MikeSharp01

Don't listen to him on this one - his son is at the University of Sussex (The University of East Sussex would need to be in East Sussex but it isn't cos it does not exist, yet, although curiously the University of Sussex is no longer in Sussex but in Brighton - since it became a city!) On other matters - welding, tiling, bathroom design / layout /modelling and many other interesting things you should listen to him. Welcome to THE forum.

@newhomeIs the temp gauge above the silver pump (on the heat exchanger to thermal store circuit) the one that now only goes to 50 when it used to go to 60? [Or is the temp dial on another cicuit I cannot make out from the photo?] Think I have it I can see the other temp gauge now I am on my PC. What temperature does the first temp gauge, mentioned above, get to?

As I understand it the second meter is the economy 2000 meter and is the one that supplies the boiler and is the one that takes the three phase electricity into the boiler. Somewhere on that meter, or very close to it in a separate box will be a switch that is controlled by the electric company and is used to tell your system that the electricity is cheap. It would be usual to use that switch to control the boiler so it only runs when you have cheap electricity. Can you photo the meter, perhaps you have I think I may have missed a bit of this series today, so we can see because we need to work out if that switch is still being used or if the timer, fitted as you described, is running it. If they are both in the circuit then the boiler will only run when the electric company switch is on and the timer is on. If just the timer is in control hen as as @ProDave says you may or may not be using cheap electricity as it (the timer) knows nothing about the cheap rate times.

Brilliant post Nick - love the TLA (Three letter abbreviation) explanations. It really is quite a system is it not.

Yes but if you are unsure what you are looking at how would you know definitely not to touch.

Relay is an electric switch. It, usually takes a very small, tiny, amount of electricily to turn a device that uses a large amount of electricity on and or off.

Know what you mean.

3 phase just means you effectivey have three normal mains connections. To run 24 kilowatt boiler a single phase - that most of us have, will not be sufficient. It also means that the wiring from meter to boiler needs to be treated with care as 3 phase is more lethal than single phase.

Just wondering if any of the SE chapter of the buildhub possie is going to the FFX event this weekend. I will but am flexible on the day. Might be an opportunity to chew the fat over a coffee?

Hi Newhome. Just to help a bit a couple of bits of jargon busting might help. Fellow build hubbers, including me, need to explain the jargon. Consumer unit = fuse box (most likely , near your meter.) This will have the supply companies switch that says cheap power is available and that should turn the boiler on although the boiler also seems to have its own timer. 0V dry contact also known as as a Volt free contact is just a switch.

This may help http://www.dedicatedpressuresystemsltd.co.uk/systems/files/Install 1271-3.htm

It was the reassuring Welshman that asked @newhome to prepare the post for the rest of us. I am just dusting off my books on oil refineries to see if I can find anything quite as complicated to compare it all to. We need to make a schematic, of all this and get the parts labelled so it starts to make some sense. Fab challenge though!

Hi Caliwag. Have you looked at putting it on amazon as an ebook. Get to millions instantly. Here is the link https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/

It is mdpe out of the meter then the 90 deg bend connects to the lead pipe. I guess I was wondering what I might find if I undo the white nut, will the pipe end be damaged / have a olive on it or just be ready to connect my 25mm dia mdpe straight on?

Just working, in the drizzle that is Whitstable today, on re routing the water from the meter to the utilities building. Just dug down to find the existing pipe and found it is lead going into 25mm MDPE. See pic My question is / are two fold. 1 can I just unscrew the connection to the blue pipe coming out of the meter and make my new connection or do I need to go bacl to the meter itself? Also I correct in assuming I can do this myself or are there regs I should be reading?

I have a Leica rotating laser level which is great for levels but I chose not to buy the one that can do slopes automatically which I now wish I had. Also have a total station which is excellent but the bosch laser range finder is almost as good at measuring distance as it is but as said above you cannot see the dot at any distance outside in the sun. That is where the TS is so good as you look through the scope line the cross wire up and it measures everything even taking the curvature of the earth into account if you want it to. The only draw back is the 1000 page manual and all the post processing you have to do to line everything up. I have now created a fixed base point I can bolt it on and put several backsight targets up so I can be sure where it is and what its orienation is.

Solid state relays are the answer. Something like this lot: https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Solid-State-Relays/181695/bn_16570619 Or for breadboarding / playing (only 2A) these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hot-8-Channel-5V-Solid-State-Relay-Module-Board-OMRON-SSR-4-With-Led/302586969170?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D49925%26meid%3Db0244930856d42b19661aa2efbd3e9a7%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D152863158864%26itm%3D302586969170&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

One possible thing is your right to light (not a view). If their extension shades any of your windows, and judging by the little compass in the top of your screen you appear to be North of them so perhaps in the evening, sun low, the shadow will fall so much earlier, then you may well have a recourse to right to light legislation. The council do not have to take this into account when granting planning permission but you can go after them for a chunk of money to the value of the loss of amenity and it can be substantial or even require them to take it down. Bit more info here. Depending on your relationship with your neighbours you could also do some work in the bottom your garden, EG put your own fence up fractionally inside your boundary, erect a shed a right up against the boundary or some such.

Assuming you really - really want to do this you will need to show actual losses incurred by you and how you started proceedings in week 9, or before because otherwise the other side could argue that you did not inform them that you had started to incur additional costs / accrue losses so they took this as meaning you were in no hurry as it were, and did not wish to enforce the end of contract date - which technically you could have done at that point and only paid for QSed' works completed up to that point. Everywhere else there are dragons I suspect. My advice would be to just talk to them and see if you can meet anywhere in the middle, assuming you still have any sort of relationship.

I suppose that in the end they are all just 'machines for living' in so no individuality there then but once you get into the details, site, house size, shape, orientation, actual U values and so on it all gets very different and because people here are pushing the limits in many places the differences will increasingly small as the 'S' curve reaches its limit (carrying capacity) and we all be using the same technologies to achieve our 'individual' dream.

For me stress is about feeling something is out of control - taking / getting control is the stress reducing strategy I use. In the past I have used people and resources connected to www.isma.org.uk Loads of resources. For the building trade there was a survey by the CIOB back in 2006 - so long in the tooth now but nonetheless interesting HERE.

I have a friend with an explosives licence - she might be able to 'create' a feature in which to run the pipe!

Wheels within wheels.

Would that be a top hat - which would wonderfully accommdate the hair potentially, pardon the pun, standing on end.

Make a feature of it!