High CO2

[Ed Davies]

32 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Wonder if you can use a gas analyser and local wind speed as a proxy for air tightness.

 

I think that's how more serious airtightness tests are done. E.g, when they tested the airtightness of Biosphere 2 they released some harmless trace gas then measured the way it decreased with laboratory-style equipment. IIRC, they got significantly less than one ACY (air change/year).

[ProDave]

I have wondered if I can "calculate" the air tightness.

 

I know the insulation values pretty well, and I know the predicted heat loss based on Jeremy's spreadsheet.  If I tweak the air tightness levels in that so predicted energy loss exactly equals actual measured energy loss then I have arrived at my air tightness level?

[SteamyTea]

23 minutes ago, ProDave said:

If I tweak the air tightness levels in that so predicted energy loss exactly equals actual measured energy loss then I have arrived at my air tightness level?

Tat would be an interesting project. Would need some other inputs, i.e. external temperature, windspeed, shape of building, solar gain, ground temperature, rainfall.

Then would need a lot of people to do it for calibration purposes.

But fun all the same.

 

I prefer Ed'd idea of letting off a stink bomb and seeing how long it takes to rid of the smell.

 

[Carrerahill]

4 hours ago, ProDave said:

Offer them a drive in my old Landrover.

 

On second thoughts, no. I would prefer the gearbox and clutch continued to work.

Having had the gearbox in and out my Landy several times I am hearing you!! I quite like my back, so drive it very carefully! 

[ProDave]

8 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

 

I prefer Ed'd idea of letting off a stink bomb and seeing how long it takes to rid of the smell.

 

you mean after the BH curry night?

[ProDave]

6 minutes ago, Carrerahill said:

Having had the gearbox in and out my Landy several times I am hearing you!! I quite like my back, so drive it very carefully! 

A friend I used to work with tried to do a DIY Landrover gearbox out.  Took the seats and floor out  Tied a rope around the gearbox and round his shoulders, undid the bolts and started prising the gearbox off the engine.

 

It was somewhat heavier than he expected and he followed it through the hole and ended up on the garage floor on top of the gearbox.

[SteamyTea]

14 minutes ago, ProDave said:

you mean after the BH curry night?

My shit don't smell mate.

11 minutes ago, ProDave said:

A friend I used to work with tried to do a DIY Landrover gearbox out. 

Did a similar thing on my sister's Viva back in the 70's. Tight ropes around it, made sure if it did fall there was a timber pallet to soften the blow.

Thing weighed about 25 kg, could easily hold it up with one arm when putting it back.

[Carrerahill]

3 minutes ago, ProDave said:

A friend I used to work with tried to do a DIY Landrover gearbox out.  Took the seats and floor out  Tied a rope around the gearbox and round his shoulders, undid the bolts and started prising the gearbox off the engine.

 

It was somewhat heavier than he expected and he followed it through the hole and ended up on the garage floor on top of the gearbox.

Ouch!

 

The first time I did mine I was in my early 20's if not maybe even 19, I was lucky a friend had a 4-post in his barn, so I did it all from underneath, it was still bloody tough, the next time I didn't have access to the ramp as there was a long term restoration project on it so I took the engine out as I had a block and tackle and a big beam in the barn. Third time was when the gearbox packed in, it was stranded so I did it where it was, floors and seat-box out with my brother and dad called in as human-cranes apart from being December and freezing it was not too bad that time. Fourth time I needed to do the crank seal, I had the body off so was able to straddle the gearbox and literally pull it off the back, wriggle it onto the chassis then climb out the middle of the chassis and lower it to the deck. 

 

I then stupidly agreed to change one for a friend, discovered that someone had welded everything in, cross-member, gearbox mounts everything so needed to cut it all out!

[AliG]

Thanks for all the comments.

 

I was looking at CO2 loggers as I think it might be useful to log my parents' house, my house etc. I am sure I could get a bit of use out of one.

 

On Amazon a decent one looks to be £100+, on EBAY there are some that appear to cost £20ish. Does anyone have any experience of whether or not these work.

 

My parents can easily afford it, but when it comes to saving money, my mum's logic just breaks. She will turn off phone chargers etc which demonstrably would only cost pennies a year of left on. If something has a switch she will turn it off!

 

As pointed out this issue has been raised on some new developments with MVHR. It seems that no one provides home owners with a manual explaining all the systems their home has and how they should operate them. The first anyone knows there is a problem is once things go wrong. Of course many people would ignore or not read the manual, but you cannot assume that people know how to work MVHR, UFH etc when they are not used to these systems.

