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changing a squirrel door handle


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Hi all...

Does anyone have any experience in replacing a morso squirrel door handle?

Ours has become worn out and occasionally will just pop open and I wanted to replace it before autumn else risk hot coals on the floor! Surprisingly I can't find any online advice on doing this although plenty of places sell replacement handles

Thanks, Hannah

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I had a local stove supplier (Chivers, Devizes) replace the glass and rope seal on my Squirrel. The parts were expensive but competitlively priced and £20 for labour is very reasonable considering that replacing the glass requires drilling out the four existing screws. Replacing only the rope should cost less in labour charges and may be done while you wait. In addition I received much free advice! None of it derogatory about my Morso stove.

 

IIRC the correct rope is 8mm diameter, the special adhesive is quite expensive, especially in small quantities. Expect the door to initially be hard to close until the new rope 'beds in'.

 

OTOH, I am surprised that your door 'pops open; even with no door seal the closing mechanism has a cam action and the weight of the 'handle' should be sufficient to prevent this. With a tight door seal, friction on the cam makes it unlikely that the door will open unexpectedly as Titus suggests.

 

Harworth heating have good (English language) parts catalogues, e.g. for my 1430 Cleanheat. If their 62904300 MORSO SQUIRREL ALL STOVES DOOR ROPE KIT INC GLUE £14.16, (for both doors, main and ashpit) does not work you may need 79127000 MORSO CLASP - W/O HANDLE £15.44; all prices + P&P, + VAT.

 

Otherwise there may be wear to the lug integral to the front plate - I would consider attaching a thin shim of soft metal (copper, aluminium, possibly brass) to the lug or the cam to compensate for the wear. e.g. Wind with a thin copper wire strand (extracted fom a multicore cable), heat with a gas torch and add solder. Then repeatedly close and reduce the witness marks with a round or rat-tail file until perfect cam-action is achieved.

 

I would consider the above prices then negotiate with my local stove stove supplier. It is easy to lift the door off (slightly awkward to hang) and take it with you.

 

Chivers is not a Morso agent but, being close to the canal, they are familiar with these stoves and stock most commonly demanded spare parts. Having received such excellent support and advice it is likely that I will consider one of their 'Made in Britain' Aarrow (Axminster, Devon) or Villager stoves at much less than the price of a Morso Squirrel in the future.

 

HTH, Alan

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Hi all...

Does anyone have any experience in replacing a morso squirrel door handle?

Ours has become worn out and occasionally will just pop open and I wanted to replace it before autumn else risk hot coals on the floor! Surprisingly I can't find any online advice on doing this although plenty of places sell replacement handles

Thanks, Hannah

 

 

The handle is held in by and pivots on a roll-pin. Lift the door off, put it on blankets on a firm surface and look at the side- you will see the hole for the pin. Drift this in toward the centre of the door and the handle will lift out. The knob unscrews and will screw onto the new handle.

 

Fit the new handle and tap the pin back in till it's nearly flush with the outside of the door.

 

Be careful not to break the door glass!

 

Same for the handle on the bottom door.

 

The hook of the handle fits over a roll pin in the body of the stove. That may also need replacing. In this case it is drifted out from the inside of the stove. If it is badly worn you could, as a temporary measure, turn it so the worn side is to the front and then re-fit it.

 

 

N

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I had a local stove supplier (Chivers, Devizes) replace the glass and rope seal on my Squirrel. The parts were expensive but competitlively priced and £20 for labour is very reasonable considering that replacing the glass requires drilling out the four existing screws.

Actually this isn't always the case. The last glass I replaced I could only get two of the screws out after a good soaking with some good quality penetrating oil. Two of them wouldn't come out so resigned to having to drill and re tap I found a top tip on a Morso dealers web site which worked a treat.

 

Once the clips are loosened using the oil you can rotate/move them aside sufficiently to extract the glass, use a spanner of the same size as the width of the clip to do this. When the new glass is in place simply move the clips back into place the same way. They retain their tension and thus maintain a good seal against the glass rope, especially if you are changing the glass rope too which is recommended anyway.

 

Job done.

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<<I had a local stove supplier (Chivers, Devizes) replace the glass and rope seal on my Squirrel. The parts were expensive but competitlively priced and £20 for labour is very reasonable considering that replacing the glass requires drilling out the four existing screws. >>

Once a year when I do the maintenance on our Squirrel, I unscrew all the glass retaining bolts (I use Stainless steel ones), dab a little copper grease on the threads, and replace.

 

They've never been difficult to remove.

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It is entirely probable that taking out the rope, cleaning the rust scale out from behind it and fitting a new rope will fix your problem. Definitely another vote for Howarth heating, fantastic prices half what you will pay at a chandlers or e bay and good service. Google "oilstoves" for parts list etc. Rope kit comes with a small tube of special adhesive if I recall. I entirely re roped my squirrel with that small tube and still had some left!

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