This winter I discovered that blocking up the fireplace makes the living room much warmer and cuts down the gas bill substantially. All good for the Conner Labs carbon footprint. π However I guess an open fire has some sort of primeval appeal. Before I knew it I had bought this “vintage retro” piece of junk on Ebay.
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I immediately regretted it in case it turned out to be full of asbestos.
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It was :/
![](https://connerlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IQBS8714-768x1024.jpeg)
As it was also caked full of dust, and to be honest smelt a bit suspect, I decided to take it outdoors and wash it down with soap and water. Everything including the wiring, to get the asbestos wet for safe removal.
![](https://connerlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5118-768x1024.jpeg)
It was hardly the most complicated assembly so I stripped it down to the last nut and bolt and cleaned everything. The reflector was polished using T-Cut.
![](https://connerlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5124-1024x768.jpeg)
Rewiring with bare copper wire in modern high temperature fibreglass sleeving. The switch marked X had somewhat melted contacts. I couldn’t find a replacement so I retensioned them as best I could and used that switch on the lowest powered heating element.
![](https://connerlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5120-1024x768.jpeg)
Modern toggle switch doesn’t have 1/10 of the vintage mojo. Doesn’t fit the panel hole anyway.
![](https://connerlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5117-1024x768.jpeg)
Red fireglow lamp is arguably the most important part π 25W filament ones are still available.
![](https://connerlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5126-768x1024.jpeg)
About now I realised the error of using WD40 to free off the nuts holding the heating elements in place, as great clouds of WD40 flavoured smoke belched forth. π
Once the fumes had dissipated it turned out to heat the living room better than the old gas fire and cost less to run.