Calor gas bottle caps

[magnetman]

The valve protector caps off old calor gas bottles are used as weatherproofing lids for narrow boat exhausts. I've seen them on working boats for as long as I can remember. They are really good because they are cast iron and therefore heavy making it unlikely that they will be blown off in foul weather. Rainwater entering a vertical exhaust pipe can potentially be fatal for an engine.

 

But, does anyone know how they came to be used in this way?

 

I guess its just that someone, somewhere decided it was a handy thing to use and everyone else just copied them, or is there more to the story

 

edite typs

Edited March 2, 2010 by magnetman

[alan_fincher]

Don't know, but a definite health hazard on some engines if attempts were made to start with them still in place!

 

Given the maret for newly manufactured gas mask case clips, (for chimney chains), might we expect some seriosly overpriced Calor bottle caps for authenticity in that area ?

[casper ghost]

I put a soup tin over the top, but i've forgot to take it off too many times, it just gets thrown up and usually ends in the canal..

[alan_fincher]

I put a soup tin over the top, but i've forgot to take it off too many times, it just gets thrown up and usually ends in the canal..

Calor Bottle tops may not rise as high, but they make a bigger bang if they come down on the roof!

[Speedwheel]

Calor Bottle tops may not rise as high, but they make a bigger bang if they come down on the roof!

 

They certainly do! Got a couple sitting in the shed - might see how much it would cost to get some copies cast.

[soldthehouse]

Am I missing something why not a hinged flap at the end as used on commercial vehicles, Forgive me if I,m missing something universally known...

[matty40s]

when I bought OId Friends, there was a handpainted pot which sat over the chimminee. This soon revealed itself as a cheap (nonprimed or undercoated) vase which I didn't miss one day when I forgot, and sent it flying to smash on the roof.

 

I now tend to use a cut off water bottle if not going to use the engine in time of high rainfall. These have the advantage of flying several hundred feet in the air if you forget to take 'em off first.

[magnetman]

Am I missing something why not a hinged flap at the end as used on commercial vehicles, Forgive me if I,m missing something universally known...

 

 

the calor gas caps are used to close the exhaust after the stack has been removed, as a way of weatherproofing the fitting on the roof of the boat while the boat is unused. you could use a screw-on BSP lid but then if the engine was started it would not come off and could damage the exhaust system. the calor gas bottle cap will lift off in the event you forget it but it won't blow off in the wind like a baked bean tin might.

 

 

going back to the truck type exhaust caps these don't work very well with slow revving twin cylinder diesels as the exhaust output pressure is not smooth enough so they rattle open and closed.

[DHutch]

Am I missing something why not a hinged flap at the end as used on commercial vehicles, Forgive me if I,m missing something universally known...

Because its not traditional.... (hides)

 

Given the market for newly manufactured gas mask case clips, (for chimney chains), might we expect some seriously overpriced Calor bottle caps for authenticity in that area ?

Looking fwd to seeing then on ebay already!

[casper ghost]

Looking fwd to seeing then on ebay already!

 

Cast brass ones

[magnetman]

Cast brass ones

 

or aluminium

[soldthehouse]

the calor gas caps are used to close the exhaust after the stack has been removed, as a way of weatherproofing the fitting on the roof of the boat while the boat is unused. you could use a screw-on BSP lid but then if the engine was started it would not come off and could damage the exhaust system. the calor gas bottle cap will lift off in the event you forget it but it won't blow off in the wind like a baked bean tin might.

 

 

going back to the truck type exhaust caps these don't work very well with slow revving twin cylinder diesels as the exhaust output pressure is not smooth enough so they rattle open and closed.

I can see the need for something to cap off a removed stack but do people start engines without replacing the stack, in which case surely they must remove the plug to fit the stack.. I,m probably missing the point..

[casper ghost]

I can see the need for something to cap off a removed stack but do people start engines without replacing the stack, in which case surely they must remove the plug to fit the stack.. I,m probably missing the point..

 

I leave the stack on all the time and cover with a tin when not in use..

[soldthehouse]

I leave the stack on all the time and cover with a tin when not in use..

Does that not invite some ner do well to remove it and drop something down by suggesting a need for capping whilst away.

[antarmike]

I always used to use one. You can hear it rattle as you crank the engine up, and that reminds you to take it off, well, now I am half deaf I probably couldn't hear it, but I did at the time. (still got one kicking around my shed!!)

I think it's never a good idea to start a diesel straight up, if you can get to the decompessors to take it of compression. Winding it over half a dozen times gets oil where it needs to be before the engine fires up. Cranking over isn't enough to blow off the bottle cap, but it does make it rattle.

Edited March 3, 2010 by antarmike

[casper ghost]

Does that not invite some ner do well to remove it and drop something down by suggesting a need for capping whilst away.

 

If you remove stack and cap it it's just the same. I know a chap who fits engines and he always fits a T into the exhaust with a valve on the bottom so If anyone tipped water down stack it can run onto engine room floor and not into engine. Got to remember to turn valve before starting or your boat will be full of exhaust fumes...

[luctor et emergo]

If you remove stack and cap it it's just the same. I know a chap who fits engines and he always fits a T into the exhaust with a valve on the bottom so If anyone tipped water down stack it can run onto engine room floor and not into engine. Got to remember to turn valve before starting or your boat will be full of exhaust fumes...

 

 

As opposed to standing on the stern, just behind the exhaust...

 

 

[richardf]

I have one of those big Brasso tins, when it was empty I simply ran a tin opener around the bottom and sat it over the exhaust spigot. It fits perfectly.

[casper ghost]

I think I will make myself a cap to stop bods pouring stuff down the exhaust and which can be locked down. It will have to allow exhaust gases to escape should I forget to remove it when starting. Shouldn't be difficult to do.

[starman]

I now tend to use a cut off water bottle if not going to use the engine in time of high rainfall. These have the advantage of flying several hundred feet in the air if you forget to take 'em off first.

 

From bitter experience I can report that water bottles are no good - they blow away too easily in the wind. A tin can seems to be the best all-rounder; it won't blow away but will get shot off by the engine firing up without landing like a mortar shell on your roof - or someone's head.

[David Schweizer]

Despite the suggestions that a hinged flap either does not work, or is not traditional, I can distinctly remember quite a few Working boats had them in the 1960's. From recollection, the Brays on Roger never used a tall stack, just a hinged flap at cabin roof level.

[Tam & Di]

I leave the stack on all the time and cover with a tin when not in use..

 

So what happens with the cutter? Certainly we used Calor bottle caps, as did virtually everyone we knew - they were readily available and did the job very well. We also had a rather flash brass shell case for our short pipe till Andy Farquarson managed to lose it - they were also commonly available at the time. In case people don't know, you use a tall pipe when loaded, but a short pipe when empt. Don't know how the term "stack" got into this - they were always "pipe" as far as I know.

[Hairy-Neil]

Don't know how the term "stack" got into this - they were always "pipe" as far as I know.

 

Them damned yankies again....

 

My favorite pet hate word at the moment is transportation. Those that use it in place of 'transport' ought to be shipped to a penal colony.....

[casper ghost]

So what happens with the cutter?

 

I don't have a cutter, I like to see the smoke rings.. my exhaust is just a length of cast iron down pipe from an old house.

[Timleech]

I don't have a cutter, I like to see the smoke rings.. my exhaust is just a length of cast iron down pipe from an old house.

 

Does that mean that you never go through tunnels?

 

Tim