[Solid Fuel Not Getting Hot?]

3 hours ago, nealeST said:

I'm also scientifically challenged and I'm not bothering to google anything. For two and half decades  I have felled and chopped Silver Birch, Spruce, Ash and Pine. I currently have a huge amount of Elm seasoning for next year all this winter that was chopped before midsummer. I can share with you that all the above combust at different rates, have different densities and certainly look and smell different. Silver Birch is my absolute favourite, is nice dense wood with fine grain. Pine goes like a rocket, can be quite sappy even when seasoned and is rated anecdotally as being good for clearing out your chimney as it burns fast. Silver Birch is a slow burner but the Elm wood is hard as nails and burns the slowest I've seen. Overall silver birch burns optimally with loads of heat output. As mentioned I always chop, by which I mean split the wood before midsummer and it drys outside until August where upon it is moved and stacked neatly for air ventilation in a purpose built wood shed. It remains there all winter until the following Autumn when, as per tradition and for countless centuries of practise the wood is now seasoned and ready to go. Not being an expert I'm not going to disagree with generations of people who have done this for a lifetime, I just follow suit. The stuff I've seen in petrol stations and in bargain stores in plastic bags looks that people take home to burn whilst they have their gas fired central heating running in the background feels nothing like it should. The fact that it is heated to dry it out means that energy that could be stored in the wood has been forced out leaving you with something combustable but very short term ie it will burn fast...just like chipboard or even cardboard.  I'm sure the text on the plastic wrapper is convincing in its claims about how much better it is to for-go the time honoured way of seasoning wood but as far as I can see the difference between the two is vast and I'm quite happy to make my own mind about that. I am suspicious in general of things that are processed and claim to be better.....

Much of the quality of the wood is from how dense it is, some of that is species dependant and some is speed of growth, what won't lower heat output is reduced water content from kiln drying.

A lump of wood with <20% water content is the same if open seasoned or kiln dried

8 minutes ago, magnetman said:

 

Yup. 

My favourite by far. My fire is full of hawthorn right now actually. 

Lucky sod

[Solid Fuel Not Getting Hot?]

1 hour ago, Jerra said:

Which is basically the same as saying hardwoods are better than softwoods.

And it's a bit simplistic as well, yes hardwoods tend to be more energy dense, if I could source sufficient hawthorn I would be a happy man but some softwoods make very decent firewood

[Solid Fuel Not Getting Hot?]

5 hours ago, magnetman said:

 

 

Angiosperm wood tends to be more dense than gymnosperm wood. 

 

 

Is where someone mentions balsa and cedar?

 

[Well that was a shock]

6 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

Our next door neighbour feeds the birds excessively, she has multiple bird feeding stations and refills them 2 or 3 times a day. She also insists on throwing chunks of white bread down on the ground under the feeders.

Unsurprisingly we have a rat problem in the area. Admittedly we back onto a farm, so it's sort of expected, but we have loads of them. I can usually shoot one or two a week as they transit our garden and if I've put the night vision on the rifle then later evenings are a free for all. 

I've shot several hanging from the bottom of the feeders, they climb up the trees to get to them then just dangle. I told her I was going to shoot the rats and she was quite happy about it !

 

She's also created a feral pigeon issue. Fortunately the guy up the road breeds racing pigeons and he traps the ferals because they pass diseases onto his birds. His record was 24 birds with stretched necks in a day.

 

We spoke to the council environmental health about it but they told us there wasn't much they could do, they'd issue a 'desist' notice but didn't have the time or money to follow it up if she ignored it.

 

I've previously spent some time with an air rifle on the moorings (off side private access) and kept the numbers down but I no longer have the gun on site for complicated reasons

 

[Well that was a shock]

15 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Not on the rudder but it didn't want to move to let us set off lol.

 

You should have adopted that...

 

Did you have a freezer onboard?

[Well that was a shock]

3 minutes ago, dmr said:

Two weeks ago we opened the front door to find an old cold wet and shaking collie dog on the front deck. Much nicer than a rat.

