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ProDave last won the day on March 10
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About ProDave
- Currently Viewing Topic: Mobile Phone Signal
- Birthday 03/09/1963
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About Me
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Self builder in the Highlands, see my blog here <a href="http://www.willowburn.net" rel="external nofollow">http://www.willowburn.net</a>
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Having now lived several years in a near passive house with it's low heating bills and constant comfortable internal temperature, my view of old houses like this has changed considerably. To properly upgrade it will cost a LOT of money. You either upgrade it, or pour lots of money into it every year in heating. I firmly believe that the market value of old inefficient properties like this should be much lower than a well performing house, to reflect either the high heating bills or the work needed to upgrade it. I am not saying don't buy it, but buy it with your eyes open, and I hope you are not the one owning it when the market finally wakes up and people realise poor performing houses really are worth less.
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New homes boarded up in Cornish village in planning row
ProDave replied to Alan Ambrose's topic in Housing Politics
What I got from this is the planners say they have to build so many "affordable" homes, which they can only do by subsidising those from the profit made on market value homes? Then the additional costs due to delays, interest and that retaining wall means even selling the market value homes, they could not afford to subsidise the "affordable" homes. And unless they can do that they can't sell the market value homes. Is that somewhere close to what happened? I have never been comfortable with the concept that private developers must subsidise "affordable" homes from the profits made on normal homes. -
It's the "system" built up around the BUS grant that forces a cartel to charge as they please. Perhaps the journalists would do better if they looked at an installation in detail, costed the equipment supplied, noted how many people and how long it took then ask "so how can you be charging £4K for 2 man days work"? (for example)
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ASHP with underfloor heating project question
ProDave replied to Trojan's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
Think again, at least 100mm PIR -
In a new build you should just fit hard wired, 3 core & earth between all of them. RF linking is really for retro fit to save taking up loads of floor boards to run interlink cables. Plenty of cheap Aico stuff on ebay but watch "replace by" dates.
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ASHP with underfloor heating project question
ProDave replied to Trojan's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
No 1 question, how are you going to provide enough insulation under your floor? That might be tricky in a flat. If you don't add lots of insulation and just fit some low profile UFH, you will be paying to heat the flat below you and they will be your best friends. -
Another noisy fan, my LG Therma V ASHP
ProDave replied to ProDave's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
The motor connections can be seen on my original picture if you enlarge it: RED: YM 310V DC That will be the main power (rectified 220V ac gives about that, it will be a bit over in the UK) Blue: GND I take that as power ground. Brown: VCC 15VDC I take that as power for the control electronics inside the motor. White: FG Functional Ground? Ground for the control electronics? Orange: 0-6.0VDC Probably speed demand input Violet: Reverse logic signal to tell it which way to rotate. When I do get around to opening the motor, I will take pictures. -
Before you do that, do a sanity check and replace the flow switch with any manual switch, even a standard light switch will do, and confirm the pump turns on and off and runs properly with no excess voltage drop anywhere.
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Another noisy fan, my LG Therma V ASHP
ProDave replied to ProDave's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
That's the plan but I would rather wait a few weeks until we are done with heating so there is less pressure in case something goes wrong. From what I know of this motor is the main body is plastic. The front where the spindle emerges is a metal plate held on by I think by 4 screws. I suspect the front bearing might be easy to access, but I suspect the rear bearing is pressed into the plastic housing so may be harder to extract and replace without breaking something. Disappointing that unlike other motors there are no details yet emerging of anyone repairing one. -
Another noisy fan, my LG Therma V ASHP
ProDave replied to ProDave's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
Yes I am leaning that way. There was only 1 review of the motor on alibaba and that was to say it arrived broken and they were not interested in resolving that. That does not encourage me to buy from there. My thinking is once the heating season is over I should be able to remove it, open it up, identify the bearings and put it back together in a day. IF anyone has replaced this motor and has the old one I would be interested in that to repair it off line so to speak? -
Another noisy fan, my LG Therma V ASHP
ProDave replied to ProDave's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
The HP was installed in mid 2018, so coming up to 6 years old. Yes it is disappointing but it has not yet "failed" I am hoping someone else who has had one fail might find this thread and let me know where they got a replacement, or did they replace the bearings. I have never used Alibaba so not sure whether to trust them or not, the worry being in some way it may not be the right thing and resolving that may not be easy. I generally only buy really cheap stuff from China on the basis I can afford to lose the money if something goes wrong. -
I have been aware of my ASHP getting more noisy than usual all winter. When a passing neighbour enquired today what the noise was, I thought it was time to have a look. It is the fan motor looks to have failing bearings. It's a sort of high pitched whine sound that varies with fan speed. It is not the compressor, that purrs as quiet as a quiet thing. So probably time to start looking for a sollution. Here is the fan motor: Googling the part number FMEC531LGB and the motor is available, most places seem to be charging between £250 and £300 but Alibaba have it for £150 with postage https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005003764026412.html I'm torn between buying a new motor, or trying to replace the bearings in the one I have. Trouble with that is it will take time to dismantle it, find the bearings, order them etc, all the while the ASHP will be out of action so that will have to wait until we have finished with heating. Or I might buy a new motor and then look at fixing the old one as a spare. I have not yet found anyone dismantling this exact motor so have no clue if it is easy or hard and if the bearings are obtainable.
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Cheap Building Merchants Recommendations?
ProDave replied to BTC Builder's topic in Costing & Estimating
Why so shallow? For our 5M span we have 300mm by 100mm posi joists at 600mm centres Same span downstairs has 300mm I beams at 400mm centres. -
Timber Frame arrival & erection!
ProDave commented on mike2016's blog entry in The Fun Irish (House)
What's the steel structure in picture 7 that looks to be framing some form of internal bay window? -
Can I set up my site before building regs approval (Scotland)
ProDave replied to Dunc's topic in Building Regulations
I put our static on site before we even had full planning (we did have planning in principle) and got the water and electricity connected to the site. BC are not interested in those. BUT we did not occupy it and we did not have drainage. It was then a long process to agree an acceptable drainage system with BC so would could not even think about installing that before the building warrant in the hope it would comply. Note a static caravan itself is exempt from building control, but the drainage connection to service it, does come under building control and sure enough BC wanted to inspect and pressure test the spur of drain pipe branching off to the static caravan.