Stop dumping ash!

[BWM]

27 minutes ago, NB Alnwick said:

 

Sorry to mislead - those who have followed my posts on fuel in previous years will know that the 'proper coal' that I refer to is Welsh Anthracite which is almost pure carbon and less toxic than bituminous coal or manufactured fuel briquettes.

The ash and cinders from anthracite is very useful for a decent non slip surface on paths, we save ours for this purpose but bag and dump the stuff from the briquettes used in the front end of the boat.

[rustynewbery]

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

And what do you use when you are in a dry dock and the gates have a slight leak. You drop ash into the canal which gets drawn in and blocks the leak.

 

Is this now classed as fly tipping

Well if it is CRT are banged to rights as they used to take all the ash from Cropredy Marina's bins to use for sealing stop planks et al.

[NB Alnwick]

30 minutes ago, BWM said:

The ash and cinders from anthracite is very useful for a decent non slip surface on paths, we save ours for this purpose but bag and dump the stuff from the briquettes used in the front end of the boat.

 

Those of us of the 'Ian Allan' generation will remember how a "Cinder Path" was often the well trodden route to a steam locomotive shed . . .

[Victor Vectis]

4 hours ago, NB Alnwick said:

Certainly dumping any form of waste in any place other than a licenced disposal facility is fly-tipping, illegal, and downright inconsiderate.

However, it was not always this way! The ash or cinders produced by working steam locomotives used to be re-used to make pathways and various other purposes. I remember when British Waterways would collect lorry loads of the stuff from the Great Central Railway in Loughborough as recently as the 1980s.

Unfortunately, the fine ash produced from the types of solid fuel currently favoured by many boaters is a different product and cannot be used for pathways.

 

As oft mentioned in the Ian Allan Locoshed Directory.

 

A cinder path leads down to the shed.

 

As a spotty kid in East London I would read of exotic places such as Tyne Dock and Blyth Cambois where an abundance of steam locomotives might be found.

 

ETA Oops. Duplicate post (almost) Perhaps I ought to read to the end of a topic before responding.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Victor Vectis

[NB Alnwick]

11 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

 

As oft mentioned in the Ian Allan Locoshed Directory.

 

A cinder path leads down to the shed.

 

As a spotty kid in East London I would read of exotic places such as Tyne Dock and Blyth Cambois where an abundance of steam locomotives might be found.

 

ETA Oops. Duplicate post (almost) Perhaps I ought to read to the end of a topic before responding.

 

But that term "Cinder Path" still raises the hairs on the back of my neck and I am reminded of many happy days finding them - such as one cold February afternoon in 1963 when having crossed the canal at Leamington and found the cinder path as described, I was to discover one of the last GWR King class 4-6-0s - it was on its last legs and had probably failed at the head of a Birmingham express - but what a magnificent sight . . .

[tree monkey]

17 minutes ago, NB Alnwick said:

 

But that term "Cinder Path" still raises the hairs on the back of my neck and I am reminded of many happy days finding them - such as one cold February afternoon in 1963 when having crossed the canal at Leamington and found the cinder path as described, I was to discover one of the last GWR King class 4-6-0s - it was on its last legs and had probably failed at the head of a Birmingham express - but what a magnificent sight . . .

Dad worked as a fireman on the trains out of Chester and recently recounted the cleaning of the firebox and how they dumped the cinders and ash between the rails for some poor sod to collect for disposal later.

He also has a small rant about coal types and the best coals from which pit, also how the company bought a shed load of coke on the cheap once and how impossible it was to work a good head of steam with it.

 

[BWM]

4 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Dad worked as a fireman on the trains out of Chester and recently recounted the cleaning of the firebox and how they dumped the cinders and ash between the rails for some poor sod to collect for disposal later.

He also has a small rant about coal types and the best coals from which pit, also how the company bought a shed load of coke on the cheap once and how impossible it was to work a good head of steam with it.

 

Was George Osborne the company CEO?

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, NB Alnwick said:

 

Those of us of the 'Ian Allan' generation will remember how a "Cinder Path" was often the well trodden route to a steam locomotive shed . . .

As a kid all our garden paths were like that

[Jerra]

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

As a kid all our garden paths were like that

Likewise.

[David Mack]

20 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Dad worked as a fireman on the trains out of Chester and recently recounted the cleaning of the firebox and how they dumped the cinders and ash between the rails for some poor sod to collect for disposal later.

And how often did they set the sleepers alight?

