Hi all,
I have been looking for a shovel for G3 live steam and have not had any luck so far. There seems to be shovels for 3.5" at various ME stockists. Any suggestions for stockists of 2.5"? Failing that, would 3.5 sized shovels fit (I'm guessing it may be tight). The firebox door is reasonably generous at a little over an inch wide and I can get my thumb in it without any problems but would obviously prefer a shovel.
Many thanks in advance,
Mark
None that come to mind Mark.
I'm afraid that I have been guilty of using a tea-spoon before now but certain un-named members sniggered at me - so I made (a non-prototypical) one. It isn't 'shovel' shaped I'm afraid but is in fact round and just fits into the fire hole. Essentially, it's a bit of pipe with one end 'plugged' (and hard soldered) and the working end cut/filed about half away. The 'plug' has been drilled & tapped to take a handle. So in operation, you fill it up with coal, insert it into the fire-box and then rotate it to empty the coal out. It works quite well and seems to distribute the coal evenly - but I'm afraid it's not very 'shovel' like.
Regards,
IanT
These guys list a firing set on this page:
http://www.djb.brushhouse.co.uk/kit-cf-ragleth.shtml
Many thanks for the tip, I'll give DJB a call. I had tried an ice cream spoon with a decent long handle and it worked but makes the tender look like a pudding bowl.
Cheers
Mark