Gas Petrol and Eleccky

[lazyoldriverer]

Concerning the paloma and ruling regarding their use, .... currently they are allowed as there isnt a room sealed instantaneous water heater to replace them.........
on the point of safety where the nauticus is concerned if you have a petrol engine, the use of a paloma or a gas fridge is a no no as both have a pilot light that could easily ignite any petrol fumes causing an explosion.
hope this clarifies the situation

cheers

Rick

Does that mean that if you have one you have to take it out?

I chose a Diesel because I did not want possible petrol witch hunts.

However when I was deciding It would appear that "Experts" on Canals, see Petrol as the Spawn of Satan and those on Rivers being more laid back, saying all is easily rectified.

They all read the same "rules" as well !

I am sure that there are Certified Petrol Engine Boats with Gas Fridges etc, The normal problem is getting gas replacements as The market is moving to an oil based fuel

To clarify, if you have a paloma fitted then they are ignored as there is no viable room sealed replacement available at an affordable cost.
With regard to gas fridges , although some previously tested petrol engined boats will have them, on the current test they would not be allowed in a cabin as it puts a naked flame i.e. the pilot low down where they could cause an explosion in the event of a leakage of fuel vapour.
some people have got away with installing them in the thingypit area and running them on 12volt during the test and although a lot of examiners will accept this , if you have ever seen the result of such an explosion i am sure you would think twice!
there were 2 guys seriously injured on a narrowboat a few years ago on the T+M when one filled a petrol genny on the deck of his boat whilst in a lock and the fumes were ignited by the pilot light on his fridge
Using a 2nd battery and an alternator controller like a sterling or kestral you can easily gain the power to run a fridge on 12volts , especially if you switch it off at night as i do.
To sum up in my opinion aside from b.s.s. rulings i prefer this system to alleviate any chance of explosion or fire due to gas or petrol vapour leaks.

cheers
Rick

Weel I copied this over to its own thread so the "Introductions does not get clogged up


I have seen a Freeman go up, immediately after filling when the Engine was spun, so on balance Diesel is the right fuel, However this is the first time I have heard that existing Gas Fridge systems are in effect banned.

A lot of Cabins have an interior deck which is higher than the *Pit and Fuel should leak into a drip tray etc.

All that being said, it is safer to keep gas to a minnimum, but that leaves us with electric for fridges, fate acompli really as there is not an alternative.

The problem with eleccy is charging and battery size especially on a Nauticus, if you want a lazy day without cruising, the domestic bank will soon go down.

Our Shared Owners Management, on A Narrowboat I use recommends running the engine for Four Hours a day.

At the moment I use a Cold Box with Ice for the week ends and the plug in cool box for "Long week ends (2nd/3rd day etc), but there is not any Ice for the G&T's.

As for Heating we have a calorifier for water and the Gas Oven/Hob for Easter evening warmth, No Pilot Lights

So what is the Best Set up for a Nauticus?
Discuss

[riverdance]

I have a 110amp and a 85amp leisure battery wired together to give 195 amp/hours fully charged. When out cruising I set the fridge on 12 volt and take a couple of bags of ice in the 12 volt cooler kept under the table. This keeps mainly frozen for 2-3 days. When moored-up I occasionaly switch the batteries over to the inverter for tv use and the fridge to gas, turning the thermostat to about No 2. This is enough to keep food fresh and doesn