Watch Out Watch Out There's a Grumpy Triker About...!

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, cuthound said:

When we bought DQ three years ago, the surveyor  (Craig Allen) said, "don't put anything in the pump out toilet, and it will not smell".

Did as he said and it didn'the smell. After a year, I was worrying that if the red "toilet full" light failed it could be catastrophic,  so I decided to fit an MCL waste tank gauge (belts and braces). This involved cutting a hole in the stainless steel holding tank. 

I did this with great trepidation,  but much to my surprise, there was no smell. As an added bonus, I found the "toilet full light came on at just over 50% full, so I have effectively halved my pump out costs, and the gauge has easily paid for itself. 

So, don't put anything (blue, odourless, biological washing powder,  bleach etc) down the toilet and it will not smell. Might take two or three pumpouts to get rid of any previous blue etc, but worth it in the long run.

We don't put anything in our pumpout tank either. Its a stupid macerator bog so there is absolutely no smell in the boat ever. Stinks like hell in the yard when we pump out though

[croftie]

1 hour ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Do you add them with every fill?

Yep I do. Dose as per instructions on the box

[magpie patrick]

Good stuff!

Nothing wrong with ex-hire: both my narrow boats started life as hire boats although in Lutine's case that was in 1972! 

[The Grumpy Triker]

13 hours ago, cuthound said:

When we bought DQ three years ago, the surveyor  (Craig Allen) said, "don't put anything in the pump out toilet, and it will not smell".

Did as he said and it didn'the smell. After a year, I was worrying that if the red "toilet full" light failed it could be catastrophic,  so I decided to fit an MCL waste tank gauge (belts and braces). This involved cutting a hole in the stainless steel holding tank. 

I did this with great trepidation,  but much to my surprise, there was no smell. As an added bonus, I found the "toilet full light came on at just over 50% full, so I have effectively halved my pump out costs, and the gauge has easily paid for itself. 

So, don't put anything (blue, odourless, biological washing powder,  bleach etc) down the toilet and it will not smell. Might take two or three pumpouts to get rid of any previous blue etc, but worth it in the long run.

Cheers Cuthound - general consensus is leave alone for the loo  one less thing to buy, or more money for the wine rack 

[The Grumpy Triker]

13 hours ago, croftie said:

Yep I do. Dose as per instructions on the box

Just had a look online and there are 1litre tablets and 25litre tablets....not sure how big my water tank is but are there any bigger dose tablets?

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Cheers Cuthound - general consensus is leave alone for the loo  one less thing to buy, or more money for the wine rack 

I tend to agree with Cuthound too. However, should you find a need (as I did with a little used so infrequently pumped out secondhand boat suffering from an accumulation of solids) then I'd recommend Silky RX. It's an enzyme added (down the pan) at a teaspoon per month which yomps solids and turns them into non smelly liquid. Squared my tank away in no time.

Mind you, I'm a bit frivolous with my cash 'cos in addition to the 7 quid I spent on that some years ago, I spend nearly a tenner annually on Elsan Fresh Water Tank Cleaner which is not unpleasant in any way. I rate that too, but it puts me a bit out of step with the 'two penny worth of bleach' brigade. The rest of the year I'm then happy to add clean chlorinated tapwater and drink from my potable water tank. Other opinions do vary!

[The Grumpy Triker]

17 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I tend to agree with Cuthound too. However, should you find a need (as I did with a little used so infrequently pumped out secondhand boat suffering from an accumulation of solids) then I'd recommend Silky RX. It's an enzyme added (down the pan) at a teaspoon per month which yomps solids and turns them into non smelly liquid. Squared my tank away in no time.

Mind you, I'm a bit frivolous with my cash 'cos in addition to the 7 quid I spent on that some years ago, I spend nearly a tenner annually on Elsan Fresh Water Tank Cleaner which is not unpleasant in any way. I rate that too, but it puts me a bit out of step with the 'two penny worth of bleach' brigade. The rest of the year I'm then happy to add clean chlorinated tapwater and drink from my potable water tank. Other opinions do vary!

You are truly frivolous!!....however, being a test taster for bleach levels compared to yours and I know which glass of water I'd choose first 

Thanks for the RX tip, I'd hope that with it being an ex-hire it should have been regularly pumped out....but worth adding to the list of options.

[cuthound]

4 minutes ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

You are truly frivolous!!....however, being a test taster for bleach levels compared to yours and I know which glass of water I'd choose first 

Thanks for the RX tip, I'd hope that with it being an ex-hire it should have been regularly pumped out....but worth adding to the list of options.

