Building a river boat

[DamienG]

 

[victor vector]

I have started glazing the windows .
The photo shows seven panes fitted along the side of the cabin.

Because of it`s optical clarity , cast acrylic Plexiglass is said to be virtually " invisible " to UV rays .
I used the original german made Plexiglas , it comes with a 30 year non - yellowing guarantee .
Care will be required when cleaning these to prevent scratching.

Plexiglas will represent a 50% weight saving over float glass and will be more flexible .
If the pontoons are pushed onto an uneven bank flex could be an issue.
Plexiglas has 10 X the impact resistance of float glass at 4.5 mm thickness.

Glazing is set into the rebates with butyl mastic , a soft sealant that skins over and is paintable .
It is  used for sealing things on  caravans and mobile homes.

[victor vector]

Hello Everyone ,
I`m getting into hot water.

I have decided to use a 240 V hot water heater when connected to shore power to save lugging so many gas bottles aboard.This unit is very small and compact at 25 lts ( 6.6 US Gallons ).It will fit neatly under the kitchen bench and not take up much space.
25 lts is not really sufficient for showering for two people , so this little heater`s function is to boost the temperature of some pre heated solar hot water stored up on the shantyboat`s roof.
The pre heater will contain 100 lts ( 26.5 US Gallons ) of hot water that will be plumbed into the cold water inlet of the little water heater.
This is all experimental at this stage , but so far it looks promising.


In principal it`s all very simple , here is illustration of a similar pre heater .



These are batch heaters , meaning that the storage and solar collector are combined as one simple unit.
The main advantage is simplicity and some protection from frost ( batch heater volume ).


I anticipate having to provide an insulated cover to protect the pvc pipes from very cold nights frost ( rare here ) , but more importantly , since solar is
a " uncontrolled " energy source , to prevent the collector pipes from over heating on very hot days.




Small electric boost water heater .25 ltrs , ( 6.6 Us Gallons )



This is a photo of building the solar collector tray. 2 inch foam insulation sandwiched between 1/4 in plywood , reflective foil lining reflects sun`s radiation back towards the back of the black collector tubes..



The collector on the left will drop into the box as a complete unit once the box is installed on the roof.

http://i.imgur.com/A9G5aya.jpg



3/4 inch plywood pieces retain the collector tubes.

Paint is mat black high temp epoxy.









For initial testing , I just filled one black pipe at 8 :30 am ( ambient temp 25 C or 77 F)

4 hours later the water in that four inch pipe was too hot to put your hand into.and would have required tempering down with cold water.

I will require some insulated covers to prevent overheating on really hot days , such as we have just experienced here earlier this week.

That will require some input from me on really hot days to close the covers after heating up the collector , but it`s not a big chore is it really ?

I will need to install some digital temp probes at the collector so that I have some idea of just how hot things are getting in there , but it will just become part of a daily routine of life aboard in summer .

[DamienG]

 

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hullo Victor.......with each posting we continue to see 'good' technology being built in & utilised.......

This is opposed to 'useless' mod cons......... Derek

[victor vector]

Thank you for the kind words and interest , gentlemen.

[derekwarner_decoy]

Victor.....with the amount of stored water at elevated temperatures you may wish to consider some low voltage [12 or 24V] ionic protection

I am pretty sure it is a variation on salt water chlorinators for swimming pools.............relies in the minerals [in the equivalent] of domestic tap water & thus the impressed current kills natural bacteria that would send tap water rancid at the elevated temperatures 

This would seem preferable over the chemical tablets   that the 4x4 off road people use to maintain the quality of their stored water

Derek

[victor vector]

Hello Derek

Thank you for the comments .

You are absolutely right of course.

I have a friend here that does exactly that and it is deceptively simple to set up.
He treats river water with a small 12 volt charge  and it transforms his murky brown river water to sparkling clear in 24 hours.
It kills virtually all  bacteria and pathogens .He actually drinks that water , and has done so for years .
Personally, I would not , but would not hesitate to use it for ablutions.

I`m having some real bandwidth issues here at the moment , ( school holidays )  so I may not reply promptly at times ,I can only get  wi-fi  where i am , and it`s very prone to drop outs and
at times I cannot even get a connection.

Thanks again for the advice ,you are  spot on !

[victor vector]

I was hoping to complete my solar collector in the next day or two ......









The weather forecast says otherwise :

Today :            40.0 C  ( 104.0  F )
Tomorrow:       42.5 C  ( 108.0  F )
Friday :            41.0 C  (  105.8 F )
Saturday :       43.3 C   (109.4 F )



Too much for me .........

I did manage to complete some work on the rear deck access door before the heat hit .

[Roderick Smith]

I whisked through Mannum earlier in the week, collecting my boat from Greenings and heading to the Glenelg.  I knew that I wouldn't have time for a personal inspection, and so didn't ask for a location.  The coming year is a bit quiet for planned downriver events, but there will be ones in Echuca for PS Adelaide's 150th, plus Wentworth Junction Rally (July) plus possibly a rally with the club based at Renmark.
Roderick

[victor vector]

Merry Christmas to all ,
Thank you for your interest , ( or boredom ) this year.

 See you next year , best wishes

Victor V

[victor vector]

Happy new year everyone !

I have started work on the water tank that will store river water to supply the shower and hand basin in the bathroom.

My water tank for stored river water is a cut down 200 liter pickle barrel.



A 18 mm ( 3/4 inch ) marine plywood ring is placed inside the top of the barrel to restore rigidity .

It will be epoxy coated to render it water proof , then painted.









Top inlet.





Manual fill pump fixed to the wall.





This is untreated river water .It contains a lot of colloidal clay.



The easiest way to separate the clay deposits is to add a tea spoon of alum.



The staff inside the barrel has markings spaced at 150 mm ( six inch ) intervals.

This is the water after four hours .



Eight hours after adding the teaspoon of alum the water is clear.

The silt deposit seen at the bottom is drained off after each use.

[DamienG]

10 / 10 for ingenuity Victor.   

[victor vector]

Wood stove heat shield is fitted.



I cut the brackets from scrap metal roofing.





Flat sheet metal gussets fixed to the back of the panel.

Alum. channel fitted to edges.





Paint still required.

[victor vector]

A question for someone who may know .......

How do you people think I would go painting this with normal acrylic paint ?

The four inch flue has just over 100 mm ( four inch ) clearance to the panel .