Hot water back on.

Having waited the requisite 24 hours for the rust treatment to dry on Monday I managed to get two coats of Hammerite over the affected areas before the rain came down.

Tuesday it rained all morning but in the afternoon I re- installed the cylinder adding a stop valve and drain off point to the cold feed, which will allow me to isolate the supply and drain down in future if I need to.

I replaced the washers to all the connections and after some minor problems with air locks on the central heating coil it was all back up and running successfully.

A nice hot shower last night completed the testing and then this morning I checked it all again for water soundness, luckily no leaks! 

However I did find a very minor leak ( about 1 small drip per hour ) on the diesel stop tap something I hadn’t noticed before but it showed up on the new paint work in the area I painted the other day, so I have pinched up the fitting and tied some tissue around it to see if that has worked, if not I will have to fit a new stop tap.

I am leaving it all a day or two before putting the stored bits and pieces back, and later when summer arrives properly I may tackle the bilges (again) where there is some rusting, it needs nice warm weather to dry the area properly.

Meanwhile, not much happening, my lock duties have continued and I am amazed how many people just ignore the signage, I must have walked up to sort out the lock paddles a dozen times, I now  also check it before going to bed.

When arriving here I found I had lost my glasses somewhere between the lock and my mooring, they must have fallen out of my shirt pocket, probably straight into the canal, so I took a walk into Hemel Hempstead today to visit Boots, I only buy reading glasses these days and at £18.95 a pair it's not too painful, a special offer of two pairs for £30 tempted me so I now have two new pairs plus two old backups!

I am killing time a bit waiting for another family 'thing' before finally getting off this canal ( I can't wait ) and will no doubt move a bit further South shortly, once the boredom here sets in again.