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Mold mold and more mold 😱


wibbly wobbler

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My GF from a few years ago had a diesel-fired Squirrel that was the same - chucked out a load of heat on lowest setting but tended to blow out when it was windy outside. Once this happened she used to insist on leaving it an hour or two to cool down then mop up the diesel slopping about inside, then twart about re-lighting it from scratch. I was always up for just re-lighting it immediately with a blowtorch but she was very protective of it and would never let me near it!

 

Drank like a fish too. The stove, that is not the GF. It had a separate diesel tank on the bulkhead outside and filling it was awkward and another disincentive to lighting the stove. 

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10 minutes ago, MtB said:

My GF from a few years ago had a diesel-fired Squirrel that was the same - chucked out a load of heat on lowest setting but tended to blow out when it was windy outside. Once this happened she used to insist on leaving it an hour or two to cool down then mop up the diesel slopping about inside, then twart about re-lighting it from scratch. I was always up for just re-lighting it immediately with a blowtorch but she was very protective of it and would never let me near it!

 

Drank like a fish too. The stove, that is not the GF. It had a separate diesel tank on the bulkhead outside and filling it was awkward and another disincentive to lighting the stove. 

 

Yes you should mop up any surplus diesel before relighting, otherwise the stove can run away and glow bright red until it has burnt off the surplus fuel and it will burn with yellow flames until it has.

 

You need either an "H" cowl or the type supplied by Kabola, where the top is effectively an oversized inverted can so it takes air from underneath to prevent down draughts from blowing them out in windy weather.

 

Mine uses about 0.25-0.33 litres per hour on settings 1-3, so my 60 litre tank last up to 10 days between refills when left oncontinuously. My tank is located in the port bow locker and can be refilled directly from its fill pipe or from the main engine tank via a pump. The latter requires two people, one at each end of the boat, as the button for the pump is by the helm. 😦

 

 

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7 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

If the flame is primarily blue once it has been on for 10-15 minutes then the stove is working properly. Due to the short flues on narrowboat it is not usually possible to get them to burn blue on the highest settings. That said the boat would be uncomfortably hot on the highest settings. I find mine keeps a 60 foot boat comfortably warm on settings 1-2 during a typical British winter.

 

Providing it has a flame failure device (red button that you have to press in for a minute whilst lighting it) and the surrounding area doesn't get too hot they can be safely left on for long periods. They need cleaning every 500 hours of operation, so once a fortnight if left on continuously.

 

Turning it on and off a lot will decrease the time between cleanings.

 

 

Yes the flame is predominantly blue. It's only really yellow when I wake up (having left it on overnight around no. 3-4 (when freezing outside)), but I turn it down to 2 and it soon goes back to blue. I find it struggles a bit on lower settings when it's freezing outside and doesn't burn consistently, so I need to put it on 3 or 4. I didn't have the issue with coking before the temperature dropped but the burner net now has a layer on top after every use (which I clean, otherwise the flame does not burn well and it sometimes lets off fumes). The diesel is different from what was being used before and I've changed the brand of methylated spirits I use, is that likely to cause this effect? Do you add additives to your diesel or cleaning tablets in your burner pot? 

Thank you for all this, it helps greatly. As you can probably tell, I am absolutely clueless 🤦‍♀️

7 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Lockgate are UK agents for Refleks stoves.

Yep, totally knew that 🤦‍♀️🤣

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6 minutes ago, wibbly wobbler said:

Yes the flame is predominantly blue. It's only really yellow when I wake up (having left it on overnight around no. 3-4 (when freezing outside)), but I turn it down to 2 and it soon goes back to blue. I find it struggles a bit on lower settings when it's freezing outside and doesn't burn consistently, so I need to put it on 3 or 4. I didn't have the issue with coking before the temperature dropped but the burner net now has a layer on top after every use (which I clean, otherwise the flame does not burn well and it sometimes lets off fumes). The diesel is different from what was being used before and I've changed the brand of methylated spirits I use, is that likely to cause this effect? Do you add additives to your diesel or cleaning tablets in your burner pot? 

Thank you for all this, it helps greatly. As you can probably tell, I am absolutely clueless 🤦‍♀️

 

Sounds like the burner pot needs cleaning.

