Well, dull as it may be, keeping the chimney clear is rather important... if you don't, at best you'll get a messy roof - at worst, it'll kill you from co.
SO, the other day, I went looking in the gas locker for a bit of chain to dangle down and wiggle about (all very technical isn't it?) but whilst looking, old Mick came over and asked what I was up to. It turns out he has a suitable brush.
To begin with I removed the fire bricks to make access to throat plate removal easier...It might have been an idea to have left it a couple of hours though as it'd been in over night and was still quite hot.
Once that was out, I got on the roof and removed the china-man's hat (coolie thingy). Mick warned me that once I began shoving the brush down it might get wedged so it' be a good idea to have a pole ready...
Having thought it through, I decided to do it the other way around - i.e., pull it through from the bottom. I rummaged in my chaotic tool cupboard handy shelf of bits and bobs, for some para-chord which I threaded down from outside and then tied to the brush handle.
Having gently positioned the handle inside, I closed the door AND vents before going back on the roof to begin.
I pulled it through a few times and have to admit, was surprised just how much gunk was in the grate when I came to clear it out. It does draw much better now though and ever since, we've not had any muck on the roof either - even when the fire is shut right down for over night... success.
I'm really enjoying having the fire on all he time now - it CAN be a bit if a pain running out of coal (in the boat) when it's wet and windy outside ... the existing coal bucket, whilst looking OK, didn't really hold enough for more than 1 day ... and that's 1 day at current usage rather than "winter" - SO, we went into town to look for a bigger one. First stop was a shop called Scartop. It's a brilliant store with everything you might ever want for the home. The downside being, a lot of the things you want are NOT cheap... and of course we did find a bigger one but at £29.99, decided it was too dear.
Next stop was Homebase - having modified the search for a metal bucket... t'dah
AND only a tenner - BARGAIN!
It holds 2 and half times the amount the little one does so, combined with that, we can go nearly 4 days without getting wet now... probably 2 days when it's really cold.
I told you - we DO lead an exciting life...
Until next time...
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