1000 Miles in 2016

[Athy]

 

I think they (engine hours counters) are. It helps to know when it needs its fix of new oil and filters.

Nah, we use a calendar for that - oil and filters are changed regularly once a year.

It's strange that we have never had one, though.

[ditchcrawler]

I'm very impressed that so many colleagues have kept such punctilious records of their journeys. I did work out that our "big trip" of the year (Cropredy - Alvecote - Snarestone - Cropredy) was about 170 miles and some 60-odd locks, plus there were numerous short trips. So I would guesstimate about 300 miles in all.

Do some boats have milometers? None of ours has had one.

I run Motion X and this is what I get each evening from it. Don't believe the maximum speed it happens when it loses signal for a few seconds.

 

 

Hello,

Brian uses MotionX-GPS on the iPhone and is sharing with you the following track:

31 Oct 2016 12:12 pm

Name: Track 334

Date: 31 Oct 2016 12:12 pm

Map:

(valid until Apr 29, 2017) http://gps.motionx.com/maps/edf9a565af11a1134b508acc3f512830 View on Map

Distance: 9.57 miles

Elapsed Time: 4:07:52

Avg Speed: 2.3 mph

Max Speed: 5.6 mph

Avg Pace: 25' 53" per mile

Min Altitude: 76 ft

Max Altitude: 220 ft

Start Time: 2016-10-31T12:12:52Z

Start Location:

Latitude: 53º 11' 37" N

Longitude: 2º 26' 43" W

End Location:

Latitude: 53º 14' 27" N

Longitude: 2º 28' 43" W

MotionX-GPS Commonly Asked Questions

- What is MotionX-GPS?

MotionX-GPS is the essential GPS application for outdoor enthusiasts. It puts an easy-to-use, state-of-the-art handheld GPS on your iPhone.

- Can I use MotionX-GPS?

Sure! <http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motionx-gps/id299949744?mt=8>MotionX-GPScan be downloaded from the iTunes App Store.

- How can I display tracks in Google Earth?

Follow the directions on the Google Earth web site to download and install the Google Earth program. Save the attached "Track 334.kmz" file to your computer. Launch Google Earth, select File, Open, and open the saved "Track 334.kmz" file.

- This email was forwarded to me. Where are the attachments?

Some e-mail programs do not include the original attachments by default when forwarding an e-mail. In this case, the sender must reattach the original files for them to be included.

Please contact MotionX <http://www.motionx.com/faq/motionx-gps/>customersupport with any comments or questions.

All the best,

The <http://www.motionx.com/>MotionXTeam

US and Foreign Patents Granted and Pending. Fullpower® is a registered trademark of Fullpower Technologies, Inc. MotionX™ is a trademark of Fullpower Technologies, Inc. © Copyright 2003 - 2012 Fullpower Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.

ver: ; ref-id:

[Athy]

Very posh! But it looks as if it needs some form of computer, and we don't take one on the boat.

[Jess--]

I'm very impressed that so many colleagues have kept such punctilious records of their journeys. I did work out that our "big trip" of the year (Cropredy - Alvecote - Snarestone - Cropredy) was about 170 miles and some 60-odd locks, plus there were numerous short trips. So I would guesstimate about 300 miles in all.

Do some boats have milometers? None of ours has had one.

we have a GPS tracker in the boat (seemed silly not to have one when we sell them), the vibration of starting the engine (or walking from one side of the boat to the other) is enough to trip it's motion sensor and activate it. So we end up with a fairly accurate record of how far the boat has moved over a year.

 

Image below is tracks from May

[Athy]

That's cute. Do you have to plug it into anything or is it free-standing?

I see that you had the good taste to go up the Ashby during that month.

[alan_fincher]

Nah, we use a calendar for that - oil and filters are changed regularly once a year.

It's strange that we have never had one, though.

 

That's fine if you are only doing low mileages in a year.

 

In our busiest years, I would estimate the engine has run for maybe around 700 hours, so at least 3 changes in a year would have been sensible, possibly even more.

[Jess--]

That's cute. Do you have to plug it into anything or is it free-standing?

I see that you had the good taste to go up the Ashby during that month.

It's permanently wired into the boat electrics and hidden away (but has it's own backup battery), while it's moving it uploads it's position to the server every 10 seconds.