Don't forget the golden rule of ensuring nothing other than what you've eaten or drunk and toilet paper goes into it.

Also only use cheap toilet paper, some of the expensive stuff doesn't dissolve and can jam macerator or pump out pumps. 

Best to test the proposed toilet paper,  by putting a sheet in a glass of water, leaving it for a minute and then stirring the water.  If the sheet of toilet paper dissolves,  it is OK for use in a pump out toilet,  if it doesn't,  then don't use it in a pump out toilet. 

 

[NickF]

On 7/29/2017 at 09:29, The Grumpy Triker said:

YOU CAN BREATHE NOW!! & so can I....am about to be water bound!!....so get those fenders out.

Following all the expected last minute excitement I am finally the proud new owner of my very own Narrowboat!    

it is currently out of the water for some work, including blacking and due to work I am unable to get aboard until mid-August but routes being planned for the first journey.

Now!!.......

I know the traditionalists will consider me amoeba amongst the nb owners club but I'm happy -

1) It is a cruiser stern....35% gone

2) It is an ex-hire boat ...another 40% gone

3) It has pump-out toilets..... 20% more gone .....the other 5% are probably just like me  

 

Unlike my earlier experience the sales support at Sanley Bridge were and still are providing fantastic support!....can't thank Andy and the team enough, and the hire company have been very helpful.

Can't wait to get on board and last week of August I'll have my 3 kiddies on board for a holiday together....so get the rain gear out, as it is bound to rain.

Look forward to meeting some of you on the cut, and hope you don't get fed up of my questions....I will research first    

Will be back a bit later...got to go Fender and rope hunting for real now.....no window shopping any more?

I am one of the 5% , I approve your choice of water transport ... I am just not so sure about the road transport but each to their own!

[croftie]

5 hours ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Just had a look online and there are 1litre tablets and 25litre tablets....not sure how big my water tank is but are there any bigger dose tablets?

Just checked and what I have are labeled Cleantabs. 1 Tablet per 225 litres.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clean-Tabs-Water-Purifying-Tablets/dp/B00AUV40UK

http://www.marinescene.co.uk/product/4853/aqua-clean-mega-tabs/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxcXet--w1QIVzZ3tCh3p6QOMEAQYAiABEgLzB_D_BwE

 

[The Grumpy Triker]

5 hours ago, NickF said:

I am one of the 5% , I approve your choice of water transport ... I am just not so sure about the road transport but each to their own!

5 hours ago, croftie said:

Just checked and what I have are labeled Cleantabs. 1 Tablet per 225 litres.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clean-Tabs-Water-Purifying-Tablets/dp/B00AUV40UK

http://www.marinescene.co.uk/product/4853/aqua-clean-mega-tabs/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxcXet--w1QIVzZ3tCh3p6QOMEAQYAiABEgLzB_D_BwE

 

Thanks for that

one other really daft question but at a standard chug speed on the cut, not open water, how many miles should I get to the gallon.... or litre? 

I've seen some big contradictions in numbers and wondered what your opinions were.

[AllanC]

I would suspect that it will vary depending on engine size, how many locks you encounter, how many moored boats etc,  but I will guess between 3 and 4 hours per gallon.

Edited July 30, 2017 by AllanC

[Sea Dog]

14 hours ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Thanks for that

one other really daft question but at a standard chug speed on the cut, not open water, how many miles should I get to the gallon.... or litre? 

I've seen some big contradictions in numbers and wondered what your opinions were.

My Beta 43 tends to use about 1.25 litres per hour or a little more when river work is involved and is probably not far off  typical for a modern canal boat engine. Litres per hour is a more meaningful measurement on the cut as it accounts for time in locks,  charging whilst moored, etc, and many boats have engine hour counters which is easy just to read off rather than having to calculate your distance covered. It's easy to keep an eye on your fuel consumption by always fuelling back to full and dividing by engine hours since previous fill. 

Whilst we're talking fuelling, keep your tank topped up to avoid condensation in the space above the fuel. This helps to avoid water in your fuel which can encourage the growth of diesel bug, and it particularly applies in winter. In addition, you may wish to consider a fuel additive. There are those used to fight existing bug and those that are preventative. I use a preventative called Exocet at each fill, but a search will reveal a number of alternatives.

[Guest]

Second that ^^^ we use Exocet as well, no problems so far. 

