I spent the morning working from home, and awaiting the delivery of the stove and all it's bits. I was like a child at Christmas, twitching the study curtains at every passing vehicle, just in case it was the delivery man.
And finally it was! I wasn't sure what to expect, or just how big the pile would actually be. Turns out, not that big after all. The stove sits on the pallet, the liner coiled round it and over the boxes of vitreous pipe bits. I should really have taken a photo at this stage, but I had to unwrap it all to check it was OK before signing for the pallet. The other pleasant surprise is just how light the liner is. At 9M long, I had feared it would be a bit of a weight to try either shoving up the chimney or dragging up onto the roof. Thankfully, it weighs about half of what my son does, about half an 18 month old child, or 5-6Kgs. So hardly anything at all. Although I did notice I had forgotten to order a nose cone for the liner, which I may live to regret. I'm sure I can fashion something from all the stuff knocking about in the garage though.
Once I had the bits and liner in the garage, I moved the stove into the house. Whilst it doesn't feel as heavy as I thought it would, now I've thought about it, 65Kgs is going to a right pain to position carefully within the fireplace once the flue's built up. I just hope the liner is as springy as I imagine it to be so I've got some wriggle room on it.
And now I've cleaned some of the overspill of black grout off the brickwork, this is the stove sat in the recess where it will be finally fitted. At this point I'm glad I didn't go for a bigger stove, as I think this fits just right. It fits with a 4"/100mm gap to either side and a 5"/125mm gap to the rear.
The vitreous enamel pipe that comes off the top of the stove is also a good fit. The second 45 deg bend sits just below the closure plate, so by the time I have the third bend in place it'll look just right. The third bend is to aim the adaptor straight up the chimney, as it leans off to the right. I may not need this bit if the liner will turn enough, but I've got the bits should it be needed. I also think it was wise to go off the top of the stove, as a rear T piece would mean it sat a good few inches further forward, which would look odd. As it is, it just sticks out from the recess with a good 14 1/2"/375mm gap to the front edge of the hearth. Building Regs require a minimum of 225mm to the door.
The other thing that surprised me is just how big the all-in-one cowl is. It's not far off the size of the damn stove! I also had a delivery of wood turn up late in the day, which was a builder's bag or 0.75m3 of wood for £45. It's wood rather than logs, but it's still at least 25% cheaper than the other local places. It's now stacked in the garage whilst I think about building a wood store.
