markocosic

Anybody know what the diameter of the overflow tube on a McAlpine HC2650 type trap is? I'd like to tee into the overflow of the bath to drain condensate from an AC unit; but it's going to be a few days before mine (HC2600CL - a euro 50 mm waste version) arrives in the post and I'd like to collect the relevant gubbins beforehand if possible! https://mcalpineplumbing.com/traps/bath-traps-fillers-and-wasteflow/hc2650ukc-top-access-bath-trap-removable-chrome-plated-clicker-waste Thanks!

https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-landscaping-rake-914mm/68216 I'm about 2000 m2 down and another 2000 m2 to go. Decent workout lol. Failing that a taller retaining wall to shield the glass? 😂 Then repeater next spring after the frosts lift all the rocks nearer the surface. 🫣

Aesthetic question... Do Bora "Pure" extractor inserts / nozzles fit the Bora "Basic" hob? Or could they be adapted to - what is the *actual( diameter of the hole in the glass on a Bora Pure? Basic: https://www.bora.com/lt/en/cooktop-extractor-systems/bora-basic/ https://www.bora.com/fileadmin/downloads/5_manualInstructions_en_gb8743.pdf (manual suggests 222 mm nominal; but that's with the large flange sitting on the surface of the glass) Pure: https://www.bora.com/lt/en/cooktop-extractor-systems/bora-pure/ https://kitchens.se/documents/S Pure planning dokument.pdf (manual suggests 175 mm; nominal)

I was sceptical. Can confirm is solid as they come if the frame is the depth of the cistern. Drill a bunch of holes through the sides of the metal frame (with cistern out) and screw through into the stud with half a dozen shear screws each side. (the sort used for joist hangars etc) Some adhesive from frame to stud won't hurt. Most load goes into floor. The "peeling of the wall" load is all you're carrying, in pure shear, and can promise it'll go nowhere with a few screws let alone screws/glue. Shear rated screws example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angle-Fitting-Screw-Connector-Screws/dp/B09DDC65PX

Official instructions are for manual defrosts btw. Hit it with a wooden stick if the ice gets so big that it bridges the pillars. Works for countries where the heat demand in the "mild" weather (say 0-5C when humidity is an issue) is low; and most demand is when it's actually cold and the air is bone dry by definition.

Hang it the other way around, de-ive just the corre, and let the giant ice pipes come crashing down on unsuspecting visitors. Saves 90% of de-icing by volume lol.

Ultra light weight aerated blocks. Usually 600 x 250 x 200 mm. Foam or thin joint mortar for assembly. Why? mortar doesn't set when it's below zero whereas the right foams can. 🙂

How about the original Octopus heat pump with it's ice sticks and a kg or two of direct-expansion-piped-into-the-house R290... https://www.femaxholding.com/octopusenergy/octopus-hoszivattyu?lang=en https://www.femaxholding.com/octopusenergy/assets/doc/technical_data_en.pdf http://octopus.lt/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/user_manual_eng.pdf I quite like the one that they did for the church with the frozen cross 😄

The outdoor units are small BUT they need a fair old clearance around them. I would guess that new Octopus unit will probably have a rear-entry semi-top-exit arrangement with the official figures stating tighter than standard clearances to the rear, near zero clearances to the sides, and a lot less clearance for the exit than contemporary units where the OEM instructions (recommendations only; but effectively a hard limit if you're wanting the OEM warranties / not wanting to expose yourself to any potential claim / wanting to be an MCS union accredited installation) Some units for colder climates have side-entry and front-exit; with those side entries looking like a "short sleeved shirt" so that they don't suck up snow/leaves/rain.

A UFH controller with a floor sensor ought to do the trick I think?

I'd like to control the trace heater on the incoming cold water pipe. It's a 30W 230 VAC heater. (run inside the pipe) It needs a pipe sensor (to strap to the outside of 32 mm MDPE under the insulation) and a switch suitable for 230 VAC. Any reccommendations?

