markharro

I have a similar enquiry - I am thinking of a compost toilet - you can get a kit here to make one yourself for a few £100 - https://trobolo.com/gb/composting-toilet-inserts/ I would put it in a shed we already have. The thing is a quick look at hire sites for proper chemical portable toilets and you see talk of compliance with HSE regs. Would a compost toilet and alcohol gel to clean hands be a problem in that regard? thanks

Thanks - I had thought though that they were suggesting that this was a new class of product?

Anyone seen this and can comment on whether it might be a viable/cheaper source for ventilation and hot water in a passive house build? https://ventive.co.uk/products/home/

I too am thinking about a self instal in due course. I have caught a whiff of chat of rising PV panel prices coming later this year......is there an argument to buy now even though I wouldn't instal for at least a year? We will have lots of roof space so any tips of sourcing cheap/second hand lower wattage panels? thanks.

Thanks for this - Nordvest and Norrsken are new to me. I've have actually just found another source - Katzbeck from https://www.phstore.co.uk/katzbeck-windows-and-doors Anyone know about them or used them? thanks

Some good food for thought here. Prob ditch the spa tub idea. On the shower jet idea, presumably there are the same issues - wiring and a pump? Would there not be a major issues with accessing a pump however if/when it broke?

This will be on the first floor of our new house. Its not a huge space but enough for a bath and decent sized shower and WC and basin. We are hoping to get planning permission imminently and I am just applying my mind to the building warrant process and in particular what we need to think about asking the architect to include in terms of - plumbing/electrics/flooring etc. What thoughts we have had so far have centred on the following - we will prob end up fitting a "normal" bath but if we wanted the option for something with jets then presumably we would need to cater for relevant wiring for this? What about extra plumbing requirements? Similar for shower - presumably one with horizontal jets would require a pump and wiring to power? WC - my other half is keen on one with the built in washer - so presumably more plumbing and electricity? What about storage without making the space feel too cluttered? I think a wet room is possible on a first floor but does this need to be factored in at building warrant stage? How feasible is it to plan to instal standard cheap/2nd hand items of sanitary ware initially but have the option to upgrade these in time once the budget allows to the type of item I have listed? Can you plumb and wire for the stuff on the wish list and future proof in this way or will that raise issues? thanks

Apart from Green Building Store, Internorm and Rationel can anyone recommend any other suppliers of triple glazed PH rated windows? Ideally you have installed yourself and can speak from experience in terms of dealing with the company/cost etc? Thanks I should say that I am particularly interested in any Lift and Slide doors that have low profile frames but are still passive rated. For standard windows this is less of an issue. Also any tips on PH rated entrance doors would be useful thanks.

Update - it was an airlock.....attempts to blow this through with the cold feed in the bathroom failed miserably. I then remember that we only have mains pressure in the kitchen so tried there and not only managed to avoid soaking myself but cleared the block after a couple of tries.....thats a relief.

Thanks - tried this with the bath mixer but not getting any noise at all and no progress. Would putting the immersion on and heating the water help in any way?

Hello again...right i drained both tanks and siliconed the leak and then have refilled the attic tank. The cold taps in the bathroom now flow but nothing but minor dribbles from the hot tap. So next question - does this mean the hot tank is not yet filled? If so, how do I ensure it fills? Or is it maybe because I haven't turned the immersion on yet? I expect it is yet another basic numpty thing I am missing but it is kind of annoying as I really need a shower!

Ah ok got you on that. I opened the valve and there is water moving but I suspect that I need also turn off the valve from the main tank in the attic or all that will happen is that it will keep refilling the hot tank!?

Thanks Dave and excuse my ignorance again but if you are right and this is a drain valve do I just need to open that and then the hot water tank will empty without opening any sink taps etc?

Sorry thought I was finished but one more thing - The LSX stuff says to drain the tank before applying. So next question - how to cut off the cold feed to the tank. I Have attached a photo circling what I think is the valve I need to shut off but confirmation would be welcome? thanks

Thanks for that - I see there still is...Screwfix have it and highly reviewed, this looks like the solution. Thanks again for all help

Great sound advice and enforcing my own tuition that the time spent in trying to learn enough to avoid killing myself is probably far too high when compared to the cost of using a pro to do this stuff. I am now focused on two solutions - trying to stop the leak which seems to be from a water inlet? (photos to follow) and continue using the current system or alternatively getting an electrician to hook up with the needed new MCB etc. On the first option, I have tried tightening with a spanner but the nut is corroded in and more force will probably do more damage than good. If there any type of sealant or glue I could use around the thread that would withstand the water pressure? On option two...I will upload photos of the consumer unit..It looks to me that there is room for the required new MCB at the left hand end but would be pleased for an opinion on that. Thanks again.

