SLUICE GATE FAILURE.
Last summer during the drought we discovered that the wooden sluice gate, at the side of the cascade, that controls the level of water in the headrace and allows us to use the mill was starting to rot. It was not only the bottom of the actual gate that was showing signs of rot, but also the wooden guides at the side were also rotting at the bottom. This meant that when closed water was leaking under the gate and also around the sides and in drought conditions we were unable to mill, because we couldn’t get the water level high enough to drive the wheel.
THE TEMPORARY REPAIR TO THE BOTTOM OF THE GATE.
We overcame the problem temporarily with some plastic sheeting and pallet boards. After a bit of research we decided a new gate was needed and that Larch was probably the best wood to make a new one from. We eventually sourced some suitable wood from a local sawmill. However, because replacing the uprights would require access to the sluice we could only replace it when the headrace water level is low. By the time we received the timber and had done as much preparation as possible it had started raining!
We were unable to replace the gate over the winter, but the level of water was high enough that any loss around the gate was not sufficient to stop us milling.
Things came to a head last week when the bottom two boards of the gate broke off due to being rotten. Again the pallet wood and plastic sheeting was brought out to allow us to keep milling till we could get the replacement organised.
Tuesday saw us start to remove the old gate and its associated structure, and it soon became apparent that a lot of the wood was more rotten than we had thought.
ONE OF THE SIDE GUIDES AFTER REMOVAL .
Wednesday we started installing the new one. As usual with a building that is over 200 years old, things are not square but we managed to get the runners in and the gate made.
ONE OF THE NEW RUNNERS IN PLACE.
THE NEW SLUICE GATE, A RUBBER SEAL HAS BEEN PUT ON THE BOTTOM TO TRY AND REDUCE LEAKAGE.
THE GATE IN PLACE WITH THE SLIDERS AND THE HEAD STOCK IN PLACE.
THE GATE FITTED. JUST NEEDS THE RAM REPLACING.
The gate is now replaced, needs some work still around the sides to reduce the leakage. Hopefully this will last longer than 6 years.
Work continues at the mill, we need to look at the control gate that directs the water on to the wheel. This is now showing significant signs of leaking. Parts of the decking are also needing to be replaced again due to wood rotting.
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