Finally took the plunge this morning as the sun is out and the forecast is reasonable and whipped the cover off the Triton ready for a UK jaunt in a couple of weeks' time.

As usual, the first task was to turn on the gas and check that the fridge and fire still worked. What a faff I had. The fridge took ages to purge the air from the pipework and I was kneeling there pressing the gas knob and clicking the igniter for ages before it suddenly lit and mercifully stayed on.

The fire was another matter altogether. Normally when I turn the gas on, I can hear the igniter clicking as it sparks but it was dead as a dodo today despite having a new battery (tested as 'excellent') fitted by JohnE last year. With the front of the fire off I was amazed at the dust, fluff and general muck inside. Where does it all come from?

A bit of judicious waggling of the wires to the gas valve/igniter unit and suddenly the clicking started and the gas lit. Phew!

We only use gas as a backup as we always use EHU but it is as well to check that all is working correctly before setting off for a break, just in case.

Down at the bottom of the front panel there are two rectangular cut-outs on the edge that faces the body of the fire. The mistake I made before I learnt the knack was that I kept trying to fit the two lugs on the fire body into these holes.

The bottom edge of the fire front simply rests on top of these lugs and the fire front is then pressed back into place so that the two spring clips engage at the top.

One thing to be careful of though. My fire is fitted with ducted air and the fan control rotary switch at the top left is connected by means of a plug-in terminal block. Be careful when offering the fire front up to the body not to short any of the wires onto the metal otherwise you will blow the fuse. I may be wrong on this but I seem to recall this stopping the two taps from working too.

Been there, done it, got the T-shirt.

I rechecked the fire this morning and while it and the fridge both lit first go, the fire front was a bit wobbly so I decided to investigate further.

Gas fire03.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

The above picture shows the lower lug on the fire frame on which the bottom of the fire front rests. (Top right of the picture)

Gas fire04.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

Here you can see the terminal block that attaches to the fan speed control knob and the sharp-edged metal heat shield through which the cable passes. The thin white wire on mine was cut through to the core showing where the circuit had shorted out. I wrapped the cable in insulating tape bore refitting it.

Gas fire05.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

This is one of the bent wire clips that retains the fire front and, as Andy suggested yesterday, had become distorted over the years. When the fire front is replaced, these two clips go through oblong holes in the frame and it is the innermost downward bend in the wire that springs behind the frame holding it in place. To get mine to attach correctly I had first to straighten out the frame and then reshape the wire to match the one on the other side which was working fine. It is difficult to bend the wire as access is restricted and the metal has been heat treated in some way.

When refitting the fire front I had to give it a couple of good whacks with the heel of my hand before it clicked into place. Fingers crossed it stays in place.