boatyboy
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Posts posted by boatyboy
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Thanks for the info , and thanks JR also .
Seems like I'm not getting the best out of my Bubble .
I'll try a taller chimney .
When run on 1 it also use about 3.5 ltrs in 24 hours but cokes up in a few days , also on that setting it doesn't heat up the rads enough in this weather.
I'd thought about adjusting the low fire screw but chickened out when the manual implied it shouldn't need to be adjusted. Then thought about it and assumed that I would only be adjusting the low fire setting (1) to the burn that I now get on (3)-i.e would it make any difference to my fuel consumption . If I leave it as it is , at least I can turn it down if I'm prepared to clean it more often . Must admit with a nice blue flame it's running hotter than necessary .
Why did you replace your Toby ?? - maybe I need to do that but I'm hoping not.
Cheers
I replaced the Toby because it was getting harder to turn the stove off.I was having to use a pair of pliers to turn the rod.I purchased the new one,then fixed the old one.I can't remember what i did,but i then sold it on ebay in good working condition.The buyer was so pleased with his purchase.
Have you attempted to adjust the low fire screw yet? As its a piece of cake.Just do it tiny bits at a time.Probably the reason your manual tells you not to adjust it is becauase they want you to call out a fitter to do it for you.And that won't be cheap!
If you adjust it to a correct flame set on one then you should burn less oil.The reason also that you are getting so much carbon build up is because of the inefficent yellow flame on that setting.
We have ours set on one all the times,and can just about bare my hands on the rads.
Re your rads not getting hot.....At the back of my stove i have a 15mm copper pipe with an air bleed valve on top.You may have air in your system.I did, and could not believe how much air came out,and it also made the central heating pump run a lot quieter due to no air rattle in the pipes.Bleed your rads too.
Not sure what you mean by "Must admit with a nice blue flame it's running hotter than necessary" sounds like its running how it should if its getting hot.
Good luck...Dave
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Good thread this as there's not much info on Bubbles here .
Now to my question :-
I've never been able to run on low setting without a yellow flame - the optimum setting seems to be 3 when I get a nice blue conical flame . On this setting I use about 7 liters in 24 hours and have to de-coke it every 12 days to keep it blue . How does this compare with other Bubble users ??
That sounds like a lot of fuel you are using.We reckon that we use 3.5 ltrs in a 24 hour period set on number one.You say that when you run on number one it burns with a yellow flame.What you must take into account when it is as cold as it is today the oil thickens up and flow is decreased,therefore the fire does not get hot enough to create enough heat for the chimney to draw.
I only say that because i had the same problem. Last year i had to fit a new oil control valve.the paperwork said "This unit is set at the factory,and should not need any adjustment"....... WRONG !!
I installed the new unit.She fired up a treat,and kept on getting hotter.It was begining to go out of control.so we had to shut the oil off quick and contacted Harworth Heating (Bubble stoves)
I'll get to my point soon eh...I had to reset the High and low fire settings on the control valve.
This was a very long drawn out process,with lots of periods of waiting ten minutes while the flame stabalises.In actual fact it took about a week to get it right....Dont laugh!!
Ok back to your yellow flame.It sounds to me that you need to adjust your low fire screw on the control valve.If your fire is like mine then the low fire screw is the one towards the back of the valve.And the high fire screw is very close to where the stove heat setting control rod joins the valve near the front,and it should have a blob of red paint on it.(Check your manual).
Once you have located the low fire screw,turn it only about one quarter turn,making a note first of where it was set before you move it.Don't expect instant results,and could take ten minutes to notice a change.
So put the kettle on and be patient.
Sorry if this went on a bit,but i'm begining to finally understand bubbles after 3 winters.Let me know how you get on.Remember small adjustments!!!
Dave
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I have got rid of one of my diesel stoves and cut my heating bill by 40% even after buying coal!
As for lighting, I add couple or three of cap full of meths to the burner pot, use a long taper/gas lighter to light it.
Leave it to burn until its just about to die then turn the oil on to the "normal" level oil catches almost straight away as stove is already hot.
Having said that I only ever had to lite the one in the main cabin a couple of times year as it was on 24/7 during the winter.
Thanks for replying.My original post was saying that i don't have to remove the grill tubes from the fire,thus meaning no more dirty fingers.I was amazed that the match trick worked.
I have read since in replies to my post that you remove the 'skirt',i guess that would be the fender.Then light the stove through the lighting port.I don't have one of those.....Do i?
Dave
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Sounds scary to me.But don't get too alarmed and be frightened off.As we have been CC's for nearly three years now,and not had any trouble at all.Albiet a fishing rod stole off the roof in Little venis.
