Inside the walls of Chester and the water is not hot!

Rain is pouring down as I sit here typing and I have no intention of cruising in such miserable conditions. Instead I spent 3 hours trying to discover why HOT water decided not to flow through our galley tap. Since the water is heated by the engine, my first thoughts were of a possible air lock in the pipe work from the engine to the hot water storage tank. Some time back I had installed a bleed valve to make releasing air from the system easier.

I discovered this valve fitting was leaking and I wondered if it was allowing air to enter the system. With a new fitting in place and the engine running hot I bled the system. Still no hot water. I removed the pipework in several places to check for a good flow of water; all  was okay and very hot in the pipes but NOT in the galley.

So I went back inside to see just how far the water pipes were hot on their way to the storage tank under the bed. After removing the mattress and top boards,I gained access to the tank. I discovered very hot pipes all the way to the tank as well as the hot water pipe supplying the boat.

I asked Jaq to try the bathroom tap and hey--we have scalding hot water there but still none in the galley further along. Now I was puzzled. I could find no sign of leaks so I visualised the pipe work through the boat system. Then it hit me: the washing machine is plumbed in before the galley sink! I felt sure somehow an air lock had occurred here, stopping the hot water flowing to the galley. I hit the washing machine "on" button and after a cough and splutter, hot water flowed into the machine. Air lock cleared. This allowed the hot water to flow through the galley tap. 

From the walls of Chester can be seen these small houses dominated by the larger one. Both look old but in fact the large one dates back to 1881, whereby it`s smaller neighbours date from 1650. They were Almshouses built for the poor and needy and were a block of 9 but only 6 survive after being restored in 1969.

Sedan House on the left, so called because of the porch that enabled the rich arriving by Sedan coach (pic. right) to arrive warm and dry.  Each side of the porch had an entrance door. The coachmen would enter either side, stopping to allow their passenger to exit directly inside the building.

The Chester Rows are covered galleries above the street level shops with access at each end and steps at intervals from the pavement; additional row of shops are above.

These shops are located above the ones in the top picture. Was this an inspiration to our present day indoor shopping centres?