Nathan90

I have tried it with jacket potatoes and after three or four hours they were still raw

Simon that is very nice of you I really appreciate the offer but having been to have a look this little stretch of river is empty of any water!!! A no go zone I think

Has anyone one out there been up the river roding or barking creek as its also known. I know it's tidal and that it's navigable up until ilford but I'm just curious if anyone had had any experience. Also if it is possible to cruise and moor up there is there a skipper out there who would like to do the trip with me from limehouse as I don't fancy my chances on the Thames alone

Hiya, Blackthorn is about 33 years of age!!!

Hi Everyone Just wondered if I could pick your brains again!!!! Blackthorne is about to have her new bottom put on, which we cannot wait for as that means we will soon be able to start fitting her out. I was wondering if you guys had any information on how to tell that the overplating is sufficient to last a good number of years and the best way of protecting it once its on. Its mainly for peace of mind!!!! Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Hi there I was wondering where u got the ducting for the hot air outlet?

Hi everyone Thank you so much for all your input. You have all given us much stuff to think about. I think we are going to go with a gas boiler for our hot water. I must say I do disagree with you guys not liking the look of the windy smithy I think it is really charming, but I suppose that is down to personal preference!!! The victorian cast iron stove is gorgeous, however we will be doing all our cooking on our final range of choice and I dont know if this is suitable, especially after what I have read from people with experience with the Epping, beautiful as it is. Richard thank you for your really comprehensive answer and I must say I did forget the factor of CE and EN certification so thank you!!! Well to throw another spanner in the works we are also thinking of the range by greymetal stoves. It may not look as charming as the cast iron counterparts however I feel it is more conducive to out needs and I quite like it. If anyone has anything good or bad to say about these please share. I will be very interested to hear. Thanks again everyone

hi everyone, just a quick question for anyone with experience of the Windy Smithy stoves. a range type like the louis range has a back boiler that generates 6000 btu, is that enough for a couple of showers and bits of washing up throughout the day. just curious as I have researched them and really like them. heres a link http://www.windysmithy.co.uk/html/louisrangerinfo.pdf

Yes you are right Mickey44, very mixed reviews, thank you for the link though, I think ill try to find some more pages like that with peoples experience of the cooker. Thank you.

Thanks for your info steve, I love the esse range but yes it is wayyyyy too expensive for us. !!!

Yes we can definately not afford a new rayburn, it would have to be an ebay!!! Let me know how your Prity works. Would you leave yours on constantly?

Hello there everyone I am wondering what multifuel range to install into my narrowboat, We would like to be able to cook, heat water and provide heating from it and we are split between a rayburn range and a steel construction range like the bulgarian prity. Does anyone have any views or experience on these ranges and any advice they could spare. we would need it to be very economical to run. With the steel ranges I am not sure if you can keep them burning constantly like you do with the rayburn does any one know? I have heard that rayburns are hardwearing from some, but also that cast iron stoves can have probs that steel don't, i.e cracking. I am also not sure about the huge weight of a rayburn apposed to its steel counterpart. We are having the boat rebottomed so we are already going to have alot of extra weight on her I wondered if a rayburn on top would be too much. This may sound completely rediculous but we are not very experienced so please bare with us!!! If you could spare any of your knowledge it would be greatfully appreciated. What do you recommend?

I thought it had to be that a way round. ill have to take the manifold off anyway to sort the smoke problem so ill see which is missing the plate then hopefully. I shall post in the next day or two as im sure the whole form is dying to know the outcome. haha again thanks for all the advice. Nathan.

great il pick some up tomorrow on me travels and thanks i didnt know to scrub it off, as for the heads, am i correct in thinking that i have to remove the exhust manifold to get the cylinder head off? 1 more thing i found one of the 'Z' shaped plates that i think sits around the cooling fins in the bilge, is there a way to identify which cylinder this belongs to without taking the whole thing apart again? b4 you say it i had a 'friend' of mine who is supposed to be a mechanic(more like a muppet) who turns out to be a total w****r, replace the piston rings and not do a very good job of putting the thing back together. anyway thats why i was and still am stuck but ive managed to learn pretty fast with the help of very kind people such as yourself. Anyway I would just like to say a big thank you for all of your advice and i hope our paths cross in person someday soon so i can thank you in person. nathan