 

We go up the ashby quite often, its a local trip that we can do when we have a few days away.

[Athy]

 

That's fine if you are only doing low mileages in a year.

 

In our busiest years, I would estimate the engine has run for maybe around 700 hours, so at least 3 changes in a year would have been sensible, possibly even more.

Hmm, well if we covered 300 miles, I suppose that would be about 100 hours, plus waiting at and in locks, then running the engine while moored (for hot water and electricity)...hard to guesstimate, perhaps 300 to 400 hours I suppose.

I don't know Gardner's recommended service intervals, but one thing I do notice each year is that the oil level is still on maximum from when the oil was changed a year before, and we have never yet had to put any oil in between services. This suggests to me that the engine is feeling O.K.

[ditchcrawler]

we have a GPS tracker in the boat (seemed silly not to have one when we sell them), the vibration of starting the engine (or walking from one side of the boat to the other) is enough to trip it's motion sensor and activate it. So we end up with a fairly accurate record of how far the boat has moved over a year.

 

Image below is tracks from May

may16.JPG

What does the number under Course relate to, often in the 200s ? Is that all the info you get or is there more we cant see?

[alan_fincher]

Hmm, well if we covered 300 miles, I suppose that would be about 100 hours, plus waiting at and in locks, then running the engine while moored (for hot water and electricity)...hard to guesstimate, perhaps 300 to 400 hours I suppose.

I don't know Gardner's recommended service intervals, but one thing I do notice each year is that the oil level is still on maximum from when the oil was changed a year before, and we have never yet had to put any oil in between services. This suggests to me that the engine is feeling O.K.

 

Not so, at all, I'm afraid.

 

The fact it doesn't lose oil is no guarantee whatsoever that the oil you have in there is not worn out and in urgent need of changing.

 

I don't know Gardners, but I would be very surprised indeed if going more than (say) 250 hours between oil and filter changes was a good idea. I think you are probably doing your pride and joy no favours at all.

 

(I would delete the post I am quoting if you think you might ever want to sell the boat!).

 

Anybody who thinks Gardners are unbreakable, needs to look at the blog for Richard Chamberlain, (paddyr, formerly of this forum), and his wife Ruth. They have just suffered a broken crankshaft.

Edited December 10, 2016 by alan_fincher

[ditchcrawler]

Hmm, well if we covered 300 miles, I suppose that would be about 100 hours, plus waiting at and in locks, then running the engine while moored (for hot water and electricity)...hard to guesstimate, perhaps 300 to 400 hours I suppose.

I don't know Gardner's recommended service intervals, but one thing I do notice each year is that the oil level is still on maximum from when the oil was changed a year before, and we have never yet had to put any oil in between services. This suggests to me that the engine is feeling O.K.

I change mine every 250 hrs on the old BD3. I top the Trojan batteries up at the same time. so 3 times this year

[Athy]

 

Not so, at all, I'm afraid.

 

The fact it doesn't lose oil is no guarantee whatsoever that the oil you have in there is not worn out and in urgent need of changing.

 

I don't know Gardners, but I would be very surprised indeed if going more than (say) 250 hours between oil and filter changes was a good idea. I think you are probably doing your pride and joy no favours at all.

 

(I would delete the post I am quoting if you think you might ever want to sell the boat!).

 

Anybody who thinks Gardners are unbreakable, needs to look at the blog for Richard Chamberlain, (paddyr, formerly of this forum), and his wife Ruth. They have just suffered a broken crankshaft.

Yes, you mentioned that broken crankshaft saga recently - though I think you ascribed it to incorrect "remanufacturing" rather than to subsequent poor maintenance.

 

Of course I don't think that it's unbreakable - that's why I ensure that it gets its annual service. As for the bit that you quoted, it would show a prospective buyer that the engine has been regularly serviced!

 

So, what are the warning signs that an engine is overdue for servicing? I do listen to my engine, and don't notice it sounding rough just before a service. It doesn't produce much smoke except for a few minutes after it's been started from cold. The smoke never turns black. I often check its two thermometers, and as regular as clockwork they show 40-45 and 55 degrees Centigrade (I think the lower figure is for oil and the higher one for water). As aforementioned, it uses no oil, and little if any water.

