Mowjo

Thanks Antares, that just what I wanted to know, :-D

My little two burner and grill cooker has finaly given up the ghost, so I'm taking the opportunity to fit a new two burner, grill and oven one, (only because I got it for a good price) I'm going to alter the cubby hole where the old one is and line it all with stainless steel, and then get the gas connected by a corgi reg fitter, probably Moonfleet because it's next door to our marina, what I want to know is do I have to get a new BSS certificate, or does the gas fitter give me a certificate or something to say it has passed and is safe,, cheers

:-D Jonny chuck it in the bin :-D get a cheap multitester, make a couple of extension lead for it or buy them, that way you can switch it to circuit and check all the wiring for breaks, you can find out where each wire go's to and what it works, make sure you switch the battery's off when your circuit testing, I keep the short live red cable that comes with the tester, and have a four meter black extension cable with a small insulated crocodile clip on it, an example of how it works is, turn the battery's off, switch to circuit test, connect the crocodile clip to say a wire in a suspect light in the cabin, then from where your main wiring is at the fuseboard, touch the lead to each wire in turn then when you get a reading you know that is the wire and it is ok, it also gives you the opportunity to do a diagram so that you know what each fuse supplies, if you leave the batteries on and put the tester on DC then at the light you touch the two test probes to the wires, it'll tell you if it's live and how many volts are getting through to the light, either way if you get no readings the chances are there is a break in the wire somewhere and you just need to replace the wire, what I do is get a length of temporary wire and connect one end at the fuseboard, the other to the fitting and if that then works i'll re-wire it permanently, If I could only have one tool on my boat it would be my trusty Multi tester,,it has 101 uses on a boat and has got me out of trouble lots of times,, :-D

:-D Good thinking Gordon, most don't show a reading until the engine is running, I'm wondering if the needle jumping is due to the charger giving a pulse charge rather than a constant charge, but Jonny said when moving it dosn't show any reading, very odd but as we both agree theres no real way of telling much without a multi meter to check things, :-D

Jonny! get yourself a cheap multimeter, a basic one cost about a tenner, I never go anywhere without mine, it could be your voltmeter is knackered, it could even be corroded terminals or it could be as simple as a bad earth, with electrics it could be a number of things, so I doubt anyone could give much advice without actualy testing it for you, I'd rule out the battery's because even if they are low it should show some reading on the voltmeter, trace all the wiring back from the voltmeter and check all the connections, making sure they are clean and secure, that goes for the fuse as well, without some sort of tester you can't test to see if your gettting 12v at the voltmeter end of things, if you have a spare light you can make a simple tester, all you need is a 12v bulbholder and bulb connected to two lenghts of wire, touch the two ends of the wire to the two terminals at the Voltmeter end, and if the bulb lights ok then your voltmeter is knackered, just a thought have you taken the two wires off the voltmeter at some point, some voltmeters have directional flow, so if you have put them back on the wrong terminals the needle will go over to the left and not the right side to show the real reading, best I can do for you Jonny, as I say a multimeter is a godsend if you get out somewhere, and something electrical goes wrong, at least you have a good chance of sorting it out, and if your only using it for basic stuff they are really easy to use,, :-D

Thanks Antares and Dick, I just re-ordered the changeover switch because I got the normal one and not the Alternator Field Disconnect one, then I came on here and read your post, the actual wiring of the switch is no problem, what I can't remember is where the main live feed goes to, the live at the moment goes to the soleniod, but if memory serves me right on my other boat it went straight to the alternator, so I'm stuck until I see one set up,,,

:-D Dick! most helpful and it has jogged the old memory a bit, I'll have a look on a boat with the two battery set-up first just to make sure, last time it was quite easy as I went from one battery to two, this time I have two battery's running through a relay, so I just need to know what to disconnect now, :-D

:-D Ok I need help again :-D My Freeman runs with two battery's and a changeover relay, and the isolator switch is on the negative side, I've been advised to change it to the positive side, so I thought that if I'm going to have to change it all around, I may as well fit a Perko changeover switch and do away with the relay, now heres where I need help, do any of you know where I can get a wiring diagram for the set up, I did one twenty years ago but I've forgotten how to do it now, I know it was quite easy, but I need to know what cable goes to what and where,, Folks,,, Frank

Paul! do I take it you've given up on plan A then?? have to say I prefere the idea of a bit of heat while moored up, spose I'd better buy the Mrs a new hot water bottle then :-D

Looking good!

:-D Ian! any vibration in or around the exhaust pipe will eventialy wear through the pipe, but it still needs to be quite a tight fit, it looks like it would work but you may need to solder a complete ring around those spikes, just a bit bigger than the exhaust pipe, and say half inch or so wide, that way it'll give a bit of support and won't wear into the pipe, and if you have the space around it fit some sort of heatproof seal to stop it rattling, Screwfix do a range of Temperature Resistance Silicones that can stand up to 300c so that may do the trick, you should also be able to get it from any good plumbers merchants,, :-D

:-D Your Right Perry! and I'd love to be there to see their faces when Brian turned up for the BSS, :-D

Jonny! I've got twenty years worth of Photo's to troll through, the reason I remember the tree is because I had it as a screensaver years ago, and it had a Cormorant sitting in it drying itself, I really should have got that one as Barton Turf is one of my favorite places to moor up,, had a good look on your ssite Paul you have some great photo's on there,,

Never mind Paul! Jonny deserves to win after all that effort he put in, Now where is that flipping photo of mine, Oh! by the way well done Jonny,

I've definatly got a picture of that tree with a Cormorant sitting on it somewhere, :-D

On the right hand side as your leaving Barton turf, just before you enter Barton Broad,,

On the corner of the Island at Barton Turf :-D

Oh Maybe! The little Island on Barton Broad, but I have another Idea thats it's on the opposite side of the river at Hunset Mill,

Ok then on thr right hand side as you approach Ant Mouth just near that small brick building which I think is a pumping station,, I've seen that tree so many times but can I think where, NO! I remember it because it stands out, in fact i'm sure I have a photo somewhere among the millions I have of the broads,

This is bugging me now because I know I've seen that tree lots of times! My guess is the mouth of the river Ant, If I am right let Jonny have the picture he deverves it after all his guesses,,

Well I'll say it's Wayford Marina, because unless Paul fibbed it's not a bridge, but is privately owned,, and he was there not long back,,

We have an oil/water separator fitted on our Freeman, it had to be fitted to pass the BSS as the bilge pump is under the engine, according to my paperwork the separater cost £60, you can probably get the cheaper though,,

Would it not be worth asking the man at Stalham gas if he knows anyone that would fit it?

Thanks for that Info Kfurbank, I didn't know normal domestic cookers had them, I only need the little two burner and oven jobbie for my boat, I'll drop in Calor at Stalham, seems their prices are quite good from what I've heard,

Alan! I think you must have been lucky to get away with having that on board, I'm thinking of fitting a new cooker on my boat and came across this on the BSS site,, you can download the BSS guide from there as well,,, If the burner on any of your appliances goes out and the fuel continues to flow and is ignited this could start a fire or cause an explosion. To reduce the risk of this happening appliance burners, ignition burners and pilot lights must be fitted with flame supervision devices that completely and automatically close off the LPG or fuel oil supply if the flame goes out. Appliances in good condition and in place before 3 January 2000 are exempt from this requirement, http://www.boatsafetyscheme.com/site/Home_1.asp