago, magpie patrick said:
The Chesterfield Canal Trust are designing new locks (well, one lock) at the moment. Might be worth talking to them
The Cotswold Canal Trust are doing lots of locks and some of their volunteers are always happy to talk.
-
I can't help with anything local but someone will know of local organisations. Might be worth an email to wrg: enquiries@wrg.org.uk and you could even help on one of their projects 😀
-
You might be better talking to someone: waterways recovery group, or one of the restoration trusts. Tell us where you are and someone will be able to suggest your nearest organisation.
-
3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Aesop's fables :
Br'er Fox to Br'er Bear : "what do you use in the forest to wipe your backside ?"
Br'er Bear's rely : "Br'er rabbit"
Dogs have bigger tongues
-
3 hours ago, Mike Hurley said:
Never understood why people get so uptight about emptying a cassette toilet, if they are that squeamish do they get someone else to wipe their arse?
Isn't that what a dog is for?
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Ex Brummie said:
Sight glass fuel tank gauges for oil tanks are exactly this, incorporating a push button tap to enable readings. This negates the chance of a leak in the case of damage.
One of mine leaked at the push (pull) button. Had to isolate the tank.
-
7 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:
I use a couple of cheap volume meters, one just downstream of the pump and one on the filler hose. There's only a 20% difference between the readings so either 20% of my water tank is ending up in the bilges or they are not very accurate (I said they were cheap).We've got one of those on both boats. Very good for the price. Something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gallon-Garden-Counter-Connector-Adaptor/dp/B01EAIUFVQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_16 Good for keeping an eye on consumption.
-
Some USB C chargers seem to go into 'sleep' mode if plugged into the mains for a few days, and need to be unplugged for five minutes to reset them. Anker is one of them, I had a helpful chat with their support line about it.
-
2 hours ago, cuthound said:
If your phone has a micro USB socket it may have failed. I paid about £40 to have replaced in a local phone shop about a year ago.
USB C sockets can get blocked with fluff. Clean it out gently with a tooth pick. There are also reports of USB C sockets on phones failing after a couple of years. A quick Google says about £60 to replace in a phone repair shop.
I find USB C sockets can get fussy about which cable goes into them. I have my 'special' cables that the missus isn't allowed to take 😅😅
-
6 minutes ago, eightacre said:
That looks useful! I've just ordered one.
-
The android OS will tell you estimated time to fully charged which gives you an indication of how fast you are charging. No fanboys here so no idea about apple. There are plenty of crap cables on sale, and the connectors at the phone end are notorious for wearing out.
-
1
-
-
Something reminded me today that when I had an overpropped BMC engine which overheated regularly, a quick fix on the move was to take it out of gear and run at a fairly fast rpm (1500--1800ish) for a minute or so. It cooled very quickly. Only to be done if you can get away without power to the prop for a short while obv!
Boatman Stove fire bricks
in Boat Building & Maintenance
Posted · Edited by Onewheeler
I just ordered some of the correct size (take one out and measure it, they're all the same bog standard size) from one of the many eBay sellers selling them. Didn't get a reply from Eddy when I emailed him.