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Hi all, I am a new boater, excited to be on the canals, enjoying the experience, and learning a lot in a short period of time. After a recent visit from a River Canal Rescue (RCR) engineer, who was very helpful, I found myself in need of a tank clean and an informal recommendation to use Tankbusters. As this seems to be an issue many boaters will come across at some point I thought an honest review of the Tankbusters service and what to expect from their pricing would be useful. I've seen a request on this forum for advice too. I called Bruce from Tankbusters and after a pleasant phone call ended with a quote for cleaning the fuel tank on my narrowboat which amounted to £275 for a "base clean and removal of contaminants", plus extras and the hire of their generator, filters and £0.22 per mile for travel. A few days later Bruce and his Wife arrived in their van. The actual tank cleaning was pleasant enough. We helped with the fetching and carrying of equipment from the van, the Tankbusters along with a very friendly fellow boater helped us pull my boat a short distance to the nearest bridge. Before Bruce started I asked how much the actual total would come to and in a joking way Bruce told me a story about a large river boat "at least twice the size of yours" whose tank he had recently cleaned "they had change from a grand" at the end of the process. This was given across with a joking reassuring tone the implication being "so yours will be nothing like that". With the £275 quote at the time I was assured that all would be well. During the cleaning conversation flowed, and I kept the tea and biscuits coming. The Tankbusters gave me a few samples of the nitrile gloves they were using, we used my power cable for their generator. For interest, the process was simple, a generator runs a pump connected to a long metal nozzle and a filter, sucks up the diesel, filters it and runs it back into the tank. This is repeated as required. At the end of the cleaning (approx two hours) I was given three diesel samples from my tank, a sample pre-cleaning, a sample post-cleaning and one Tankbusters considered as minimal requirements for any diesel we put into the tank. I was advised strongly against taking fuel from any work narrowboats on the canal and informed I should take the "minimum requirement" sample to any refueling station from here on in and not to refuel if the diesel was dirtier than the sample. When it came to starting the engine up, the Tankbusters sprayed a little quick-start to get things moving. We helped pack the gear away I was given an invoice for the job (which I confess I did not pay close enough attention to - it was getting dark and I wanted to move the boat to out of sight of the bridge to moor overnight. We said goodbye with the understanding we would take care of payment the next day. The next day I looked at the invoice for the service, this amounted to £679.70 The original quote was £275 The extras had totaled £407.70 Water filters (£192) 1 micron filter bags (£68) Fuel additive (£24) All year fuel additive (£18) Generator (£12.50) Mileage had been added at 0.55p a mile. (£90.20) I called Bruce to discuss the invoice, he insisted that I has misheard the cost per mile for travel, I had written this down during the quote conversation and certainly would not have been happy with 0.55 a mile. I also communicated that I believed he had over charged me for an extra set of filters (£94) which had not been used and also that I believed he had misrepresented the final cost of the job when he had given me the quote. He told me the invoice was correct and that he cannot give a full quote at the time of quoting as he does not know the full extent of the job before arriving. Personally I think it would be an honest better practice to give the price of the filters and a general impression of the final cost. Also to give the correct price for mileage. The next day Bruce called and informed me the 4 water filters were added accidentally to the invoice and he would subtract them from the total. I requested an updated invoice to reflect this which I would pay. Bruce demanded I paid the full amount before sending the invoice and after a back and forth of text messages Bruce agreed to produce the invoice. I pressed the point for an invoice as by this time I was concerned at the amount of trust I should have and I wanted to cover myself in case something more were to happen. Bruce emailed the invoice through, a total of £583.70 (still a £308,70 difference) & I paid. On a personal note, I would consider that if the 'extras' for a job are to exceed the quoted price to this extent then an explanation of these costs of those extras should be explained at the time of the quote. The jovial demeanour and impression over the phone in my case certainly did not reflect this and was, in my opinion a calculated decision. Now I must stress that this was my personal experience and I have no experience with any of the Tankbusters team beyond Bruce. Obviously it goes without saying that you are free to make your own choices. My sincere hope is that my experience is useful to anyone who is looking to have their tank cleaned in the future. As a new boater (and as such in a vulnerable position) I certainly would have benefited from this information and I would have made a very different decision at the time. It is probably obvious that I had a disappointing experience here but I have tried to be as objective as possible so other boaters might benefit from the experience either way. Happy boating!

