The Battery Selector Switch
Many Hampton Safaris have one of these rotary selector switches fitted. The switch is normally located somewhere close to the battery box which houses the starter battery and/or additional leisure batteries.
Although it may seem completely obvious what it is for and how to use it, there are a couple of important points to bear in mind which avoid you inadvertently ending up with two flat batteries, or a faulty alternator, due to "incorrect" operation of the switch.
Read this excellent article which provides a full explanation of what the switch does, how it is normally wired, and how to operate it correctly. Don't worry about the final sections on how to "improve" it - just focus on the day to day usage and common misconceptions and you won't go far wrong...
Gas Bubble Leak Detector
You have probably seen one of these installed near to your gas bottles (usually inside the gas locker) on your Safari. It is a Gas Bubble Leak Detector.
It is a "best practice" to switch off the gas supply to appliances and to switch off and remove the gas regulator from the gas bottle at the end of each trip.
It is a good idea to use the bubble tester to check that all is well after reconnecting the gas regulator to the gas bottle and before setting off on a new trip.
If you suspect that you may have gas leak, the bubble tester is also provides a first step towards confirming a leak, before identifying it's exact location.
Checking For Gas Leaks - Operating the Bubble Tester
1: Ensure all gas appliances are switched OFF.
2: Connect the gas regulator to the gas bottle and switch on.
3: Press/Twist the red button on the gas bubble tester & hold for 1 minute. Pressing the button diverts gas through the glycol liquid in the sight glass. If bubbles appear then you have a leak somewhere. The rate that bubbles appear can give an indication of a how big the leak may be. Most leaks provide a regular but slow stream of bubbles.
4: In the event of ANY leaks being detected the root cause should be fully investigated and fixed BEFORE using ANY APPLIANCES.
Gas leaks can form/build up gas pockets which ignite with catastrophic consequences - a fixed leak is cheaper than a burnt out boat or a life changing injury!
5: You can check the operation of the detector itself by getting an assistant to switch on an appliance (e.g light a burner) and you should see (an expected) stream of bubbles indicating that gas is flowing and the detector is operating correctly. (There's no need to operate the button for a full minute in this case!)
Locating A Leak (....Safely!)
7: If you have a gas leak use a combination of an electronic gas detector wand and/or gas leak detection spray/fluid e.g pump aerosol or a similar pump aerosol filled with soapy liquid to spray on joints, taps etc.
8: The wand is easier/simpler to use to locate leaks e.g. "sniffing" around a cooker or hob burner or gas taps. The spray can be useful to specifically locate a leak (e.g determine which of 2 adjacent taps/joints may be leaking) by directly showing where bubble are being emitted.
9: Remember that sometimes gas taps/fixings themselves can leak when operated i.e. tap handle changes from open to closed (or vice versa) rather than just leaking when closed.
10: If in doubt, get a registered (marine) gas engineer to investigate further and fix the issue if you are not confident/capable of fixing it yourself.
11: Although you can buy the necessary fixtures and fittings to install/repair items on board, do treat gas installation and repairs with as much or more caution as you would at home. If you want to save some money by doing the jobs yourself, do GET your work TESTED/INSPECTED afterwards by a registered (marine) gas engineer.
12: ALWAYS re-check for leaks AFTER doing the repair too (to check you have actually fixed it and have not introduced new ones!)