4th February
Muddling along as you do when one is stuck in the same place for long periods of time, finding bits and bobs to keep us occupied on a daily basis was quite a challenge. My hobby at the moment is doing painting by numbers. Really pleased how the tiger turned out, but lack of wall space meant it has had to be confined to the back of our wardrobe. My next project is to paint Meadow Menagerie, (birds and butterflies)
Ian doesn't have a hobby. No time for one because the old girl (no not me!) always throws up one problem after another. (hmmm, on the other hand Ian may well have meant me!) Anyway, first the washing machine. Oh it started okay and went through the program as if everything was as it should be, but no water went into the machine. Turned out the solenoid had packed up, so a new one was sent for. Two days later it arrived. I had stupidly thought it to fit through the letter box at the cottage, after all it was only a small thing, Talk about flabbergasted when it was delivered. A huge box with a much smaller box inside. So much for saving the planet!
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Then we still had issues with the Webasto heater. You may remember the clouds of white smoke filling the surrounding countryside as the thing was fired into life when we were in Chester. On our return to Langley Mill, Steve, one of LMB moorers, took it for repair. It was returned two days ago saying it had been sorted (don't ask me what was replaced because I have no idea) but a strong warning to Ian telling him that having a back boiler on our stove was doing it no good at all (?) Anyway Ian fitted the Webasto back in, fired it up once more and....oh no!!! water peeing from the join in the casing! Turns out the gasket hadn't been replaced so another phone call to Steve, a removal of the heater once again, and now we await Steve to fetch it for yet another repair! At this rate we would have been better off buying a new one!
The weather turned mild, great opportunity then to let the stove go out and remove the back boiler. Found it a bit chilly next morning but a borrowed small electric heater from ECP&DA which warmed FS nicely. So first things first, sweep the chimney. Crikey how much soot??? Filled the ash pan completely and we deduced most of it was because of the wood we had burned during a cold spell. Anyway Ian soon had the water drained from the boiler, made up four steel plates to fit over the two holes left in the back, inserted a fire brick and hey presto the job was done. Now, this could just be a coincidence but the stove seems to be giving off more heat, so much so, that we had to open the side hatch and front doors to cool FS down.
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| Before the pipe removal |
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| Hose attached to drain the water |
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| The holes needing a covering |
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| Inside the stove showing the plates |
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| The back boiler |
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| Fire brick to finish the job. |
Other jobs tackled by my man that can was an oil change, easy and no problems during that task. tinkering with the engine had Ian more baffled because at the moment it only fires on three cylinders (plugs and tappets were mentioned(????) Not that he doesn't know his stuff, it's just that he's played around and it still isn't right. (I've just
realised if anything happened to Ian I would be at loss to sort out any
problems and would probably have to join the RCR! Best not 'do him in' then to claim the life insurance. 😇) I have since found out it may be the injectors that need attention and the mentioned of tappets are because of an annoying rattling noise when the engine is running.
There is one more thing that is on top of my list for Ian to do, repair the leg that fell off the bed! It's okay, it was the middle one so no chance of us ending up on the floor...yet!
A stage was reached during this last week when I was going a bit stir crazy. I mentioned taking MB out for a jaunt to break the monotony. A week away would do us good and the Eden Project was a firm contender. Still yet to be decided but rest assured I will be blogging if it happens.
And wildlife is what I see on a daily basis on the feeders.
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| strange lump on this blackbird's throat. Not seen that before. |
6 comments:
Good to read your blog again. We took our Webasto to Streethay it was playing up it would only come on if the engine was running then it started to over heat and shut down. Streethay said they would service it and get back to us a phone call in the afternoon and they had found 2 parts that needed replacing but only had second hand we told them to fit them and we would see how we went from there. Well all I can say is I’m glad they were second hand parts as our bill was just over £600, we should have asked first how much the service was before we went ahead apparently it was over £300. I know how you feel about a week away I’m feeling a little break would be good. Take care Barbara xx
Your back boiler was absorbing heat, it how the work making the water hot, now its not there to nick any of it so you may be getting an extra Kw out into the boat
Hi Barbara. We nearly had a heart attack when we got the original bill of £800. Goodness knows how much more we will have to pay, although this latest mishap should not have to be paid for.
"plugs and tappets were mentioned"
Tappets are unlikely unless they were REALLY out of adjustment, but glow plugs are a distinct possibility. If one is faulty that cylinder isn't going to fire up when cold. Does Ian have a multimeter - even a basic one will do. He'll need to remove the link bar (or cables) joining the plug terminals together, and check them separately. Using the lowest resistance range check each in turn for continuity - if one is open circuit that'll be the culprit. Another method is rigging up a 12v bulb to a battery positive supply, and connecting the other lead to each plug in turn - the bulb should light up each time.
Many moons ago lorry drivers would put a burning paraffin soaked rag in the engine air inlet before trying to start an engine in really cold weather. I don't suggest you go down that route, but a DIY electric heat gun (if you can lay your hands on one) would be worth trying. Even a small blowtorch held by a helper (you?) while cranking the engine might do the job.
Hi Brian. Thanks for that info although Ian did say he had mentioned this fact to me earlier. I must have had selective hearing when he told me. :) Still, it certainly has made a difference to the inside temperature but I do miss the warmth of the water for our wash first thing.
Hi Dave, On closer inspection, Ian now thinks the injectors may be the problem. Tappets were mentioned because we have an annoying rattle when the engine is running. I should have clarified all this before I put the post together.
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