Sunday 9 April 2017

Cona Mowing


And the saga continues.

Went to Nuneaton very early yesterday morning to collect the 'spares or repair' Cona I won on eBay for £19.99 and returned home to find that what the seller thought was a broken handle was nothing more than a split rubber neck seal which, with a bit of judicious swiveling, can't be seen. The split seal just made it look as if the handle was broken. The seal has no detrimental effect on the unit, as it's there purely to provide some grip and not as an air seal. So I now have two, fully functional, Conas. Hay thinks it overkill and a sign of OCD.


She relegated one to function as a permanent table lamp on the sideboard. There are some slight differences between the two, which I think are due to the fact one is German manufactured and the other British, although the British made one has had some German additions over the years - probably as a result of a broken top half. As you can see from the photo, one has a longer glass filter thingy. I took the best bits from each to make a perfect unit for use as the coffee maker.

Getting more used to its operation and am now an ardent fan. We've upped the dosage to 2 tablespoons of coarse-ground coffee per person, which seems somewhat extravagant, but necessary. Still need to find some alcohol spirit to replace the meths - nowhere around here seems to stock it.

I also have a fully functional ride-on-mower now. Welding blokey came good on Friday and effected the repair admirably under remote instruction for £30. No more shredded cutting deck belts.

Spent yesterday mainlining coffee and mowing everything in sight, including making paths for the dog walkers out on the common.


5 comments:

Dronski said...

I've got a 5lt can - new and unopened if you're across this way at all - doubt if they'll courier it even if it was worth it. If you're more desperate try a shop that does fondue stuff - right up your street I should think...literally and figuratively! :-)

Chairman Bill said...

Local caravan place didn't seem to know what I was talking about and the local fishing, shooting and hunting shop did't sell any. Fondue? Us? You must be joking.

Dronski said...

Hmmm - yes, it seems more complicated than I remember. I bought a couple of gallons last time I was in France because they assume that the winos will drink wine so don't require any licensing. However...I'll dig more - I'm sure I have seen it on marine sites in the UK....about 10X the price of meths,denaturally!


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/excise-notice-473-production-distribution-and-use-of-denatured-alcohol/excise-notice-473-production-distribution-and-use-of-denatured-alcohol

Chairman Bill said...

I feel home-brew coming on.

Geo. said...

Apparently bioethanol (Biola) burns cleaner than methylated spirits. Plenty on Amazon UK.
...or there's a joker called Tosh who may be able to supply various types of inflammable liquids.