saveasteading

High-capacity Metal Oxide Varistors (MOV) - It offers 300-900 J of surge protection for different devices. QUICK TIP: More joules mean an MOV absorbs less energy while diverting even more into ground. Well-designed surge protectors should NOT rely on MOVs to absorb surge energy, instead to survive the process, it harmlessly redirects it to ground. That is all it says that appears to be relevant.....but doesn't mean much to me.

Our BM had 3 varieties of Spanish. Seeing them together made the qualities apparent. Somewhere in Spain, the value of a mountain has just gone up 10%.

Does that mean that it is protecting from high and low voltage (or power?) because either could damage the system? I can see that high is prevented by resistance kicking in, but low?. I have read the Belkin info on the Argos page again and see that it also says 'ideal for laptops, basic household devices, and small kitchen appliances'. It would be good to have some numbers or examples instead of 'basic/ small'. But this is probably ok. (??) For general interest, the one at SF seems to be ubiquitous, although with a variety of names, and is also at Wickes, Argos (cheapest and in stock), Dyas and Amazon.

That is the shrub pruning tidied up. 5 barrowloads of mulch from my Bosch grinder. Firewood for a couple of weeks. 2 more trugs of leaves that had fallen off, onto the mulch heap. One brown bin of ends and prickly bits will go to municipal composting.. (the original pile must have been 20 x that volume.) Next time...I will do the same , but try to do the pruning such that the machine will pick up a nice 20mm branch end , and drag the vast majority of the sticky, leafy ends through.

Good question. Silly me. It is pump only, with hot water from central system. I can see from the instruction manual that it is a 3A fuse. I saw the Belkin one at Argos and thought, known name, small and smart, that will do. But it is specifically for low power electronics, so I thought it won't be right for a pump. Surge protection for small electronic keep your small electronic devices protected And yet it is stated at 13A. I would prefer to use this model but am wary. We had one, by Hansgrohe I think, in a very nice hotel and it became 'a necessity' as we were doing a refit anyway. Push the first button outside the shower and just walk in when the light says 'your shower is ready sir'. (light stops flashing.) But now I see they are in SF and TS, they aren't so posh any more. Perhaps that is the problem as stated by the fitter. The repair guy said he is sick of working on them. Not because the units are difficult, in fact he did it all in 10 minutes by swapping modules, as he had lots of space in the attic. No, it is the crazy locations and awful plumbing that is his usual problem. Units jammed into cupboards and recesses, almost impossible to work on, and can't even find them sometimes.

I've just had our Aqualisa shower repaired under warranty (3rd of 5 years). After changing the valve module, he found it was actually a software problem. Do you get many powercuts? Yes we are in the countryside. So he changed a circuit module and it works. He advised fitting a surge adapter, as the surge at reinstating power can be a problem. I'm wary of using amazon as the spec's are vague. But where it is clear, I see that most are only for electronics and should not be used for higher power: in this case a pump. The only one i have found that seems ok is from screwfix. The reviews include one saying they have a kettle on it, and another has garage doors. Why they need surge protdction i dont know...maybe they like the switches. I don't need 3 outlets or any switches and could tape over to keep out spiders. The pump is in the attic, with a dedicated, switched socket. Any comments or advice?

No tickets for a tower, because they slot together, but just be sensible. FYI where a ticket is required (for certain companies) it is the easiest of courses, about a half day including intro and practical test. Buy or hire robust towers, made of tube. They usually attract 50% discount to the stated hire cost. But for over about 8 weeks you might as well buy, use and resell. They need adjustable feet (or wheels) too, to avoid relying on bits of packer underneath, and for easy adjustment. They will also need stabilisers, which will come with the set when required. It is very common, and silly, for builders to have these not quite touching the ground. When towers reach any height that might be (or feel) a bit unstable, then it is prudent and usually quite easy to tie them to the structure. I prefer to use eye bolts where the fixing can stay fixed, but the ring removed for aesthetics.

There aren't an awful lot of trees though. Up Helli Aa uses a lot of wood that could have been in yours.

Quite a furnace, at 15kW. I don't know, having only dealt with up to 8kW, but it must be a big box, so will there be a minimum fire level to keep it going, that will keep you rather busy?

Heat is produced efficiently, as is the point with a heater. More ash would just mean more trees (or recycled wood). I use all the hardwood fruit prunings too, creating a zero carbon cycle. Harvesting the summer sun for winter space heating energy, with the bonus of fruit as summer motive energy. An ancient battery system. What happens to the micro particles ? do they float round the world forever or come to earth?

No, when the flames lick up the back, air jets are sucked through holes in the air bricks and form torches, and are visibly burning unspent fuel from the fumes , then when it meets the front it gets more air again. and licks down the glass. I know it burns well as there is a tiny ash pan, and I would say it takes 25 big logs before the pan is full. About 40:1 by volume. How much residue goes up the chimney I have not measured.

Yes they are really good, and what we looked at, so some must be specially made for the uk market with the air intake...or things have moved on in a year. What model? Have now looked at the brochure...some with direct air, some without. I like how they have chosen sexy foreign names for stoves like: Bury, Dover, Derby.

Perhaps. but will be slow. If done by a builder they will charge a lot more. The gaps are great for allowing venting, but don't stiffen the structure as such as sheets. Your design may need the large sheets, so ask. You could use them for the curved bit though. I think the price of OSB is better than plywood again. OSB generally provides enough structural stiffness, so ask your SE if you can use OSB, if you want to. Always put a vapour barrier on it, whether ply or OSB. Ply is made from hardwood from exotic forests. Whether we can trust certification that no orangutans or macaws died is a matter of opinion. Find out the costs, tell your professional, and ask them if you can use your chosen material. They don't always know the costs or practicalities, and it isn't their money. They might even thank you for the current best value information.