[peterboat]

My first boat was a 60 foot cruiser stern ex hire boat with a pump out and it was a great boat so a thumbs up from me too happy cruising

[mrsmelly]

26 minutes ago, Meanderingviking said:

Second that ^^^ we use Exocet as well, no problems so far. 

The thing here is how do you know if this expensive " additive " is doing anything? I am a longtime liveaboard with an extensive cruising range and have never used any additives and never had diesel bug.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

The thing here is how do you know if this expensive " additive " is doing anything? I am a longtime liveaboard with an extensive cruising range and have never used any additives and never had diesel bug.

That's fair comment however I don't want to take the chance. In the summer I only run to cruise every fortnight so tank turnover is slow. I bought the Exocet from an agricultural supplier, so much cheaper than a marine purchase.

[Mrs Tawny Owl]

Owner of an ex-hire with large cruiser stern and 2 pump out loos so obviously you've made a very good choice. Ours is also a holiday boat not a live aboard.

One piece of advice I would give you is to live with it for a few months before making any changes, even putting the stove in. I suspect being ex-hire it'll have some sort of heating, ours has a gas boiler and radiators. I know people say gas heating is very expensive, but we're not found it to be given our usage of the boat, and we don't have to store coal!

We had great plans about taking out this and that, and putting something else in, but after living with her for a while we found some of our plans didn't make sense, and others were more useful.

We are now down to only 10 beds from the 12 we started with!

Enjoy her, I'm sure you will.

Sue

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

The thing here is how do you know if this expensive " additive " is doing anything? I am a longtime liveaboard with an extensive cruising range and have never used any additives and never had diesel bug.

I hope it doesn't have to do anything. For it to do anything, it has to be dealing with contamination, and I try not to allow that to happen. I'm careful where I fill choosing yards with a good turnover and check my pre-filter agglomerator drain for water fairly regularly and, so far, there's never been any in there. If that continued, you could say all those capfuls of the vast 11 quid's worth of Exocet I've been putting in at each fill for ages now have been wasted. On the other hand, rather like a seat belt, should the worst happen (and we know it can) I've at least taken a precaution. Expensive?  I don't think so, but I haven't even bothered to work out how much it costs per fill cos I'm still on my first tin! It can't be much.

[Dave Payne]

On 29/07/2017 at 17:00, cuthound said:

When we bought DQ three years ago, the surveyor  (Craig Allen) said, "don't put anything in the pump out toilet, and it will not smell".

Did as he said and it didn'the smell. After a year, I was worrying that if the red "toilet full" light failed it could be catastrophic,  so I decided to fit an MCL waste tank gauge (belts and braces). This involved cutting a hole in the stainless steel holding tank. 

I did this with great trepidation,  but much to my surprise, there was no smell. As an added bonus, I found the "toilet full light came on at just over 50% full, so I have effectively halved my pump out costs, and the gauge has easily paid for itself. 

So, don't put anything (blue, odourless, biological washing powder,  bleach etc) down the toilet and it will not smell. Might take two or three pumpouts to get rid of any previous blue etc, but worth it in the long run.

Agree with this, have been nearly a year now with nothing in the tank apart from what i produce and as long as i dont hold the flap open i get no smell anymore, took a good few pump outs though, and about three pump outs back i pumped out and half filled with fresh water, went for a cruise and then pump out again to make sure i shifted the stubborn bits.

 

Pumped out this weekend with a hangover and all was well!

[The Grumpy Triker]

On 30/07/2017 at 18:20, AllanC said:

I would suspect that it will vary depending on engine size, how many locks you encounter, how many moored boats etc,  but I will guess between 3 and 4 hours per gallon.

Cheers Allen......between you & Seadog it gives me a good idea, being honest my trike has a modified fuel tank so I don't really know what it does either but a close guess is good....4 hours per gallon compared to 4 gallons per mile (now that would be a turbo charged bullet!...or a US toy sailing boat

Gives me a good idea  

[The Grumpy Triker]

12 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

My Beta 43 tends to use about 1.25 litres per hour or a little more when river work is involved and is probably not far off  typical for a modern canal boat engine. Litres per hour is a more meaningful measurement on the cut as it accounts for time in locks,  charging whilst moored, etc, and many boats have engine hour counters which is easy just to read off rather than having to calculate your distance covered. It's easy to keep an eye on your fuel consumption by always fuelling back to full and dividing by engine hours since previous fill. 