 

To me , the fact that it's performing in the same way day after day means that it's in good condition - but I would be grateful if you could tell me any tell-tale signs which would show me that it's below its best.

[Jess--]

What does the number under Course relate to, often in the 200s ? Is that all the info you get or is there more we cant see?

Course is the direction the tracker was moving in at the time (0 degrees = North, 90 degrees = East, 180 degrees = South and 270 degrees = West)

 

there is a graph of speed/time that is shown below those results where you can easily identify when journeys start or stop but the info shown on the left is the data that was sent by the tracker (clicking on any part of the graph or data list highlights the position of that record on the map)

[Naughty Cal]

I'm very impressed that so many colleagues have kept such punctilious records of their journeys. I did work out that our "big trip" of the year (Cropredy - Alvecote - Snarestone - Cropredy) was about 170 miles and some 60-odd locks, plus there were numerous short trips. So I would guesstimate about 300 miles in all.

Do some boats have milometers? None of ours has had one.

We log every mile that we travel. The chart plotter tells us how far each journey is.

[alan_fincher]

Oil wears out - that is what it is designed to do. Filters fill with stuff you don't want to leave there fo exer, and flow becomes restricted - that is also what they are designed to do. That's why engine manufacturers specify a period after which both should be replaced. You can't see when this point is reached, but continuing to operate beyond it risks damaging your engine, whether it is a Ducati, a BMC, a Beta, a Lister a Gardner, a rOlls Rotce, or anything else at all.

 

By the time you see any tell-tale signs of the damage that might be caused by not following the manufacturers advice, things have gone far too far.

 

Find out from the experts the most hours your engine should run before oil and filter are changed, then ignore it at your possible peril. If you don't have an hour counter, you need a sensible way of keeping reasonable track of estimated hours run without one.

 

I have had to fit counters to both our boats - the hardest bit being choosing the physical location - otherwise dead simple. They are not the kind of thing H series Listers come with by default, but far easier than trying to estimate it, in my view.

[Naughty Cal]

On the other hand some manufacturers specify stupidly low oil change hours. Our Volvo Penta is 100 hour intervals yet the oil specified is a long drain high performance truck oil.

 

We change it at 100 hours for peace of mind but it is overkill.

[Captain Pegg]

Yes, you mentioned that broken crankshaft saga recently - though I think you ascribed it to incorrect "remanufacturing" rather than to subsequent poor maintenance.

 

Of course I don't think that it's unbreakable - that's why I ensure that it gets its annual service. As for the bit that you quoted, it would show a prospective buyer that the engine has been regularly serviced!

 

So, what are the warning signs that an engine is overdue for servicing? I do listen to my engine, and don't notice it sounding rough just before a service. It doesn't produce much smoke except for a few minutes after it's been started from cold. The smoke never turns black. I often check its two thermometers, and as regular as clockwork they show 40-45 and 55 degrees Centigrade (I think the lower figure is for oil and the higher one for water). As aforementioned, it uses no oil, and little if any water.

 

To me , the fact that it's performing in the same way day after day means that it's in good condition - but I would be grateful if you could tell me any tell-tale signs which would show me that it's below its best.

Looking at your description of the cruising that you do, the annual oil and filter change is probably fine. To put some perspective on it my 35 days of 440 miles and 582 in a year (including 5 days at the end of last year) was exactly 250 hours as recorded which is the specified interval for oil and filter changes for my engine but I never run the engine for the specific purpose of power and battery charging as I cruise long hours everyday I am aboard. I simply record the times I fire up and shut down the engine each day and make an allowance for any stops. Not a precise science but close enough for the purpose.

 

However, is your annual 'service' a visual check for problems or is the the specific tasks required by the workshop manual at set numbers of hours? You need to be doing the latter and then you may never need to know what to look for on an ailing engine. I suggest it should be someone who knows Gardner engines.

 

Knowing whether your engine is behaving properly is pretty straightforward; anything that changes in terms of sight, sound, smell and feel is relevant (probably best not to taste). At that point consult someone who knows about your type of engine.

