The Refleks stove has now been heating Waiouru for 24 hours and the result is quite noticeable. There’s far less condensation, however we have lost the warmth from the wardrobes and lockers previously supplied by the Hurricane. The next test is to set the Hurricane to run for an hour in the morning and evening. Primarily to provide hot water, but also to warm the bedding and stored clothing. After that the plan is to reduce (if possible) the Refleks output temperature to a base comfort level (say 17°C) and allow the Hurricane to “top up” the temperature to 19°C.
Jan has purchased a trivet from Lakeland. It consists of two joined perforated metal discs and rests on top of the Refleks hotplate. It’s designed to diffuse the heat from the hotplate and prevent the contents of the pot resting on it from burning. Today she cooked a casserole on the stove and everything appeared to work well.
In the afternoon I went for a towpath walk towards Reading. The flooded fields to the south are now ice covered fields. The River Kennet in the foreground continues to have a strong flow.
Many of the local boaters have been preparing for the forecast cold weather by topping up on coal and wood. As I passed this boater he was chopping more firewood. No doubt there will be more snow tomorrow so the snowman can be finished!
We topped up Waiouru’s water tank this morning, but first the tap had to be unfrozen with hot water and then I had to remove the ice from the slot in the tank filler cap before it could be unscrewed. The toilet tank is empty and the diesel tanks full. Food stocks are also high, apart from the beer….. which is of concern! 
One of the local farmers has a field full of recently born lambs… all twins. I hope he has moved them into shelter today as I suspect they wouldn’t survive tonight’s snow and low temperatures out in the open.
The other task completed during the day was to practice some more splicing. Some months ago we purchased six thin tubular rubber side fenders, each came with a 2 metre length of yellow polypropylene rope. I’ve now spliced the six length into two six metre lengths of rope with a loop at one end.
We’re now prepared for the big freeze! 
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