Tam and Toby ~~ Hunting Zorba .....Take two.

I have one in the garden made from a 12kg gas bottle.....

FB_IMG_1613238019092.jpg
 
just a thought, if you get your flue to Finnish just above the sealing plate on the roof you could put a blank on it when not in use & have a spare length you put when you want to use the fire , quarter turn & a clip to join flue section or cap so easily done , it would allow you to get some height which will help with the draw
 
Northernraider said:
Jackies given up lol shes heading back to the peloponnese tomorrow and renting an airbnb for a week .

Im heading north east a little ...
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I imagine those pop-tops are difficult to keep warm in those temperatures, so I do not blame her.

N-E? so you will be starting to drift away from your beloved - no not Jackie, stupid, I mean the coast.

Does that mean that without Jackie's Gbs will will not hear from you so much? If you splash out on buying some more I will pay, not just for me but also all those others who are enjoying your travels and posts. Let me know how to pay, on PM. Your travels will also help us when we finally get to Greece.

Safe and warm travels.

Geoff

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Raul said:
The lower the stove the better. Heat rises, the storage box under is nice but you will stow the wood in a locker so it does not move about. The flue, less bends less obstructions to draft, but also takes most heat out with it. Some damper will be needed 6-8 inches above the stove. Single skin from stove then a adapter to double wall to go through the sleeve. Single skin will melt the sleeve. Top exit is best for top heat for the kettle. Back exit does not give much heat to the kettle, most heat will go to the next obstruction bend. Best with a top exit, solid baffle plate inside and a baffle on the flue for nigh burn. Otherwise half the heat it will escape out. There is a company in Newbury that can make stoves to your designs, I got one from them few years ago for the house and is fantastic. If I would be in your position I would make my own, and make the fire travel zig zag before exits. A base box is just puts the heat out the flue.
Check out 3kg propane bottles and make one out, good steel.
I made one for the garage with a 13kg a 3kg and a pipe to force the fire up then come down to exit. It boils nice at the top.

View attachment 465628
Click to expand...
Personally id never be leaving one burning overnight ...i dont have any heat on then and i wouldn't want to trust a burner that wasn't well known etc ....ive a few in mind i just havent picked one yet ....but likely the hobbit , the Cyclops or the grizzly.
Val 3 dogs said:
I think (without any innuendo) you will miss Jackie's company. You have been together quite a while now.
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Yes its certainly going to be strange ...ive got quite used to her being around and so have the dogs to be honest. It will take a bit of getting used to especially since i likely wont meet many other vans on my route home ...they are all as far south as possible.

In normal times id have been saying she was ruining any chance of me pulling but covid has taken care of that anyway
Raul said:
The lower the stove the better. Heat rises, the storage box under is nice but you will stow the wood in a locker so it does not move about. The flue, less bends less obstructions to draft, but also takes most heat out with it. Some damper will be needed 6-8 inches above the stove. Single skin from stove then a adapter to double wall to go through the sleeve. Single skin will melt the sleeve. Top exit is best for top heat for the kettle. Back exit does not give much heat to the kettle, most heat will go to the next obstruction bend. Best with a top exit, solid baffle plate inside and a baffle on the flue for nigh burn. Otherwise half the heat it will escape out. There is a company in Newbury that can make stoves to your designs, I got one from them few years ago for the house and is fantastic. If I would be in your position I would make my own, and make the fire travel zig zag before exits. A base box is just puts the heat out the flue.
Check out 3kg propane bottles and make one out, good steel.
I made one for the garage with a 13kg a 3kg and a pipe to force the fire up then come down to exit. It boils nice at the top.

View attachment 465628
Click to expand...
Mine will definitely be up at 18 inches to 24 inches from the floor ....ive 2 small dogs who love to fight and wrestle ...dont want them getting burned and i just prefer that look ...the top will also be around the same height as the worktop ...they are only small burners designed to be in smaller spaces.
 
nicholsong said:
I imagine those pop-tops are difficult to keep warm in those temperatures, so I do not blame her.

N-E? so you will be starting to drift away from your beloved - no not Jackie, stupid, I mean the coast.

Does that mean that without Jackie's Gbs will will not hear from you so much? If you splash out on buying some more I will pay, not just for me but also all those others who are enjoying your travels and posts. Let me know how to pay, on PM. Your travels will also help us when we finally get to Greece.

Safe and warm travels.

Geoff
Click to expand...
Yes its not the warmest of vans and with no toilet or shower etc its not the easiest in this weather.

I was only using jackies internet for a few days till mine renewed on the 4th which its already done ...although i do use more these days than normal so i have to be careful at times. But videos tend to use the most and with bad weather i wont be using the drone much anyway .
 
With your stove in your new build, you say wood burner, are you not be better with a multi fuel, therefore allowing you to burn a variety of fuels.
A garage we used had a stove which ran on coke, a light weight fuel that used to make it glow red.
The other issue with a stove is input air flow, to avoid suffocation.
The next is the amount of dust this will deposit in the van.
I hope you do not have any breathing issues as a stove in a small space will not help them.
The control of a burner is another issue, it cannot be just turned off.
Great posts, really like the look of Greece, good luck on your return journey.
 
Northernraider said:
Yes its not the warmest of vans and with no toilet or shower etc its not the easiest in this weather.

I was only using jackies internet for a few days till mine renewed on the 4th which its already done ...although i do use more these days than normal so i have to be careful at times. But videos tend to use the most and with bad weather i wont be using the drone much anyway .
Click to expand...

So you are sorted on the internet - good, but it was a genuine offer.

No wonder Jackie will prefer a BandB shower to a beach shower in the weather now.

We should not ask whether any other shower/toilet was available to her. ;)

I am sure you will settle down quite easily into you old solo routine.