Thanks everyone for their comments - in the end resetting the TV software let me then download the latest software update for it. That basically fixed the issue with the connection speed and iplayer now broadcasts in full 4k glory so all is well that ends well

Thanks - yes I have tried changing ports on the switch. The TV does get an internet connection so I have figured the cable from switch to TV is ok. I have actually managed to download a speed test app on the TV and it shows 2Mb/s as the download speed v 60 on the PC. Both connect into the same switch. No wonder why I cant stream 4K! Its quite a mystery. I am on Plusnet and use their router which must be at least 4 years old or so. I am actually expecting a new router from Plusnet any day - their updated model - so I maybe need to be patient and see if that makes a difference. In the meantime I decided to reset the TV to factory settings. It had not been allowing me to update the software previoulsy getting to about 5% max and then stalling but now having reset and run update again it looks like it might finally update - its around 40% now and moving so if this does update it will be interesting to see if it makes a difference Thanks for comments so far.

Our broadband has a download speed of around 60 having just upgraded it. From the router in the bedroom I have an ethernet feed to the lounge into a switch there and then various feeds into the TV, and a camera etc. Another feed from the router goes to an external wired camera. Another to a VOIP box. The final two go out into the garden and provision a shed and our garden office. There is at least 20 metres of CAT 6 cable I think from the router to the office. WHen it comes into the office it goes into another switch and from that we have wired feeds to a PC, a camera, a TV, a streaming hifi unit. The PC in this office room shows a download speed of around 60Mb/s. The 4k TV wired to the same switch is the issue. It simply refuses to stream iplayer at 4k. It is a new LG OLED that is a year old. I just dont understand why there is a problem when I get the speed I do at the PC which feeds from the same switch. Is there any obvious issue anyone can identify or anything I can try to diagnose the issue? thanks

On that I dont have the technical knowledge to comment. We are building a passive house which may or may not have an ASHP. At the moment the issue is space more than anything else. Its not really an option to put in a new tank and there would then be a need to take it out and store during the build. Pretty happy I can connect up the cold water feed and from what others have said it cant be rocket science to turn off the cold feed to the water tank. The electrics are the issue. I need to be happy I can isolate the consumer unit without killing myself (having watched a few Youtubes now I think I can. But I am still unclear whether I can simply unwire the feed to the immersion and then use the empty terminals to wire in a new cable of sufficient rating (what would that be?) that goes to the pull cord isolator and then on to the shower? Or is the compromise to do all of it apart from the connection to the consumer unit and then pay an electrician to that bit?

Thanks for the reply. I wondered about the cable and can easily replace it with a heavier duty. A basic question but where does the cold water supply normally enter the tank - at the top?

We have an all electric house with an old copper water tank with immersion. It has recently sprung some sort of leak although hard to see where through all the old foam insulation. Anyway this got me thinking about whether to simply disconnect it and instal an instant shower. I should explain that we have been used to boiling water on the cooker to do the dishes etc rather than using the immersion as a matter of course and we hopefully only have another 6 months or so in this house before its demolished and we rebuild so fine to put up with minor hardships. So the question is could I instal something like this myself. I could easily connect the cold water feed but what I dont understand is how to shut down the tank and isolate it so that we solve the leaking issue. This and whether that will create any issues I am unaware of. There is also the issue of the electric. The immersion appears to run from an RCD on the consumer unit so I figured that is we decommission the tank I could redirect the cable that currently goes to the immersion - via the 2 pole isolator switch - to the shower. It would probably be a 8.5kw shower and from youtubing I saw a reference to needing a minimum 80A fuse in the consumer unit I think. From what I can make out our one appears to have a 60A. Would that be a deal breaker?

I am experimenting with Apple Homekit which no-one has mentioned yet. I have bought a Homepod mini, a smartplug, a bulb and a door opening sensor and got them all set up and working very well over Thread in the one room they are installed in. Bouyed by the impressive performance - ie instant and consistent activation I bought another bulb and a couple of further door sensors for our two outbuildings. The bulb - in an adjacent room - seems to be linked into the Thread mesh now and working. The two door sensors however appear to be too far away to join the mesh. So I will probably need to buy at least one ore smartplug to extend the mesh and I am hoping that will be enough to bring these sensors into the overall network. I am mainly interested atm in building a security system over Thread - it is looking promising so far - but down the line hope to instal Thread enabled smoke and heat dectectors and automated blinds.

How do you configure this Dave? Say you wanted 12kWp in total and had 4 set up in a standard DNO max configuration what do you do with the other 8? A second string I can understand but what type of battery and how do you prevent the battery becoming overcharged if this string cant export?

Thanks - thats just what I had been looking for - now just need to work out which is the current satellite!