Is this a bright idea (1 Viewer)

[Duck Truck]

When I was a kid
we had an outside toilet and my granddad used to run a cable out to it in winter
and hang a low wattage bulb near the water cistern. (The only time of the year you could actually read the toilet paper )
The van is parked on the drive at home and has electric hook up
So I thought if I hang a 240v bulb in the double floor compartment of the van next to the pump and all the water gubbins would it do the same trick
So last night I did.
it was down to just below -1 last night outside
and in the double floor space next to the pumps I rigged a thermometer.
The temp never dropped below 7 degrees.
So i am off to B & Q to buy a wall mounted light to wire it in permanently with a switch.
I am gonna reduce the size of the bulb and fiddle around.
On really cold nights when the vans parked up it will be just a matter of clicking a light switch
Kev

 

[BwB]

get a low wattage heater while you're out and about and use that instead of your light bulb experiment and then you won't be wasting some energy producing light and it can all go towards the heating.

Just a suggestion.

The old style tube/wardrobe heater is what I'm thinking about.

 

[Duck Truck]

Hi Bryan it's about convenience
as well as effectiveness
A heater takes up more space
and would need taking in and
out and storing when not in use.
The bulb takes up no space can be left in place and easily switched on and off and when loading and unloading its another light
kev

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[Tootles]

When I was a kid
we had an outside toilet and my granddad used to run a cable out to it in winter
and hang a low wattage bulb near the water cistern. (The only time of the year you could actually read the toilet paper )
The van is parked on the drive at home and has electric hook up
So I thought if I hang a 240v bulb in the double floor compartment of the van next to the pump and all the water gubbins would it do the same trick
So last night I did.
it was down to just below -1 last night outside
and in the double floor space next to the pumps I rigged a thermometer.
The temp never dropped below 7 degrees.
So i am off to B & Q to buy a wall mounted light to wire it in permanently with a switch.
I am gonna reduce the size of the bulb and fiddle around.
On really cold nights when the vans parked up it will be just a matter of clicking a light switch
Kev

OR, you could just pull that tap thingy on the floor that drains your complete water supply...........And leave it open. That way, you would save the total production of the guy down the roads roof mounted solar panels.

 

[Duck Truck]

Hi toots
drained it down already
and yep I have solar as well
Even though I have drained down previous vans in the past it
I still had some damage to a pipe joint which had some trapped water in
it was a pain to get to, to repair
kev

 

[Speve]

Good cheap solution to your problem don't be disheartened by other suggestions they are only giving alternatives.

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[Duck Truck]

Hi Alan not disheartened
There is a great space just where all the fresh water pump and pipe work meets
too small to take a heater but a bulb would allow heat to circulate in the space.

I was just looking for other people thoughts and ideas toots makes a valid point
kev

 

[Duck Truck]

I need to find the lowest wattage bulb I can

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Good idea. You could just use one of those clip on lights -takes an ordinary 240v bulb but can be clipped to hold it in place a bit like an inspection lamp but a smaller footprint

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[daveandsan]

I need to find the lowest wattage bulb I can

Don't forget lower wattage means less heat.

 

[Tootles]

Even though I have drained down previous vans in the past it
I still had some damage to a pipe joint which had some trapped water in

You know, it's funny, But I have never had that. Having a narrowboat for over 25 years, I just turn off the supply, run the pump with the tap open, and leave whats left in the pipes, working on the theory that as water freezes, it expands. If the majority of the water is missing, and whats left freezes and expands, it cant do any damage to the pipework. Had no damage as yet, even though the canal has frozen to almost a foot depth in bad winters.

 

[jdk62]

I need to find the lowest wattage bulb I can

When I was an apprentice, I referred to a lamp as a "bulb".... The time served journeyman I was working with used the edge of his steel rule to crack me over the back of the hand...opened up a 1" cut and as I screamed and bled on the floor he calmly replied..."bulbs are what you put in the f*****g garden... it is called a lamp!" So when I tried to respond with " so why do Woolworths sells packs of 3x100w bulbs..?" He responded with a clout around my ear, saying "that's because they are I idiots and don't argue back.."

Never called a lamp a bulb since... Still have the scar.

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[pyro]

Aye, similar experiences, and when you factor in plastic piping which is more resilient to temperature change (so I am told), then the risks are reduced further.

Still, I think the light bulb approach is cheap and effective. Having just paid over £50 for a 500 watt oil filled heater for the van, I reckon this is a workable solution. The OP might consider putting in a thermostat (e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Underfloor-Heating-Manual-Thermostat-Simple-to-use-/191157133704) to automatically switch the light on when the temperature drops

 

[DBK]

I need to find the lowest wattage bulb I can

It depends how cold it is likely to get. If you fit a 15W bulb then that's all the heat you are ever going to get out of it - fifteen watts. Some of it will come out as light initially but that gets turned into heat when it is abosrbed by the surfaces around it but you certainly can't get more energy out than that which goes in. My point is 15W isn't going to do a lot if it drops to minus brass monkeys outside. You could distribute a few bulbs about but typical domestic 240v jobbies may not last very long being bounced about if you are going to leave them in place so look for "rough service"* types.

*Stopping tittering at the back!

 

[Tootles]

It depends how cold it is likely to get. If you fit a 15W bulb then that's all the heat you are ever going to get out of it - fifteen watts. Some of it will come out as light initially but that gets turned into heat when it is abosrbed by the surfaces around it but you certainly can't get more energy out than that which goes in. My point is 15W isn't going to do a lot if it drops to minus brass monkeys outside. You could distribute a few bulbs about but typical domestic 240v jobbies may not last very long being bounced about if you are going to leave them in place so look for "rough service"* types.

