Ferdinand

(Roughly) Because the TS has a temperature gradient ... it is hotter at the top and coldest at the bottom, and the solar heating circuit comes in at the bottom, and the boiler at the top. The thermostats and water heating circuits are arranged such that the solar water heating always operates to the max it can, and comes in to the coldest part of the tank. Ferdinand

I trust it isn't that Island in Winchester with the water mill on it :-). Welcome. Just read a lot and ask a lot of Qs.

Welcome. One trick is to define a unique tag for your project ... make it the same as part of your blog title if you do a blog ... and attach that to all your threads on the project, then you can ask in the section and people can still find the whole body of material on the project. I started doing this a few months ago with Little Brown Bungalow. But it is better if you leave the spaces out to make it easier to make the tags identical. You can go back and add them later eg when you go back to the thread and post later summarising the outcome, but it is better to start at the very beginning. Ferdinand

I spy with my little eye something beginning with IT Person. Been there. Done that. EScaped. Now half sane.

What were the results like when you obeyed the instructions? *innocent face*

I just write down a white T on a piece of paper. Can't read it. Black T is better. Come on @Nickfromwales, this is going downhill like Konrad Bartekski The Madman.

You flick a drop of water at it and see what happens. @SteamyTea will now explain what happens at different temperatures. If the water makes a fizzing noise or you can fry an egg on it, the pipe is too hot to touch.

You are far too kind. I explained to my niece and nephew that it is far better to know the names of the animals, including hopefully horses, that you are eating. Far more humane and greener. Delighted to see I can now get Dartmoor Pony burgers, but the cost is a bit like having a horse step on your toe. The only thing I have baulked at recently was sea anenomes with the spines still attached, out of not having a clue how to eat it.

I did the previous one @Charles Ebden. Thank- you for coming back with an update. I look forward to the results being posted when you have all your responses . For me that is more interesting that taking up your time with interims sent to me personally.

I would be interested to hear how that goes, and the regulation involved etc.

I thought there were oodles of vans under 1.95m wide .

WElcome.

Not sure how old it is, but iirc the new prices for those simulators were 5 figures a couple of times over, so prove it works, auction it, and it may pay for a lot of heating repairs... and perhaps a holiday.

Or alternatively you can do some more work on your bathroom . .

Will bear that in mind. I use them nearly every week.

Suspect that only holds amongst relatively casual or occasional users, or those with small enough resources not to be able to afford a solid brand, or enough resources to be able to get one when they do not need it. Our closest Waitroses are 16 and 17 miles, and then about 20. We have at least 15, and maybe 20, Aldis closer than that. IT is not as if it is a low-population area ... there are 150k-200k people within 6-7 miles. Amongst people I know of, and there are numbers of serious diyers and tradesmen, it tends to be DeWalt to Makita for their own tools. If you talk to Letting Agents in eg Nottingham, a lot of their maintenance people live this way. But people are very sharp in buying the good ones from the Aldi or Lidl offerings. F

Welcome to @Marie Turner. On the post-feminist thing, I would be happy to post most of the activists I see on the Daily Politics, feminist or otherwise, to Timbuctoo or somewhere similar. WE do seem to be post-feminist though .. the latest numbers I saw from the Fawcett Society had more than 90% of both women and men refusing to self-identify as such. Now off back to the kitchen to cook dinner. Ferdinad

I thought we were getting leery of hi-tech and Les Grands Complications. This is more like it, perhaps, for us non-pros like me. (They seem to be sensitive about actual recordings.)

I think I would be inclined to joist out and put the 1st floor boards in in something weather resilient, rather than pay for temporary boarding then the real stuff. Needs calculating, though.

@newhome Re your hand burning experiences. A remote thermometer is cheap and may be useful. Eg from Amazon 9.99 - cheap as chips. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermometer-Tacklife-58℉-1022℉-Temperature-Adjustable/dp/B01MFGU4P9/ref=lp_6286456031_1_4?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1519364643&sr=1-4 A little cheaper if you look on eBay, but Amazon will probably get it there quicker ... next day with Prime. Your local Maplin or similar may have one or similar if you have a local Maplin. Ferdinand

WHen Intalked to HB about banking for a business they essentially told me they were not interested in brand new startups, and focused on the top 1% in personal banking, and to come back when we were several years old and established/very profitable. I think you get the old fashioned personal service and pay for it. I was talking to a 35-40 year old former Director of one of the big banks who was glad to have got out. Very good people for what looks like a very good bank if it has what you want and vice-versa.

If we are confessing, the boot of my Corsa will never leak because it is liberally coated with Wickes paint on damproofer which fell over once. And dried eventually. Ubfortunately for my purposes, electrics can't tow very well.

THanks for the excellent range of replies. Having spent an hour this morning wandering around Available Car with a tape measure and an 880mm walking cane (to measure the width), I think the following can meet my loadspace criteria ... 2m and a bit long and 900mm wide. AS suggested, width is not a problem. IN a couple of cases it may involve having the front seat slightly more upright. I am 1.8m tall. More than I expected seem sufficient. Seem capable of carry several house doors flat Ford Mondeo Estate. Mercedes E Class. Audi A6. BMW 5 Series. Skoda Superb but I did not get to measure one, Perhaps VW Passat. DId not get inside one, The followIng seem too small Mazda 6 All the several 4x4 Tonkas I looked at. I believe the Jaguar, but again I did not get to measure one. Peugeot 308 Estate. The Skoda Octavia, which has a significant step in the floor. I will post again later with specific answers, and about what seem to be significant discounts at present (eg Merc E Class via Carwow is -20%+ around my area. Ferdinand

@newhome I am not sure if you have posted them but there a couple of relavant posts on your blog from 2010. Boiler with cover off http://bordershousenewbuild.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/march-2010-we-have-front-door.html#comment-form About UFH. Includes piccies of a couple of manifolds. http://bordershousenewbuild.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/february-2010-underfloor-heating-oh-and.html F

Fein MultiMaster is worth its weight in gold ... mine is inherited and about 20 years old. MY chosen alternative would be one of the cordless Makitas (or within your chosen battery system) with tool-free changes of implement. Do brushless motors apply to Multi-Tools? I always have slight psychological doubts about the Makita colour, as it so close to David Icke's turquoise shell suits, which are one of those better-never-invented things that irredeemably poison the memory like Vegemite or Abadoo Doo Doo. Ferdinand