It's been a bit warmer over the last few days. Time to tackle a job I'd been putting off, until we no longer needed the fire in the evenings. Our stove top had cracked, about a month ago. Because I'd stupidly overloaded it with wood, and then left the bottom vent door open for too long. It was flaming like a furnace in there when it went "pop". Thankfully, the crack was only on the periphery, with no detectable leakage from the firebox. I sealed it up with heatproof silicone to be sure, and it would probably have been good for a while longer. But I figure we'd have got an "advisory" notice, when we next have our boat safety inspection done. Which is soon.
We got the new top from
Harworth Heating, because they were about £50 cheaper than the other prices we could find online. It cost us £71. Their 100% geninune Morso(tm) bolts and stove rope were reasonably priced, too.
Getting the chimney off, went OK. It hadn't seized or rusted into place. Getting the flue out, went OK. Bit of judicious jiggling. Screwdriver to remove the old fire cement. Out it popped, with the minimum of fuss. Stove collar, we fitted recently. We'd bedded that in with some heat resistant silicone, so it was only a MODERATE PITA to remove. But the retaining nuts underneath... a completely different story. TOTAL PITA. They're corroded, encrusted, nonvisible, and are very fiddly to get at. Because of the backboiler. And I really don't want to be messing with that.
Fortified with triple espressos, I managed to get one out, after much huffing and puffing. But, there are three more to go. Tried a ring spanner. No joy. Tried a socket spanner. No Joy. Next plan is to drill them out from above. The new top will indicate the precise position where the holes should be drilled.
While I was doing all this, Sumo just chilled out.. Sunny spot
and Sheena's Pillows. He is on "short walks" at the moment, because he overdid it chasing after tennis balls. I think both of us forget he is 9. We recently switched him over to "senior"
Chudley chunks. Which are fortified with sea weed (which he adores) and herbs. He seems to be fine on it. And his coat is nice and shiny too.
awww, mister.
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I hope all your efforts with your seized nuts didn't disturb Sumo...a dog needs his rest you know!
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PS. Our two have just got us up for their breakfast it was only 5.10am, not a record but close enough.
5.10am ?!!!! Naughty boys. Sumo's much more chill than that. He's content to lounge around in the comfy chair, until whenever we wake up. It's a real joy to see him there wagging like crazy, once he realises we've surfaced. He doesn't get breakfast. Has to wait until 1pm for his lunch. Maybe that's something to do with it? Nice to hear from you, Lesley. Regards to you all..
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