Tony Custard

I phoned him and left a message, but he never got back. He's on the same stretch as well. Ahh well.

Cheers, messaged him.

I don't think there is anymore, or if there is I don't think they wanted business, as I asked at the reception there when calling for water - few weeks ago.

Sorry, stupid auto-correct. Adlington, Chorley.

Hi all Anybody know of a boat plumber, I'm Arlington based. I attempted to change a bathroom sink, which I thought I had done. I turned off the water via the pump switch, but when I switched it back on it doesn't seem to want to start. It has a accumulator (I think that's what it is). Now I have no pressure by the look and sound of it. Also, if anybody knows any gas people? I need a stove replacing with another. It looks a simple enough job, but I'd really want to make sure it's safely fitted. Thanks Tony

It does seems slightly angled. Not that the photo shows that well. But I don't think it's going to matter that much, as the flue has a gap of about an inch, as it's 4" and the hole in the collar is 5". The bottom photo shows the amount of gap, which is normally equalilateral but it's like it is in the photo because I moved the fire out of position with the flue still In. I've got an idea now. I think this looks like my shopping list: Does that look about right to everyone?

Possibly, I don't think it was cut, though. It looks like it was made that way. Although, it could have been. This looks flat to me, how minor is the angle?

The flue definitely has a designed angle at the top, for about 12". I have taken the collar off and it looks flat to me. I'll take a photo. Which is a bit difficult as I can only upload 2.8meg on here, which is below the lowest setting on the camera.

That was like Welsh, sorry. The flue pipe is slightly angled at the top. Are you talking about the collar being angled or the flue?

I managed to take the collar off, I used a Dremel and elbow grease, and was still stubborn. My issue now is, I have a 4" flue, but the previous collar has a 5" gap, but the circumference of the metal is 6". So, is this a 6" collar or 5?. I also noticed there was a gap of around an inch or so when the flue was in the previous collar.

I think the wood has been put in place to stop it leaking, as there's also loads of gunk inbetween the collar and ceiling as well. I think it's straight, I've never seen an angled one. The flu pipe goes straight up. I've seen the collar's on eBay for about £50-70. The side of the collar looks messy, though. Looks like it leaks through the rust, so could do with a metal plate putting in at the same time the new collar would go on. Save it doing it in the future. I doubt I'd get a grinder in, but might be able to get a hand-blade in. I'm going to have to give it a go. It's. Not helping that the stove is still connected to pipe, as was well and truly packed at the flu port at the back. I should have taken photos when I was there today!

Thank you for the advice.

Hi all I posted recently about a chimney issue, specifically a collar issue. Anyway, I found the bolts underneath, and of course I can't get one off as it's either rusted the bolt away or it's neither a size 11 or 12mm (not sure what imperial sizes are). Anyway it's rotted. So I need a new collar, chief and the plate thing underneath (on ceiling). My fears are that it might need a plate of some kind as previous owners had glued wood to the top which has of course rotted the metal over time. I'm based just near White Bear marina on the Leeds Liverfool. Will obviously pay whatever, but I'm trying to keep it from going in to a marina engineers, as I don't want my hat nailed on. Anyone? Ta Tony

Cheers Tony. That's what I didn't check, the underside. I'll have a look when I'm there next. It seems to be solid where there should be bolts, just slight square indentations. If they only make them with the bolt holes I should be okay. If not, God knows how I'll get around it. Also, you don't know what the plate that goes around the chimney on the inside is called do you? (it's split in two) it's currently an old looking piece of solid asbestos - which is nice. It could be. The issue I've had is the pipe has been well placed into the back of the fire, so up to now have avoided taking the pipe out, as I managed to move it just out of the way. I'll have a look when I take the split plate thing out from the inside. Ta

Hi all I've just been fitting a new fire surround and therefore moved the old fire from it's position to fit the hearth etc. Anyway, the chimney itself is booshed so I'm going to replace, but the collar is also quite booshed, so my plan was to get another and fit that. The only thing stopping me is there doesn't appear to be bolts. There's 2 points on it that look like there should be, but it looks like solid metal. Has anybody else got one like that? If so, how the hell are you supposed to take the thing off? I looked at my neighbors and his are clearly bolts. Does it have to be cut off, and one welded into place? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks Tony

