Bottle Stoves

[onward to inlanding]

I'd like to learn a little more about the use of braziers (or fire buckets) on open day boats and bottle stoves in cabin day boats on the BCN.

 

• Were certain bottle stoves designed to be light enough to be transportable as steerers/boatmen moved from boat to boat?
  
• Did all bottle stoves have an open front or were some designs (potentially safer) closed units?
  
• I know restored originals occasionally come on the markets, but does anyone know if reproduction bottle stoves have been manufactured anywhere?
  
• Does anyone know of any photographs of fire buckets or bottle stove in situ on a day boat?

 

regards

 

Nick

 

ps. incidentally there's a lovely image of a fire bucket being used by Caggy Stevens in the article on BCN horse boating in the summer issue of Narrowboat magazine.

[Laurence Hogg]

Bottle stoves went out of production in the late 1950's from what i understand, some of the last were made in Tipton nad carried the "Phoenix" name. Boatmans Cabin Co (my old Co) looked into manufacture as they are very simple although shown in one catalogue it was shelved, demand was deemed too low and idea was dropped.

 

Most were designed to be made portable but many were permanent being stood on a tripod of legs, all had a open front with a draw plate with several settings and some had a trivett so you could boil a brew in front of the fire. All had an ashpan. They were very simple in design.

The one shown here is lacking the ashpan to say the least!

 

 

The sizes varied, going back there were probably four sizes, the largest would have been used for instance on a long distance butty ie steamer butty but these are rare to find now. More than likely a 2 or 1 is the commonest around.

 

As for firebuckets, well the pic in NB says it all, as crude as you could get!

Edited July 11, 2013 by Laurence Hogg

[winja]

We lit the fires on the empty boats heading from Lane Head to Cannock or Brownhills changed the stove complete with fire over to the loaded boats along with our collection of coats , Donkey Jackets and Trilbys ( ready for rainy days ) worked back to Wednesfield top where all but one stove would be left to die down, these would be transfered again to the empty boats taken back to Lane Head ready for the next day the one remaining stove went on the last empty for use by the steerer stemming the 4 or 5 empty boats...... In very cold weather we also had a fire bucket on bricks on the cabin roof

[David Mack]

How did the flue connection work if these were carried from boat to boat?

[Laurence Hogg]

How did the flue connection work if these were carried from boat to boat?

 

Just a piece of flue or rolled galvanised flue pushed up into the collar and onto the stove. No BSSC in those days!

[Derek R.]

So many questions on so many subjects Nick - are they all out of personal interest, or is there a goal to personal gain? I have no objection to the latter, just so long as folk know and are informed.

[Chertsey]

Have a look at Nick's blog Derek.

[Laurence Hogg]

Have a look at Nick's blog Derek.

 

Having just looked at Nicks Blog I am once again concerned to see my original photos being used without any credit or source information being present.

Nick, this is not the first time I have had to contact you over pictures used without permission. This kind of wholesale stealing of other people images is out of order and must stop, will you remove all of the photographs you have lifted which are from my website, CWDF, stills from DVD's etc.

 

In particular:

"other historic boats" - Judith Anne in the rain on the Gower branch.

"Judith Anne" - Third picture down black & white of it with "Sally"

and the cropped slide showing BW 80393 (BCN1645) at Bradley

.

I was there and saw what is in those pictures, choosing to record it for posterity, you were not there and therefore have absolutely no right to just "reproduce" without credit or permission.

 

Research is not just about visiting places and sfting records, its also about finding out about what you would like to use in the public domain before its published. In correct captions, lifted info from already known "dodgy" websites will not enhance your product, just add it to the morass of unresearched stuff the internet is so full of.

 

 

 

The whole blog seems to consist of many "historical" images which appear lifted from "elsewhere", I know many of the sources and do wonder how many have given you permission

Edited July 12, 2013 by Laurence Hogg

[onward to inlanding]

Dear Derek

 

I have no other reason for asking questions than I'm genuinely interested in learning about the environment in which our boat would have functioned, and gain a deeper understanding of the history of the boat.

 

There is no other personal gain at all, other than learning.

 

best wishes

 

Nick

 

 

Dear Laurence

 

The blog I've written for the last couple of years was not set up to be a history-orientated blog at all. The inclusion of historical pictures has been a result of my increasing fascination with the subject.

 

The historic posts form only a small proportion of the 600+ posts on the blog many of the post are to do with the boats renovation and our families exploration of the waterways.

 

However, I don't wish to cause distress to anyone, least of all you who've done so much over the years to enable people to see images of the BCN. I will happily remove the images you've identified. And will begin to review all previous posts containing unattributed historic images, and seek to add additional credits where I can find them.

 

regards

 

Nick

[Chertsey]

I don't think you should Nick. If those photos were on the web they were in the public domain and provided you credit them to the websites you got them from there should be no problem. Don't be bullied.

[David Mack]

I don't think you should Nick. If those photos were on the web they were in the public domain and provided you credit them to the websites you got them from there should be no problem. Don't be bullied.

Lots of things are in the public domain, but are still somebody's intellectual property, and cannot legally be copied without consent. Just giving an acknowledgement of the source is insufficient, unless the copyright owner has agreed to that (as with some of the Creative Commons licenced photos on Flickr for example)

[Laurence Hogg]

I don't think you should Nick. If those photos were on the web they were in the public domain and provided you credit them to the websites you got them from there should be no problem. Don't be bullied.

Some of mine are on the web in the public domain WITH A CLEAR COPYRIGHT NOTICE included in the album description or with the picture. This is not about bullying it is about theft of intellectual property.