Catastrophic Narrowboat Engine Malfunction !!! 

Interesting, I had not thought about that. Thanks for your advice and comment much appreciated.

@@lifeisbetterwithaboatandad1534 - which means you have a spare thermostat, when the replacement eventually breaks 😁

Many thanks for watching, and your kind comment. Due to other commitments I am often slow to reply.

Thank you for your comment, much appreciated.

Hi Peter, many thanks for watching and your comment. My wife remembers Radio Caroline, I will have to look up the Gardner 180. Sounds like a very interesting job to have done. I do not know if the thermostat was original or replaced about 20 years ago when the engine was rebuilt. New ones are about £295 I think.

@@lifeisbetterwithaboatandad1534 Job was great fun. Wow £295, we used to buy them for pennies back in the 1970's....Hope you get it sorted..

Thank you.

Yes, I am sure you are right. I have changed the coolant again since and I did not have any problems afterwards. Sorry for the very slow reply.

Thank you for your interest and comment Paul. The engine started easily after not running for 10 months in July this year. I wish that I had a thermometer to hand to check when it opened. Should have checked against the new one before fitting it. Fingers crossed no long term damage. Regards Simon.

then why is Gardner no more if they are that good. in their day great engines but management refused to move with the times and the demand for more power from road and marine users. Gardner could not stand turbocharging, new designs were needed but old Hugh Gardner would not move. When lorry regs required 6bhp per gross ton Gardner could not accommodate, ERF then recommended Cummins over Gardner. Pure bad management ruined Gardner and many other British industries including Leyland.Militant unions didn't help. If they had only looked at the European imports, it was no secret what was happening.

Thanks for your comment.

Many thanks for your advice. I had problems with an air lock before when I changed the coolant. I hoped fitting an air bleed valve on the top hose would have cured this. I will get a thermometer to check when the thermostat opens more accurately.

Great point! Many thanks for your comment.

Great point, as long as its stamped at 60 degrees.

60 degrees seems very low. You need to get the coolant up to around 75 degrees to evaporate any unburnt fuel and also to evaporate condensate...

Good advice, thanks. The thermostat as fitted by Gardner to replace with new is £300 , ouch!

Thankyou Colin for your experience on this and advice. I would welcome sharing notes on this engine. As I do not live aboard and due to the lockdown rules at present I cannot visit the boat and I suspect this will be the case for several months. I fitted an air bleed (the brass fitting) and the gano filter (clear plastic fitting) two years ago after changing the coolent as the pipe from the thermostat housing then goes downwards to the first skin tank and can trap air. I did this so I could tell if the coolent was circulating and to bleed air from the highest point in the system. This works removing air. I was careful this time in bleeding air and had travelled for a three hours over two days. I believe the engine was rebuilt around 2000 ish so the thermostat could be at least 20 years old. Also the coolent was rust coloured two years ago so a lack of maintenance in changing in the past.

Thanks for watching and your comment.

Glad you found it so, thanks for watching and your comment. I have watched many of your vlogs and have found them interesting and entertaining, regards Simon.

Many thanks for your comment. I do wish that I had been an engineer. Sorry for the slow reply.

Your comments and suggestions are brilliant ! I will have to get someone to build the second tank and associated pipework. Perhaps a whistle where the steam comes out on the roof ? Great to inform other boats that the engine has overheated and is out of control. Hopefully the boat has not sunk yet with the rain, snow and leaking stern gland. If it has not I will work on your suggestions. Many thanks.

No coolant temperature alarm fitted.?

Thanks Will for noticing. I probably was.

Thanks for watching and your comment.

I thought I may have caused some damage at the time, but hopefully not. Many thanks for your comment.

Thanks for your comment, you're right, we should have done. I was lined up for the tunnel entrance when I spotted it, but I could have stopped.

Thanks for your great advice. I keep looking for a joint so that I can do this. I need a T joint that is 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches by 15mm. Apologies for the delay in replying.

There is a plug on top of the thermostat housing looks about 5mm, that is big enough. Run a small pipe from there to the header tank and enter above the normal water level.

When the system works you will find that the air in your clear tube will disappear in the next few hours..

Yes, and I have fallen in a few times after slipping.

The engine is not as favoured as the 2LW and 3LW which sound nice to the ear. The boat is overpowered on the canals. On the rivers she can run above tick over and sounds better.

Fingers crossed it will continue to run without too many issues.

@@lifeisbetterwithaboatandad1534 The thermostat was nothing to blame the Gardner engine.

Hi, this is the breakdown we talked about when we met at Sutton Wharf. I think I was very lucky if no engine damage occured through overheating. Could do with guages in view when at the tiller. I can see the coolent level in the header tank when steering and I continue to monitor that. Enjoyed your video on the Ashby canal and travels with Precious Jet. Thanks for your comment, best wishes for your travels on such a beautiful boat and your channel.

A very good idea. I will get one. Thank you for watching and your comment.

@@lifeisbetterwithaboatandad1534 No need. They only break down every 50 years.

Thanks for your comment. There was a television series some years ago called Water World. On holiday on a hire boat a family had an overheating engine or it would not start. They rang up the hire base and said that they had " a catastrophic engine failure". I thought this was funny and at the time the overheating engine to us on our second day of our holiday when there had been months that we could not go boating was catastrophic. Also the replacement cost of a Gardner thermostat is £300.

@@lifeisbetterwithaboatandad1534 gosh that’s a big amount, did the reduction ring and thermostat you bought cost less

Sleeping at the time of filming.