[tree monkey]

4 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

As a kid all our garden paths were like that

None of our house garden paths were cinder but all the allotments were, Dad used to put all the fire ash through a sieve to catch all the lumpy bits and use it to bank the fire at night, I tried it with smokeless one year and got almost nothing 

1 minute ago, David Mack said:

And how often did they set the sleepers alight?

He never mentioned that, he did recall leaving some grass fires behind the engine, particularly going up a hill into Northwich if I remember correctly 

[ditchcrawler]

8 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

None of our house garden paths were cinder but all the allotments were, Dad used to put all the fire ash through a sieve to catch all the lumpy bits and use it to bank the fire at night,  

I forgot that bit, he also mixed the coalhouse sweepings with a drop of cement to make brickets 

 

[Momac]

Ash is potentially highly toxic . I recall a case some decades a ago. Dioxins from fly ash used as as soil conditioner in allotments were identified as causing  cancers and birth defects as the dioxins were  absorbed by the vegetables  , then fed to the family on a regular basis.

Just because people did certain things in the past in their genuine ignorance of the hazards , doesn't make it okay to do the same now. 

https://ukwin.org.uk/resources/health/dioxins-and-other-harmful-incinerator-emissions/

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by MartynG

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Ash is potentially highly toxic . I recall a case some decades a ago. Dioxins from fly ash used as as soil conditioner in allotments were identified as causing  cancers and birth defects as the dioxins were  absorbed by the vegetables  , then fed to the family on a regular basis.

Just because people did certain things in the past in their genuine ignorance of the hazards , doesn't make it okay to do the same now. 

https://ukwin.org.uk/resources/health/dioxins-and-other-harmful-incinerator-emissions/

 

I don't think I would class out dining room fire as an incinerator 

So with the reduction in fossil fuel power generation will there be a shortage of plasterboard? https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/what-plasterboard-made

[Momac]

6 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I don't think I would class out dining room fire as an incinerator 

So with the reduction in fossil fuel power generation will there be a shortage of plasterboard? https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/what-plasterboard-made

Any fire burning  solid fuel  is a incinerator.

 

There is  a shortage of  PFA for use in concrete . Once a cheap cement substitute it is now an extra cost item which is not good as Portland cement production is a big contributor to global warming.

 

 

[matty40s]

4 hours ago, Tonka said:

And what do you use when you are in a dry dock and the gates have a slight leak. You drop ash into the canal which gets drawn in and blocks the leak.

 

Is this now classed as fly tipping

Guilty M'lud, all our local moorers have old blacking tins to collect ash in. When full, they are dropped by our guillotine gate and used to seal it on every docking.

We also pay to dredge our own marina and frontage.

Edited March 20, 2021 by matty40s

[ditchcrawler]

48 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Any fire burning  solid fuel  is a incinerator.

 

There is  a shortage of  PFA for use in concrete . Once a cheap cement substitute it is now an extra cost item which is not good as Portland cement production is a big contributor to global warming.

 

 

But I am hardly feeding it with all sorts of industrial waste.

[Maffi]

8 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

Perhaps we could also start a thread about the iniquities of boaters who leave their 'stuff' out on the towpath . . . 

Well that was my next post!

[Maffi]

6 hours ago, Tonka said:

And what do you use when you are in a dry dock and the gates have a slight leak. You drop ash into the canal which gets drawn in and blocks the leak.

 

Is this now classed as fly tipping

With the leaks so big and the ash so small I would doubt has any effect!

9 hours ago, Jon57 said:

Give the Ash and empty coal bags to them with composting toilets. I'm sure they would find it useful. ?

They have their own supply of ash?

[Machpoint005]

6 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Could that be why it is called fly-ash ?

 

Fly ash is a fine powder that is a byproduct of burning pulverized coal in electric generation power plants. Fly ash is a pozzolan, a substance containing aluminous and siliceous material that forms cement in the presence of water. When mixed with lime and water, fly ash forms a compound similar to Portland cement.

 

I remember Pozzolanic Lytag wagons lugging it away fron Fiddlers Ferry PS. IIRC they went to gypsum board factories.

[Parahandy]

16 hours ago, Maffi said:

Everywhere I go I see piles and piles of ash dumped along the hedgerow, Even in Braunston, where the towpath is narrow in places, lazy itinerant boaters dump their ash.  Ash is two of three things. If its coal based ash it is TOXIC waste! and fly-tipping. Nothing grows through it. If it is wood based ash it is rubbish and constitutes fly-tipping. Yes I know wood ash is good for the garden and in your own garden you can do what you like. Either way all ash should be disposed of properly, that is to say cooled, bagged, and binned.

