Steam Engines

[TheBiscuits]

7 minutes ago, WotEver said:

I guess ‘lots’ and ‘ages’ won’t suffice...?

I’ll await Dan’s reply

 

'Lots' and 'not long' at a guess.

I'm seem to remember Dan said they will bowhaul the boat if it's only a two or three mile trip as it's not worth getting the boiler up to pressure for any less than that.

I know Geoff loads 40 bags of steam coal at a time onto Steam Pig (Whistle down the Wind).  He doesn't mind you lifting them on for him, but he is very particular about how and where they are stacked so the boat keeps well trimmed as they are being used.

[X Alan W]

On 2/8/2018 at 15:34, alan_fincher said:

When "red" was 2/6d per gallon, I guess it would not have been too bad to power a steam boat with it.   At current prices, I think you would need a large wallet.

Cor that's expensive the first pay for fuel fill up I paid £10 I think I got in the region of 200 gallons Seem to remember it was one shilling( 5p) a gallon & remember filling at Chris Barney's in the late 60's it was 2shillings a gallon Mind 2shillings was harder to come by then than today Suppose it's pro rata

[Tractor]

On 2/11/2018 at 20:54, IanD said:

Wow, Firefly as a first hire was a bit adventurous! Keith Jones was definitely a bit of a character (as was the boat), it's a great shame there's nothing similar available to hire nowadays... :-(

Just found thie pic of the Firefly Engine

 

Steam3.pdfSteam3.pdf

Steam4.pdf

[Tractor]

This is the Engine from Firefly, a 2 cylinder Mamod style, to the right is the boiler, looking aft in the attached pic. Complete with four solar panels on the roof, and steam pressure gauges to drive by.

 Advanced stuff for 25 years ago..

Steam4.pdf

Steam3.pdf

Edited March 13, 2018 by Tractor

[IanD]

Yep, that all looks familiar -- except we hired it before the solar panels were fitted when IIRC there was also an alternator running off the engine, which reduced the already low power noticeably...

[DHutch]

On 26/02/2018 at 12:34, Insane.Pringle said:

Just a query aimed at DHutch. How much coal does the Emilyanne store and how long does it last?

 

Very slow reply, but I have just happened on this thread looking for something else.

 

The bunker holds around 1.5 ton which allows you to comfortably re fuel ton at a time, which is typically 40x25kg sack arriving on a pallet 'mail order' tipped in loose.

How much you use does depend on the day, but we tend to recon to 100kg a day and therefore about ten day range, typically around half a season maybe. Lighting up takes most of the first bag, so we usually boat we reasonably long day. 

 

As said, we have been known to bow haul her half a mile or so, or punt short way round to get water or for another specific reason.

 

Takes around 2hours from stepping onboard a cold boat, to being in steam and under way. Around an hour if she has been in steam the day before.

 

 

Daniel

[IanD]

5 minutes ago, DHutch said:

 

Very slow reply, but I have just happened on this thread looking for something else.

 

The bunker holds around 1.5 ton which allows you to comfortably re fuel ton at a time, which is typically 40x25kg sack arriving on a pallet 'mail order' tipped in loose.

How much you use does depend on the day, but we tend to recon to 100kg a day and therefore about ten day range, typically around half a season maybe. Lighting up takes most of the first bag, so we usually boat we reasonably long day. 

 

As said, we have been known to bow haul her half a mile or so, or punt short way round to get water or for another specific reason.

 

Takes around 2hours from stepping onboard a cold boat, to being in steam and under way. Around an hour if she has been in steam the day before.

 

 

Daniel

 

That was the big advantage of Firefly -- gas watertube boiler, about 5 mins from cold to steaming away IIRC... 😉

[Stroudwater1]

A little away from canals, though still on an inland waterway I went on the Sir Walter Scott on Lough Katrine a few years ago, and rather a shame it was converted from coal to Biofuel. Even more of a shame its now needing a boiler restoration costing £500,000 I see. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sir_Walter_Scott

 

I suspect when you add in Thames boats there are probably a few more steam boats. IIRC at the IWA Rally on the Stroudwater Navigation there were around 5 transported there? 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Small steam launches seem to be reasonably common.

This one on the River Soar in around 2009. Seen while I was painting my boat under a bridge of the A6.

[Onewheeler]

On 09/02/2018 at 21:04, David Mack said:

Don't know if it's still about, but I believe the steam plant was replaced with a diesel engine some years ago.

Just found this resurrected thread. Firefly was converted to run on an air-cooled Lister about twenty-five years ago. We viewed her when she was up for sale in around 1997 (Wilton marina?), a clean but very basic fit-out at what seemed a reasonable price (around £25k if I recall right).