 

When I observed an increase in smoke from the exhaust earlier in the year I noted down as many indications as I could think of that could be relevant and mailed my observations to RLWP. From my list of about ten things he picked out two pieces of corresponding evidence - the smoke was white and I believed one cylinder was running hotter than the other - and suggested that one cylinder wasn't firing properly. Coupled with some video evidence he also reassured me I wouldn't be damaging the engine to complete the BCN Challenge, during which he cast a discrete eye and ear over the engine and said it simply needed some TLC in the normal course of engine maintenance. He has recently proved his remote diagnosis by running the engine on each cylinder in turn; it runs fine on No 1 cylinder but stalls on No 2 cylinder.

 

JP

Edited December 10, 2016 by Captain Pegg

[Athy]

 

 

By the time you see any tell-tale signs of the damage that might be caused by not following the manufacturers advice, things have gone far too far.

 

Find out from the experts the most hours your engine should run before oil and filter are changed, then ignore it at your possible peril. If you don't have an hour counter, you need a sensible way of keeping reasonable track of estimated hours run without one.

 

 

But I have seen no tell-tale signs, as I explained.

However, bearing your words in mind, I'll e-mail Walsh's, who rebuilt and supplied the engine, and ask their advice.

[ditchcrawler]

 

 

I have had to fit counters to both our boats - the hardest bit being choosing the physical location - otherwise dead simple. They are not the kind of thing H series Listers come with by default, but far easier than trying to estimate it, in my view.

Agree with that have a friend with an old Lister and I keep trying to persuade him to fit an hour counter

[Athy]

However, is your annual 'service' a visual check for problems or is the the specific tasks required by the workshop manual at set numbers of hours? You need to be doing the latter and then you may never need to know what to look for on an ailing engine. I suggest it should be someone who knows Gardner engines.

 

 

Kevin at Springwood Haven, who supervises our engine services, is probably the most competent engine mechanic/fitter/whatever I've met - his mind just works that way, which mine doesn't. He even mastered the odd little ways of the Rigas Dizelis in our previous boat. The service consists of replacing or cleaning the air filter, the oil filter and the two fuel filters (one of the filters is a gauze thing which can be cleaned and put back), changing engine and gearbox oil. plus curing any faults which present themselves, though these are rare - one minor fuel leak this year. I have asked him if we should be doing anything else, e.g. checking injectors, but he says not, and that's good enough for me.

Incidentally, I think you were pulling my leg about your "relatives" earlier today, were you not?

[Sea Dog]

Did you miss the bit in the revised forum rules and guidelines that forbids members from passing off exploits undertaken in caravans under threads about boating activity?

 

Am sure I saw it.

 

JP

Give him a break JP, I believe that the poor lad gets mixed up because Caravan World Discussion Forum also has the initials CWDF. Easy done, and I expect they also have to put up with lots of unwanted musings about narrowboats. To be fair, they get the better deal from that arrangement, so its only right that Caravans are fair game here. However, I think the new doghouse is an Atomic Swashbuckler 3000 with twin axles and dual portapotties so I wouldn't want to take him on!

[Captain Pegg]

Incidentally, I think you were pulling my leg about your "relatives" earlier today, were you not?

What I said was entirely truthful; just that it's not 'that' David Pegg or 'that' Simon Pegg. Strangely though I was born on the same day as the comedian Simon Pegg (although Pegg isn't his birth name) and my sister vaguely knows him (stalks him at the bus stop is how she describes it).

 

JP

[Guest]

Ah but did he consider he was towing when he had uncoupled the caravan.

No, mileage undertaken 'solo' not included.

Did you miss the bit in the revised forum rules and guidelines that forbids members from passing off exploits undertaken in caravans under threads about boating activity?

Am sure I saw it.

JP

Like the thread title it didn't state anything of the sort so fair game I'd say, sorry n all that.

[Jerra]

No, mileage undertaken 'solo' not included.

 

Like the thread title it didn't state anything of the sort so fair game I'd say, sorry n all that.

To be fair MJG I automatically assumed that I was having a gentle nudge at the discussion of when you are and when you aren't towing in another thread.

[Guest]

To be fair MJG I automatically assumed that I was having a gentle nudge at the discussion of when you are and when you aren't towing in another thread.

Ah right.......

 

But I have no idea what you are referring to.