TheBeastie

I confess to getting very confused with all this stuff using vegetable oil but with prices where they are it has to be worth finding out a bit more. At its most basic can I simply pour 4l of cheap Tesco/Asda/Costco vegetable oil into a 3/4 full tank of diesel on a 200Tdi with no modifications and genuinely suffer no ill effects or breach of the law? If so then it probably makes sense to do so if no huge expenditure on conversion kit needed or trying to source guaranteed supply of used chip oil.

Sorry Is this link better? http://www.x-eng.co.uk/Instructions/X-Fan.pdf It is the last diagram in the instructions

More success with my second fan from breakers and it is now nicely fettled into place. This one is a single and sits nicely. I have wired the high temp and low temp sensors back to the top and bottom poles of my switch with the central pole running back to the relay as suggested in the diagram for a single fan. It is as the bottom diagram in the attachment, courtesy of X-Eng. I would like to have a warning light for the water overheating but fans switched off in case the switch is inadvertantly left in the off position but cannot work out how to do it. If anyone can tell me where to take the feed from I would be most appreciative. I have a nice red warning light just waiting for the cable feed! I also have a feeling it might be quite good to have a light on when the fans turn on but reckon that is just a case of taking a feed off the wire from the switch to the relay and feeding it to a lamp that has its other side going to earth so the lamp will light when current flowing to relay. Thanks Malcy

Are you sure they are not just rather tough heads for a shepherd's crook for use when dealing with unruly rams? Seriously though I always like the feeling of enclosure that a ring and shackle provides. Malcy

Well got my 350 amp connectors now and one question if I may. I got three connectors - one for (soon to be new) battery box, one for jump leads and the other one was to provide easy access for my tyre compressor. However the compressor has nice wee 50 amp cables that will never in a month of Sundays crinp up into the Anderson poles. Am I better trying to see if I can get a pair of +ve and -ve screw poles that I can fit to front of battery box and then fit rings to the compressor cables? Or is there a better way of doing this?

I do not have fabricating facilities, or abilities for that matter! As a result I am very tempted by the aluminium parts from YRM. Is there likely to be a corrosion issue since the original (at least I am assuming it is steel) one is steel. I don't think there will be since everything else thereabouts seems to be alu. I also assume I prime with a suitable primer and give a good few coats of decent paint before fitting. Make sense?

So will I be able to remove the old battery box and fit in the new one with the main seat arrangement (not sure what it is called) in situ, or will I have to remove the whole lot before I can tackle the job?

Thanks Mike I will start looking.

Was drilling nice hole to take a wiring conduit from neatly battery box into engine compartment to tidy up leads for cut off switch and proposed dplit charge etc. I was aware it looked a bit ropey but hadn'e really expected half the front to come off when I tapped it with a pin hammer! Still, I suppose better to find out before I get the double batteries installed How easy, or otherwise, is it to fit a new box? I have tried searching but not really found a suitable thread. I am not keen on a liner since space is already limited so presumably I need to remove the whole seat box assembly, remove the old battery box and fit a new one. Can I do this without welding? Also some indication of just what else has to come off would be useful and any hints as to best place to get a suitable new one. I have seen mention of flat bottomed boxes which would seem a good idea for the double battery setup. Meanwhile I will not need to be concerned about any build up of hydrogen, however SWMBO might find the seat rather draughtier than usual! Thanks

Thanks for the suggestions guys I think the best solution is to try and get a single Mondeo fan out of the scrappy and write off the outlay on the double fan. The offer still stands for anyone who wants to pick up a slightly butchered double fan from Edinburgh Best wishes Malcolm

Thanks Landymanluke It was a mondeo fan! I saw the double and thought it would work well since I had seen posts mentioning the double Mondeo fan. I am now older and wiser. So I guess it is back to the scrappy but not being greedy this time. PS If anyone near Edinburgh wants a partially carved up double Mondeo fan it is there for the taking unless someone can come up with a bright idea of how I might use it elsewhere!!!!

Got round to carving up fan shroud and attempted fitting this morning. From my template it looked as if it would be tight but would go. Sadly that is not the case No matter how I look at it the bottom of the fan over the intercooler is had against the bottom pipe but still has the shroud over it so protecting the fan itself, but with not a millimeter to spare. If I push and shove I can just get the top part of the fan under the top hose of the radiator but I have had to shave off the fan shroud and it is obvious that even with the hose off the fan will not turn since it is jammed up hard against the top hose. I hope the photos show the problem. I think I am faced with three options but wonder if anyone has a better idea. Option 1 is to carve off the upper fan and just use the one - but if I do this I think a 10" fan is too small??? Option 2 is to forget the double fan, go back to scrappy and get bigger single fan off a Mondeo and put the original payment down to experience Option 3 is to give up the whole thing and put the viscous back on Having come this far I am not going to do option 3, and anyway given the temperature gauge showed no difference when it came off I suspect it is knackered anyway! Currently still have the hoses off in case someone comes up with a bright fix-it. Failing that will put the hoses back on and re-top the cooling system pending further action! Any suggestions would be really helpful since I am feeling very down about this little disaster. Thanks Malcy

Thanks guys All now working perfectly. Daughter checked as gift for getting picked up from work! Will invest in a piece of 2"x2" since it uses less diesel Liked the sound of Jim's soon to be patented contraption - may try and build one before the patent kicks in!! Best wishes Malcy

Thanks Turns out it was wrong bulb. I remember looking to check it was double but did not have my glasses on. Clearly my close eyesight is getting much worse than I imagined!!! All I need to do now is get my assistant to check brake lights are actually going on since I cannot press pedal and watch back at the same time and there is no reflective surface near. Malcy

