jpadie

superb. will look out for them and maybe even swap them out the next time I have a free Sunday. I didn't like the jaggedy edges of the last lot either!

job is done, but i am eager to learn - what pattresses (for surface applications) are less hated?

Hello all I have a small mini-split R290 heat pump in Surrey. No heat being expelled at the indoor unit but the larger hose leading from the outdoor unit is warming. Probably to c 35C - I will measure today. I don't often use the heat pump after commissioning before the Summer (it worked then) but have needed some heat the last few days! I'm not sure what the pressures should be with R290. Compressor off I am measuring 5bar at ambient 9C. Compressor on after 5 mins, the pressure is 5.2bar. After 60 minutes the pressure increases to 8.3 bar. the vendor support has been less than marvellous and ducks the questions about target pressures, recharge steps (i.e. into vacuum or not) etc. the total charge is 0.32Kg for a 4.5m hose run (each way). can anyone help with the diagnostics? My guess is low charge as one of the flare joints is greasy (the propane odorant perhaps) - however the flare joint is supposed not to be torqued up too heavily and it is pretty tight (no movement with a. 10" wrench and moderate force). and if this is a low charge scenario can anyone help with target pressures at ambient and other info useful for recharging? I could vent the propane and recharge based on weight of propane but that seems unnecessarily wasteful. lastly (for a non HVAC engineer) I'd appreciate some guidance on how to "unleak" flare joints! These are factory made joints by the way. thanks in advance Justin

I'm using some Screwfix surface mounted pattress boxes to add some sockets to a ring main in the garage. These are they. The manufacturer data that came with them says to use rubber grommets for the knockouts. But LAP don't make any such grommets and I've not idea how they would fit to the knockouts for flat cable. Any thoughts on these? Are they a regs requirement? Could I just fill the 1mm gaps around the cable with silicon or another filler? I think the plastic is far weaker than outer insulation on 2.5 t&e so I can't see abrasion being a big issue.

I am still on the fence about this! I started building a bigger door out of ply and found that every board had warped beyond where it would straighten up if clamped to a straight edge, glued and pinned. So off to Wickes to buy a cheap premade door. Which obviously cannot be matched for the small cupboard. So 'sameness' is no longer a criterion. I'm thinking next of maybe making a hidden door with double usage as a book case.

Hello all I have a cupboard space which takes an immersion heater. I made the lining last night and have it on the list today to fit the lining to the opening. But woke in the middle of the night realising that there is inadequate clearance to remove and replace the immersion if the opening is line on both sides. The rough opening is 600mm at its widest. On one side is a load bearing wall and on the other is a perpendicular stud wall. Both sides of the opening have studs. I was thinking about whether I could solve the conundrum but lining only the top and the hinge side of the door? There would then be no jam on the right side and I would use a ball or magnet catch on the top of the lining to keep the door shut. Can that work? Any bear traps to consider?

Same issue whatever the depth setting. I've stripped it down and can see that there was a misalignment of the micro switch. Just have to work out where to out the wee L shaped piece and watch spring that were ejected when I undid the grip housing!

Hello all I've an old paslode first fix nail gun that is not firing reliably. It feels like the issue is related to the safety switch engagement. If I manually pull back the slide it will fire. Same if I jam the gun against the wood. But otherwise not. I do get the gas and the fan coming on as expected though. Any tips what to look for before I strip it down? Thanks Justin

This is for a garden room. There are pressure limiting valves in the system before the cold leaves the main house. The immersion is mainly for the shower. The shower cold water feed comes from the balanced cold on the inlet group. The inlet group has an nrv and a 3bar pressure limiting valve as well as an outlet for the expansion vessel.

hello all i've got a 120L unvented cylinder with immersion elements that has 22mm feeds. the instructions for plumbing it in are ambiguous but the preference is to have 22mm pipe work. It does say that 15mm is satisfactory if the mains pressure is ok. what's the best way to do this? is it to go from 15 to 22 where the cold comes in and then plumb the security group and cold feed in 22mm? and idem the hot outlet: go from 22mm to a 22mmT and then to two reductions to 15mm? thanks.

Nope. Never have. Hence me asking here! Thanks!

Fair comment. Heating to 43C would reduce the flow rate a bit further.

Existing hot water is 30m away. This is for a garden room. Big question is whether you can get a proper shower out of one of these units.

I've got a small shower room that won't be used too often. I was going to put a 120l tank there and still can but have found it's a bit of a tight fit. I was thinking of changing tack and using an instantaneous hot water system. Such as the Stiebel Eltron DCE-S 10/12 Plus or similar. Main concern I've got is the flow rate and whether their quoted flow rate of 38C water at 6.8l/m is adequate for a normal shower. I guess at this temp a mixer tap will be drawing purely from the hot feed. What's your experience of these things?

Yes. Absolutely this was requested for 48 hrs pre installation.

I've got a couple of other people in the household and will set them to it this afternoon!

Just that they should be stored in their packaging and under cover. But how do I prove that I've kept them that way?

Thank you both. These are engineered strand woven boards. I doubt the supplier will accept the returns as I've had them in their boxes for 4 months in the garage. If new boards are needed such is life. Will have to wait until I'm back in work and can afford it.

Hello all I'm hitting a stumbling block... I'm trying to lay some bamboo hardwood in a small (12 sqm) room. Try as I might I cannot get a plank to mate with another plank (1.5m). I can get small offcuts to mate but nothing plank size. Tapping with offcuts (doctored to stop stress on the tongues) does little. Using an S brace and smacking with a hammer does even less. Even weighing in with a proper welly isn't working. The boards just sit an an uncomfortable angle. Standing on them (a svelte 90kg) does nothing other than occasionally pushing them apart. I have noticed that few of the planks are actually flat. Nearly all are bowed despite being left in their packaging on the flat since delivery Is there any wisdom that you good people can share as to how to get these things together?

Thanks. I think I can make lime putty. Or buy it from nearby. Wil post back with results when I get around to this job....

Part of the flue is connected to an old bread oven that's now bricked up. The spigot you see is the feed from the oil boiler. The flue then goes into a chimney stack. Going back to the advice on lime mix, before I start this work was the intent that it was just a lime and sand mix or adding lime to a sand and cement mix? I think one needs a hydrated lime?

Yup. It's newspaper. I'm looking forward to seeing the date when I take it out. Its not a waste pipe in fact. It's a flue from an oil burner. Gets a little toasty which is why I'm hesitant to use spray foam to fill the gap before rendering.

i doubt the damp problem will ever go in a house this old (and listed). but it's no worse now than over the last decade. it's quite possible that someone did a job with a mortar - there was a polish builder here for a while who was a decent chap but had never worked with lime. oddly i saw something similar on grand designs, brickie had never worked with lime so did everything as a concrete/mortar. thanks for the advice! I've got some mapei primer that might work as a bonding agent and make the job a bit quicker. i will have a read of the package once I find my specs.

Hello all There's some bald patches in a bathroom of a late 16th century cottage that needs some tlc. Not sure how original the brickwork is! Any advice on plastering this? Would a lime render be best? Pics at this link as they were too big for the site: https://photos.app.goo.gl/H3aiCWh5wWqrwohG7 tia Justin

Amazingly it all worked! The rotor was in perfect condition and the oil still clear and non viscous. Not bad for 15 years under water. Hopefully a new lease of life for a few more years