Heavy Duty

The delivery of our Wallnofer Walltherm stove, water tank and solar thermal panels had been delayed by bad weather along the route from PSES in Nova Scotia and we were not expecting them until Monday. However, we received just an hour’s notice at lunchtime today, that they would be arriving off the next ferry. It was barely enough time to get the back-hoe / fork-lift from Hulton’s…

But, having got the three pallets off the delivery truck, the difficult job of getting the very heavy water tank, and even heavier stove, into the house, began. One of the problems caused by the delay was that the doors had already been installed, meaning that clearance was limited. Luckily the water tank’s insulation is designed incredibly conveniently so it zipped off. The tank itself was still 190kg (420lbs), and big too but the four of us (Chris, Steve, Anne and David) managed to pass it over the sill of the tilt and slide door, which couldn’t take any weight as it is still not fully supported, and get it onto a flat trolley inside the house and then into the machine / utility space.

The stove was smaller but unbelievably even heavier. We partly disassembled it, removing doors and as many of the fire bricks as we could, but we probably did not reduce its 300kg (660lbs) by any more than 10%. To get it into the house and over the sill, Chris thought up an impromptu ramp and ‘bridge’. With two people pulling, two pushing and all of us watching the balance of the stove, we managed it…

Coming off the truck: 1. solar thermal panels

2. the wood stove

3. the hot water tank

Unzipping the tank insulation

Unwrapping the tank

This tank has nothing David can’t deal with!

Lift!

Hoist!

Anne is happy to get the tank inside

The water tank in situ

Just like Christmas! The stove box had lots of little packages inside…

Disassembling the stove to make it as light as possible

Stove parts ready for later reassembly

Building the ramp

Hold it…

… and heave!

Over the sill…

…and the stove is inside.

 

Everyone worked really hard today, but we aren’t finished this week. The weather doesn’t look great next week, so we have to work tomorrow to waterproof the house as much as possible for the Christmas and New Year break.