Looking for a recommendation to get Juno's outboard serviced The wet weather and my professional workload is slowing down doing any significant work on the boats, and I had hoped to be enjoying them (rather than just working on them) by the end of April! Quickest to get ready for a cruise would be Juno, but her outboard really needs a good coat of looking at by someone who is more competent, faster, and has more time than me. Yamaha 9.9 long leg outboard, I can get it in the car to the service person if needs be: say a forty mile radius of Bath? Further if needs be Thanks All! MP

Can anyone recommend anybody (themselves or someone else) to service our Izuzi engine? It's Model No 3CB1 - C, 2008, 25 HP. Also crucially where to get Oil, Diesel and Air filters???

Hi Any recommendations on service parts for the Cananline engines? I have a 52 I should service soon. Looking for oil and air filters, mostly. The "original" Canaline parts are a bit expensive and I've seen a few on ebay but not sure... Any tried and tested sellers/links? Thanks

Afternoon all, I am renting a narrowboat as a continuous cruiser. I'm aware that this is a controversial thing to do, however, I would like the benefit of your shared wisdom without any judgement as i have a question with regards to stove maintenance that has me stumped. Essentially, my stove hasn't been serviced since the landlord bought the boat 2.5 years ago, and he is digging his heels in about getting it sorted. As winter approaches, I am concerned about my safety, especially as it has been leaking water when it rains due to a faulty chimney and the seals connecting the pipe to the body of the stove and inside of the roof/chimney collar look old and a bit worn. Over the next week I will be replacing the glass, stove rope and chimney, however, should I be insistent over getting the stove serviced or will I be ok? To clarify, there are no visible holes, cracks or gaps on the body of the stove, though I can't see if this is the case where the pipe connects to the chimney collar. Thanks in advance for any advice. Cheers, Bob.

Hi I'm looking for a good reliable mechanic to service a BMC 1.5 engine boat currently in Hackney wick. Cheers Markymark

I seem to have trouble sourcing basic engine service parts - typically ordering at Chandlers with lengthy delays and high prices. Can anyone advise either for an online place or good local (I'm in Rickmansworth at the moment) supplier? Should I try to source parts from motor factors or places such as local car shops/halfords? I'm never quite sure about oil, often being offered oils slightly different in spec to what the book recommends. I feel like I haven't nailed a good steady supply of correct items, it must be simple surely? thanks

Hi Can anyone recommend a suitable engineer/mechanic who could help us rebuild/overhaul our Lister HR2 air-cooled twin-cylinder engine - preferably in situ in our Northwich? We are in N London, based on the Regents Canal, but would move her to the right person for the job. We are a charity running a community boat. Thanks in anticipation. Tony

Hi, The fuel in my SR2 is leaking into the lubricating oil. It's not too bad but I'm having a go at finding the leak. Whilst I'm at it, I'm going to give it a thorough service and maybe a decoke, depending on how things look. I've got a couple of questions though - I haven't worked on diesel engines before. I've got Marine Engine Services document from http://www.marineengine.co.uk/LubricatingOilDilution.pdf but have got stuck. This is the engine I took off the air ducting and cylinder head covers and found out I have an HSR2. (which is nice!) I ran it briefly but could see no obvious leaks. Video here (but not very good quality) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12O7N44sJbE I took off the fuel pump housing door There's no chafing or anything obvious. I haven't disconnected the oil feed to the rocker arms yet because I can't find any suitable tube. Then it says to operate the fuel pump by hand to check for leaks. How do I do that? Is it by turning the engine manually, and if so, how do I deal with the compression? It will only be a small leak so it'll have to be turned over quite a few times, I think. Do I just have to man up or is there a way to decompress the cylinders without the cylinder head covers on? Or shall I just run the engine as it is? Cheers, Joe

Hi All, I am planning to service the above engine on our NB this weekend. I used to service my car years back, but I am pretty much a novice and haven't worked on diesel engines before. I am pretty practical, so I should be ok and don;t want to pay 120 - 150 for the (dis)pleasure of someone doing it for me. I gather I need to replace fuel filter, oil filter, air filter and of course oil. Anyone out there got anything to add to that list? The engine runs well actually, but recently it takes a while to start (maybe 30 - 40 seconds before it finally fires) and is much smokier than it used to be when we first bought the boat in the summer. I'm guessing it needs a service anyway. Looking through the stuff that the previous owner left, I have two new fuel filters (a Crossland C1191PL and a Coopers/Fiaam FT4788/AZF015 - can I use either??) and what looks like a fan belt (Gates 6375MC 11.9 x 1010). Should I change the latter as there is a new one?? This sounds like it might be beyond my skills. Does anyone have part numbers for the oil and air filters to save me climbing down into the engine compartment and trying to look for them on the old ones?? Any advice would be very much appreciated!!!! Cheers!!! Mike