Jump to content

Waveney Pegasus - The Strangest Design Ever?


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

Incidentally, gas fridges do not cause explosions.  Not on their own.  The naked flame of the pilot light, low down on the galley floor, may be the ignition source of an explosion caused by something else,

In another thread I stated that fridges should be electric rather than gas. Whilst I stand by that comment, I would add that what Vaughan says is why. These days fewer boats have petrol engines, but I'm more worried about gas leaks for whatever reason. On Nyx, a gas joint within the cooker failed a couple of years ago. (the hob was replaced FOC by the supplier). Had I had a gas fridge aboard ... well I'd rather not think about it.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Had I had a gas fridge aboard ... well I'd rather not think about it.  

I agree but would also ask - were you on board the boat and smelled a leak?  If not, were the gas bottles turned off, when you were not aboard?  And was the gas tap beside the cooker turned off when not in use?  All these things are safety features with this sort of problem in mind.  In fact, the vast proportion of gas leaks that I have cured, have been from the burner taps on cookers.

You need a large amount of gas in a boat before it explodes and it has to be at exactly the right mixture with air - known as the explosive range, which is very small. Too little gas or too much, mixed with air and it will not burn. It is also a bizarre fact that people who are in a boat during a gas explosion are very often not injured.

It doesn't do the boat a lot of good, though!

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to add, Electrolux are now marketing a fully room-sealed gas fridge, and for the first time ever, they are actually announcing it as suitable for marine use.  Up to now they have always denied this and said that their fridges are for caravans, but not boats.  They are very expensive, though.

In the case of MM's problem, a room sealed fridge would not have ignited the gas from a leak elsewhere in the boat.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not a fan of gas on boats, but I can see how things were simpler from an engineering perspective when we had gas fridges and radiant gas heaters (apart from the condensation!).

The batteries needed to run a lot less and so needed less charging, and battery state wouldn't affect whether the heating would run.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Vaughan said gas fridges are perfectly safe the vast majority of explosions were on canals with petrol engines  boaters while waiting in a lock would take the opportunity to refill the outboard tank as they were in a lock no wind the vapor tricked down into cabin hit the fridge flame and boom. when i built my present boat i wanted a gas fridge but boat safty said it must be room sealed one Electrolux were the only people that did this and they stopped it at the time, shame as i knew someone who worked there and could have proquired one at big discount, gas fridges work really well very economical and quirt, nice to know that Electrolux are resuming production, electric fridges on 12 volts use a whole solar panels worth of power. you smell gas long before it can ignite and it lingers long after gas turned of and if turned of at bottle no gas and no flame at fridge either, and before some one says what about starter in engine room all marine starters and alternators are/should be spark free that's another reason why they cost more than road going ones. John 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
1 hour ago, Broads01 said:

I saw it up close for the first time a week or so ago at NBD. It's just as ugly and impractical in real life.

I'm with you Simon I totally agree, I don't like a lot of what len has had designed in house. That said I do like the silent emblem type of boat.They offer great accommodation for a couple, small family. I also think the ones built while len was owner at ferry were completed to a much higher standard. I've seen his new boat/mould for NBD sitting on the car park at Wroxham is going to be a cracker. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was amused by the fact that it has got not one but two 3kw inverters to feed those appliances.

So with 6KW total available, you could empty those three domestic batteries in half an hour.

And then there's only an 80A battery charger and an alternator. Shore power won't help either, because 16A posts are far more common on the Broads than 32....

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

For details of our Guidelines, please take a look at the Terms of Use here.