Could I please re-iterate Adrian's message, and perhaps emphasise it?  The
suggestions that Kabola make for the installation of their units ensures not
just clean burning but your own safety. It is imperative that you follow
them

We installed an E5 15 years ago when it was unusual in UK boats. For that
reason we went to a reputable boatyard that claimed to have experience of
installation overseas as the owner had a Dutch barge.

Some three months or so later, mooring one winter at Foxton, we left the
unit on while we went shopping in Market Harborough. We returned to find the
chimney literally exploding at intervals. I ran to the boat and was almost
overcome by the heat from the engine room which was so severe - no
exaggeration, here - the thermostat on the unit had melted and resembled
nothing so much as Dali's clock!

The boat had clearly been close to flash point. An hour or so more and it
would have spontaneously ignited.

Kabolas are normally very, very safe. They are efficient, reliable and IMO
far and away the best heating system for a narrowboat. This one had been
installed wrongly though:

1 The flue wasn't as tall as Kabola recommended
2 It was not installed with a proper Kabola chimney. Instead it had a trad
chimney mounted on a chimney collar
3 It did not have an insulated double walled flue. Instead it had been
installed with a cast flue.

In addition, the unit had been fitted without an emergency cut-off system.
The chimney collar had been stuffed with rolled-up newspaper too!

We could have been killed had the boat caught fire at night. The yard that
installed it is still in business.

Steve


On 08/12/06, Adrian Stott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> I have a Kabola E7*, and have experienced the same windy conditions.
> However, I have had none of the problems you describe.
>
> 1. Is your flue as tall as Kabola specifies?
>
> 2. Do you have a proper Kabola-type terminal (i.e. cap) on it? (These
> caps are deliberately *not* directional, and seem to be very
> effective)
>
> 3. Do you have an insulated (i.e. double-wall) flue?
>
> >PS backdraft/backdraught - which is right?
>
> Neither.  It is "down draft" or "downdraft" IMHO.
>
> Adrian
>
> * For the uninitiated, these are simple drip feed burners, with no
> fans, drawing combustion air from inside the boat.
>
>
> Adrian Stott
> 07956-299966
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


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