 

Poke the small holes around the top of the pot and down the sides through with a drill bit. There is also a ring of small holes on the bottom edge of the burner pot which can be cleaned with a small curved brush, but you need a mirror on a stick with led lights to see them.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xtools-Telescopic-Inspection-Mirror-Extends/dp/B00HSJKJYS/ref=asc_df_B00HSJKJYS/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310493449173&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17574531975924204286&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007147&hvtargid=pla-621290759444&psc=1

 

I don't use any additives to the diesel but I find the cleaning tablets useful for a quick clean between proper cleans.

Edited by cuthound
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7 hours ago, MtB said:

My GF from a few years ago had a diesel-fired Squirrel that was the same - chucked out a load of heat on lowest setting but tended to blow out when it was windy outside. Once this happened she used to insist on leaving it an hour or two to cool down then mop up the diesel slopping about inside, then twart about re-lighting it from scratch. I was always up for just re-lighting it immediately with a blowtorch but she was very protective of it and would never let me near it!

 

Drank like a fish too. The stove, that is not the GF. It had a separate diesel tank on the bulkhead outside and filling it was awkward and another disincentive to lighting the stove. 

Haha, I was going ask to which one you were referring 😂

To be fair, that's the one think the guy from lockgate did say, always make sure the stove has completely cooled down before lighting it again. I did try once without waiting and boy did it not go well. Not only did it not stay lit, it sounded like it was going to blow up and nearly took my eyebrows off.

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6 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Yes you should mop up any surplus diesel before relighting, otherwise the stove can run away and glow bright red until it has burnt off the surplus fuel and it will burn with yellow flames until it has.

 

You need either an "H" cowl or the type supplied by Kabola, where the top is effectively an oversized inverted can so it takes air from underneath to prevent down draughts from blowing them out in windy weather.

 

Mine uses about 0.25-0.33 litres per hour on settings 1-3, so my 60 litre tank last up to 10 days between refills when left oncontinuously. My tank is located in the port bow locker and can be refilled directly from its fill pipe or from the main engine tank via a pump. The latter requires two people, one at each end of the boat, as the button for the pump is by the helm. 😦

 

 

Oh no, I certainly couldn't cope if my stove ran away 😱 😉

The stove is definitely the life force of the boat and I'm trying to do my best to look after it. 

I'm going to sneakily Google a H Cowl so I can pretend I know what that section is referring to.

I keep meaning to fill the tank up completely so I can get a proper measure of usage but at the minute I'm just using Jerry cans to top up levels.

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2 hours ago, wibbly wobbler said:

Haha, I was going ask to which one you were referring 😂

To be fair, that's the one think the guy from lockgate did say, always make sure the stove has completely cooled down before lighting it again. I did try once without waiting and boy did it not go well. Not only did it not stay lit, it sounded like it was going to blow up and nearly took my eyebrows off.

 

There seems to be a trend in women to shave their eyebrows off and paint them back on in makeup of some sort. 

 

My GF did this and I told her she'd painted them on a bit too high.

 

She looked surprised.....

 

 

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Getting rid of mold  spoors is tricky, you need to treat not only the black areas but any other place where it may spread to. Unventilated corners, areas with cold bridging to outside etc.

Edited by Tracy D'arth
Sex mistake, story of my life.
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26 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Getting rid of mould  spoors is tricky, you need to treat not only the black areas but any other place where it may spread to. Unventilated corners, areas with cold bridging to outside etc.

 

I still think getting the stove jumping hot and keeping it that way for a couple of weeks is the surefire solution.

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4 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Getting rid of mold  spoors is tricky, you need to treat not only the black areas but any other place where it may spread to. Unventilated corners, areas with cold bridging to outside etc.

I have been reading soo much about it. And believe I'm well out of my depth. I've had to leave the boat after only starting to treat it (due to covid), so dread to think what state it is in now and how much further it has spread. 🥺

20220117_154631.jpg

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10 hours ago, wibbly wobbler said:

Currently I'm thinking selling the boat is an even better solution, though I suspect given it's present state, no-one would touch it with a barge pole.