The Beastie is fully prepared to hold up hand and admit to being a very very newbie on this radio stuff. Yes antennas do come into the exams but at a very rudimentary level. The guy in the shop who seems to eat sleep and breathe radio did say it would radiate whole length not just the whip which is why I was thinking the front, but perhaps compromising on the back is the route to go. I will try to digest all the comments this evening when home from work. Thanks for all the helpful comments you have offered Best wishes Malcy

Thanks guys Here are details of the aerial off the Waters & Stanton web site. Hope it answers possibilities of whether base part radiates or not. Seems clear that I need to look at back not front and will investigate the mounting issues further. WHF-20B Watson Single band HF Mobile Antenna * 20m Single Bander * Budget Price * 250W * Fibre Glass Helical * Tuneable Whip * Rust Resistant * High Efficiency * 3/8in Stud Mount * Approx. 2.25m long The Watson WHF mobile series of antennas are of a high quality, heavy duty, slimline construction. They have been purpose made for the HF Amateur radio bands 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10, 6, 4 and 2m. They are designed to operate on the phone portion of the band, bandwidth and VSWR will, of course vary according to the mounting location. VSWR at resonance should be 1.5:1 or less when properly matched. The whip is field tuneable for lowest VSWR and double locked with stainless steel grub screws. If you require a greater bandwidth, an ATU may be required. Heavy gauge copper wire is used in the construction of the resonator and this wound onto a fibreglass mast and finished in sleek black. The fittings are chrome and the 1.2m (4ft) long stainless steel whip that fits into the resonator ensures that the antenna not only works extremely well but also looks very smart.

I was told yesterday I had a rear light out so took off cover this afternnon (first real chance) and right enough the glass of the bulb had separated from the metal. Hauled it out and replaced with new bulb. Put on side lights to test and all seemed OK but felt they were quite bright. When I was able to get assistant to check if brake lights were working she said no difference. Then when parking this evening I find that with side lights off when I hit the brake all my dash board lights come on and so do my front side lights. I also noticed the bulb covers were hot, presumably because brake lights on all the time To me this sounds like either an earth has just gone wonky or something somewhere has melted and shorted. Are there any obvious points to look for or is it just a case of trying to trace back the way? I did take precaution this evening of removing the 20l jerry can of diesel which sits at the back corner on basis that if something was going to burn I didn't want the jerry can sitting in the middle of it Looks like my weekend work has just arrived!!! Thanks for any pointers Malcy

Thanks guys The idea of going onto the rear cross member is attractive but I had it in my head (probably mistakenly) that it would be better for the aerial to be clear so it can receive better??? The mounts are cheap so no problem getting another if it will work OK and would save drilling a hole in the wing top. The legality of going on the front had crossed my mind since pig sticking pedestrians is not on my agenda I would need to be careful over bracing since from what I can see the bottom parts of the two aerials are different - one is marked 20m and the other 40m - so I will need to be able to easily change the whole aerial but I am sure I could easily make up some quick release gizmo. Malcy

Have just been to sweetie shop and got my first two HF aerials for 20m and 40m (Watson single banders). Am struck by just how massive they are - about 4' rigid and a 4' whip on top! I have been planning to mount at the front end of the N/S wing and using a sort of aluminium plate to go under the wing instead of the large washer provided to give a bit more support for the mount. I was planning to run the coax through a protective tube, under the bulkhead and straight up through the horizontal bit between the seats and the rear bulkhead, then across to the radio. I did not want to really go onto the roof since that would make it very awkward to get to when changing aerials (it will also make vertical max height quite worryingly tall!) but if front wing is not deemed safe then will consider. I rejected the idea of a sidewall mount on basis of advice that the weight of the HF aerials would be too significant for the mount. Two questions before I start drilling. Does this wing location make sense, and am I right in proposing front n/s rather than front o/s? 73 Malcy

Ta muchly

Can anyone please point me in direction of either opening these connectors or getting replacements so I can fit the new wiring into the ex-Mondeo fans? I have tried fiddling and tugging to no avail. Either they are sealed units, in which case I need to get two new ones, or else there is a trick way of opening, in which case someone please tell!! The first two show the female part which is what I need and the third shows the connector on the fan with two spade connectors to go into the female - I am assuming one +ve and one -ve but not sure which is which yet. VWP have some things called junior power timer housings but it is not clear if they are for spade connections since their pictures are even worse than mine I am slowly, ever so slowly, moving this forward. Thanks for any help Malcy

Thanks guys Advice makes sense. I had come to think that keeping the cable colours correct was the holy grail but clearly a more pragmatic approach is better. Will get my purchasing done! Best wishes Malcy

I am mounting two new distribution boards (Bluesea Systems) on the rear bulkhead. I got some 60 amp 8.5 sq mm cable to go from each battery to the common feeds on the boards since I felt it would be adequate and also more flexible that light battery cable. It also meant drilling fewer holes to run conduit between the battery box and the bulkhead since I could run 2 or 3 in one tube. Following my thread on fan wiring I am having to revise this thought. However I still need to find a way of dealing with connections for 8.5 sq mm cable. I thought I might be able to squeeze it into a yellow pre-insulated crimp but it is clear there is not a hope. So how do I join cables (which I will have to do for the fans) or rings to such cable - so I use baby battery connectors and crimp them up tight or what?

Thanks for the helpful response Steve Next time I have the dash off I will take a picture and post it. It is unlikely to be before the weekend I am pretty certain it will be a +ve pip LED I will need to get. Best wishes Malcy

Thanks for swift response. So does that suggest go for 25 amp cable or 33 amp? Sorry to be thick!!