keep-on-keepin-on

Hello, thanks a lot for your the help - my head was spining at bit after morning of google and talking to every fitter on the heta site. its a Stanley waterford multi fuel going in. Its looking like we may have to keep it simple for now and seperate the cauliflower out the way and just get the rads going. Spadefoot for do you still use a expansion tank in your set up? and has anyone heard of using one of the rads that is not needed in the system as an expansion tank? And yes 99 per hour i was bit suprised at but you do get what you pay for.....most of the time. If anyone knows a stove fitter that is really in love with there car or boat. I am in the final stages of setting up new a paint restoration/detailing business i 10 years experiance in the trade and would be weil up for a skill swap - its long shot but you never know

Hello all, I need a bit of advice with regards to our current heating set up. At present we are just hot water from the engine which is feeding the thermal store. There is also a non functioning gas boiler which is connected the the thermal store and the radiators. It has at some point had a stove with a boiler so the pipe work is there. We have just bought a stove with a boiler that we need fitted pretty urgently. The only person i have managed to get hold of is quoting £99 + vat + parts and estimating 6 hours! everone else is say they cant do boats. I’m still looking for someone near east London to do this but from what i can tell i just need a pump fitting before the cold in, and some link pipes to fit to the the boiler and a pressure vent on the hot out and or expansion tank.. although i’d rather not i’m wondering if i can do this myself Once the work is completed its having a bss re-test so work will be checked. What is confusing me is the thermal store side of things. If the the rads are connected to the store and our engine heating is working and all valves are open then does anyone know why the rads would not work? It looks like adding a pump would pump water around the rads into the store and back out. I was once told to to get hot water from a back boiler with my existing system, i would have to upgrade to a twin coil tank. Surly if the water is being pumped through the boiler and into the tank that would give me hot water aswell? I have seen diagrams with out a expansion tank can you use a boiler stove without in any case? if anyone has a old scholl plumber mate who is up for a job let me know . Cheers Rich

Will have look into that cheers for the heads up. Agreed fresh water always going to give a better finish.

bizzard no real offence taken, tone is always lost on these things but thought it would be worth mentioning how your tone was come across to a new member who does not know your internet personality.. In this trade various brush’s are taken as given. There many tools like a pressure washers that are useful for many applications , once you consider the variables that are under your control fan Patten, pressure and distance. You adapt how you use the tool to the task. Given the amount of positive feedback I have received on here and along the canal. I’m defiantly considering this as a viable option. And considering a small fishing boat to keep the gear in. The jesus thing . I think it was either a funny angle or a result of there being a serious amount of hemp oil around in those days

Yeah walk on water good point. i wonder how Jesus got round it?. Thanks for your insight on hand rails bizzard and for your advice on how to clean. I can tell from the amount you have posted that must be a valued member of this forum. Keep up the good work. Here’s some constructive criticism, you might not of heard of it? try not to assume that people "on the other side” are complete spoons… Cheers to those that have been a little more positive and helpful.

Hello Thankyou very much for your comments. Ok plucked £20 out the air with no details behind it. Let me be bit clearer and also explain this is a very fresh idea that is a means to getting work in, while I work on transferring airbrushing skills to a lot less dusty, t-shirt painting. The pricing would have to be on a scale. From a basic wash and wax for the owner who keeps on top of it but would rather not. To more intensive clean for the owner who really can’t be arsed! It took me 2days to clean my boat (70ft) when I bought it but now its clean to keep on top of it (every 2months ish ) i can run round and have it done in just over a hour or so without a pressure washer. The pressure washer would mainly speed up the rinsing process and a means of using the water from the canal but also with care and low pressure much quicker to clear out nooks and crannys,as well as to dispense fluid, certainly not be used on flaky paint . flaky paint is an issue that would be discussed with every customer but as mentioned is a good up selling point for touch up etc I am interested in painting boats. Using a brush would minimise the health issues .I will be painting mine next year so if this idea was to work out well and I built a good customer base it would be pretty easy to branch out. I would be happy with around £20 an hour as a basic, average boat size around here seems to be around 50ft and surprisingly, unlike me alot of people seem to be pretty minimalistic with their roofs. That being said it’s needs to be taken in to consideration. So the £20 figure is an average that I believe given the advancement of modern eco-friendly cleaning products , waxes and the use of a pressure washer I could clean your average sized boat in an average state of cleanliness. I want to price low to attract consistent return custom, . Cleaning the other side of the boat. Again it depends on how much work is needed but if its just needs a wash and wax using a harness clipped on to the hand rail should give me enough support to do the job. How would you feel about it being done this way? The other option would be to use a small stable boat to tie on and stand in, though this does go down the licencing route I wanted to avoid until it picked up Public liability for valet services is reasonable and could be paid in a good days trade. Although most polices out there not worth the paper there written on which is a big concern for any business venture. My other idea was kayak rental but after reading the horror stories that come with that line of work...i think not!

Hello All, I am new to the forum, although have spent many nights going through the endless information available on previous posts. I moved on to the canal about 6 months ago. I’m currently on the lea near hackney and plan to stay around London. Unfortunately the honey moon has to end I am now in search of employment. I would like to run an idea by you and welcome any input I come from the automotive refinishing and custom paint (airbrushing) industry. I also offered A range of paint restoration/correction, machine polishing and valet services. I’m moving away from paint for a while as its was effecting my health. Since living on the canal I can’t help notice that most boat on the water are in desperate need of a through wash. I see some really expensive boats that have been left for so long that its not going to be long before there looking at a new paint job. I have done some research and am finding mad prices like £5 per for a basic exterior clean. That’s madness considering you can have several blokes go at your car with mirco fibers for a fiver. Although I understand that many boaters enjoy and want to clean their own boat and also many boaters just don’t care. I was wondering if a boat washing service that is reasonably priced and tailored to the boaters needs could be a good part time income. I would be offering low cost basic washes for boaters on a budget. using the latest eco marine products. And I would be trailering the kit on bike. Extras can include stern boards engine room or what ever the customer wants pressure washing. I could also offer more in-depth paint restoration, colour rejuvenation ,polishing services if there was the demand. So in brief! Your boats filthy, a chap comes past your boat with petrol pressure washer taking filtered water from the canal. He has a good understanding of how to treat your paint and isn’t going to blast wildly at your window seals chipped paint etc. And while his very excited puppy is trying to lick your face off, he offers to thoroughly clean your boat exterior for £20ish to save yourself the back ache, is it a goer? Any comments would be great Cheers Rich