The first job this morning was to sample the bottom of the diesel tank. The way I did it was to strap a thin flexible plastic pipe to the dipstick and suck up fluid to nearly the top, then allow it to empty into a jamjar.
I had to fix the pipe to the dipstick to keep it straight.
This was what I got out. There are a few bits of muck, but no water that I could detect.
Having done this, and satisfied myself that there was no water in the diesel tank, we set off. But, later, I had another thought (dangerous). What if the bottom of the tank slopes, or the boat itself was listing slightly? Then any water would have found its way to the lowest part, not necessarily where I put the sampling tube.
I'm going to have to do it again, this time poking the tube into different "corners".
To the travelling, then. I know I took photos of Conisbrough Viaduct on our way into Sheffield last week, but it really is a splendid structure.
Just beyond Barnby Dun is Bramwith Junction, where the Stainforth and Keadby Canal forks right, with the New Junction Canal on the left. We took the right fork - now we are on yet another waterway new to us.
Just past the junction, past more boats than we've seen for a long time, is Bramwith Lock. Time to get the windlass out again; this one has more conventional paddle gear (although there is no pawl on the easy-to-wind gate paddles - one just winds the paddle down again without having to do anything else. That fooled me for a moment or two). One interesting feature is the chain and hook used to keep the gates shut after use.
There are a few more locks on the system where this would be a good idea!
After eight hours on the engine clock we tied up in Stainforth right outside the New Inn. Saving the meal which Jan had been cooking for later in the week, when we might be far from shops or pubs, we ate a good meal in the pub. And the beer, Kelham Brewery's Easy Rider, was excellent.
We now have time in hand before our scheduled entry onto the Trent on Friday, so tomorrow we'll just pootle the three miles to Thorne where we'll spend a lot of money in the chandler's. On the list is proper lifejackets and long ropes.
4 comments:
I use a paste sold by Fuelguard to check for water. Really easy to use and pretty cheap too. Just smear some on your stick and dip into the tank. It turns red if there's water present. Saves you getting a mouth full of diesel too. Have a look http://www.fuel-guard.co.uk/
John
Thanks John.
Hopefully the diesel take off point from the tank is sufficiently high that it doesn't really matter whether you had a list when taking a sample?
Tom, well, I took another sample this morning and got Jan to stand so as to introduce a bit of extra list, then sampled from that "corner". A tiny amount of water seemed to be in the diesel, but I picked up more dirt this time. The man at Thorne Boat Services had a good point: if the take-off is not at the bottom of the tank then over a period of a few years a lot of water/muck can build up without becoming apparent. This could lead to a problem when entering bumpy water for the first time. On the other hand, if the take-off is at the bottom, the tank is constantly being "cleaned" by the filters and there can be no build-up of anything which isn't diesel. He approved of my "small" diesel tank, though, agreeing that a relatively high turnover of fuel is a good thing.
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