Being a member of River Canal Rescue is a good idea. I have had need to call them out in the past, perhaps the most needy being at Huddersield when the prop got wound up with steel wire ending up with the engineer in the water in a dry suit. The company obviously has a need to keep its engineers occupied in the winter and offer an annual engine inspection as part of their gold membership, and an engine service in the winter for an additional fee. I thought I would take advantage of the latter this year. It's not that I can't chnage an oil filter, but more to get an insight into the things I don't normally check.
The engineer took spent about 2 hours with the boat and did all the usual things like change the oil and filter, although I advised him that changing the fuel filter was a bad idea with a full fuel tank. He checked the engine electrics, tightened up the belts, blew the dust (old belt dust) out of the alternators and generally found things in good shape which was reassuring. Perhaps most useful were a number of tips, some of which I need to act on. RCR recommend "Marine16" as a good fuel treatment especially for the new red diesel spec which is likely to include biofuel. Static fuel in tanks for a long time might not be a good idea. He suggested that it might be good practice to run down the tank to near empty (what I try to do anyway) as a regular plan rather than keep topping up. Especially in the warmer weather when the bug is more likely to multiply. Suggestions also about keeping spare control cables and belts on board.
LED Lighting
Brilliant though this is we have found a serious disadvantage. The FM Radio stops working on all stations except BBC radio 3 and 4, when the lights are turned on. My thinking is that this must be due to a frequency fed back through the power supply, or a radio frequency transmitted from the light electronics. Nearer lights having a more pronounced effect might support the latter. Suggestions welcome for dealing with this.
Battery Maintenance
We have no power hook up in the marina and I rely on the solar panels for battery maintenance. In the winter, it seems that there is just not enough light to keep the batteries up to scratch. It looks as if we will have to start more regular winter cruising again. We did when we first had the boat, which is probably why we had no problems in the first year or two. I suppose I could make a fuss and get wired up. However, I rather like the idea of taking the boat out.
Had the same problem myself. I now have a standard, rather than LED light near the radio at the front of the boat and LED lights at the rear.
Posted by: Narrowboatlife | January 25, 2011 at 06:15 AM
There has been quite a lot of interest on this topic, not least from one of the LED lighting suppliers. The consensus is that with a decent radio installation it should be solvable.
Posted by: Mike | January 25, 2011 at 07:28 AM
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Posted by: bofa online banking sign in | February 22, 2011 at 05:36 AM
LED was used as replacements for incandescent and neon indicator lamps and in seven-segment displays.It is also first in expensive equipment such as laboratory and electronics test equipment then later in such appliances as TVs,radios,telephones,calculators and even watches.
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Posted by: Driving Lights | March 13, 2012 at 04:07 AM