"I bought a tape under the counter and it turned out to be some old bloke stoking an old boiler". sorry, I'll get me coat

No, I have never needed to do that .....

@@keithappleton just a curiosity. Not a need..

These days whatever I can get in the way of Anthracite "beans" Welsh Steam Coal is miles better though.

Ahhh I see yes. Maxitrak offer coal beans and all manner of other stuff for firing. I was wondering if/when I ever get my own steam engine weather crushed house coal would work...I know its difficult to steam with it but if I found a way of doing it it might work out cheaper.

Yes it is very small.

Kettle Descaler . . .

@@keithappleton thank you

I am not sure that would work fast enough . . .

Hello Keith, maybe a topic for an experimental video? Maybe give it a try and see what you think.

This comment is not a good one at all. Probably a good way to destroy your boiler. Dropping the fire immediately is what needs to be done if the water disappears below the water gauge nut and you don't have a way of getting a lot of water into the boiler quickly. Or maybe you could just stuff a rag in the chimney, stand well back and watch your Firebox Crown destroy itself with the heat of a coal fire . . . if anyone would like to make a video about it ....... I will not be doing that.

After you Shawn . . . . . show us how it's done, just stand clear of the boiler when you do it.

@@keithappleton I think some may be taking this out of context I am by no means saying try to put your boiler in a dangerous situation and then put a rag in the top just to see if that works. What I was implying was that if you have a boiler operating at normal working pressure with the proper amount of water in it just try putting a rag in the top of the chimney to block off the air flow I think you will be surprised how quickly it snuffs out the fire and you lose pressure without causing any harm. Yes I have seen it done and it worked quite well. I am also not saying to rely on this as a method to shut things down always good to have proper blow-off valves and more than one way of getting water into a boiler just to be on the safe side. Was just saying that if any of these do happen to fail and you find yourself in a panic situation if you were to take your gloves a rag even the shirt off your back and put it in first or last if nothing else works why not have a back-up plan. Remember in order for air to come in and feed a fire air has to escape. Some engines may be quite difficult to drop a fire out of and speaking of experience with traction engines you are quite often travelling over flammable items. Drop a fire in the wrong place and next thing you know the fire departments on the way LOL. Anyways was just throwing it out there take it for what it's worth no harm in having a back-up plan if all else fails be safe all.