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richi

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Everything posted by richi

  1. richi
    And then there are the rules-of-thumb that trip people up all the time. Case in point: My phone line is almost 3 km long, yet I achieve a consistent, low-error-rate 17.5 Mb/s ADSL2+ downstream sync. I've lost count of the number of keyboard jockeys, ISP reps, and OpenReach engineers who've told me that's simply impossible and I've either misread the speed or my line isn't anywhere near that long.
  2. richi
    I have some training in information theory. I can assure you that xDSL is much closer to alchemy. However, the new gigabit (ish) G.fast is the purest witchcraft. Mind you, I always maintained V.90 56K modems were impossible, so what would I know?
  3. richi
    I have a 1-metre, USB-powered strip, marketed as a behind-the-TV bias light (I'd link to it, but the product is no longer available). For what it's worth, this product retains its settings.
  4. richi
    I was dubious too, but the guy certainly seemed to know his onions, and had decades of experience. I didn't PVA mine, because I wanted "proper" plaster.
  5. richi
    An alternative to a conventional parge coat is to paint a 25% PVA solution (a tip given to me by the Passivhaus-savvy brickie who bought our old garage door)
  6. richi
    I got a Stiebel Eltron DHC8 -- not a boiling-water tap, but it's tankless.
  7. richi
    Consider plumbing a phosphate doser on the inlet feed, like a Combimate.
  8. richi
    Installer magazine has a half-decent summary. To summarise the summary of the summary: It will require a new minimum performance standard of 92% ErP, and will require people fitting new boilers to include one of the following in the system: Flue gas heat recovery systems Weather Compensation Load Compensation Smart controls featuring automation and optimisation functions Plus another £3.6 billion of investment in Energy Company Obligation (ECO).
  9. richi
    It probably depends how much (ahem) faecal matter is dissolved in the water. Sorry if anyone's having their lunch right now...
  10. richi
    Previously on Buildhub... ...and...
  11. richi
    Plus an additional 6p for the grid electricity you don't use (assuming 50% @ 12p/kW∙h)
  12. richi
    That is good to know. Thank you, @Dudda!
  13. richi
    Here in RG27, the water is as hard as annealed nails. We pay about £130/year (metered) for water only. I use a whole-house-plumbed CombiMate (phosphate dosing, which doesn't "soften" the water, but it does stop the crud from sticking).
  14. richi
    If you like antique phones. Or you're not using dangly filters. Has there been a phone sold in the past 20 years that doesn't include its own ring-gen? I always disconnect the ring wire these days, to help balance for xDSL.
  15. richi
    For downlights, I love the Collingwood H2 Pro 700 -- they dim down to a flicker-free spark of light. For dimmers, the Zano ZBAR remote dimmer works well, allowing multi-point dimming from any switch position. I use it with retractive up/down switches, but you can also do it with conventional-looking rotary controls. Either way, you just use regular 3&earth.
  16. richi
    Standard RJ11 phone plugs will fit into RJ45 sockets. You just need BT-to-RJ11 cables, which are widely available. For example, at Amazon (as usual, any tiny kickback goes to our favourite dog-rescue charity)
  17. richi
    Surely you want your plasterwork done first? Or am I misunderstanding the question?
  18. richi
    Oh, memories! Is the Wink still there?
  19. richi
    Or there's Moduloft (not a recommendation; you know as much as I do):
  20. richi
    Ask yourself why you would choose to give them access to your property, given you're in dispute with them. It's a simple matter to rescind the Council's implied right of access to your land, as @JSHarris would confirm.
  21. richi
    Easier said than done when the weather forecast was as it was back then!
  22. richi
    So here's my next dumb question about oil boilers: What's the best way to deal with water contamination? Background: A few peoples in my rural-ish area got caught out this winter with in-tank condensation causing too much water at the bottom of their tanks (it gets above the bottom of the inlet and then kills the pump). Are the scavenger-on-a-string devices any good?
  23. richi
    That awful phrase "think outside the box" was invented for this very occasion!
  24. richi
    @JSHarris, you say everything grinds to a halt when it's paging. Does that mean you've forced the pagefile to be on a spinning-rust drive, rather than the SSD? If so, I'd advise against tweaking it: With very few exceptions, the best place for the pagefile is the SSD. Just let Windows manage it.
  25. richi
    The nice people who run our oil syndicate swear by additives for reducing soot, etc. They recommend Exocet, but I've also heard good things about NBS Phoenix. What's the one, true thinking? Useful or snake oil?
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