Ex Brummie

If you get it running, I hope you have a large water tank.

Nothing ventured nothing gained. If playing about with it doesn't cost a lot of money, then you have nothing to lose. If the fan is only stiff from lack of use, then lubrication should ease it, but it may be problems with the motor which is more terminal.

Disconnect the outlet from the oil control and place a tray beneath it beneath it . Turn the control to low and after a minute or so, catch the flow for 2 mins in a measuring cup available from a chemists. Low fire should be 4cc min, so you should have 8 cc in the cup. Repeat this at High when you should have a min rate of 13cc IIRC. The flow rates should be on the data plate. Once you have reasonable flows, then set about checking your flame You also need to ensure there are no air leaks in the door or around the pot joint. The flue needs to pull all its air through the pot.

I thought I might get a spare set for my Perkins 4108M from Parts for Engines, that looked a reasonable bargain. When I saw them, they looked very insubstantial compared to the R & D units I have. They were returned. These look very similar.

In stove installations, steel against steel must always be avoided. Condensation always occurs and rust literally welds parts together. Many a stove has a cracked top or other casting caused by the expansion and contraction in use. Joints should be packed out with rope to avoid such problems.

What temperature does the vivarium need to maintain? You may find that if you heat the boat with a stove, then the ambient may be sufficient to limit heat input especially if the vivarium is near the stove.

Obviously thinks the mooring has a value. In Oxford, he may have a point.

When using the manual lever on a fuel pump, you need to ensure that the pump is in a position to enable the lever to move the diaphragm. You can tell by the feel of the lever whether it is moving something or just waggling up and down. Turning the engine manually for half a rev or so will demonstrate the characteristics.

If you follow this thread back and forth, you should get the answer to your problems. From memory, I don't think Cuthound covers calibration, but all you need is a measuring tube up to 30 cc and a stopwatch.

When was it last serviced? You need a relatively clean pot for efficient operation. Having to jam the fuel switch indicates a failed thermocouple, so needs replacing. If you have been 'adjusting' the high switch, then the only safe way is to recalibrate the float control to the values on the data plate. A lazy yellow flame is indicative of too low a flow which is probably caused by an obstructed metering column. The very high flame is caused by too high a flow, probably because you have over adjusted the high screw. Use the search function for a very comprehensive fault finding by Cuthound.

If you're the first boat of the day and it is a bright day, then the end is visible, though you may think for the first ten minutes that you have an 'oncomer' . When you think that a few years ago, on Saturday afternoon/sunday morning it was heaving with Alvechurch, Black Prince, Dartline, Anglo welsh all heading for Stratford or Birmingham and tussling with the Brummagem Fleet coming the other way.

Going back to your cooking choice, the Heritage unit has a pressure jet burner, and with the right controls and plumbing to control the operations, you can get cooking and/or hot water separately. Whilst the unit will get warm it will not be much warmer than a domestic gas oven.

Is anyone on the boat? If so voice your concern. I wouldn't like think someone's rope was rubbing my cabin paint every time something passed. Then again in London, I doubt if anyone is going anywhere.

Read into it what you will but it is not what I wrote or recalled, and it seems I am not the only one thinking that.

You doubt right. Your comments on reappearing as I recall , carried thatinference.

Not really, just passing comment in a similar vein to you.

Life's too short to trawl through lots of previous posts, but was the subject of conversation in the Pub (?) earlier this year. I can't recall exactly when you reappeared but it's not too long ago.

Says the man who's only recently returned after throwing his teddy out of the pram.

The places that ring alarm bells are probably ones you would not want to moor anyway. The BCN list is still fairly current, and if you are likely to be staying on your boat, then there are many places you need not worry. You are rarely far away from other boats to give you some idea of the vibes.

And paid for by them. Without knowing the location, I wouldn't necessarily agree with you. Having seen examples of inexperienced crew caught up in their own world of cruising, a reminder of the real world is not always out of place.

Buying and selling any product goes through different stages depending on the current state of supply and demand. When brokers, or agents of any sort get involved, then this can bring out the best or worst in people. If you are a person of principle and the service you receive is not what you expect, then you will feel aggrieved especially if you have spent valuable time and money travelling distances to no avail. Brokers and agents are probably some of the worst people you can deal with whether it is boats, cars, houses or financial services (especially those) At the moment where there are more prospective buyers than boats, then the slapdash attitude of brokers to prospective customers is understandable. It matters not to them whether they sell to you or another, they still get their commission. They can currently be picky about what they take on so they can maintain an air of exclusivity to attract sellers. The wheel will inexorably turn and they will then have to charm prospective customers, drop commission rates for sellers and take on any craft that is for sale. At least you seem to have found a boat that you can live with/adapt/modify to suit your needs. I just hope that you are able to continue to accept these limitations and enjoy your boat. Just a word of advice, if I may, when you entrust your boat to a boatyard for any work, just be prepared to encounter similar attitudes regarding what you want as to what you get, when you get it as opposed to when it is promised, and what you pay compared to what you were quoted.

The wind turbine might still work, but they tend to be noisy. If permanently moored, you may be able to mount it on the bank to minimise any noise transference. Can't type as fast as Tony.

Have you put an 'r' in there by mistake? (I'll get me coat)

Whereas Noah drifted around for many days before he came to rest, with the current CaRT attitude to depth/width of canals, you should come to ground way sooner than you might want to.

Just because an anode erodes doesn't necessarily mean that the steel doesn't. At a couple of hundred quid, it may well be worth putting them on anyway, just in case. Maybe it's a bit like Ecofans?😁