Took it in, dried it off, warmed it up and contacted owner. It had escaped from the dog walker. It must have scaled several high fences and gates to get to us, so why would a lost house dog choose to take refuge on the deck of a boat rather than trying to get into a house?

 

Owner of boat behind came home from work to find two mink on his back deck and as he approached they became quite aggressive. Glad we only had the collie. 😀

Few years ago on a different mooring a neighbour found an exhausted collie hanging onto the rudder, it was rescued and eventually adopted 

[Well that was a shock]

19 minutes ago, dixi188 said:

I've never had a problem with rats or mice on my boat but have wondered if those cone things on ropes that ships used to use would be a good idea.

Dixi.

Neither have I but this mooring has its fair share of rats and mice and they do seem to be very bold, I suspect, because of the noises prior, the rat came onto the boat from the water up a fender, so the cones wouldn't have done much

[Well that was a shock]

Just now, Bod said:

Get a large cat. 
 

Bod

Funnily enough I am responsible for 2 but they are in North Wales 

[Well that was a shock]

Not long got back to the boat, notice indications of mouse activity in the cratch, so set up a couple of traps and got on with lighting the fire making a brew etc.

 

Anyway post brew, fire starting to warm the boat, possible snooze incoming and I heard a kerfuffle outside, so opened the door to have a shufty to see a very wet very large and startled rat, said rat took one look and decided to run past me into the boat.

 

Much swearing followed, luckily it went to ground under a bin in the bathroom so I snuck passed it lifted the bin and it ran back through the living area and straight back outside.

 

I need bigger traps...

[Email from CaRT]

6 hours ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:

So can you let us know which moorings is your boat moored?

as this says Castleford? Same person? 

https://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/narrow-boats-cruiser-stern-for-sale/739155

If the OP doesn't want to tell the forum they don't have to, personally this badgering is getting slightly stalky 

[Ladder]

Is it possible the delay is because the posters forum name is an email address, I recall some issue with email addresses needing approval.

 

To the OP I suggest you change it anyway, otherwise you will be spammed to hell and back

[Munitions and Guns carried on midland waterways]

2 hours ago, Heartland said:

Guns have been carried over time and even in the 19th Century where Birmingham made guns went by carriers boat.  There was an ordnance depot beside the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal at Walmer Lane and later there was a factory at Sparkbrook beside the Warwick & Birmingham Canal. As to WW2 has any study been made of the BSA ?

There's still an Eley factory next to Birmingham and Fazeley, nr Kingsbury road

[Using Excel Coal with Stovax Multifuel stove]

41 minutes ago, Michael Siggers said:

Hi

 

It's a Stockton 3.

 

Tried putting more on and just does not take.

They advertise it as a multifuel but has it been modified in some way to turn it into a proper wood stove, in effect remove the coal/multifuel grill and replaced it with a wood burning grill

[Incident with bridge keeper-Licence suspended]

1 hour ago, Markblox said:

Yes thank you, If anyone replies can you just read my carefully worded questions and if you can offer advice please do. Appreciated.

Yes, I have also found them good in the main too.  

I have been told the police were called and the CRT has said they will talk to me but I haven't heard from them.

The allegations are against the T&C's

If you are in need of services and food I would be inclined to speak to the police explain what you need to do and tell them where you will be and how to contact you.

 

I would do the same for CRT, email them tell them you need to move for basic services and tell them where you are going and when you expect to be there, tell being the important bit here, be polite but don't give them wriggle room

 

 

[Harecastle Tunnel closed till further notice]

19 minutes ago, magnetman said:

 

There is lot of stored energy in a tree in that position.  

 

 

Yeah, that one would be a fun day

18 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

I know, it was a tongue-in-cheek suggestion... 😉

 

(a chainsaw? on a tree suspended over water? with nothing to support it? what could *possibly* go wrong? 😉

A wet monkey?

19 minutes ago, magnetman said:

If you can get them to cut it into 6 inch discs you're a better nan than me. 

 

Gungadin. 

 

 

 

A chainsaw will be used to dismantle it to be fair. 

 

 

 

 

This is where a @tree monkey is needed for commentary. 

 

Or a crazy boater with a really big Stihl saw and a mission to get to the water point. 

