Soundings

Unfortunately I am no engineer and the manual is confusing me (what I have of it). My engine is a Perkins 4.108. It has raw water cooling and cooling via a radiator/water tank. The radiator is not a problem as it has anti-freeze in it. What I cannot find out is the capacity of the raw water side of the cooling system. can anyone help? Many thanks

Useful info. When introducing antifreeze via the weed strainer how long do you tick-over for and how much antifreeze do you intoduce? It might be that you tick-over for, say, 20 seconds and introduce a constant stream of antifreeze during that time. Also, my strainer is at the back of the boat, far from the helm, and to turn the engine off after inroducing the antifreeze would mean a short period of time where the engine was just ticking over with no anti-freeze being introduced (it would probably take about 30 seconds to get out of engine well and back to the helm to stop engine). Would this mean that the anti-freeze would all be pumped out? Perhaps I have to work with a help mate? On the other hand would it be sufficient to fill the strainer to the brim and then just run the engine for 20 seconds or so? Finally, where can I get "green" anti-freeze and is it expenive? Many thanks.

No problem Strowager - for what it's worth I agree with you 100%

Strowager, I made no comment as to which side of the fence I sat in terms of camera deployment. I just make the point that it is a poor show when drivers have to be policed that closely - and I agree they do need to be. We seem to live in a world where the breaking of regulations is seen as the norm - speeding traffic, speeding boats etc. etc.

Whether such cameras serve their purpose or not is something that could be debated forever. We all see it differently. The sad thing is that the standard of driving is such that they are deemed necessary at all.

Many thanks, Clive. As helpful as ever. Colin

Can anyone help? I'd like to know what the glass fibre sandwich is made up of on the Aquafibre 33. For instanceca Freemans lay-up is foam between to layers of fibreglass. How is the Aquafibre constructed? Many thanks Colin

I should have said, that I did actually ask what the cost would be to replace the alternator with a modern version of the same. As there is only one alternator I could hardly have been talking about two.

Clive, it was more than that and this forum is not the ple to discuss it, I will pm you. I can't speak highly enough of Chris though.

Hi GrantS, You are so right and it is the checking that I had hoped Rickos engineer would do! I actually know my way around a standard alternator ok with its two wires (charging and light/tickler). This is an old AC though and several of the components that are built into a modern unit are in fact separate on an AC. Thus when you look at it there are more that two wires coming out the back! Confuses the hell out of me so, yes, I need an electrician but who? Alo, I probably do ned to upgrade the AC as it is obsolete kit - but at up to £1k to fit.........

All sounds a bit over complicated for a lamp flickering on & off to me. The lamp is usually in series with the (exciter) wire (12v) to the alternator. If its intermittent, then as said earlier, it is likely be a poor connection on that line. E.g. A Connection before lamp, The lamp itself, A break at the soldered connection terminal in the alternator or even a fracture in the lead itself. I had a similar problem on my Kit Car where the lead had fractured approx 2 inches back from the alternator & was caused by the vibration / movement of the engine But in this case, the light was disconnected when the engine had stopped and the igition was off. After a restart the alternator kicked in straight away at13.8 volts.

That all makes sense to me but I am no electrician and for some reason there was a reluctance to get involved (in a hands on sort of way) at the yard today. No testing equipment was even brought aboard! The fact remains however that the AC is an aged alternator and will need to be changed at sometime. Newer unitts are far less complicated so it does make sense to update sooner rather than later.

Regrettably, the visit to Rickos did not fix the problem - the only advice we got from the electrician was disconnect the lamp. That certainly works in that the alternator continues to charge ok. Advice/background info from Chris was more helpful but at the end of the day nothing has really changed - other than the lamp and buzzer are now disconnected. What I have learned is that I have an old AC alternator. This could be pos or neg earth but as the boat was built in 1981 I would have thought this was well in the negative earth era. So: 1) Is there a modern alternator that can be dropped in in place of the old AC without needing to mod the brackets. 2) Is there any kit that sits between the alternator and the battery that will need upgrading if I change the alternator. 3) When I mentioned changing the alternator I was quoted a rough price of £600 to £1000, which sems extortionate to me. 4) How do I know for certain if a boat is wired pos or neg earth. Thanks

I dropped in and saw Chris at Ricko's and the boat is booked in for this Thursday morning. Thanks everybody and a what a helpful chap Chris is. Colin

Thanks gang, and Clive, thanks for the number. I'll ring Chris in the morning. I am only at Broadsedge so can pop the boat up easily. Hopefully next year I will be able to moor in your place, Clive.

Dan?

Thanks eveybody. I am no electrician, or mechanic for that matter, so moving on from here is difficult for me. It there a reliable and not too expensive boat elengineer around who could have a look-see for me. The boat is in the Stalham area and so am I

My charge arning light keeps flashing at me irrespective of the number of revs the engine is giving. I did some tests with a multimeter and these follow. Any ideas what the fault might be? 1) Fan belt is not loose and batteries do not need water. 2) Battery voltage after standing for a week: Domestic bank 11.5 volts. Starter battery 12. 5 volts. 3) Output from alternator at about 1000/1500 revs = 13.8 volts (measured direct from alternator) 4) Charge at battery terminal – circa 13.6 volts. 5) Battery readings after about 20 minutes charging = 13.5/13.7 volts, domestic and starter. 6) Battery readings after being left to stand for about 20 minutes; Starter 13.2 volts. Domestic bank 12.6 volts. 7) Light continued to flicker throughout the charging process and at different rev levels. Taking the domestic batteries off-line (turn-off at isolation switch) made no difference.

Quick quest for a bit of advice. I recentlty tightened the fan belt as my ignition light kept flashing/buzzing. There was no particular rhythm to the fault, just sometimes it did and sometimes it didn’t flash/buzz. Well the problem has returned. The dials all seem to be reading ok - oil pressure fine, temperature fine, and volt meter reading around 13/13.5 volts consistently at 1000/1500 revs. So any ideas? I will be (or intend to be) using the boat tomorrow for a run to Barton and back from Stalham. The fan belt currently has about one and a half to two inches of slack when I press on it. Is that too much - maybe the belt is knackered. Many thanks Colin

Many thanks, I'll have a look when I'm at the boat later this week. Where will I find the identity/model number? Is there any drain on the battery once the unit is fired up? Presumably there is in respect of the fan, which should not be much and allows for overnight running? Thanks Colin

The boat I have recently purchased has Webasto warm air heating. I have never used this system before and there are no user manuals aboard. That said, I have had it running and it works fine but I have been told this bit of kit is heavy on the batteries - why seeing as it is diesel fired? I have also heard that it is only heavy on the battery when being fired up but that after that there is no problem - the advice I have is to run the engine whilst starting the Webasto. Can anybody add to this? Should I just run the engine when starting the Webasto and then carry on heating with no engine running? Thanks Colin

Ferry Inn, Horning is £10 per night, refundable if you dine there.

Thanks to you all for the help and support. Things, it seems, were not as bad as first thought. Jason and the boys looked at this today and found that weed had entered the cooler via a damaged inlet filter. Crud has been suitably removed and engine is apparently running now at a reasonable temp with no white smoke. Fortunately I have two water intakes and whilst the master was well and truly blocked the secondary at least let some water through; this probably saved the day. Ludham Bridge Boatyard rules ok as does this forum Good cruising all Colin

As has been said earlier in this thread, 12 volt models seem to be overly expensive. I have always used a domestic 240 volt version via an inverter. The drain on the batteryu is no more (or not significantly so) than a 12 volt.

Hope ou are right. Jason believes a cracked head is on the cards as it is a Perkins 4.108 weakness.