I recently changed the fuel that I burn to stay alive. When I moved on to the boat the previous owner recommended Taybrite processed coal nuts that came in bags. When the price went up substantially I switched to Winterblaze, which was also recommended for multi-fuel stoves, because it was £3 cheaper for a twenty-kilo bag. I wanted to use logs, but storing them until they are properly seasoned and ready for burning is a bit of an issue. I know lots of people burn logs and many gather their own and keep them on the roof, but that has never seemed to work for me. Wood gathered from the wild is too wet to use immediately. It produces little heat and fouls the chimney whilst also creating a tar-like substance that gathers and runs along the roof and down the sides of the boat in unseemly black/brown streaks. When this happened to my boat I never found out how to clean those streaks off. The mess also removed paint from the roof and sides and made the boat look unloved. Having only relatively recently paid nearly £10,000 for a month-long job comprising of a complete grit-blast back to bare metal and repaint the prospect of unseemly streaks isn't an attractive one. I really need this paint job to last as long as possible. For a similar reason I don't really want to store wet wood on my roof until it can become sufficiently seasoned to use. Having steep sides to the cabin walls I also suspect that too much weight on the roof will risk destabilising the boat, specially in windy conditions. The steep sides mean I actually have a wider roof than most narrowboats and I can see where temperature changes have made the metal roof expand and contract more than might be evident on a narrowboat of more traditional build. I have tried using kiln-dried logs, but they burn to ash almost before I close the door to the stove. The Winterblaze burns steadily at a good temperature and, like the Taybrite, can keep the fire in for twenty-four hours or longer. Then there is the IPCC report, getting involved with XR and the whole conscience thing that comes with being a activist - damn it! We have just about reached the point of no return. I have made many changes in my personal life and here I am getting through three bags of coal a week in winter.
Recently I discovered a compressed wood fuel called HeatLogs, produced by a company called Heat Express. I never bothered with reconstituted wood before because I didn't know what sort of substances had been used in the mix to bind the wood. HeatLogs claim not to use any. They cost £5 a dozen in my nearest supermarket, burn for a few hours and are smokeless - allegedly. I have also spoken to the merchant from whom I have been buying my bags of fuel. He informed me that the Winterblaze I have been using for about five years is not smokeless, although Taybrite is (which may explain the extra cost). Consequently I have returned to Taybrite. However, instead of getting through two to three bags a week I have decided to use the compressed smokeless wood during daytimes. This has allowed me to reduce my usage of coal by two bags a week. It is by no means ideal, since I am still burning fossil fuel, but I have cut the amount by 60%, so it is a start while I look for a better solution. As an idea it all seemed to be going rather well. By burning wood I am not releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that would otherwise stay locked in the ground. By burning smokeless fuel I am minimising the number of particulates I release. However, on this return journey the chimney was throwing out a lot of smoke. I wondered if, perhaps, I needed to clean the chimney and that it was the flue that was smoking. I thought I would stop at the isolated mooring and check out where the smoke was coming from. In the video below it can be seen quite clearly. Opening the fire door revealed that what I was burning is actually producing smoke within the stove. This seemed to undermine somewhat the point of paying extra for smokeless fuel, although it remains possible that the flue is also the source of some of the smoke.
The jury is out. I'll carry on looking for more ethical and sustainable solutions, but in the meantime I am still a polluter. My engine is also powered by diesel fuel, which is receiving its own bad press at the moment. Again I don't know what the answer is. I have cut down on a lot of travel including the dozen trips a year I took for many years on aeroplanes. If I move off my home mooring I can only stay on a public mooring for thirty-six hours before having to move on. I am proud of having much of my electricity provided via the sun, but that only really works for about half the year. I don't have the money to replace the van and buy a hybrid engine for the boat. electric vehicles require lithium batteries ... mining lithium devastates environments and child expoitation is rife when cobalt is required ... nuclear? Atomkraft - nein danke! Fitting a sail might help ... but then there is Bridge 69 on the Twenty-Foot ...
A correction. In the video I mentioned that Well Creek ends at Denver Sluice. Of course I meant Salters Lode Sluice. There is a tidal length of the River Great Ouse between Salters Lode and Denver. The current flows pretty fast and you have to make sure not to get stuck on the sandbank opposite the exit to Salter's Lode Lock/Sluice.
I bagged up the rubbish and put it in the farmer's dustbin. At least the mooring looks neater now.
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