Jan did all the work today. I was feeling unwell yesterday and even worse this morning. This is a rare event for me as I’m not prone to catching the “lurgy”. I woke this morning with sore eyes and a throat that felt a quarter of it’s normal diameter. Moreover during the night someone had been pushing and pulling a length of barbed wire down it. My chest is also somewhat tight and I have a cough. Consequentially I missed out on my Sunday walk and Jan didn’t get her pub Sunday roast. Hopefully it’s only a three day thing and I’ll be on the mend tomorrow. Unfortunately Jan appears to now be coming down with it. She needs to be more careful about who she sleeps with!
The day wasn’t a total loss. Jan headed off to Sainsbury’s to buy the last of the food whilst I fiddled with the BMV battery monitor read all the technical literature and then carefully recalibrated the BMV. The engine was then started and the domestic battery bank recharged. The BMV monitor is now giving a much more accurate report on the state of charge (SOC).
Two days ago we were in Aldi and whilst following Jan with the trolley I noticed they had a small liquids pump that can be powered by an electric drill for just under £10. Whilst Jan wasn’t watching I slipped it into the trolley. I’ve modified the inlet hose by gluing a one metre extension of smaller diameter plastic hose to the end.
The plan is to use it to extract the oil out of the gearbox. The thin hose will fit into the gearbox dipstick/filler opening. The original plan was to buy a manual extraction pump and then Adam (nb Briar Rose) commented I should drain the gearbox by removing the drain plug underneath. I’ve had a look at the practicality of using that method and unfortunately I’m no longer sufficiently flexible to reach beyond my toes. So the pump is my theoretical solution. Whether it’s practical will be confirmed at the next engine service.
Hopefully we’ll recommence our cruising tomorrow.
4 comments :
You might find it better to use 9" or so of copper (gas) pipe on the suction end as the plastic pipe is usually difficult to keep straight enough to go to the bottom of the gearbox.
Tom, your symptoms are identical to mine, but I suffer them every year at the same time - 2 weeks during Wimbledon. When the tennis finishes, so do my symptoms, I have had it all my life. It is hay fever - an allergy to a certain type of pollen. This year is particularly bad, with eyes so sore and matted I can't open them in the morning, and a sore throat like sandpaper. No medication seems to work for me, I just shut myself away for 2 weeks, and then it is gone - just like that - the same every year. We haven't been able to use the boat recently due to it. Hope yours is better soon.
Alf,
Finding a source for the copper pipe might be more difficult than the plastic hose. But it;s certainly worth considering.
Hi Peter
I'm not so sure it's hay fever as I've never suffered from that in my life. Unless I've acquired it with age! :-)
Hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow as Jan probably couldn't take two weeks of it.
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