Warning new boaters...prepare for winter.

[Ally]

If you are winterising, and have a water filter....drinking water filter ....take the ceramic assembly under the sink to bits too. They hold a lot of water and will freeze and crack if not emptied out.

 

I love winter on the boat...keep cruising if you can, it's peaceful, and often beautiful, and so cozy in the evenings too.

 

*drifts off into memories of last winter, wading through floods to reach the boat, cold and sodden after work, to be met by a wall of stove heat and the smell of stew bubbling on the stove*

 

 

Edited to add: also be prepared for the slight change of ambience on the forum, as cabin fever hits in later in the winter!

Edited September 19, 2013 by Ally

[Mick and Maggie]

Having spent my first winter on the boat last year. the only problem I found was the bedroom was cold at night. no central heating but the stove done a good job in the rest of the boat. Thinking about a eco fan this year. but a lot of money. is it worth it. Comments please.

I suspected that they would not be much use. However, when the boss tested the ecofan it seems that they do work. She did the test with one of those scented bottle jobbies with the sprigs of kindling in the top. After about 5 mins the scent was detectable at the far end of the boat. which is pretty open plan. I suppose for a visible test you could use a smoke bomb.

[bobtom]

Having spent my first winter on the boat last year. the only problem I found was the bedroom was cold at night. no central heating but the stove done a good job in the rest of the boat. Thinking about a eco fan this year. but a lot of money. is it worth it. Comments please.

A much cheaper option is to put a kettle on the stove during the day. In the evening share the contents between 3 hot water bottles and place in the bed.

We have an eco fan. Missus reckons it works. I disagree.

 

Tom

[Rob@BSSOffice]

I'm not sure what you mean? You say you don't drain your water tank but you do drain your water system? What's the difference? And why do you need to let air in under the ice?

 

Heres my advice for liveaboards (well, it's what I do anyway):

 

6. When returning to a cold boat after a weekend away, light the fire, then go to the pub for 2 hours.

 

Our small cautionary note to this advice, is unless you know how your fire runs, or if it is very windy, or if you are trying out new fuel, don't have the stove running when you leave the boat or may return to a real fire. We normally find at least one such account every year, often more.

 

Only if you are very certain about the stoves behaviour when lit would you want to risk it. I certainly wouldn't bank up the fire and leave. wait for the fire to achieved a steady state with some sort of assurance that it will continue to run is a controlled way.

 

 

 

My winter preparatory tips for the solid fuel stove are these:

• Clean the flue pipe out
• Check the stove body and door rope for unintended gaps
• check the flue pipe for any signs of pinholes or gaps in the joints
• take a look at any combustible objects around the stove like wood, curtains etc, are there any signs of discolouration, singeing, burning?
• Ensure your fuel can be stored in dry way
• Only use dry wood and fuels
• Check the expiry/replace by dates on the smoke and CO alarms
• Check the battery terminals, vacuum the smoke alarm
• Fit alarms if boat hasn't any
• Test them today, then weekly when aboard

Edited September 19, 2013 by Rob@BSSOffice

[Black Ibis]

If you are winterising, and have a water filter....drinking water filter ....take the ceramic assembly under the sink to bits too. They hold a lot of water and will freeze and crack if not emptied out.

 

I love winter on the boat...keep cruising if you can, it's peaceful, and often beautiful, and so cozy in the evenings too.

 

*drifts off into memories of last winter, wading through floods to reach the boat, cold and sodden after work, to be met by a wall of stove heat and the smell of stew bubbling on the stove*

 

 

Edited to add: also be prepared for the slight change of ambience on the forum, as cabin fever hits in later in the winter!

Thanks for water filter tip, this is our first winter with one of them and im not sure it would have occurred to me to empty it!

[keble]

 

Edited to add: also be prepared for the slight change of ambience on the forum, as cabin fever hits in later in the winter!

Haha! Greenie for that. Can get pretty crazy .....

[blackrose]

If you are leaving your boat unattended it is better to ensure your water tank is not full. We do not drain ours but tend to leave it around half full then if it does freeze it allows room for expansion.

 

If we arrive at the boat and the top layer has frozen we get the stove lit and plunge a hot poker into the ice to allow air in.

 

We always drain the cold water system down each time we leave the boat through winter

 

I've gone through more than 10 winters living on boats and I've yet to have any problems due to frozen water tanks. Since my tanks have always been at the bow and completely separate from the living area, whether the boat is occupied or no makes no difference. Perhaps I wouldn't know if the surface of the water inside the tank was frozen or not as I can't see it, but I've never needed hot pokers.

Dont leave the boat, its a daft idea. Simply light the solid fuel stove and use some form of coal/smokeless fuel all winter and no winterising neccesary.

