PaulD

Langley Mill and Eastwood are good places to eat. As well as Basilia, the Royal Gurkha across the road and the Grand Siam Thai in Eastwood are highly recommended. No connection apart from visiting them on a regular basis!

When I called Jabsco about hammering when turning taps off they said I should have fitted an accumulator! So I did and the hammering stopped. No problems at all since.

Mine hums but you have to be very close to hear it. Haven't seen it for years - its at the bottom of the electric cupboard. Maybe you have something loose?

I think they are probably the same batteries as I understand all the sealed ones use calcium to reduce electrolyte loss. The C has been dropped from the Numax data sheet product list for calcium batteries even though it still says CXV in the title. I remember reading several threads about short life caused by using too low a charge voltage with sealed batteries so I just ignore the E03 error. This is not a recommendation to anyone else - just my conclusion from reading a lot of very conflicting information.

Are these same as my Numax CXV 31 MF? I set my Smartgauge to setting 6 and get 03 error every time my Victron goes into bulk.

I would leave the accumulator in circuit. My Par Max 2.9 did work OK without an accumulator but it would fire up in the night as the calorifier cooled down. There was also some vibration / hammering when turning off taps. All fixed when I installed an accumulator.

If its a Surecal there is a non return valve in the bottom fitting which stops it draining.

Have a look at Vetus "Round air suction vent" ERV110. It includes a dorade box which is ducted upwards to reduce risk of water entering the vent. I built two into steel boxes (ducts) installed the corners and about 500mm above the rear deck of a semi trad. Scares me seeing open vents in the hull just above water level even on canals and rivers.

New NOx standards and UK carbon floor tax. No new boilers for coal stations allowed. Will all be OK when Hinkley Point is finished - what can possibly go wrong?

Just caught up with the news that the power station has closed which was a major employer and accounted for 9% of the local rates. Rugeley used to have a very big coal mine which also closed some years ago. Was a prosperous place once. Northern Powerhouse?

It is a good restaurant but the a la carte is expensive. They used to have some special set menus on certain nights. Walking distance to a canal and station is a bit limiting. Burton and Stone on the T&M? Paul

Soar Valley use 5mm for roof and sides. Very good welding and all panels straight. Will accomodate any special requests with good advice about what works. Very happy with my Soar Valley sailaway. Paul

Possibly - see: http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/media/268789/ecp-private-boats-ed3_rev2_apr2015_public_final.pdf Section 6.1.1 and 6.1.2

I think it's called winding! Only way before engines were invented. Paul

2 strands of 6mm2 would be an alternative. A bit cheaper and possibly easier for getting round corners. Mine is like this. Paul

If you visit Vehicle Wiring Products in Ilkeston you can get a 12v 20a toggle switch (ref # 60300) with standard blade connectors for £6.86 + VAT. Worth getting to know them as you live close by. Paul

16 valve Skoda - 8 in the engine and 8 in the radio Open top Skoda - skip Double the value of a Skoda - fill it with petrol Skoda heated rear window - keeps your hands warm when pushing it I'll try to remember the others. Paul

I had a Saturday job at Halfords in the early sixties. There was some exciting new car stuff like flashing indicator kits to save sticking your arm out of the window and wing mirrors because most new cars didn't come with them fitted. Also Castrol oil, seat covers, touch up paint, ammeters, batteries, spark plugs, driving gloves. I don't remember any filters or drive belts. It seems very similar to what they do now and not much training was required to sell most products. Paul

I had a problem with vibration / hammering eventually tracked down to an airlock above the calorifier. I remember now why I put a bleed valve in there! When I rang Jabsco for advice they said that I should have an accumulator installed and the claims in the advertising only apply to people who don't have any problems !!!??? Paul

Alarm voltage is certainly higher for type 1 than type 6. After fitting the sealed batteries it was sometime before I got round to setting the smartgauge to type 6. The E03 errors started with the new setting. An occasional charge at 14.8 - 15v seems to be necessary to maintain capacity with sealed batteries. Numax insist on 14.2 - 14.4v max so you have to make your own decision. I certainly wouldn't worry about 14.7v for short durations. Paul

Mine is the old type smartgauge but sealed calcium / calcium batteries on this unit are to be set as type 6. I regularly get the same E03 over voltage alarm with both Victron charger and also alternator so suspect the smartgauge alarm voltage is set a bit lower than 15v. My Victron absorption voltage is currently 14.7 - canal water and swim are still very cold. This has been discussed on earlier sealed battery threads and temperature compensation on the charger was chief suspect. Also not everyone agrees with Numax and smartgauge about the 14.4 charge voltage. Paul

Soar Valley Steel Boats built the trip boat for Chesterfield Canal Trust. They are based at Redhill Marina on the Soar. http://soarvalleysteelboats.co.uk/ As far as I know they only build shells but worth a call. Good workmanship and nice people. Paul

The sailaway builder can issue the CIN - worth a phone call to check the format. Or you can do it through RYA. Not a big issue

" It starts off ok with GB (for UK) then the 3 letters assigned to him, and then it goes a bit wrong" How? The format should be GB-XXX followed by nine digits / letters. XXX is the builders code. If you apply yourself it will be GB-RYA*********. Paul

I've also been looking for the revised route without success. I read that the remaining crossing has been shifted a bit to avoid demolishing the Fradley Park industrial estate. Still crosses somewhere above Shadehouse lock, probably where the nice moorings are. It still seems to run straight through / over Great Heywood marina unless I am looking at an old route.