There I was in the front seat on the upper deck of the bus to Newbury plugged into the iTouch when another “boatie” looking couple got on at the Rising Sun pub. It was Jan and her husband from nb Whistler. Jan obviously knows my Jan as she asked how things were going with the build. We got talking about boats (as boaters do) covering a range of subjects but never quite reaching toilets. They are continuous cruisers but this year have spent a few months wintering over just up the canal from us in Frouds Bridge Marina. During this time Whistler has been fitted with a new Beta 43 engine and; more of interest to me; an Alde heat exchanger. This is connected into the engine cooling system on the primary side and the central heating system on the secondary. I’m informed there is sufficient heat being extracted from the engine to heat the boat. Apparently the Alde Heat Exchange is quite a small unit. It’s something I must do more research into.
Once back at Waiouru I decided to transfer another jerrican of diesel into the Hurricane tank using our new 3v pump. Because it was a sunny day there was no requirement for an umbrella so I was able to take a couple of photos.
You may recall Ray & Diane (nb Ferndale) put us on to the 3v pump and it’s doing a reasonable job of transferring the fuel.
The 2x1.5v ‘D’ size batteries go in the handle and there is a small toggle switch on the top.
The pump doesn’t reach the bottom of the 25 litre container but it does empty a 20 litre one. my assessment is the outlet hose is likely to perish or fracture in the not too distant future but I should be able to make up a more robust replacement hose.
As you can see in the photo, ‘Ollie’ the swan now has a girlfriend. we’re now getting twice the amount of tapping on the side of the boat. It will be a hell of a racket if they start a family! 
9 comments :
Tom, I have looked into the Alde heat exchanger, which is relatively inexpensive and easy to fit into an existing system. As you know, it will then get the boat warm from the engine during a cruising day, and even keep the engine warm when moored for the night via the heating system, I do believe, if plumbed and valved in that configuration. The only thing I would research thoroughly is the metal used in it's construction. Other Alde products use aluminium, therefore the company recommend that no copper is then used in the rest of the connected system due to the increased risk of enhanced galvanic corrosion.
Good point Peter! We have radiators made from copper pipe and wouldn't want them to prematurely fail from corrosion
Did you know your pictures hyperlink to a “Sorry, that page was not found” on Picasa?
Does your calorifier have twin coils so the water is heated from the engine or the central heating? If so then have you tried using it like a heat exchanger by running just the pump on the central heating?
Surely if you add anti-freeze that would prevent corosion of that sort, as thats why (one of the reasons) it is used in cars.
The pump. Once the flow has been started with the pump, does it syphon ?
Hi Paul,
The link is working for me.... but then it's my Picasa! I'll have to do some further research. And yes, the calorifier does have twin coils so what you are suggesting is feasible. However at the moment the Hurricane circulation pump is controlled by the thermostat via the Hurricane control box. I'd need to modify the system and (potentially) void the warranty. More to think about.
Alf,
The potential problem is the electrolytic action that can take place between two different metals. It's a bit like a battery. The aluminium is one plate and the copper another. When they are separated there isn't a problem but if you link them together with an electrolyte (eg, battery acid or anti-freeze solution) you end up with an anode and a cathode. One will eat away the other.
The hyperlinks on the pictures work fine now.
You could try putting another pump in parallel with the hurricane if you didn't want to risk voiding the warranty, but that's the complication of extra plumbing.
I was hoping you might try to see if the twin coils could worked as a heat exchanger (albeit probably not very efficient) as I've been thinking of trying it on our boat. You seem so good at trying things and publishing the results I thought I could leave you to try it for me :-)
Paul,
I'm too old and cunning to fall for the "be the first to try it" approach! :-)
Actually I think our skin tank must be very efficient as the engine doesn't appear to heat the water in the calorifier to a very high temperature.
Maybe I should look at bleeding it!
Paul, we use that system on Shadow. When cruising, just switching on the central heating pump without firing up the Alde gas boiler provides sufficient heat into the radiators for a good general background warmth.
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