 

Not everyone lives aboard and they will have to winterise their boats, even if they only visit at weekends. It's not that daft really.

[blackrose]

 

Tip: Lag your favourite water point now. Lagging is readily available from DIY stores. Just wrap it around the pipework. Then put plastic sheeting around that to stop it getting soaked.

 

That won't work without a heat source inside the lagging. Thermal losses are a function of temperature and time and thermal gradients always tend towards equilibrium (hot to cold). Therefore if the air temperature goes much below zero, without a heat source insulation will only maintain a thermal gradient and reduce heat losses for a short time.

Tip: Move stove to centre of boat (except Tupperware as moving 2 inches is not going to make much difference).

Tip: Lag your favourite water point now. Lagging is readily available from DIY stores. Just wrap it around the pipework. Then put plastic sheeting around that to stop it getting soaked.

Tip: In summer keep your water in the tank and alcohol in bottles. In winter, to prevent your tank freezing and cracking, keep your water in bottles (plastic) and your alcohol in the tank.

Tip: To minimise condensation, remember that the most important ventilator is the one above the cooker/kettle. Don't make steam if you can possibly avoid it. And avoid breathing out.

 

Sorry, now I see that you were joking!

Edited September 19, 2013 by blackrose

[BlueStringPudding]

 

6. When returning to a cold boat after a weekend away, light the fire, then go to the pub for 2 hours.

 

That's exactly what I do. And always for two hours - that seems to be the optimum time to take the chill off the place, and off the liver

[junior]

Dumb question. I've ssen a few people on this thread say that you dont need to drain your water tank, but you should leave your taps open when away from the boat. So how do you stop water coming out of your taps and thus draining the water tank?

[Guest]

Dumb question. I've ssen a few people on this thread say that you dont need to drain your water tank, but you should leave your taps open when away from the boat. So how do you stop water coming out of your taps and thus draining the water tank?

 

You switch your pump(s) off and isolate the tank.

[StarUKKiwi]

We bought an Ecofan & the boat is much warmer

[system 4-50]

 

That won't work without a heat source inside the lagging. Thermal losses are a function of temperature and time and thermal gradients always tend towards equilibrium (hot to cold). Therefore if the air temperature goes much below zero, without a heat source insulation will only maintain a thermal gradient and reduce heat losses for a short time.

 

Sorry, now I see that you were joking!

Not entirely on that one. There is a heat source, the ground. A couple of feet below the ground will definitely be above freezing unless you are on the Siberian branch of the BCN. This heat is sufficient to stop the rising pipe freezing provided that it cannot escape outside, the water is a good convector of heat. So good lagging will definitely stop taps freezing until lower still air temperatures are reached.

Of course, if you want the taps to freeze, then

Use metal pipes

Don't Lag them

Make sure they are kept wet from the dripping tap

Encase the whole shebang in a good conductivity iron housing

Make sure the structure is in a position exposed to the wind

[blackrose]

Not entirely on that one. There is a heat source, the ground. A couple of feet below the ground will definitely be above freezing unless you are on the Siberian branch of the BCN. This heat is sufficient to stop the rising pipe freezing provided that it cannot escape outside, the water is a good convector of heat. So good lagging will definitely stop taps freezing until lower still air temperatures are reached.

 

Well it hasn't worked when I've seen it tried on more than one occasion and the pipes were well lagged. A narrow pipe full of water struggles to conduct or convect enough heat from below the ground to stop is freezing once it goes more than a few degrees below zero for any length of time.

Edited September 19, 2013 by blackrose

[DeanS]

We had a few bags of the hard coal bits, and I was having to throw in a shovel full every 30mins....lights hot...and dies quick. The coal man delivered today (thanks Brian) and we're back to using SuperTherm ....last time I touched the fire was a few hours back now....and the coals are just sitting there with a nice gentle glow...air intakes open just a little. Moral of the story to newbies...getting the right coal, will help you a lot.

 

Well it didn't work when I saw it tried and the pipes were well lagged.

 

Last winter I had a glove stuck over the end of the tap. Worked well.

[Pete & Helen]

Any tips on keeping a fire in 24/7. can you only do it with coal overnight?

[system 4-50]

 

Well it hasn't worked when I've seen it tried on more than one occasion and the pipes were well lagged. A narrow pipe full of water struggles to conduct or convect enough heat from below the ground to stop is freezing once it goes more than a few degrees below zero for any length of time.

I can believe that. The lagging has to be pretty damn good. The rising pipe has to come from well below ground level. I agree it is not easy.

[Guest]

Any tips on keeping a fire in 24/7. can you only do it with coal overnight?

 

Lots of tips here-

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=43956&hl=keeping

[Ange]

Any tips on keeping a fire in 24/7. can you only do it with coal overnight?