 

My dad is the opposite of my mum, the constant argument I have with him is that if you are cold you do not turn up thermostats to make it warmer faster, if left alone in the house or car he will have it at a stifling 23-24C. I keep telling him that if he turns up the thermostat it will just get too hot, but won't warm up any faster. He is not unusual in doing this. This was such an issue in my office at work with people constantly turning thermostats wildly one way or the other that eventually they disconnected the thermostats.

 

Maybe whilst someone goes around gluing everyone's weep vents closed they can also glue all their thermostats to 21C!

[Gone West]

29 minutes ago, AliG said:

My dad is the opposite of my mum, the constant argument I have with him is that if you are cold you do not turn up thermostats to make it warmer faster, if left alone in the house or car he will have it at a stifling 23-24C.

23C is the perfect temperature in the house and car for my other half, although she is quite happy if it's 25C. Ahh, Edinburgh now I understand.

[DundeeDancer]

Back in 2016 I bought Greenwood Desktop CO2/RH/Temp 3 in 1 Monitor with Data Logger Logging, Indoor Air Quality 9999 ppm Carbon Dioxide/Temperature Deg C/F/Humidity Meter. I've found it to be a good piece of kit!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MB93GH2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I don't find rooms stuffy until they get over 2,000 ppm although I try to keep the night time CO2 levels down to around 1,200 ppm in my own bedroom by keeping the bedroom door open.(No MVHR as yet but plans in the pipeline)

 

I once felt very sleepy in a hotel room and when I turned on my CO2 logger the reading was at 3,500 ppm! 

I was OK 10 minutes after I fully opened the window and ventilated the room.

 

I've read in a few places that if the room in use is ventilated to over 800 ppm then your probably over ventilating the area.

 

Best wishes, DD.

 

[AliG]

I like 21-22, hotter than that and I start to feel it.

 

As an aside, I don't know where the Committee on Climate Change got their recommended 19C number from (they are saying set thermostats to 19C to combat climate change), what percentage of people set their thermostats at 19C. I think this kind of suggestion totally misunderstands people, climate change needs smarter solutions than turning back the clock to when people used to be cold and uncomfortable and just heat one room in their house.

[Ed Davies]

1 hour ago, AliG said:

On Amazon a decent one looks to be £100+, on EBAY there are some that appear to cost £20ish. Does anyone have any experience of whether or not these work.

 

 

No experience myself but I suspect they're poor. I have a VAir monitor which works well but unfortunately the chap who was making them has given up as he wasn't making enough charging €80 each. He was on a bit of a personal crusade about air quality in Sofia and had researched the various sensors for CO₂, particulates, etc, quite carefully and was selling other boxes (with just temperature and humidity sensors) for €20 or so (with a very thin markup, I suspect) so I think if there was a cheaper sensor available which worked reasonably well he'd have used it.

[Carrerahill]

OK then, in the interests of rounding off this post may I steer this discussion in the direction of, effective CO2 mitigation measures or more generally effective house ventilation.

 

I cannot easily install a full house MVHR system because our house has been fully restored and most decoration works done, when we open into the extension the adjacent access rooms will be reconfigured and decorated that then "ends" the house works (in theory). So I am not disturbing all of that now.

 

My plan therefore would be to mechanically vent the extension and some rooms in the existing building. An area being the kitchen, my intention is just to vent the hood externally as I cannot have that smoke/grease going via a MVHR unit, so I will just vent it - I also though that I could just have some background ventilation from something like a Vent-Axia HR100R that could take some air from the new living room and the dining area of the new kitchen and the replenish air could be ducted into the hall of the original house. That would in effect create an airflow from the hall through a small, as yet undecided purpose room and into the kitchen meaning a low volume airflow to just keep things fresh. My house is 1960's - the house it pretty well insulated and sealed up by retrofit standards but it's still got draughty bits that let the house breath, and frankly I don't object to that. So do I just install a couple of extract vents with a CO2 sensor that kick in when levels are high and let the air leaks in the house draw in the fresh air. Does the system need to be complicated to achieve good results?? I just think it would be great to have the open window freshness without the need for all the windows to be open i.e. when we are away out or if we go away.

 

 

 

 

 

[jfb]

I bought a cheap co2 monitor from Alibaba - it stopped working within a month. I was also in touch with Mr. Vair and that is disappointing to hear he isn't still doing them.