So please don't take up arms,as you might get into trouble with uncle bill.
Dave
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Don't have a bubble stove but have seen them so this is asked with tongue in cheek. How do you fit a pinapple sized object, shall we say 100mm x 200mm into the burner of a bubble stove?
Sorry i forgot to put the word 'chunk' in
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Thanks for that.We could'nt find anything either.phoning tomorrow.
Cheers Dave
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I hope this might be of interest to owners of oil fired Bubble stoves.In our instruction book it says light the fire using a pineapple sized chunk of firelighter,this i've been doing now for 3 winters,and have always noticed a lot of residue in the pan when coming to relight the stove.I mentioned this to the owner of Welton Hythe marine."I never use fire lighters" he said,as they leave to much residue in the pan,so light it with a "Well alight match" and it works every time he assured me.
I went straight back to the boat,cleaned out the fire,put all the grills back,turned on and allowed the measured amount of oil into the pan.Lit said match and dropped it in.Hey presto !!! The fire lit ok.I have now used this method for a couple of weeks and its not failed me yet.
The advantages of this is that you don't get black hands any more,(only when you clean the stove out though).
You know that one has to virtually let the flame die away before the door is closed,and the oil turned back on?
Well i've found something else that gets the fire going quicker,before i shut the door i turn the oil onto max(6) for a count of ten seconds,shut the door and then turn the back to one.I've found that the lovely blue flame estabishes so much quicker.If you are not happy winding up to a max of 6,then try it on lower settings first.
It works for me.But it may not work on yours.
Dave
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Hi all.We are still frozen in at Welton hythe on the GU.But we might try casting off tomorrow
.We would like to go the few miles from here to moore up in Wigrams turn marina for Christmas.Can anyone tell me of the ice situation in the marina and surrounding areas please.also does anyone have an idea of charges per night for short term period.Dave
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I have decoked ours several times. I use a bronze brush for the catalyst bits, and the ring at the top with the holes in. For the main body floor an old wood chisel cum scraper. For the area around the feed nozzle, I take out the lighting port cover and carefuly use a long old screwdriver.
They do seem to have a will of their own, sometimes working well with a nice blue flame and sometimes not. After replaceing the in line filter, it worked better, but the real test will be this weekend when we fire it up in the cold and see if the oil is flowing well. I have a 20 gallon heating tank to which I have added 1 gal of paraffin to improve fuel flow. Will let you know next week how she went.
Incidentaly, I find that giving equipement a name and talking to them does help. Our engine is called Dorothy, (Dorothy Perkins) and the stove is called Bubbles l'amour.
Hi Mike.Love that name.I'm afraid ours was called something naughty a few times last week.It looks like we both use the same method for cleaning,though i've not yet got to cleaning the filter.I've done it before,and its the type that one washes out with clean diesel.I too have a twenty gallon tank which is built into the gunwall of the boat fwd, which is only one foot away from the stove(One the outside)Which is totally exposed to the cold air, and no doubt affects the viscosity of the Diesel.Do you add a whole gallon of parafin to a full tank of diesel,or smaller amount?
I read in our Bubble manual that one should add an anti waxing fluid to the diesel to help it flow.Any ideas what the name of this is,or is it parafin?
Thanks for your help so far Mike.I'm quite comforted that your stove sometimes burns a bit funny.You mention a lighting port.I don't have one of those (do i)? I have to light the fuel by dropping a small piece of fire lighter or lighted match down the side of the mesh tube.Have i been doing it wrong for the last two years?
Dave
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Hi Dave,
I've not taken the allen screws out, I think my Dad had a go this way once but couldn't get anything apart.
The burner pot has several small holes in both the inner and outer part. At the bottom of the inner part is a bevel which has holes pointing towards the bottom of the pot. The outer has a small hole in the centre of the large holes of the inner pot.
Carbon can build up around the injector? point that should be removed, and I've found carbon building up behind the inner pot. It sometimes can be possible to break it into small bits and push it through the larger inner pot holes. The carbon can be quite hard at times and so you think you are hitting metal, but it will break eventually.
I use a cheapo bagged vacuum cleaner to suck out the smaller lose bits and soot, but much of it can be picked up by hand. Don't use a cyclone vacuum as the dust is too light and gets trapped in a filter reducing the flow rate.
Get a taller double lined chimney (mine is the 28" chimney) will help loads as that is the only thing pulling in fresh air. The better draw you get the less likely it is to go out.
Cheers,
Mike
Thanks for that Mike.Do you find that one day the flame is lovely and blue,the next its all yellow,even though the weather ain't changed?
Yes i'm aware of the carbon build up on the drip feed nozzle.If anything i think i clean our fire out to much,once a week normally.