People buying heat pumps, for the most part, have plenty of space. It's only if you have a stupidly small house in a stupidly small plot with a stupidly high heat loss (UK...) that size is an issue. And big fans are efficient and quiet...so...that's what you get. Split units with JUST the fan/evaporator outside is the direction you'd go if you wanted to minimise the bulk of the outdoor gubbins. But that puts the moderately noisy (unless you go to some effort) compressor indoors and it's not *that* much bigger to plonk it outdoors so outdoors is what you get. The yanks do top-exist units with the fan on top and the motor/compressor gubbins inside the coil. I suspect these are probably more compact and all find and dandy for aircon purposes where they're sucking air from the coolest pool at ground level and chucking it upwards. You're fighting the rain and snow if doing that for heating though.

Exactly. They know who they're selling to. They're selling to folks who would buy a Toyota Prius or a Nissan Leaf. Cars that were deliberately designed to be ugly in order for their owners to make a statement. They're selling to the king of the housing estate. The kind of person with shiny white teeth, a spray tan, and a BMW on hire purchase or perhaps Telsa on hire purchase sat on the driveway. Take lessons from James Dyson/Chris Bangle; or Elron Muskolini / Donald Trump. (1) Make people talk about something that is deathly boring by painting it in outrageously loud colours. (2) All publicity is good publicity; especially if it's something easy to change and already on the roadmap for Gen2. (e.g. leaving a nice obvious fail for the MOT tester in the hope the don't spot the floor being made of cardboard freshly welded in using silicone sealant and protected with underseal...) The unit will have some nice features knowing Jason. Octopus will then install them badly and that's just fine as long as the el-cheapo electricity offered in the first couple of years compensates for the poor performance. ("free supercharging for life" or "zero bills homes" style - where the volumes are so small they don't matter later or the smallprint is that you pay nothing now and lots later etc) Lots of value for Octopus, as the UK's largest retail electricity supplier, in locking in future demand that they can hedge more cheaply; and locking in demand response that they can play the arbitrage market with using the controls that will be doubtless compulsory as part of the cheap tariff on offer. They just need to not take a bath on the initial installs. 🙂

More check valves is more pressure drop was my thinking Also the hassle of running (unbalanced) cold water to basins/toilets separately You won't get accumulator water at the kitchen tap if it's teed off before the accumulator unless the mains pressure happens to be high overnight and drop meaningfully during the day

That's the sort of thing I'd do 😂 - good it's an easy fix!

I'd boost the lot. The toilets etc will reduce incoming mains pressure for a given flow rate anyways; so something off only helps marginally

Secondhand tank with new bladder is fine

Could also be crud in the valves. Here was our shower following some repairs to the apartment building... The muck holding those check valves open caused backflow of cold water into the hot water system...much to the annoyance of our neighbours. 🙂

This can absolutely happen where pressures are imbalanced in any shape or form. Very common issue in apartment buildings with shared hot water systems. Incorrect plumbing for the cold feed (taken from the non pressure balanced side) and no non return valves on the mixers would lead to this.

What temperature are you storing the hot water at? Cheapo mixers need a headroom of 5-10C for the hot water temperature and the mixed temperature. And a minimum about of cold water at part of the mix for stable operation. If your heart pump is heading there tank to too low a temperature you can observe this behaviour. Non thermostatic mixers (kitchen tap etc) won't do this.

Eurovent certification? (to convert box kW into actual kW at your design condition)

Why? Piece of absolute pish compared with water plumbing...

You just need an expansion vessel on the customer side of the stop tap. It isn't a break tank. E.g. https://www.anglianpumping.com/product/accumulator-tanks/450-litre-accumulator-vertical-gws It'll fill to 3 bar when there's no water in use. It'll discharge at 30 litres/minute for a useful length of time when you need the high flow. No pump required. Note the useful capacity of these things is perhaps half the gross capacity.

An accumulator without pump will be near silent. How long do you need the runtime for?

61 dBa...