Sea Dog

Oxalic acid is the stuff for removing the black staining on the wood. Comes in a white powder for mixing with water - you don't need much. I got mine from eBay. You'll find videos on YouTube showing how to use it.

I think that restriction occured some years ago. I remember mooring there overnight on a number of occasions with no issues, but the last time resulted in some woman on the balcony of one of those flats throwing her cigarette butts on our roof. "Serves you right - you shouldn't be mooring there" was her response. Not good behaviour on her part, but I suspect something had precipitated it and the inconsiderate few had once again screwed it up for the rest of us with those residents.

This ^^^^ My own pump is close to the tank and I still had an issue with the original pipe from tank to pump narrowing under suction as it aged. Cured by replacing it with a wire spiral reinforced hose, which isn't cheap over a long run. Whilst you could use tough plastic water pipe as the feed, it's best if the pipes either side of the pump are flexible and have a loop to help isolate noise and vibration.

After this unbeatable gem, all the others posts somehow seem superfluous.

And whilst the cost of diesel and solid fuel might have changed quite dramatically, a bag of solid fuel last me roughly two and a half days. Even at the £15.80 for 20kg of Excel I just paid, 60 hours of diesel can't compete on cost. However, whilst the current publicity about solid fuel and woodburner emissions is to do with atmospheric pollution, there is little doubt that the particulate contamination inside the boat must be quite high when burning wood or solid fuel and it's doing us all no good.

Two and a half grand for a diesel Bubble Corner Stove like my current solid fuel version. I'd have thought it possible to mitigate at least some of that cost by already having the same case. I suspect if there isn't a solution as of now it's down to lack of demand so far, but market conditions appear to be on the move.

Good idea! I'll add it to the plans for my new boat - NB Hindenburg.

Question prompted by another thread related to the threat to woodburners and solid fuel stoves. Has anyone successfully done this? Is there a 'kit'?

So, has anyone successfully converted a solid fuel stove to diesel?

I've had a common or garden car wash type sponge under the bench in my cratch for years so, whilst I have seen the sponge break up phenomenon before, I haven't had it on the boat. I can only assume it's a storage issue rather than that I've found a magic sponge. I'd start with avoiding UV as already suggested, cos it's hard to beat the ubiquitous (and cheap) big yellow oblong sponge for so many purposes, not least mopping up.

Yep, I'll certainly try. Enjoy your evening.

Well yes, I see your point, but you have to allow that, when people ask for the moon on a stick, others might be tempted to suggest something rather more easily achieved. It's unclear to me whether he's replacing a perfectly good calorifier specifically to achieve something more or because its a duffer that needs to be replaced anyway so he's looking at whether something more is possible (where, as you say, a larger calorifier might well help). I suspect this is why there are many who suggest it may be more expeditious to explore how he might best use his current set up rather than rip out what works well for most. Personally, I don't think that matters too much: I think I'd be happiest with the a mix of suggestions and discussions so I could chose the way forward that best achieved the outcome I was seeking, rather than proposals which only told me how I might achieve my own first thoughts. (Any red text entirely unintentional - no idea where that control is!)

Perhaps I'm at cross purposes: I was thinking the guy wanted a morning shower. An hour of the Eber in winter gives us a warm boat whilst the stove is getting back up to speed and showers for 2. With all but the bathroom rad off in the summer it obviously takes a bit less, closer to the 30-45 mins @Alan de Enfield suggested. I don't expect to have a full tank of hot water to last 24 hours from that, but then it's easy to give it longer or a second session later in the day for more hot water on hand.

Bu¢¢ered if I know, 'cos mine's the same. I reckon most boats with an Eber or Webby and a standard off the shelf twin coil cauliflower do this. As ever, just finding and following the well trodden path really is usually the best approach.