Whilst we're talking fuelling, keep your tank topped up to avoid condensation in the space above the fuel. This helps to avoid water in your fuel which can encourage the growth of diesel bug, and it particularly applies in winter. In addition, you may wish to consider a fuel additive. There are those used to fight existing bug and those that are preventative. I use a preventative called Exocet at each fill, but a search will reveal a number of alternatives.

Thanks Seadog....it's a great cross-match so at least on the first run I know where I stand. As you say I'll get used to it after keeping a log but didn't want to run out first run 

Diesel bug would bother me over winter but .....is it a scare over-spread by those in the business, as I know it is real but...how much to worry....I am one of those who will play safe....at a cost.

10 hours ago, peterboat said:

My first boat was a 60 foot cruiser stern ex hire boat with a pump out and it was a great boat so a thumbs up from me too happy cruising

10 hours ago, Mrs Tawny Owl said:

Owner of an ex-hire with large cruiser stern and 2 pump out loos so obviously you've made a very good choice. Ours is also a holiday boat not a live aboard.

One piece of advice I would give you is to live with it for a few months before making any changes, even putting the stove in. I suspect being ex-hire it'll have some sort of heating, ours has a gas boiler and radiators. I know people say gas heating is very expensive, but we're not found it to be given our usage of the boat, and we don't have to store coal!

We had great plans about taking out this and that, and putting something else in, but after living with her for a while we found some of our plans didn't make sense, and others were more useful.

We are now down to only 10 beds from the 12 we started with!

Enjoy her, I'm sure you will.

Sue

Thanks for this.....good advice I can heed on almost everything......but can't not do a stove as a narrowboat without a chimney is not me, and a chimney without a stove!?

it is the feelgood factor I need to fulfil 

[AllanC]

Working on the theory that a full diesel tank has much less chance of getting condensation in it and radically reducing the risk of diesel bug, then after the initial outlay of filling the tank, it should not be much of a problem to keep it topped up. I imagine you would have to travel a lot of miles and run the engine for a considerable time in order to empty a tank. Maybe top up whenever possible.

[The Grumpy Triker]

7 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I hope it doesn't have to do anything. For it to do anything, it has to be dealing with contamination, and I try not to allow that to happen. I'm careful where I fill choosing yards with a good turnover and check my pre-filter agglomerator drain for water fairly regularly and, so far, there's never been any in there. If that continued, you could say all those capfuls of the vast 11 quid's worth of Exocet I've been putting in at each fill for ages now have been wasted. On the other hand, rather like a seat belt, should the worst happen (and we know it can) I've at least taken a precaution. Expensive?  I don't think so, but I haven't even bothered to work out how much it costs per fill cos I'm still on my first tin! It can't be much.

Awww COME ON!....!?!?....a pre-filter agglomeration!?....that's a King George BlackAdder comment surely!?

Good turnover fuel sites....I guess you only learn about those through experience ...? 

4 hours ago, Dave Payne said:

Agree with this, have been nearly a year now with nothing in the tank apart from what i produce and as long as i dont hold the flap open i get no smell anymore, took a good few pump outs though, and about three pump outs back i pumped out and half filled with fresh water, went for a cruise and then pump out again to make sure i shifted the stubborn bits.

 

Pumped out this weekend with a hangover and all was well!

Mmmm nice! 

10 hours ago, Mrs Tawny Owl said:

Owner of an ex-hire with large cruiser stern and 2 pump out loos so obviously you've made a very good choice. Ours is also a holiday boat not a live aboard.

One piece of advice I would give you is to live with it for a few months before making any changes, even putting the stove in. I suspect being ex-hire it'll have some sort of heating, ours has a gas boiler and radiators. I know people say gas heating is very expensive, but we're not found it to be given our usage of the boat, and we don't have to store coal!

We had great plans about taking out this and that, and putting something else in, but after living with her for a while we found some of our plans didn't make sense, and others were more useful.

We are now down to only 10 beds from the 12 we started with!

Enjoy her, I'm sure you will.

Sue

TEN beds!?...what's that a 100 footer 

[rusty69]

3 minutes ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Awww COME ON!....!?!?....a pre-filter agglomeration!?....that's a King George BlackAdder comment surely!?

Good turnover fuel sites....I guess you only learn about those through experience ...? 

I'm sorry, sir. I'm anaspeptic, phrasmotic, even compunctious to have caused you such pericombobulation regarding agro with your agglomerator