*Stopping tittering at the back!

Many years ago, my stepfather built a bed warmer out of an aluminium open ended box, with a 100 W light bulb and unit screwed through the side. My God, that soon got the bed warm.........(But I was prohibited from using it. I just shivered).

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[Duck Truck]

toots he was concerned only for your health and welfare
shivering in bed makes a man of you as You know (the army makes you do it all the time so it must be good) Also as a kid or even teenager you may have a damp bed and he didn't want you getting electrocuted

 

[Minxy]

Wouldn't a safer and easier alternative be a low wattage thermostatic tube heater like this - you wouldn't even have to remember to turn it on/off:

http://www.dimplex.co.uk/products/domestic_heating/miscellaneous_heating/ecot_tubular/index.htm

 

[Duck Truck]

Hi guys
Thanks for all the comments and ideas and laughs
Ahh apprenticeships were enormous fun, tool boxes welded to the bench.steel cap boots welded together, tins of tartan paint, being hoisted off the floor by the overhead crane. Don't you just miss it.
I was going to use my old car inspection lamp but to be honest it's seen far to many drops down a pit to leave unattended. So I bought a bulk head light fitting £7 ish from screwfix. Had all the other bits at home.
Didn't come with a lamp (or a daffodil bulb). So I spent f---ing hours trying to source an incandescant bulb/lamp. I finally got some. At home in our bulb/ lamp box. 60w bigger than I need. So will wire it in and keep you all informed as to how it works
Kev

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[Duck Truck]

Hi Minxy
the space it's in wouldn't lend itself to that.
I could put the heater in just round the corner
and yes the heat would circulate
But I would just end up knocking the heater off the wall when I load the locker up.
However if the bulb/lamp idea doesn't work.
the heater is plan B.

Toots I agree draining off should stop any damage from freezing up. but on the one occasion it didn't and what a pain in the ass it caused
Water everywhere, and we were in a rush to get away when we found it.
So I am working on the principle of a stitch in time.
Without using a needle and thread

 

[Tootles]

Also as a kid or even teenager you may have a damp bed and he didn't want you getting electrocuted

Not sure about that Kev. I was never in your bed............

 

[Duck Truck]

toots
cheeky!!!!

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[TheBig1]

You know, it's funny, But I have never had that. Having a narrowboat for over 25 years, I just turn off the supply, run the pump with the tap open, and leave whats left in the pipes, working on the theory that as water freezes, it expands. If the majority of the water is missing, and whats left freezes and expands, it cant do any damage to the pipework. Had no damage as yet, even though the canal has frozen to almost a foot depth in bad winters.

the plumbing on an older narrowboat would likely not be made from push fit plastic fittings though. it takes very little water/ice to push these joints apart. this leaves open ended pipes under floors or in lockers that are often hard to access

 

[Tootles]

the plumbing on an older narrowboat would likely not be made from push fit plastic fittings though. it takes very little water/ice to push these joints apart. this leaves open ended pipes under floors or in lockers that are often hard to access

I replaced all the copper piping and Yorkshire fittings with Speedfit 20 years ago B1.

 

[Duck Truck]

Hi guys
The pipe work wasn't copper or push fit
It was plastic piping pushed onto a nylon joint then it had a crimped metal strap
The ice had expanded enough to ease the crimping on the joint.
Then when we filled with water it was a slow leak
that we discovered when away and it was behind the cupboards.
In the end i had to disconnect lots of piping to pull it all out.

I then replaced the crimped straps with jubilee clips on all joints.
We had no problems after that.

A new van now
and I don't intend having a repeat

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[gus-lopez]

. Having just paid over £50 for a 500 watt oil filled heater for the van,

Up the road here we have a 'bankrupt stock' etc ,place .
He was selling them for 4,95€, English ones as well as they had 3 pin plugs on. 9,95€ for 1 Kw. It is part of a chain. No idea where they get the stuff from but I also bought an 'argos' table top fridge as well, 50€.

 

[Duck Truck]

Gus can you pop round to Yorkshire and drop one off please

 

[bigalw35]

I'm a retired electrician and minxy girl has the best idea, tubular heaters are rated at 60 watts per foot, and they can be bolted/screwed to any surface, wired into a spur or a socket

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[Jaws]

We used a bulb for donkeys years.. Cheap as chips and no issues..
BTW, the bulb lamp thing..
All changed about 20 years ago when bulb became the accepted terminology in the trade and such places as the OED for an incandescent light generator

Just put bulb in to google and see how many flora related things appear.. I just tried it and it was one ! LOL !!

 

[Jaws]

Ooohh ! Look what I just found !!
On a page about bulbs and their uses

*Not energy efficient (90% of energy goes to heat, 10% makes visible light)

 

[bigfoot]

When I was an apprentice, I referred to a lamp as a "bulb".... The time served journeyman I was working with used the edge of his steel rule to crack me over the back of the hand...opened up a 1" cut and as I screamed and bled on the floor he calmly replied..."bulbs are what you put in the f*****g garden... it is called a lamp!" So when I tried to respond with " so why do Woolworths sells packs of 3x100w bulbs..?" He responded with a clout around my ear, saying "that's because they are I idiots and don't argue back.."

Never called a lamp a bulb since... Still have the scar.

My foks used to call them 'globes'.

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