Morso stove

[Richard Brookman]

Not sure if this is the right group, but here goes...

I have a small Morso Squirrel multi-fuel stove, burning mainly anthracite with some wood during the day. Over the winter, the stove has started to use more fuel - approx 50% up on the previous winter. All the bricks are in place and the rope seals are in good order. The bottom grate (that you shake the ash with) was replaced last autumn. I suspect that the stove is drawing in too much air when at idle. The air inlet was always set at about

1/8 to 1/4 of a turn from fully closed, probably 90% of the time, and this gave good heat, plenty of hot water, and good fuel economy. Now I find I can run the stove with the air inlet fully closed and it runs fine (before, this would have made it go out after a few hours).

So, too much air getting in? The culprit would seem to be the hole where the rod that activates the grate shaker passes through the outer casing. It has gone from being a tight sliding fit when new (~10 years ago) to an irregular hole about 2-3mm wider than the rod. I reckon that extra air is getting in here and wrecking the air balance. Two questions -

1. Does this sound like the problem, or does anyone with experience of these stoves have a better explanation?

1. What would be the best way to mend the hole so that it is once again a snug fit around the rod? The casing is cast iron. I've used JB Weld successfully before on boats and cars to build metal back up, but I don't know how to prevent it just gluing the rod in place as it sets.

If anyone knows of a better newsgroup or website for this kind of discussion, I'd be grateful to know about it.

Thanks in advance.

[Cicero]

======================= One way to repair the hole would be to make up a small plate with the correct size hole. Attach this to the casing by screws or nuts and bolts. This method would provide unlimited repair possibilities for the future since the home-made plate could be replaced again as necessary.

Of course this method depends on what access you have for drilling the required holes and possibly threading them.

Cic.

[Richard Brookman]

|| ======================= || One way to repair the hole would be to make up a small plate with the || correct size hole. Attach this to the casing by screws or nuts and || bolts. This method would provide unlimited repair possibilities for || the future since the home-made plate could be replaced again as || necessary. || || Of course this method depends on what access you have for drilling || the required holes and possibly threading them. || || Cic.

Good idea, Cic, many thanks. I have the facilities and the ability to make up a piece and drill and tap the screw fitting (assuming you can tap a thread in cast iron - never done that before). It's on the front of the stove, so access is fine. Only problem is that the hole is bang next to a bit of moulding on the casing, so a plate would need to be shaped to match the moulding, ie a bit of 3-D metal bashing. Making the hole good would be a better solution visually, but I can see your point about future "repairability". Cheers

[Chris Ives]

It is no bother to drill & tap cast iron, just look at an engine block for example.

Chris

[Cicero]

================== You could put the plate inside if there's enough room and if you used dome-headed screws the appearance would hardly be affected. If you do decide to put in a thread use a coarse tap following the general rule - fine thread in hard material - coarse thread in soft material.

One final thought - just check that it is the hole and not the 'riddle rod' shaft that's worn.

Cic.

[Richard Brookman]

|| One final thought - just check that it is the hole and not the || 'riddle rod' shaft that's worn.

Nope - the shaft is as good as new, the hole in the casing is amoeba-shaped! I've just had a good look at it - the hole for the riddle rod is drilled through a boss in the casing, so a plate would have to be shaped to fit around the boss as well. 'Sgonna be a challenge.

[Richard Brookman]

|| It is no bother to drill & tap cast iron, just look at an engine || block for example.

Doh! And I only spent a month last year rebuilding a Land Rover engine with - ahem - cast iron block and head!

Failure to connect!

[Cicero]

amoeba-shaped!

============== Best of luck then. Happy drilling, hammering etc.

Cic.

[Richard Brookman]

Always happy drilling, hammering etc. :-)