We are are getting a lot of calls at Blake & Bull HQ, and having some lovely new years chats about cooker re-furbs and DIY kits. An optimism for spring brings with it the urge to refurb it would seem! If you are unsure what route to take with your cooker then we have some fab reviews and tips pages for you.
Thank you to Jonathan for our first DIY Mini Refurb review of 2019!
Good for another 60 years !
"I'm not sure how old my deluxe cooker is - I know it's somewhere between '56 and '74, and suspect it's more towards the '56! I just fitted my new door and lid liners and it's looking great ! Kit was delivered with 48 hours of ordering, and instructions were really simple to follow. EVERY screw head sheared off when I was removing the liner from the boiling plate lid - and I must admit I was feeling a bit 'out of my depth' when it came to drilling and re-tapping the screw-holes. But I just followed the instructions, used the tools provided, and found it much much easier than I was expecting. If you can use a power drill you can do it ! I also replaced the bundy pipeand gave the the burner plate a good clean - and the old girl is running like new ! Totally recommend you get one of these kits and give your range cooker a facelift!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Back in 2017 Margaret had similar results with her DIY Refurb, and here are the results, dressed to impress in our Dotty textiles.
"Thanks so much for your fast delivery, professional service and knowledgable advice. I enclose photos of our refurbished range cooker."
And who can forget Camilla and Oscar'striumph in October 2018?!
"We've upgraded the insulation, done the DIY Mini Refurb with door and lid liners, cleaned it, sworn at it, then dressed up our 14 year old cooker in brand new clothes and rack. .. My favourite piece is the velcro tea towelas the dog cannot steal it off the rail! Thank you for your great service on all the products we have bought, great instructions and good quality products!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
You could reduce your external temps by an average of *18% making your cooker more efficient and cheaper to run in 2019. This figure is based on temperature measurements gifted to us by two members of our community who undertook the DIY Mini Refurbsin the latter part of last year.
The figures below are in centigrade and refer to the surface temperatures of the various items, a good proxy for heat loss and thus efficiency.
- The hotplate lid pre refurb was 78℃, after it this had reduced to 64℃. This is a ~18% reduction.
- The simmering plate lid pre refurb was 67℃, after it this had reduced to 53℃. This is a ~21% reduction.
- The roasting oven door pre refurb was 60℃, after it this had reduced to 54℃. This is a ~10% reduction.
- The simmering oven door pre refurb was 50℃, after it this had reduced to 39℃. This is a ~22% reduction.
Overall I'm delighted with these figures. The hotplate lid efficiency is obviously the most crucial so to decrease the temperature on the outside of it by ~18% is amazing and should translate to some useful fuel savings!
Some rough calculations from Mr C,noted as he worked, reveal that the DIY kit has cut the surface temperature on the top by 13.18% and the surface temperatures on the front by an average 19.06%. Less heat out means less heat in and less fuel used! An important thing to consider as you move into a new year.
We are always happy to chat through your individual needs, drop us an e-mail or give us a bell!
Katy x