It will do us for 20 evenings, if I chop up the Christmas trees too,. A bonfire of all of it would have been 2 hours. Plus has already taken 3 days of my time, but gets me away from this screen. It is only 1/3 pruned, and as we all know, there is as much underground. But that doesn't really provide a better alternative. I didn't harvest it, it had to be done for public spiritedness, and I am making best use.

snappier, than 'taken to Germany and burnt'.

Yes, except perhaps draw the plots more exactly than the land registry does. The red line is very approximate. You can add dimensions. Or bang in some marker posts now and record them as the future boundary.

Next chapter I have just cut back a shrub which was about to overhang the pavement. I have a pile of sticky, leafy ends which I will shred and use as mulch (4 barrows of mulch so far) Messy end sticks go in the brown bin (and I will buy back the equivalent composted. (It was all meant to be free to collect by ratepayers)) Loppable or chain sawn branches are going in the open fire. Burning amazingly well, just with their natural dryness. Not buying in more logs. A few branches will be selected to use for bean poles. The options were, skip or bonfire or many trips to the tip. Or 'landscape' contractor who would probably burn it in a field. So the only thing I could do better, I think, is change open fire to WBS. I planted the shrub 20 years ago so all of it is carbon I sequestered.

I rather assumed, I know I should find out, that they use bark and waste wood as fuel to dry out the timber chips, and what we see is a mix. They import whole logs, many from Norway, and strip the bark then make the flakes. There must be a huge amount of bark and chips. There is no shortage of bark around there , with many timber works. The smoke/steam certainly always seems to disappear sooner than smoke would. I was in a business group , all MDs trying to be more sustainable. Mostly as an ethos, all to reduce waste, a few for cred points. We went round each others factories etc, and tore strips off each others methods, websites etc. Great fun. We organised a visit to a nuclear power station and had 3 hours of a Senior Engineer's time. Fascinating. Then tried for the waste recycling centre, but were declined. Why? A waste company however, gave me a tour of their plant where they sort out skips and make most money from the air in a skip, and sorting out recyclables. I expected to trap them by asking where the plasterboard was. It was sorted in a corner. They also make lots of money when the incinerator breaks down, and the trucks go to them instead. They send mixed rubbish to Germany where it gets incinerated. So why no visits to the recycling centre? I think my confidante was sworn to secrecy on this one. Obv something was not to be seen or criticised.

Knowing that Spanish WBS are less than half the price of the same models in the UK, and are very well made, we went to get one for here*. There were none with direct air. in passing we noted that there are 3 qualities. 1. Seemed to be from 100 years ago, very rustic and unsophisticated and very, very cheap. there were lots on display so must be bought. 2. high quality , modern, big name, but not with direct air, yet. 3. very flash indeed. On the other hand there seem to be lots from Scandinavia, which are all direct air and all expensive. I wonder where Denmark and Sweden stand in relation to banning them. * It would have been 'used' before crossing the channel, just in case.

Ok we will set up a factory then. OSB is made close enough to see the smoke from the factory...oh ..smoke!!!?? But they only use whole tree trunks. No recycling as far as I know ( and they would tell us). Seriously though, I was once dismantling a 1930s shed, made with lots of high quality pine trusses. First nobody wanted it reclaimed (despite the county council sponsoring a sheltered workshop to take it and sell back.) Just words. Secondly we couldn't get it taken to the waste incineration plant (20 miles away, but not what they take). Words. Thirdly , no waste company would take it other than as mixed waste. Fourthly, I contacted a government quango that was promoting reuse, re- etc. They had very nice representatives and beautiful brochures (Would I like a few?) I asked them for a sustainable solution. No idea. But it is what you are for, and only that. Nope. So we gave up and let a demo company take the lot. It probably went in a field. That was Kent. Offcuts in Highland? There is no incineration...all unrecycled goes to tip. We had perhaps a couple of barrowloads maximum. So I am still thinking that burning it is pragmatically appropriate.. Saves electricity. Doesn't rot underground. No transport. I should also emphasise that, being diy, the cutting is thought out and waste is a miniscule proportion, so fewer trees died than with your average builder.

For your opinion, which I read with interest and espect. We have fitted a 5kW Woodburner. It is currently being used to burn offcuts from the stud wall construction. Not for tidiness but to warm the place for the workers' comfort and to keep out the damp. Good or bad?

I have bought a pack of stump killer for a hawthorn that refused to give in. Then it gave in, without trearment, so that has worked. Jeyes fluid is stated to do it. The blue colour looks lethal. Maybe it is diesel with added blue. Just googled it. Easy to find stump killer.

Area. The size for 5kW came to something like 67mm dia, and the same website quoted the coin thing. Hence there seem to be kits at 80mm.

You can kill a stump. Drill holes into it and pour in what is clearly called 'stump killer'. If it was all accessible you could spray the shoots a couple of times a year until it gives up.

I found a website that gave the formula, but I can't find it again. From memory it is 80mm dia for a 5kW stove with totally external air. Or the size of a 50p coin per kW. It must be a very approximate estimate though, as it will depend on the length and any bends in the pipe. Most kits are of corrugated pipe, further restricting flow, so a bigger diameter like 100mm would be sensible. We put ours in before the floor slab, so used 110 dia drain pipe, then a smaller connection to the stove.