Coffee Pot has been out of action now for a couple of years, and with some successes in moving the new boiler project forward, it is pleasing to report some progress.
A request for a commercial budget price for design and build of a new boiler resulted in a quote of $140,000. As a result a decision has been made to attempt to do it for substantially less than that if at all possible.
Initial discussions with a major local company indicated that they would do the actual fabrication, carried out as a sponsorship deal.
A contact who runs his own engineering design firm, has generously provided, free of charge, the structural design, together with preliminary drawings. It is proposed that the new boiler will be all steel, welded fabrication, necessitating that it be built to the current codes and standards.
The next step was to find a person capable and certified to carry out a check of the design to ensure that it meets the relevant standards. Such a person has been found and engaged, and we are now in the verification phase. Once that has been completed we should be in a position to register the design with government.
At that time, we will also begin to dismantle the current boiler in order that final detailed drawings reflect the actual size of fittings etc, some of which are not readily accessible at present.
All work completed to date has been done voluntarily at no charge, therefore short timelines are not enforceable.
Note: The above update is an extract of an article published in the Pichi Richi Patter, Spring 2008 edition. Fundraising for the replacement boiler to date has been by way of a major lottery during 2007 and donations from Society Members and the public, including those from renowned Australian aviator Mr R.H. (Dick) Smith AO as previously acknowledged.