Traditional chimney/exhaust stack makers?

[DShK]

When the weather isn't perfect and I'm not moving, I have one of these for the exhaust. The boat came with a bean can but the broker lost this when he started the engine without removing it 😃 The nice thing about one of these is if you start the engine without swapping it, it's no problem.

 

[Jon57]

14 hours ago, Ray T said:

 

Our

 

Chimney(s) fit nicely behind the stove when not in use and the roof collar gets covered with one of these.

When the boat is not in use it may be needed to chain the cap down or it may "walk."

 

 

I got a local sheet metal worker to make a stove chimney. I supplied the brass work. 

2 minutes ago, Jon57 said:

 

I got a local sheet metal worker to make a stove chimney. I supplied the brass work. 

 

[Jon57]

[DShK]

Looks fantastic! I love the keg cover too, amazing haha

[koukouvagia]

On 21/02/2023 at 14:01, DShK said:

I'd like a proper nice traditional chimney, and a real nice solid exhaust stack (the chandler one I have is poor quality and does not fit well). The only place that I could see that has an online presence is South Island Marina, and they seem to have stopped making them. The only other info I can find are phone numbers on here from a decade or more ago!

 

Might be worth giving Mike Pinnock a call.  He made this one for me a few years ago.  The traditional chain is a dog chain which I had powder coated.

 

[DShK]

He's based in the south island marina I think? and their website started saying this:

 

[Tonka]

Tony Redshaw Vintage Engine specialist in Braunston is making exhaust chimneys and they look to be very well made. Proper guage brass and seamless as they are ?????? welded. Can not remember what the ???? Word was.

[DShK]

21 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Tony Redshaw Vintage Engine specialist in Braunston is making exhaust chimneys and they look to be very well made. Proper guage brass and seamless as they are ?????? welded. Can not remember what the ???? Word was.

Shouldn't they be riveted to be "proper?" Any pictures available?

 

I was considering making my own, know some people who work at a chimney cowel factory. Not sure about how to do "proper" rivets and cut out brass into nice shapes though.

[magnetman]

27 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Tony Redshaw Vintage Engine specialist in Braunston is making exhaust chimneys and they look to be very well made. Proper guage brass and seamless as they are ?????? welded. Can not remember what the ???? Word was.

Spot

 

 

Or if they are in fact seamless it will be laser welded. 

Brass seems odd. I thought it was just the bands around that were brass and the stack itself would be mild or stainless steel. 

 

I would become nervous if someone said they were welding brass. 

 

Usually seamless indicates that no welding has happened. 

[Tonka]

7 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Spot

 

 

Or if they are in fact seamless it will be laser welded. 

Brass seems odd. I thought it was just the bands around that were brass and the stack itself would be mild or stainless steel. 

 

I would become nervous if someone said they were welding brass. 

 

Usually seamless indicates that no welding has happened. 

Sorry I meant proper guage brass for the cutter and the bands. Not that the chimney was made of brass

15 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Spot

 

 

Or if they are in fact seamless it will be laser welded. 

Brass seems odd. I thought it was just the bands around that were brass and the stack itself would be mild or stainless steel. 

 

I would become nervous if someone said they were welding brass. 

 

Usually seamless indicates that no welding has happened. 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0izWup4RA89Y1wjSP1AXy3V9pegfG7wSYnnXgRsLkSjg2zjSk7cseDfgDas7QV79zl&id=153747261344570

For a photo of them

[magnetman]

Drawn steel tube like they use on the old racers with Reynolds 531 frames. 

 

 

[DShK]

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

Sorry I meant proper guage brass for the cutter and the bands. Not that the chimney was made of brass

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0izWup4RA89Y1wjSP1AXy3V9pegfG7wSYnnXgRsLkSjg2zjSk7cseDfgDas7QV79zl&id=153747261344570

For a photo of them

Eh don't look much better than chandlery ones to my eye. Missing the d-section at the top for one

[magnetman]

I'm not convinced a heavy gauge is ideal for a tall pipe. If you hit a bridge with it you want the thing to fold in half rather than becoming a lever to rip the deck fitting out of the cabin top. 

 

This is why a rolled up piece of thin stainless sheet either rivetted or spot welded may be better.  