So by that logic, you could safely say that those that review expensive generators have never used a cheaper one? It was always my plan to get a generator, so no bad planning. In fact it was good planning, as I walked around and asked people, who live on the same stretch of canal, what type did they advise, and I did what the consensus dictated. I had a choice; do I buy a generator that is guaranteed to be quiet at the cost of £1200, or buy a budget one, that will not be as quiet for £160. I chose the later, as like I said before, I only run it for a short time and everyone who surrounds me also run theirs. As for the user reviews, most are based on the unit on the image (quiet caravan/camper generator) so represent the situation quite well. I'm done defending my decision now. I'm starting to find a lot of arrogance and presumptuous nonsense on my choices. Up to now I've been accused of planning badly, being inconsiderate, and been mocked for getting a boating term wrong - which to be fair was funny. Enjoy the rest of the thread.

That's what the spec's say. Can't be absolutely sure as I don't have a db level meter. I doubt it actually is that much quieter than a Clarke. Like I said previously, both my direct neighbours have generators; 1 is a small one that runs for quite a few hours a day, the other is a frame based unit, runs for a few hours a day. I personally run mine for about an hour, 2 hours tops. I'm new to boating and had spoken to multiple people on the same part of the canal and nobody seems that bothered about running their generators and engines - especially over Winter. So I considered other people very well before purchasing. I walk my dog alongside the canal regularly, and the sound doesn't travel that far at all. Well, not far enough to notice over the sound of all the other generators and engines running.

Maybe you've just answered your own question, it's possibly because they have just spent thousands on their boats and engines? I also find that quality is linked to user reviews and consensus over cost. Because it was inexpensive doesn't make it poor quality. It also has a spec of 65db at 7m, so not ear piercing either.

Okay, I did say I was new. So, towpath it is. Although, it is thin and overrun with grass and weeds, so toe suits more than foot.

Thanks for the advice, but it's private access farm-land, so not on the toe path. And both my neighbour's have generators that have to be run a lot longer. My intention is to make a housing for it, but having only had the boat for a couple of months some jobs overtaken priority. So, maybe find out information before accusing me of ruining people's peace and quiet.

I've got the mains adapter. It's just a bit awkward to swap from solar to mains, as the TV is on the wall, so literally have to take it off wall to change the charging to mains. But, it's something I'll live with.

Jen, you beat me to it. I've not had that much wind, but plenty of rain and drizzle. I am thinking of creating some kind of water collection for the water tank! That's a definite.

Just a quick note to add to this TV thread. I've just bought a 32" Cello TV. So, I bought it thinking it was 12v, but it turns out I messed up and just assumed it was as it was described as a motorhome/caravan/boat TV. Anyway,it's 19v with a mains adapter. But, it does have its own battery pack which when charged lasts about 8 hours. It also comes with a 40watt solar panel, which plugs directly in, and a powered antenna. And to be honest, it's doing okay. The sound isn't as good as others, but with it being 6 ft away from my face I can live with it. It's quite light, so was easy to put on a bracket. Not bad overall. It was about £215 from Amazon.

Cheers David. Just wanted to make sure I'd not just bought some black stickers on a plastic board rather than a solar panel. I look forward to brighter, longer days. Thanks

I bought a Chinese one from EBay. 2.6kw frame type. It's the same as the Clarke type. It's quite new, so doesn't jump about. It's not the quietest but it's just out with a sheet of wood on top to keep it dry when running, so it isn't the quietest. But to be honest, at £170 it's been great. It puts in 40amp, which I think is the max my charge controller thing takes in, so approximately 80 times my 300 watt solar panels are putting in at the moment. I run it for about 2 hours, and it takes my batteries to a point the amps drop as it starts to pulse charge the last 10% of battery capacity. I have it on a bank, but away from the doors so don't smell fuel or smoke etc. It drops revs and tone when I run the microwave, but I suppose that's normal.