Dave
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Hi all.I check up the weather forcast for wherever we are moored by typing in a search on google ie..'Weather in Braunston'.We are just up the canal from there at Welton. Its telling me that the minimum night time temperature tonight at Braunston is going to be - 18C.Are they having a laugh do you think.The other night they forcast - 16C and it only went down to -1C.
I always thought that they were a reliable source of weather info.So go to Google and type in 'weather in .........)'and see what they say for your area.
Dave
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Hi.That sounds quite ludicrous to me.We are currantly stuck in the ice opposite welton marina,and we are booked in at Great Heywood Marina for Christmas.Though its looking more and more like we wont make it in time.Our mooring fee over the Christmas period there is £10 a night.Not sure whats going on,as we have always found them very resonable people.
Dave
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We are brasing ourselves,as yesterday we had to let our oil fired Bubble stove out due to the gusty wind keep on blowing it out.It was efin freezing in here this morning lighting it at 6.30am.
Anyone else getting this problem with an oil Bubble.When its running the flame is perfect.I was told by Harworth heating (bubble stoves) to get a rotating cowl.We did this,and we thought had cured the problem,until yesterday
Dave
Sounds intersting,i'll check it out.We do have a rotaing cowl from Bubble stoves.it works ok most of the time.Can you let me know how tall your chimney is please.Mine is only 18" and single skinned.
Dave
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Hardly applicable to boating, but well worth a look!
Bl**dy hell.My nuts have disapeared just watching that,I get the shakes seeing guys working on pylons.
I sat all the way through that and i'm still trembling.Thanks for sharing it.I would love to send that vid to my son who works at height for a sign company.I don't think he'll complain anymore about going on a four stage scaffold tower.
Dave
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Ensure all the air holes into the pot are clear, this causes a reduction in flow which can produce similar effects. Also check your chimney and all other bits are clean.
Mike
Hi Mike.Ta for answering.Can i pick your brains a bit more? How does one go about totally cleaning inside the fire.Is the flat plate half way up with the large round hole in it which has the round grills in it easy to remove and clean under it.(i'd love to post a pic but i don't know to).Do you know the plate i mean? It appears to be held in with a few Allen headed screws.If you need further discription,let me know.
Dave
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Sorry to hear this tale. I think you were exceptionally unlucky to get so much damage, and nobody's slating you as far as I can see! We should be thanking you for highlighting how much damage can be done by freezing weather.
My boat is plumbed using plastic HEP20 tubing. I've suffered frozen HEP20 pipes in years gone by but never a burst. Have I just been lucky or does plastic pipe tend not to bust due to its elasticity?
I'd be interested to find out, has anyone on here ever had (or seen) a HEP20 pipe burst from freezing? HEP20 is rumoured to be 'frost proof' in the plumbing trade but I'm not convinced...
Mike
Hi Mike.Sad to say a couple of mine that had burst were the plastic pipe.They did not actually split the pipe,but came apart at the joint.I just replaced them with the same.Fingers crossed they don't leak (yet).
Dave
Whilst the Hep2O pipe itself didn't split in a freeze up, some of his fittings did.
Unfortunately I'm currently performing (involuntarily) a test on leaving the water system full in an unheated boat with Hep2O.
As and when I finally get there, I'll report on what, (if anything) has failed in this cold spell.
EDITED TO ACKNOWLEDGE....
RLWP's failures seem to have been Hep2O fittings, but on copper pipe. Not sure if the copper was contributory, in some way ?
Well you could well get it tested tonight.We are moored on the towpath opposite Welton Marina on the GU.And local weather at Braunston is supposed to drop to -16 c
You can check temperature in your area by going onto google and typing 'Weather in............' Just look at Braunston.We are brasing ourselves,as yesterday we had to let our oil fired Bubble stove out due to the gusty wind keep on blowing it out.It was efin freezing in here this morning lighting it at 6.30am.
Anyone else getting this problem with an oil Bubble.When its running the flame is perfect.I was told by Harworth heating (bubble stoves) to get a rotating cowl.We did this,and we thought had cured the problem,until yesterday
Dave
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Well Dave, you could have a look at the recent thread in 'equipment' on oil filled radiators.
Tony
Thanks Tony.I was told that oil filled rads were the way to go.
Dave
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Evening all.I sure some of you might have read my tales of woe regarding me not winterizing our boat last year...Nuf said.
This year i'm looking to buy a low consumtion electric heater that is ok to leave on in the boat whilst i go home for a fortnight.So if any of you can recommend one i would be grateful.