 

Nicer to just lose the stack rather  than risk buckling the steelwork. 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by magnetman

[blackrose]

Why even bother with a tall pipe that's going to hit bridges? Why not just have a shorter one. I can't see that the length of the pipe is going to affect engine performance. I knit the tall pipe is more for steerer performance so they're not inhaling exhaust fumes, but even so wouldn't it be more sensible to route a longer pipe to the stern behind the steerer?

 

I do think some traditionalists love to suffer for their fashion - because that's what it is.

 

The vitreous enamel chimney for my stove has lasted 18 winters and shows no sign of rotting through. Those traditional narrowboat chimneys might look the part but they're flimsy cr@p. I guess it's all about form & fashion over function for some people.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by blackrose

[Rob-M]

The tall pipe helps the exhaust fumes go over your head rather than in to your face.

[frangar]

2 hours ago, blackrose said:

Why even bother with a tall pipe that's going to hit bridges? Why not just have a shorter one. I can't see that the length of the pipe is going to affect engine performance. I knit the tall pipe is more for steerer performance so they're not inhaling exhaust fumes, but even so wouldn't it be more sensible to route a longer pipe to the stern behind the steerer?

 

I do think some traditionalists love to suffer for their fashion - because that's what it is.

 

The vitreous enamel chimney for my stove has lasted 18 winters and shows no sign of rotting through. Those traditional narrowboat chimneys might look the part but they're flimsy cr@p. I guess it's all about form & fashion over function for some people.

 

 

I’m really not sure you get tradition in any sense of the word. 

[dave moore]

Not all traditional chimneys are flimsy crap. The one made for us by Dave Parrot is still with the boat more than 20 years later. Stainless steel, copper rivets, solid brass and aluminium D section around the top. A proper job.

Tall pipes are useful where there is plenty of room under bridge holes, otherwise I prefer the titch pipe. Either way, make sure that the splitter on top faces along the cabin top to deflect the exhaust blast sideways. 

 

[Rob-M]

9 minutes ago, dave moore said:

Either way, make sure that the splitter on top faces along the cabin top to deflect the exhaust blast sideways

Except for when going through a tunnel, when I took Scorpio through Harecastle just before I went in to the tunnel Joe turned the titch pipe so the cutter was across the cabin to stop soot from the tunnel roof failing in your face.

[davidg]

50 minutes ago, dave moore said:

Not all traditional chimneys are flimsy crap. The one made for us by Dave Parrot is still with the boat more than 20 years later. Stainless steel, copper rivets, solid brass and aluminium D section around the top. A proper job.

 

20 years is nothing Dave. I still have my Pete Thompson chimney bought in 1982, one digit of the number stamped in the hook rivets has completely disappeared, the 4 is just hanging on. Like Dave Parrott's, a proper job.

Edited October 20, 2023 by davidg

[DShK]

The trouble is, no one seems to be making them properly anymore. Certainly not openly commercially.

 

I'd like to try but I've got too much on my plate realistically at the moment!

[davidg]

1 hour ago, DShK said:

The trouble is, no one seems to be making them properly anymore. Certainly not openly commercially.

 

I'd like to try but I've got too much on my plate realistically at the moment!

Part of the problem is people aren't prepared to pay what is a reasonable cost to make them. I used to make them at WFBCo and I know how long it took me to make one, Simon at Brinklow Boat Services makes them occasionally and it takes him a similar time. Add on the cost of materials ( how much is stainless now? ) and I reckon paying a reasonable labour rate to a self-employed person who has overheads (rent, insurance, tools,.......) to meet you would be looking at north of £300 for a chimney, a bit less for an exhaust pipe. If you can find someone semi-retired making them in their garden shed for cash it will be less but I've got more interesting things to do with my spare time.

 

Thinks: must chain my chimney to the roof.

Edited October 20, 2023 by davidg

[magnetman]

When I had my trad narrow boat I fitted a 1 metre length of stainless flexible exhaust pipe. The sort which holds its shape when bent. I was able to pull it over sideways for bridges with the cabin shaft as the boat had no back cabin so engine was further astern than usual. 

 

It did look a bit odd but was very effective could also be angled to the side for tunnels so dislodged junk would end up on the gunnels not the cabin top. 

 

Sticking straight up meant the exhaust was directed well over the steerers head. Ideal. 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by magnetman

[ditchcrawler]

9 hours ago, magnetman said:

I'm not convinced a heavy gauge is ideal for a tall pipe. If you hit a bridge with it you want the thing to fold in half rather than becoming a lever to rip the deck fitting out of the cabin top. 

 

 

 

I have seen that happen