Geoff

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Starting to wonder if i might be better going home via italy
Seems to be fewer restrictions at present and less borders to cross .

Looking for pros and cons answers please
 
Life’s an adventure. You have a good time scale and only you can decide. Good luck and happy travels which ever way you go. (y)
 
Mikey RV said:
Life’s an adventure. You have a good time scale and only you can decide. Good luck and happy travels which ever way you go. (y)
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Scotch mist said:
Go home the easiest & quickest route, although we make plans life is fluid so things change , COVID is making travel difficult & you’re mind is probably on the new adventure at home , forget about previous plans & do what you want to do 👍
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Im just looking at weather etc and Bulgaria -7 in sofia and snowing etc ...lookinh at Italy its 2 degrees ...still not warm on any account ...but im not set up in this van for long periods of cold weather ...

Italy seems to not be in lockdown at present and you can travel so i think ill phone viamare in the morning and check ferry options for 28th February

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Update on that you can travel within your own region in Italy but not supposed to travel between regions , god its a nightmare trying to work out best routes home as everything is subject to change
 
Sounds a nightmare for inter country travel at the moment.
ILooking at things very simplistically (which I realise nothing is) could you get a ferry from Greece to Italy and then ferry Italy Barcelona then drive the rest.
No doubt everything has changed but i thought in the first lock-down there were special allowances maade for people trying to bead directly home.
 
Onemanandhisdog said:
Is that still the case if you are passing through?

Maybe if you had a channel tunnel booking for a few weeks time to show them it might help?

I haven't a clue, just guessing.
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For transiting italy you get 36 hours , but then its what country to transit to ... France you're allowed 24 hours to transit.
But i need pcr tests , dog worming etc

It is a bit of a nightmare to work it all out .

Ideally i don't want to be in france at all id rather sort my pcr for return to uk in germany and get dogs stuff done there too ..

Not planning to leave greece till the end of February so things might still change in either direction but im kind of at the place right now where i need to decide do i go left or right lol



Thats jackie off now ...shes heading to napflion and an air BnB ...
 
Would it perhaps be wiser to start heading home by the simplest/most direct route may be with a chunnel booking as @oneman suggests?
Perhaps now is not the time for new explorations and traveling. World wide here is a lot oof fear about, it is unfortunate that it impacts on your adventure but perhaps now , with the pandemic and the B--x-t thing a low profile and discretion would be the best course to follow.

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Everybody is different t so hard to comment.

However if it were me I'd stay put as long as I could then sprint back as quickly as I could. We do that in normal times anyway. Just seems hard to relax and enjoy when you are heading home. This is even more so if those temperatures are plummeting in Bulgaria etc.
 
Mikey RV said:
Life’s an adventure. You have a good time scale and only you can decide. Good luck and happy travels which ever way you go. (y)
Click to expand...

Val 3 dogs said:
Would it perhaps be wiser to start heading home by the simplest/most direct route may be with a chunnel booking as @oneman suggests?
Perhaps now is not the time for new explorations and traveling. World wide here is a lot oof fear about, it is unfortunate that it impacts on your adventure but perhaps now , with the pandemic and the B--x-t thing a low profile and discretion would be the best course to follow.
Click to expand...
Could always start your van project off a bit earlier? :unsure:
 
You have 5 days for the dogs, I've had mine wormed and checked in Switzerland before heading home via France a few days later. That was because the first time I took them away I had them done in France near Calais then had to sit around for 24 hrs before I could cross :( Didn't make that school boy error again.

Getting to the point, they wouldn't have to affect a dash across France.
 
Northernraider said:
Yeah i considered doing this method of putting aluminium in the original window rubbers ...like this guy has done View attachment 465460

But i think id prefer to just weld in new steel and brace bars for a smooth finish.

If i have any windows in the rear i think they would have to be double glazed units rather than the single glazed glass ones.
Click to expand...
I panelled over the apertures from back to front with radius corners and hope to make a feature of the panel in matt black.
 
You could stay in Greece until the middle of March, leaving a couple of weeks in the Schengen zone.
Bulgaria and Romania could be warmer then as its another 4 weeks ahead.
But if you go via Italy/ France you could still stay in Greece until the middle of March , just have your route/ ferry booked and use the motorway in Italy.
From Milan go through Switzerland ( yes 40eurosto pay, for a year, so you could return) then your route through Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France to the ferry.
This route can be done in three days so your test in Italy will be valid untill theU.K

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Jays2 said:
You could stay in Greece until the middle of March, leaving a couple of weeks in the Schengen zone.
Bulgaria and Romania could be warmer then as its another 4 weeks ahead.
But if you go via Italy/ France you could still stay in Greece until the middle of March , just have your route/ ferry booked and use the motorway in Italy.
From Milan go through Switzerland ( yes 40eurosto pay, for a year, so you could return) then your route through Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France to the ferry.
This route can be done in three days so your test in Italy will be valid untill theU.K
Click to expand...
Thats a lot of driving in 3 days and im over 3.5tonne
 
Val 3 dogs said:
Would it perhaps be wiser to start heading home by the simplest/most direct route may be with a chunnel booking as @oneman suggests?
Perhaps now is not the time for new explorations and traveling. World wide here is a lot oof fear about, it is unfortunate that it impacts on your adventure but perhaps now , with the pandemic and the B--x-t thing a low profile and discretion would be the best course to follow.
Click to expand...
Im starting to think that way with regards to most direct route. Its trying to do whats the safest and the cheapest without being involved in quarantines etc ...id still stay in greece till end of February at least but not sure i want to risk staying much longer than that incase of complications.

Also trying to plan dog situation for future so id have liked to get their rabies boosters etc done so as to keep their passports
 

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