Gone West

Your picture showed very poor farming practice and not something I've seen since living down here. As it shows poor farming practice it will be in a very small minority of cases and not representative of beef farming in Cornwall. So why make the comment you did about beef farming in Cornwall? If you really think importing beef from Australia or the Americas full of growth hormone and antibiotics is better than local beef, that's fine, but you won't convince me.

Very true. The first time I converted a window to French doors, back in the nineties, I was so pleased. I did have my helper.

Here is a picture of the field next to my garden. In this part of the country a good farmer takes cattle in for the winter to stop the fields being damaged by the heavy animals and puts sheep in. Showing that picture, to me, proves you are clutching at straws and have lost the arguement.

The sun provides most of the energy. Grass for around half the year and either hay, haylage or silage for the other half plus some cattle feed.

So I guess that means worse working conditions and animal welfare. So I guess that means worse working conditions and animal welfare, as it's not been mentioned. So not comparing like with like. There is a small abbatoir on the outskirts of the village which is used by the local farmers for slaughtering their cattle and sheep. I can buy cuts of beef or lamb directly from the farmer a couple of hundreds metres down the road. The cattle and sheep were kept in the fields adjacent to my garden. So the meat would have travelled a couple of miles maximum. You won't convince me that buying meat from the other side of the world is better for me or the planet.

I used an asbestos test kit from Amazon a few years ago. The results came back within a few days and were as I suspected.

I'm just tired, and wishing I was 35 again.

It's a simple job 😃. https://www.aeg.co.uk/support/support-articles/cooking/ovens/how-to-use-pyrolytic-cleaning-on-your-aeg-oven/

The same for me. After I did all the paperwork for him as well.

When I was modelling my last house, I ran my house design through the PHPP with a range of air infiltration values to see what the effect would be. Pressurisation Test Result (ACH) Specific Space Heating Demand (kWh/m2a) 0.2 12.1 0.4 12.3 0.6 12.5 0.8 12.7 1.0 12.9 2.0 14.0

A friend used oxalic acid to remove rust marks from timber. I used to use phosphoric acid to clean rust from car parts. Don't know what the affect would be on a wall tile though.

I had a Secoh air pump in my plant and when a diaphragm split it would disconnect the power and so turn the pump off. I soon learnt to change the diaphragms every few years so I didn't have any nasty surprises in the middle of winter. Maintenance kits are easy to come by.

You can buy external AAVs. https://www.floplast.co.uk/product/external-air-admittance-valve

I designed, installed and commissioned the MVHR in my PH. I drew up all the required commissioning paperwork for the BCO, who wasn't interested and didn't want to inspect it. It was a few years ago, and we are in England, so things might be different.

We dismantled a timber frame bungalow and all the timber was taken via Freecycle and Freegle.

Welcome and good luck with your projects. If you don't already know about Polycrub, this might interest you. https://www.polycrub.co.uk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKgCyvjay9Q

Statistics needs data. Where do I get data on the effects of different types of size and shape of the tank and different size, type and position of the heating coil in the tank, on the efficient extraction of heat from the boiler output. So the boiler can run in condensing mode to fill most of the tank with useable hot water for heating radiators.

Yes that's one consideration of many, I think. Also, size and shape of the tank. Size, type and position of the heating coil. PHE or coil for DHW. The problem, when there are many variables, is knowing the effects of one of the variables on the others.

It would be to allow me to run the oil boiler as efficiently as possible.

What would be the most reliable way of setting up an oil boiler and a thermal store so the boiler condenses most of the time. The radiators would be directly linked to the thermal store.

From the Grant installation manual. To achieve the maximum efficiency possible from the Grant Vortex boiler, the heating system should be designed to the following parameters: RADIATORS: • Flow temperature 70°C • Return temperature 50°C • Differential 20°C Size radiators with a mean water temperature of 60°C. Design system controls with programmable room thermostats or use weather compensating controls to maintain return temperatures below 55°C. The use of a pipe thermostat is recommended to control the return temperature when using weather compensating controls. ! NOTE ! The boiler should not be allowed to operate with return temperatures of less than 40°C when the system is up to temperature.

My old oil fired Rayburn is at best 70% efficient. If I changed it for a new condensing oil boiler feeding a thermal store I should improve that to 90%. That alone would be a significant reduction in heating costs. If I managed to carry out all the insulation and air tightness improvements I want to do, I could more than halve the oil usage.

What do you do with all the electricity in the summer when you don't need a large tank of hot water?

Yup, I used to change the diaphragm on my Secoh pump every three years or so. I could then do it at my leisure rather than when it broke.

Very true.