 

Last Sunday as we walked across the main road bridge, in Braunston to the car, we saw flames and palls of smoke coming out of the hedgerow at the back of Vegas Racing. This will be the third time I have witnessed a fire in that short line of trees, and a lazy itinerant boater is to blame. I am sure it has happened more times than that. Fortunately another boater was arriving on the scene to deal with it. I wonder how many small creatures get baked alive in these circumstances.

There are those who suggest putting it in the puddles on the tow path, stupid idea, fine ash and water mixed together makes gooey sludge! 

 

What is so hard about bagging it an binning it? There is no reason to dump your ash. When using coal, at the end of a 25 kg bag of coal, you have an empty bag and its FREE! Put your ash in that! You will bin the bags anyway. Now I know some here will talk about hot ash in plastic bags and they are almost right, but you can alleviate that problem. Try one of these Clarke CHT848 12 Litre Stainless Steel Bucket With Lid - Machine Mart - Machine Mart £19.19 is nice shiney Stainless Steel and will last for ever,  ( there is a 16 litre size) If you cant afford one of these you could try one of these Draper 12L Galvanised Steel Bucket - Machine Mart - Machine Mart £7.98.  it's Galvanised so not so shiney, and should last 6/7 years or more. I have one on my roof. It stands on an old piece or Hexboard to stop it damaging the paint work. I burn solid fuel from September to May so there is always a plentiful supply of bags.

 

Place ash into the bucket to cool and when cool empty into the plastic bag. If you are not sure its cool put some water in it, it will soon tell you. (mind your eyes).

Fly-tipping is a despicable thing to do. It damages the environment. and kills wildlife. We as boaters should be looking after the environment we live in not 

burning it down!

 

Word of warning, if you do get a bucket please do not store hot ash on your front/rear decks. Until the heat is gone the ashes will still be producing Carbon gasses that could get in through your ventilators. I leave mine on the tow path!

You want to forget about the Ash and concentrate on slowing down for moored Boats the next time you are passing through Milton Keynes . I had cause to remonstrate with you some

time back in a restrained way I may add as you had a female present , you on the other hand had an appalling attitude . 

[Mike Todd]

55 minutes ago, Maffi said:

With the leaks so big and the ash so small I would doubt has any effect!

They have their own supply of ash?

I have watched a CaRT team doing a quick check on a reported failing top paddle, inserting stop planks and draining the lock. They used ash from a nearby steam railway and IT WORKS!

28 minutes ago, Parahandy said:

You want to forget about the Ash and concentrate on slowing down for moored Boats the next time you are passing through Milton Keynes . I had cause to remonstrate with you some

time back in a restrained way I may add as you had a female present , you on the other hand had an appalling attitude . 

Not perhaps the best place or in the best taste to air such comments on this thread. Try the virtual pub . . . or even 'another' place!

[Momac]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

But I am hardly feeding it with all sorts of industrial waste.

Coal will do it

[Maffi]

14 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

?They need to do something about these liveaboard boaters!! Shouldnt be legal realy should it ?

Too right they do Unwashed and jobless!  ?? ??

[Parahandy]

8 hours ago, Maffi said:

Oh really!  I remember you, you were a right gobby twat. I seem to remember you threatened me with physical violence. Sorry but I will not slow down to 'tick over' for 2/3 miles of boats. The whole subject of speed is subjective. The rules dont say tick over what ever your stupid sign says. I will slow down to between 1 and 2 mph depending on the width of the canal. If you think I am going to spend 3 hours going through MK at tick over, you have another think coming. If you Continuous Moorers were to be more considerate and stop mooring a boat every 50/100 yards. along the canal we could all get on with what the canals are a bout "Boating", not mooring.  Get yerself a life and move yer boat instead of threatening those who do! Try mooring in groups to lessen the impact on those who want to move. Learn to tie ya boat up properly!

And watch where you dump your ash!

 

You are a complete Liar , I never threatened you with any Physical Violence whatsoever nor do I possess any Slow Down signs , I can only assume that was some other who was equally annoyed about your complete contempt for long established Boating Practise and indeed lack of courtesy for your fellow boaters . Sadly you are yet another of these Blogging Types new to the Canal who feels an entitlement to condescendingly lecture the rest of us . Tell me something , is that wig something you have recently obtained and how is it best affixed when piloting your speeding Boat ? I did notice it remained relatively stable though to be fair you did place your hand on your head . At nearly sixty and suffering from thinning locks I am keen to hear your reply .