Monday 6 October 2008

Loo update

The toilet tent is on it's knees, unusable and decrepit, kept upright only by tenacious guy ropes clinging on stubbornly in the face of certain futility. Part of me wants to burn it down, it is completely unfit for purpose and an eyesore but I have resolved to keep it until I get around to getting a boat for it to propel, for it's true destiny must surely be to serve as a sail. Another victory for the Ministry of Silly Design.

I now have to think about my options in this department, should I replace it with something equally likely to fail or some other option. TLB and I did even consider placing the porta loo bit of it inside the main tent but I can see that it would be a nightmare of both privacy and hygiene. I am on the hunt for an awning of some sort under which I can place a somewhat sturdier protector of dignity. In the meantime TLB may get a chance to get to know the she-pee I got her at a festival some months ago. Okay, okay, I shall start looking right now.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

get a bowsaw to cut up old pallets, free fuel in skips at every factory in uk.

take the trailer and get some

small amount of fuel burned quickly is most efficient and leaves the flue clean,.

Anonymous said...

Firewood Q&A Archive
Concerned about chemicals

Hello, I just found your site and found it to be very informative, however I do have a concern that hasn't been addressed. My husband and I have recently purchased our first home. This is also the first time either of us has had a fireplace. My husband saves pallets from work, breaks them up and burns them in the fireplace. He also burns any wood he can find, from pruned bushes, trees etc. I am concerned with the possibility of chemicals or poisonous fumes from some of this unconventional 'firewood'. Can you please give me some information or refer me to a site that can help?

Hi,
You should only burn clean, uncoated, non-salt-laden, untreated wood. Shipping pallets are usually fine and prunings are fine too. Don't burn painted, stained, creosote treated wood or wood that has been pressure treated with preservatives (these usually tint the wood green or brown). Despite some people's enjoyment of "that nice woodsy smell" when wood is burned in a fireplace, you should never smell wood smoke in your house when the fire is on. If you can smell smoke, get a professional sweep or installer in to check it out and advise on how to stop it.

John
Kevin says don't burn pallets

I was reading your questions and answers archive and noticed the one about it being okay to burn pallets. I was burning pallets last year until my research revealed that most shipping wood is treated with one or more of the following: fire retardant; insecticide; fungicide. The arsenic treatments were easy to spot being green...now copper compounds are used. Insecticides are not easy to detect. Fire retardants result in a brownish or rust colored stain. I have noticed that sometimes even stickers (for under bunks of lumber) are treated. I thought that I had discovered a gold mine when I saw pallets for countertops made of 4x4 oak 10' long with 3' cross members, until I saw that telltale brownish stain. I was heartbroken! In other words, err on the side of caution when selecting shipping wood.

Kevin
December 27, 2004

Anonymous said...

My inlaws go round lumber yards and pick up off cuts for nothing,though it usually involves a bit of skip diving. Good luck with your venture.

Anonymous said...

Tried ringing all your phones to no avail. Guess you are OK as your blog is onward and upward. Give me a call sometime. Love to you both x

 
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