Were there signs that this has been a historical problem with your boat? If not, it's probably lack of ventilation/heat  and you might be in the same situation with the next one! In a steel box, normal house rules are exaggerated and you need to be ready to "waste" a certain amount of heat to keep dry.

 

I don't really mind the cold so much, I run my stove primarily to stave off the damp. That's 24/7 through the winter.

Edited by Slow and Steady
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1 hour ago, Slow and Steady said:

Were there signs that this has been a historical problem with your boat? If not, it's probably lack of ventilation/heat  and you might be in the same situation with the next one! In a steel box, normal house rules are exaggerated and you need to be ready to "waste" a certain amount of heat to keep dry.

 

I don't really mind the cold so much, I run my stove primarily to stave off the damp. That's 24/7 through the winter.

There was mold on the ceiling from the bathroom through bedroom to around rear hatch but not noticeable until months after I bought it. I cleaned it all with mold killer and re painted with anti mold paint. I have only had the boat since August last year so don't know if there have been issues with mold in the past.  

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Seeing as you had a leak previously and now damp/mould problems it's probably safe to say the boat never dried out properly. That should be your priority, drying the boat out. Run the stove 24/7, put your dehumidifier in particularly bad spots until it's collecting less water and then move it to another. Just concentrate on drying the boat out. Until the damp issue is fixed fighting the mold is just starting a never ending battle that you'll never win. 

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4 hours ago, wibbly wobbler said:

I cleaned it all with mold killer and re painted with anti mold paint.

 Will make little difference. If you have the conditions for condensation to occur, then it will occur, and mould killer and anti-mould paint will only defer the reapperarance of mould for a short time.

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3 hours ago, CanalRetentive said:

Seeing as you had a leak previously and now damp/mould problems it's probably safe to say the boat never dried out properly. That should be your priority, drying the boat out. Run the stove 24/7, put your dehumidifier in particularly bad spots until it's collecting less water and then move it to another. Just concentrate on drying the boat out. Until the damp issue is fixed fighting the mold is just starting a never ending battle that you'll never win. 

That's what I'm afraid of. I have temperature and humidity monitors at each end and in the middle and try not to let the humidity get too high. Moisture catchers all over the place and have now placed a small dehumidifier in the engine bay. I did suck the leaked water out with a wet vac, maybe I missed a little bit. 

3 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

What is the boat? Builder? Fit out?  Some are known for short cutting insulation.

It's a 2007 piper boat and fit out.

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3 minutes ago, wibbly wobbler said:

That's what I'm afraid of. I have temperature and humidity monitors at each end and in the middle and try not to let the humidity get too high. Moisture catchers all over the place and have now placed a small dehumidifier in the engine bay. I did suck the leaked water out with a wet vac, maybe I missed a little bit. 

It's a 2007 piper boat and fit out.

Not likely to be a construction shortfall then.  You could ask Simon, maybe he is feeling helpful?

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32 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 Will make little difference. If you have the conditions for condensation to occur, then it will occur, and mould killer and anti-mould paint will only defer the reapperarance of mould for a short time.

I did have quite a lot of condensation when the temperature dropped but didn't have the stove operational at the time.  Touch wood I've got to grips with it now and I'm ventilating properly.

2 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Not likely to be a construction shortfall then.  You could ask Simon, maybe he is feeling helpful?

I was actually contemplating emailing piper boats and asking them if this issue was known to them.

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22 hours ago, Slow and Steady said:

 

I don't really mind the cold so much, I run my stove primarily to stave off the damp. That's 24/7 through the winter.

 

When I hear about damp boats I don't really get it? If I leave my boat without any heating and come back a few days later it's just cold, never damp. Same with my previous narrowboat. If it's damp there's something wrong.

14 hours ago, wibbly wobbler said:

 

It's a 2007 piper boat and fit out.

 

Good builder

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3 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

When I hear about damp boats I don't really get it? If I leave my boat without any heating and come back a few days later it's just cold, never damp. Same with my previous narrowboat. If it's damp there's something wrong.

 

Good builder

Yes, it's a crap boat! Plus we do still breath and cook and wash etc. No problems with my previous boat.

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