It worked!

What else do I need to put about our water heater?

It took a bit of coaxing to get the convection currents flowing the right way, but once set in motion, it continued. After around an hour the cold had gone from the water, and steam was beginning to rise from the tank. I might bring it to SAGGA camp in the summer, but it depends if we've got space.

Camp Water Heater

Tonight's the night we get to test the contraption we constructed a
couple of weeks ago (if it stops raining here!)

I'll post a success score tomorrow.

New Computer

Have just bought a new computer from "The Computer Shop" near Meadowhall - It's part of the Tiny empire, and Tiny PCs scored reasonably highly in a magazine review I read of cheaper PCs. I got it home and after a lot of piddling about (and getting an IT friend of mine to help) discovered that the modem had been locked to their Supanet ISP and refused to dial any other phone number at all. After a bit of digging around on the internet I found that they claim it's "optimised" to eliminate the risks posed from rogue diallers, however I did find a small program to "de-optimise" the modem. However, the slowness of dial-up will soon be a thing of the past for us at home as I've just ordered 2meg broadband from www.freenetname.co.uk (my normal ISP) for £18/m. In just short of 2 weeks time, I will be swishingalong the information super-highway at lightning fast speeds!

Camp Water Heater

This is a basic diagram of it, the fire is represented by the big arrow at the bottom with a copper tube attached to the underneath of the grill, this is connected to a header tank by a length of flexible pipe. The tank is arranged so that you have to pour water in the funnel so that you get water out of the tube near the top.


Camp Water Heater

Last Night's mtg

Last nights explorer mtg went quite well. I had planned for the building process to take 2 weeks, however they got it all done in one, so I'll have to find something to do with them next week, we should be testing it in two weeks time.

Camp fire water heater

Has anyone created a water heater that uses the camp fire in such a
way the you can still use the fire for cooking?

I've seen one that's a converted beer barrel that sits over the fire
on a frame and one that sits over the end of a fire, but not one that
works on the same principle as a domestic hot water boiler - i.e. a
heat exchanger over the fire (attached underneath the grate that the
pans go on) and using simple convection currents heats the water in a
header tank.

I'm trying to create one over the next couple of weeks with my
Explorers. I will try and create a diagram to post and/or a picture of
the finished product.

Hoorah

Election stuff is virtually over now! I know it'll take a week or so before all the parties form their cabinets, and hence gobble up news time, but atleast we'll be spared too much of the promises they're garunteed to break!

Photos from Holiday

Some photos from our week on the boat:
(Hope that worked...)

Water over gates 

Daisy 

Charlotte & Daisy 

Boat from Stern 

Afloat 

At last, it's nearly over!

At last all the political bickering is nearly over! May there be a different colour pinned to the mast at the end of tomorrow! (I'm not telling you which one I'd prefer - primarily as I've not made my mind up, and www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com hasn't helped!)