You can keep it in with wood but you need a good base and nice big well seasoned banker logs to put on last thing. We've got a Squirrel with top and bottom vents that we leave each half a turn open overnight.

 

Another thread with some good advice http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=26117&hl=taming

Edited September 19, 2013 by Ange

[DeanS]

Any tips on keeping a fire in 24/7. can you only do it with coal overnight?

 

We kept our fire going permanently from Oct till March .....wood is good if you want a quick boost of heat, but the oval coal stuff (like SuperTherm), builds up slowly, and if you turn the air vents down, can go for a long time without having to add more coal....

[mrsmelly]

 

Or perhaps people who have spent so much money on such a useless piece of scrap are too proud to admit they have made an expensive mistake and delude themselves into believing they work.....My opinion only....

Actualy Martin it aint your opinion only.

 

Tim

Seems that I made an expensive mistake TWICE on 2 different boats

Phil

Yup Phil you have but we wont hold it against you

 

Tim

[Dave_P]

 

That's exactly what I do. And always for two hours - that seems to be the optimum time to take the chill off the place, and off the liver

The 2 hours I suggested is the optimum time to check the fire and add more fuel, if needed. Then back to the pub.

[Québec]

R: keeping warm.

 

1. We have an ecofan.

A couple of years ago, during a really cold spell, and following the annual outbreak of ecofan warfare on here, I bought some thermometers and ran some tests. The ecofan definitely contributed to the definite vertical 'spread' of the warm band of air down to what was usually the just-above-freezing floor level. Also detected movement of air from the ecofan up to c. 2.5m away.....and it is very pretty to watch it turning round, and it makes a good stove monitor in the middle of the frozen night when you glance down to the other end of the boat to see how the stove is going.

 

2. We have a curtain across the centre of the boat, outside the bathroom where the corridor is narrowest. Keeps the warm air in the lounge area. Just before we retire to the bedroom at the back of the boat, we open the curtain, and one of us stands with a newspaper or similar, and wafts the often very warm air in the lounge back towards the bedroom. The OH who is usually in the bedroom says it works a great and she can feel the warm air coming through.

 

(I once lived in an old cottage with one, large fireplace downstairs, and a fireless bedroom upstairs. In the ceiling above the hearth there was a trap door. Just before going to bed, you opened the trap door to let the warm air downstairs rise up into the bedroom upstairs.)

[Doorman]

 

Heres my advice for liveaboards (well, it's what I do anyway):

 

1. Keep an eye on weather forecasts and fill water tanks before any big freeze.

2. If you have central heating, make sure you have a reasonable amount of anti-freeze in the system.

3. Get some of that plastic sheeting (like thick cling film) which heat-shrinks over your windows. Wilko's sell it. It will keep your boat much warmer and prevent condensation on the windows.

4. If leave your boat for any period without heat, turn off your drinking water pump and turn on your taps to take the pressure out of the system and allow for expansion.

5. Always buy more coal when you only have one full bag left.

6. When returning to a cold boat after a weekend away, light the fire, then go to the pub for 2 hours.

2. If you have central heating, ensure that you have 50% anti-freeze as recommended by most boat central heating manufacturers.

 

6. Don't leave the pub! Their heating is much more affordable than running your own.

 

 

Have a cassette bog, if you are frozen in you can if need be remove the cassette and empty it at elsan point via car etc, I dont know many people strong enough to carry their boat to a pumpout station i its frozen in.

 

Tim

Forget the Lego Loo and simply install a self-pump out device. That's what we've done and have yet to be stranded in ice with our pants down!

 

 

Tip: Lag your favourite water point now. Lagging is readily available from DIY stores. Just wrap it around the pipework. Then put plastic sheeting around that to stop it getting soaked.

.

 

Or, failing that, leave the tap on the water point dripping just enough to prevent it from freezing. We did this when we were on a marina. It worked down to -19c in the winter of 2010-2011.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Doorman

[Jigsawged]

Re: draining the water system...

From bitter experience....if you're away from the boat for a while, as well as turning off the the water pump and opening the taps, don't forget - if you have one - to drain the water heater itself via the drain plug. I forgot one time when it really cold, and the water in the Morco's pipes froze and split the pipes. Had to replace the whole thing.

On that note and just to clarify some of what has been said earlier: If you are leaving your boat, you will need to drain down the system this way: turn off the main shut off valve from the tank to the water pump. Open a tap at each sink, allow the water pump to run dry and when no more water comes from the tap, turn off the 12v supply to the pump. Leave taps open and if there is any residual water, it has somewhere to go. Otherwise you may find tap fittings forced apart by ice. Some schools of thought say remove the pump entirely over winter. I haven't found this necessary but some insulation round it is advisable. Pumps are expensive and it doesn't take much in the way of ice forming to damage seals etc.