richardf

Lots of diesel with bubbles....

Nope - full to the brim, well less a gallon so so that was wasted yesterday

Yes, the valve is tucked up just below the counter

It was annual service day yesterday and I was joined by Dick Goble who always helps out my Kelvin P4. We were both dreading changing the fuel filters as Dick says that it is always a problem with my engine. I have what I now know to be a Simms dual filter set up - that has a common top for both filters. We initially dropped out the downstream (furthest from tank) filter and bled that successfully (our hope that by leaving fuel in the pipework to the pump that we might make restarting easier) - fuel control being done by using the main fuel valve near the top of the tank. The fuel soon flowed without any bubbles - so we set about changing the primary one nearest the tank. We were unable to get any fuel through without loads of air bubbles. Initially Dick thought it might be sucking in air somewhere, but I cannot see why, it was only running through by gravity and hence I would assume that if air can leak in, the fuel would run out. Dick has taken the filter assemply away to test on a gravity tank - in the hope that he can find a crack or something that might explain it. I have a feeling that this is not the case, but we were both left wondering what was going on. Maybe we were not running it through fast enough to completely fill the supply pipe - it was a very hot and frustrating day! Somehow bleeding fuel systems has always defeated me! Has anyone got any ideas what we might be doing wrong? Thanks

I had similar treatment at site 3 (!) and vowed never to deal with them again - I was told that I could not go on a test run until I had an offer accepted to buy the boat - and why would you offer to buy a boat when you have not steered it!! But when Marcellus came up, it was at their branch at Wigrams - the whole approach was different and I was made to feel much more 'wanted'. It's a much smaller set up of course, but I left feeling very happy with the service I had received. The boat had been moved from the site by the M1 to Wigrams and had run out of fuel on the way - they naturally replaced the fuel filters, but also put in a whole tank of diesel; I was expecting just enough to get me to the next filling station!

And then there is the lock at Aldermaston that seems much longer than the ones either side - or am I mistaken?

I have had a tiny little leak on the 22mm soldered joint of the central heating pipe leading from my back boiler - it was right at the back of the boat (so about 10m from the fire) but would have been a complete swine to repair - it is flush to the cabin side and close to a bulkhead - to repair it would have meant putting in two cuts and replacing a section of pipe. Then I would have to solder up the new joints - and I have always been hopeless at this; I was also concered at the proximity of the wooden cabin side to the heat. My neighbour suggested the following which I have put into practice and it seems to have worked perfectly: Cut a section of rubber the circumference of the pipe (I used some spare weedhatch rubber). Open up a jubilee clip and slide it behind the pipe, insert the rubber so that the clip tightens up on top of both the rubber and the leaking joint. Tighten up the clip and trim the rubber either side of the clip. This has stopped any leakage for some weeks now and my neighbour claims to have one in his house 'for years'! Just occurred to me that we must all have carried out some 'bodges' that have saved us time and money - maybe as a permanent solution or maybe under the heading of 'to be fixed one day'. Anyone else care to share?

Middlewich Narrowboats used to be pretty much all trad boats - don't know if that is still the case

It's a few years since I was there - but there were a few left then - but bearing in mind that most of them have had little or no hull maintenance since arriving - they were in a pretty sorry state!

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=1184 I thought this was great - shame to see them in a state nowadays!

I know of someone who has a brand new Kelvin P2 for sale if that is of any interest - I have the P4 and have been very impressed with it.

Wow - that's an amazing amount of info - I wonder if it belonged to one of them!

By the sound of it then, I can loosen off the middle bolt enough to get some sealant underneath it and retighten. The nylon nuts are a bit of a mystery - maybe the thread has stripped or something, it certainly won't tighten up. I do think the top bolt is the problem though

I went to the boat for the first time for a couple of weeks this weekend and on opening the front doors was greeted with a strong smell of diesel. Investigaon showed that there was a lot of diesel lying in the bilges below the twin fuel filters - it drops into the V shaped area formed by the box under the engine and the swim. The fuel filters were covered in oil - I wish I had a camera available, but didn't. The twin filter system has a one piece casting across the top and what appears to be one piece underneath. Above each filter is two bolts (and a tapping for another one, not used) - the fuel seems to be coming from there. I have tightened the small one in the centre up which I assume is pulling everything together, but it is difficult to know where the fuel is leaking from. Underneath there are two nylon (?) nuts - one of which will tighten up, the other won't. I'm not sure if there is actual leakage from here as the diesel is obviously running down to the lowest point before dripping into the bilge. It's an old engine (Kelvin P4) and there is always liquid under the engne, but I don't think there has ever been any in this particular spot before. I did top up with fuel last time I was down, maybe the additional head of diesel has shown up a leak? According to the guy who services my engine, it is a very difficult job to bleed after a filter change so I don't really want to strip it down if I can help it. Would it be possible to loosen off the middle bolt enough to get some sealant in there do you think? (any recommendations?) - if the centre bolt holds the filter together, what does the other one do - is it a bleed point? I did manage to tighten the centre bolt (didn't help) - but couldn't get anything on the other one. Any thoughts would be most appreciated. Cheers Richard

I have just been given a very old windlass that was apparently retrieved many years ago from Cowley Lock on the GU. It has the name D. King stamped into it - was it normal practice to have your name on your windlass? Does anybody know of a D King who worked the Grand Union?

I went to a BW user group meeting in Gloucester last night - the 10.00 - 12.00 thing is national - not just local. If you want 'drop in' face to face contact at a BW office, it seems that these are the only times that you will be able to do so. Additionally, a lot of the satellite offices (eg Stourport) are no longer manned on a regular basis.

The best graffiti I have seen on a canal bridge? 'Tired of life? Out of work? Tried fishing?' There was a comedian on TV the other night who declared that fishing was like dogging, but without the sex!!!

Thanks for your comments. The spill test - how does that work - is it something that you can do yourself to check?

Many years ago, on former boats, I used to have 'normal' mushroom vents over the Paloma, but having come back to boating just over a year ago, our new (to us) boat has one of those ugly aluminium cowls that stand up from the roof by a foot or more. I assumed that this was not a stipulation of the BSS. I noticed yesterday that my neighbour has a fixed mushroom with 'scalloped' bases - thus ensuring that they cannot be wound down and closed off. These would also have the advantage of not getting so close to bridges! Does anyone know if they are legal?

We were told at the school that over 40% in GCSE last year would have got you a B grade - C grade was an unbelievable 18%!!

KIngs Bromley Marina is huge and not far away from Fradley, sure they could accommodate you

I work in the range cooker business and have noticed a trend back towards wood burning Rayburns. When I joined the industry about 6 years ago, folk were getting rid of old woodburning Rayburns in droves - they recognised the sheer hard work of them, the constant dust and the lack of control. Now that oil has risen steeply in price, the woodburning range has made a return and they are now being supplied by both Rayburn and Esse (and other foreign suppliers). Personally I think for the reasons stated above, that this will be a short term thing - it is also surprising that people seem to think that woodburning is a very cheap way of doing things (it is if you are fit and have your own wood!) - but in reality it's not. The reality simply does not live up the dream for many and I think it will be a cycle where people move away from them again. If I was looking at a range for a narrowboat, I would buy the Heritage any day. That's because the Everhot (who I work for) - only build them in electric!