[Womble]

Subject to the usual negotiations, it looks as though we've finally found ourselves a good second hand Rayburn (solid fuel model). However, it's currently sitting in the seller's kitchen, and we'll have to get it out of their house to take it away. The house is a bungalow, so there are no steps between the kitchen and the drive thankfully.

It's currently sitting on a 2" ish plinth, so we'd need to slide it forward off that and I'm thinking either onto a pallet truck or rollers made from cut up scaffold tube or round fenceposts (can anybody confirm if Rayburns have smooth bottoms?  ). After that, I think a tail lift truck will be the order of the day.

However, I'm sure plenty of folks on here will have done this before, or watched professional installers do it.

Any hints folks? 

[Sbom]

They do indeedy have smooth bottoms!

We moved one using a pallet truck.....just to other side of the kitchen mind while we built a higher plinth

[bloomer]

the only one i moved was a pallet truck job... and about 47 mates to actually help slide the bugger, they are heavy :-)

[Womble]

Ah, perhaps I should have mentioned that..... it's a long way from any of my mates, so we're likely to have about 45 people fewer than you did Bloomer! 

[Dogwalker]

Mine was moved on rollers on a rough yard, up a small step,, along a narrow path, up another small step, around a corner, down a bigger step, across the kitchen and up a three inch step into a fireplace opening about 5 inches bigger than the rayburn.
By two strong builders and one lanky teenage son,

I just stood and watched and kept my fingers crossed.

[SallyintNorth]

From seeing ours arrive, one tip is to remove the doors, firebricks, hotplate covers and hotplate, to make it as light as possible.  They also manouevered it without the front rail in place.

In fact, we didn't see ours arrive, we were out and our installation fella supervised, but it stayed stripped down for a few days while he completed pipeworks.  He and his two strong sons then wiggled it to its final position.

[benkt]

I moved our aga with the help of three big blokes and a couple of scaffold poles as rollers. They are unbelievably heavy and the slightest step over a door can be real pain - we used some round fence poles along the way to help ift it up (they were a little bit thicker than the scaff poles so helped get it at an angle) it up as we negotiated the (small) steps. We managed to get it about fifteen feet out of the front door, to a position it has sat in ever since,  while I await the completion of my plans to turn it in to a novelty barbeque.

[spandit]

You can also remove the top if the screws aren't rusted solid. Heavy but we managed to move it without full dismantling

[shep53]

moved 2 rayburns    2 times each one   using fence post rollers and  telegraph pole rollers for steps , two men only as no room for more  all fairly simple     ,     the only problem  iv'e seen with rayburns has been the boiler  , out of  4 in use locally 2 have had new boilers fitted

[Womble]

Right then, I'm off scaffold pole shopping tomorrow! 

You can also remove the top if the screws aren't rusted solid. Heavy but we managed to move it without full dismantling

Which screws are those Spandit?  Is it the silver ones you can see at the corners in this photo?



Also, I've seen a few references to taking the front rail off to reduce the width. Any idea how to do that?

By the way, if anybody wants our old Esse Premier 4 (a solid fuel Rayburn clone), still in good working order, please give me a shout, as otherwise it has an appointment at the scrap yard next Friday!

[spandit]

Mine had different screws but those are probably the ones.

The rail supports are bolted on and awkward to undo, although not impossible. Have a look from underneath

[Womble]

Well, the selller has sent some more photos and measurements for their doorways etc, and it looks as though we won't have to take any bits off, except to save weight.

However, having seen these latest photos, I'm a bit concerned about the plinth it's currently sat on. It's only 40mm high apparently, and it looks to me like the tiles were laid after the stove was in place.





I've got some sheets of OSB to protect the floor, along with various diameters of steel and wooden rollers. The question is though, how on earth do I get it off the plinth and onto the rollers, without either damaging it or making a right mess of somebody else's kitchen? 

[bloomer]

big block of wood and a long pry bar to lift one end???

[Womble]

Yes, I think so Bloomer.

At the moment I have to lift it up  a bit by sticking one of these bad boys in one of the oven doors to 'break the seal' with the base. Then I'm going to try and slip a sheet of steel underneath to make it slide easier.



If anyone can think of a better way though, I'm all ears.

We're going to be taking our old range out later today with any luck, so we can practice all the moves in our own kitchen.  Bye bye Elspeth. It's been fun  .

Wow, who'd have thought I'd be getting all emotional over a 30 year old lump of rusty steel and sh1t brown enamel! 

[bloomer]

we need many pictures and a write up in your unique style!!!


good luck