 

 

My little Makita 18 volt chain saw is quite good 

 

One must be sure to keep the chain sharp and enough bar oil in the tank. 

 

 

 

 

 

You were working that saw hard

 

[Fire lighting idea using disposable vape batteries]

30 minutes ago, magnetman said:

It occurred to me that one could deliberately cause a thermal runaway event on a small vape battery as a way to light a fire. 

 

I collected a couple of batteries today. I'm wondering if one could trigger these using the 12v supply or would the wires melt first. 

 

If one could encourage the tiny little battery to self ignite it might make a handy firelighter.

 

There are probably reasons not to do this but it seems better than setting fire to bin lorries. 

 

 

Anyone tried it ?

 

 

No but can we have a video when you try it?

 

[Record players on boats]

1 hour ago, Peanut said:

I have a theory that you do your own editing. As you age your hearing deteriorats, but when you listen to a piece of music which you know, you don't actually hear it as you should, but your brain inserts the missing sound from memory, and you are delighted with it.

My engineering science lecturer in the 70's, a physicist, had worked for Quad designing speakers. He described it as, "music for the ears of a passing bat."

For years my only copy of dark side of the moon was on vinyl with a slight scratch on side 1 first track, since then I still hear that tick as the album plays and even though the actual album has long disappeared in the various moves

 

[Mystery pole hook]

42 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

It was my interest in old tools and Agricultural History which led me to describe what I know as Pole Axe. My complerte lack of enthusiasm for Military History led to me not being aware of the term Pole Axe being more commonly used to describe a Medieval instument of war.  Your item may have been a Military Pole Axe, however, I feel it is more probably a loggers tootl used for the moving of unprepared timber.

 

Below is a photo of an Agricultural Pole Axe used for the slaughter of cattle:-

 

                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's fascinating, slightly grotesque and supremely practical

 

Here's one for you

 

 

 

[Residentail mooring or boat first?]

42 minutes ago, itsmeagain said:

Being new to this, ive looked at a couple and Mercia in Derby ticks all my boxes.

I did call them re availability. and they do have a couple of moorings available for 58ft.

 

Im not ready to buy or reserve as yet, but seemed promising, or maybe just phoned at the right time?

 

I would be looking around the Yorkshire and neighbouring areas.

Some marinas are fairly lax about living on site, some have a high usage mooring, which isn't residential but often used as such and some marinas absolutely refuse living on site, best visit and speak to the moorers, when speaking to the marinas unless talking about an official residential spot don't mention the R word.

 

[Residentail mooring or boat first?]

Speak to some people on moorings local to where you want to be, it's highly likely that a fair number will be living on their boats just keeping their heads down, it's not uncommon and the vast majority just get on with it.

 

Then you either have the luxury of time to find a proper "hens teeth" residential mooring or you may find you are happy on your new none residential mooring.

[Storm Babet]

M54 closed due to flooding, alternative route took me via Bangor on Dee, roads a mess, seriously deep puddles/new lakes all over the place and that's not including the roads that usually flood.

If it's this rough over this side of the country all I can say is good luck over there

[Storm Babet]

7 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Keep away from all the orange ladies...... never seen so many than in blackpool... they will probably look a bit streaky in the rain.

You need a night out in Liverpool if you want to see real numbers of orange young ladies, they invade Chester on race days as well

[Why no biminis?]

4 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Tilley hat for me. 

 

 

 

 

Its funny how one doesn't see Donkey jackets these days. They used to be quite common. 

 

I also like a Harris tweed shooting jacket if it is cut well. 

 

 

Have you seen the prices of donkey jackets nowadays, cheapest I've seen is £70 and then up into the hundreds of pounds, they have become trendy

[3 Million Posts!]

23 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Who was it then??🙂

Yeah who made the post

[Cannabis smoking in marinas]

18 minutes ago, Creaking Gate said:

 

 

In answer to the OP. I'd be happy its only cannabis being smoked.  I get for some its an odd smell, but then so was Hai karate. 

 

The smell can make me feel sick nowadays for some reason, I realise it's just the way it is now and will avoid any place that smells of weed