jonesthenuke

Best wishes for the Hip operation.

Re the 10 or 11 thou exhaust clearance, the smaller value was in the earlier manuals and 11 thou in the later versions. I doubt the difference will be of any import. I set ours to 10 thou as that is what is cast into the rocker cover, the engine is circa 1960, the later version of the manual is from (I think) 73.

I agree but it is still the wrong dimension, should be 5 thou inlet and 11 thou exhaust according to the manual.

And these are the torque settings, but note they are in pound-inches not pound-feet And the head should be tightened like this. LW Head tightening.pdf

I suggest following the instructions in the Gardner manual valve clearances.pdf If you need a manual PM me

The blue item in the far bottom left of the photo looks like a diode splitter, if so that needs to be included when drawing the schematic. Also if only one battery is now installed, how has it been connected (so looking at the photo of the original setup may be a distraction?}.

A regular visit to The Crow locks on the BCNS provides a nice coating of oily tar on the surface of the Hull (though probably dissolves any bitumen blacking at the same time). One of the most polluted sections of canal that we have been to.

There are videos on coal gas manufacture on Youtube. The first one below gives some idea of the byproducts that were collected/made and is thus relevant to the tanker trade (the sound is terrible but just about intelligible). The second gives a more hands on view of the actual gas making.

I agree that water was used to quench the coke, however, my recollection is that the raw gas was passed through water to remove the denser components and reduce the smell. The result would be water saturated with oils, creosote, ammonia etc. This was a valuable source of chemicals and was thus collected and transported to chemical processing works for extraction of useful chemicals

Our Gardner 3LW came from a Smiths crawler crane. Apparently they had two engines, one for the caterpillar tracks and one for the winch, ours being the track engine. No idea what type the other engine was.

Try agricultural merchants like TFM if you want Golden Film and buy 20L rather than 5 (you will use it). Golden Film commands a premium price from many suppliers (morris included if you order direct) Alternatively try Smith and Allan or Westway Oils, look for oils which are both SAE30 and API CC (thus a low detergent oil like Golden Film), plenty of listings on eBay and these will include delivery.

Try Wet and Forget, it's a biocide. Follow instructions, do not drink, do not pour in canal, etc etc

I am curious about the standardised design for BCN gates. Does it utilise a frame faced with planks as shown in your coloured drawing or is it constructed in the current style with thick timbers placed side by side and held together with long transverse bolts? A couple of years ago I have a long conversation with a CRT guy who explained to me that the modern style tend to bow under water pressure as they age and this causes the paddles to stick in their frames. I would appreciate a look at the new design if that is possible.

Just use the oil from Westway, it is the spec you originally asked for.

This supplier provides 15W40 in API CC. I have used oil from this supplier before and it's been fine, though I have not used this particular oil as I need a straight SAE30. The price includes delivery. PS The company is adjacent to the Staff and Worcs canal in Wombourne https://www.westwayoils.co.uk/products/15w40-mineral-classic-oil-high-zinc-zddp?_pos=6&_sid=725db1702&_ss=r

On the Bradley Canal restoration there is a large tree with three trunks below the lowest lock. The tree sits in the bed of the canal where the bywash used to emerge. The CRT ecologist will not allow us to remove it even though it's in the bed of the canal. D'Oh!

The trees do seem like a big risk to me. They add a lot of weight, but also catch the wind and then topple and collapse. Sadly, allowing unrestricted tree growth is very much the norm on cuttings for roads and motorways these days. Consequently I suspect more incidents will result. Having said that, I fully agree that the Easenhall cutting looks to be too steep an angle given that the soil appears to be soft throughout the depth of the cut.

AFAIK the S&W cottage were not timber framed but all brick. I still doubt this is a lock cottage.

I think my suggestion is largely valid, though I accept your argument. Abandoned locks may only have collapsed due to decades of dereliction and zero maintenance and thus this does not necessarily negate the value of the original design. Also I suspect there are some part demolished locks (or photos of them in a part deconstructed state) which will also give an indication of the designs used.

So what's this- F'ing scotch mist? Perhaps you should engage brain before letting clutch out on keyboard! Just search BA spanner in RS https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/?searchTerm=BA+spanner

BA spanners are available, Zoro, RS, Amazon and of course eBay have them. RDG tools have some open ended spanner sets which look ok and they have BA socket sets . Quality spanners from named suppliers are becoming quite expensive (ELORA etc). I am not sure you will find combination spanners. Nuts and bolts are available from model engineering suppliers but again the low demand causes prices to be much higher than equivalent size metric fasteners. Taps and dies are available from model engineering suppliers.

I doubt it, all the Staffs and Worcs lock cottage locations that I know of are alongside the lock.

Gothersley lock cottage on the Staff and Worcs is for sale, though the title "cottage" is somewhat understating the nature of the property. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145218935#/?channel=RES_BUY