Gas Hob Puzzle

[TerryA]

I have a simple two burner hob fitted in a metal enclosure. The metal reinforced flexible gas pipe arrives at the back of the hob coming up through the floor of the enclosure. The pipe is corroded and needs to be replaced. I can't reach the union between the hob and the pipe from the top so I thought to lift out the hob, but it's bolted to the bottom of the enclosure front and back . I then thought to take out the whole enclosure and unbolt the hob from it. But the sides of the hob overhang the bolt heads so while I can remove the nuts from below I have no chance of refitting and tightening the bolts again. Is there a way around this or am I forced to dismantle the hob completely?

 

[rogerthebodger]

You could replace the bolts with bog head bolts which are screwed in place to prevent then turning when refitting the nuts from underneath.

 

[SimpleSailor]

I have a simple two burner hob fitted in a metal enclosure. The metal reinforced flexible gas pipe arrives at the back of the hob coming up through the floor of the enclosure. The pipe is corroded and needs to be replaced. I can't reach the union between the hob and the pipe from the top so I thought to lift out the hob, but it's bolted to the bottom of the enclosure front and back . I then thought to take out the whole enclosure and unbolt the hob from it. But the sides of the hob overhang the bolt heads so while I can remove the nuts from below I have no chance of refitting and tightening the bolts again. Is there a way around this or am I forced to dismantle the hob completely?

Think. How did they put it in, in the first place?

 

[MontyMariner]

From how you describe it, I would unscrew the nuts underneath but leave them at the end of the thread, then tap the bolts up with a hammer, each bolt a bit at a time. When you can't tap up any more, take off nuts and prize the assembly out.
Re assembly - leave bolts in place and tap down on a flat bar over the bolt.

 

[Binnacle]

Think. How did they put it in, in the first place?

OP is asking a question to solve a problem. It's pretty obvious he doesn't need a supererogatory question .

 

[Corribee Boy]

OP is asking a question to solve a problem. It's pretty obvious he doesn't need a supererogatory question .

Mind you, understanding how it went in would be fairly fundamental to solving the problem, so not so super err err wot you said.

 

[TerryA]

The nuts are nyloc so not easy to fit unless the bolt is held still. The heads aren't reachable from above as far as I can see so perhaps some special tool was used. I don't fancy trying to dismantle the hob as the two screws I did loosen were ridulously tight and it only takes one mangled head for a major problem. So I'm going to try to undo the nuts, remove the hob and take it from there. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[alan_d]

It may not be the answer in this particular case, but on many occasions when I have got stuck like this the answer has been to dismantle further, often after I have wasted a lot of time and ingenuity trying to avoid doing so.

 

[MontyMariner]

The heads aren't reachable from above as far as I can see so perhaps some special tool was used.

A picture or two is often helpful

 

[TerryA]

Problem solved. Undid the nuts and removed hob. The bolts were fixed in place by locking nuts, invisible underneath, so no problems in replacing the hob. Just got to crawl into the space underneath and fit the new pipework and test point......

 

[SimpleSailor]

Problem solved. Undid the nuts and removed hob. The bolts were fixed in place by locking nuts, invisible underneath, so no problems in replacing the hob. Just got to crawl into the space underneath and fit the new pipework and test point......

Well done. BTW I was not being funny in previous post. What went in last must come out first. Always pays to think about how it was put together.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Hidden fasteners put in by a previous owner can be difficult to figgier out sometimes