So, my new wood briquettes are amazing! It was cold on our boat over the last couple of evenings so I took the opportunity to trial our new wood briquettes from Devon Briquettes. I’m now sweating buckets and have the bow doors open wide :lol:

OK, so the photo isn’t of me sweating by my new woody furnace but it may as well have been.  In fact it was me sweating at the 7th Anniversary of the Rugby Rare Soul Allnighter…  you get the idea!

Thing is, with these briquettes, it can get too hot so you let the fire go… then, when you feel another chill, you pop in a firelighter and make a small pyramid over it and woosh, another instant fire!  Fucking amazing :silly:

No more fussing with messy, sooty, coal and the like.  I’ve turned a fire making corner!

Anyway, I’m more excited about my new build PC I’m picking up this weekend.  My Son’s built it and it’s awesome… only 380 for something you’d pay twice as much for online or more from a high street shop!  Isn’t it great when you know people in the know!

So that means my old rig will be sent to the knackers yard which is painful as it’s been lovingly tweaked and looked after for a number of years now.  Upgrade here, upgrade there… time to shelve it though.

I’ll probably give it to my sister who’s running something a million times worse

Now awaiting the imminent arrival of a new chimney… happy days :cheerful:

Not as sunny as yesterday but better travelling conditions as the roads were pretty much empty all the way there and back.  Result!

It’s amazing to think these 200 year old steam engines are still running.  Syphoning water from the River Avon to the K&A Canal.  It was a bit stinky in the engine house but lovely to see the efforts of the volunteers keeping this place running right down to their traditional dress

I found the small caravans to be very quaint although not sure how people managed to live is those very small spaces for any length of time but they did.  I thought narrow boats were small but they were extreme.

We even stopped off at Caen Hill Locks on the way home; just to have a look and ponder a future trip although I’m not that enthusiastic about it to be quite honest

It’s certainly a good thing and a treasured gift that these locks were brought back from near death and neglect.  Thank you all who played a part in the resurrection!

I’ve been looking online for a replacement chimney pot but can’t seem to find one the right size.

Do I have an odd sized stack? I put a measuring tape around the base of my existing stack and it comes in at 50cm (around 10″ diameter). That seems fairly large compared to what I’ve seen available to buy. Is it overly large? Surely not!

[EDIT] Stupid me! It’s 6″ diameter!!!!!

Although the outer skin is sound, the inner skin is well and truly BORKED!  Paper-thin and brittle.  Even the chimney sweep put his fingers through it :lol:

Anyway, I’ve heard a good tip that keeps your ‘pot’ unscathed and that’s to first insert a gas liner and then pop your chimney pot over the top.  So I’ll be doing that as soon as I’ve found a pot that fits!

Oh, and here’s a photo of my new pop-up tent storage for my wood supply.  Cool huh!

I promised my neighbours it wouldn’t be an eyesore and I hope I’ve succeeded – I believe I have.  In a secluded corner away from view.  What a brilliant little storage tent it is.  Well chuffed!

Anyway, last night, after lighting our fire with our new wood briquettes, we soon had to open the bow doors and remove some clothing; it was far too hot :lol:

I’m still impressed with myself at choosing ‘green’ fuel; slowly I’m turning into a hippy I’m sure!

Crofton Beam Engines end of season steam gala tomorrow; photo’s to follow!