Dave
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Good evening all.last years we left our NB at Norbury wharf whilst we went home for the Christmas break.We were due to only be home for a week max,but ended up being home for a month.(Big mistake!!)The weather was mild for the time of year when we headed home,and as most of you will remember it got rapidly colder over the following weeks.
I never thought i would need to winterise the boat (another big mistake):blush:After our extened break we returned to the boat sitting in nearly 8" of ice.We had an idea what we would find.Sure enough the first thing we saw just inside the cabin was a pyamid of ice stemming from a split central heating radiator,and ice all along the cabin carpet.We both nearly cried and went back home to Chelmsford. But we set to to try and get some heat in the boat.Norbury wharf gave us free electric and we plugged in our fan heater.The boat inside was as cold as it is outside right now.
We had no idea of other damage,as the domestic pump and central heating pump were frozen solid.We were now getting some heat into the boat,and turned on the water pump again,and it worked,albiet rather slow at first.So far no leaks.We held our breath.The pump got up to presurising the acumulator and stopped.We waited for half an hour,and the pump kicked in again and kept on going.We could hear the sound of gushing water everywhere in the boat(i had already isolated the heating rads).
To cut an even longer story short i had 3 burst pipes behing the galley.2 more under the sink unit in the bath room.one more at the back of the thetford loo.The worst by far was the shower fitting which was fitted in
between two 18mm bulkheads and stuck in.This turned out to be the biggest job,as i had to virtually dismantle the toilt compartment to get at the pipes.Once a bulkhead was removed i found the leaking joint,it was a copper capilory joint completly blown apart.It took us a couple of days to fix every thing.New rads fitted,pipes lages,Antifreeze and furnox in the rads.now the long drying out period began.I think it took a month at least.
For those of you slating me for this, yes i agree with you all.And i am really emmbarresed to tell my story.
but i felt i should share my woes with those of you leaving their boat to go home for Christmas.Remember to drain down your pipes.Happy Chrismas.....Dave
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Hi again guys.This is a question on behalf of my wife....Why can't we get on waterscape.She has been trying for quite a few days,but it won't load.Everything else loads up ok.So is it us?
Dave and Di
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Is the vent in the filler cap closed or maybe iced up?
Hi John.You were right.It was the vent iced up.I took the cap apart,dried it out.And its been running fine for 2 hours now.
Cheers Dave
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Does it have a clear plastic filter with corrugated paper filter inside?
Could there be moisture inside which has frozen?
Thank both of you.I've got my head torch on already,and off to check it right away.I might be gone for a while
Ta Dave
Does it have a clear plastic filter with corrugated paper filter inside?
Could there be moisture inside which has frozen?
Which filter do you mean?The one in the petrol filling spout,or the one in the carb air filter?
My carb filter is soft foam,i cleaned that the other day.
The petrol filler is white plastic with a fine filter mesh.
Dave
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Evening guys.We have like many other CC's been frozen in for the last 3 days.So i have been using my little Honda eu 1.0 suitcase Genny to power the telly.Its always run like a sewing macine,and copes with everything i plug into it.But over the last 3 days it just ain't running right,it seems to be surging,or some might describe it as hunting.It keeps going with no efect on the power output.So what i'm thinking is that due to the temperature outside here at Welton on the Grand union being -5 degs at the moment,is that what causing it to hunt/surge?
Your advice would be very much appreciated.
Dave
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Hi Alan.Sounds like a cheap fix.If only i understood what you were saying
Dave
Because it is Vetus,and because they can
There are some wiring diagrams on the Vetus site I believe.
Hi Ta for the info.I will check it out.If only i understood wireing diagrams,all those symbols etc.I'm getting on a bit,i'm a chippy not a sparks ya know
Dave
.We would like to go the few miles from here to moore up in Wigrams turn marina for Christmas.Can anyone tell me of the ice situation in the marina and surrounding areas please.also does anyone have an idea of charges per night for short term period.
between two 18mm bulkheads and stuck in.This turned out to be the biggest job,as i had to virtually dismantle the toilt compartment to get at the pipes.Once a bulkhead was removed i found the leaking joint,it was a copper capilory joint completly blown apart.
oil Bubble stoves
in General Boating
Posted
Yes i found the screws rather tight,but they did move ok.Is your Toby behind your stove?As mine is mounted to the right at the front,and is easy to get at (After taking off the side panel off).Looking at the snow falling here at Welford Hythe on the GU,I'd leave it alone until its less cold.My fathers pet phrase used to be "If it ain't broke don't fix it". At least you stove is sort of working ok at the moment.
Anyway good luck with the stove.As we are turning our's off and going home for Christmas tomorrow.
Have a great Christmas all.............Dave & Diane on NB Urquhart Castle