Be Excellent To Each Other

What's a consumer unit?

A fuse box.

No, that's because everyone heard how you can use chewing gum wrappers and nails instead. The fuse wire manufacturers tried to keep it quiet but it got out in the end!

I have a very eccentric old fashioned hardware store 150 yards from my house and I know they sell fuse wire as I bought some in there a few months ago. I love these places, they're like Aladdin's cave.

Had a fair bit of left over wood lying about in the garden, plus two old doubled glazed units, so spent the afternoon building a shed.

[img]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/30/7ajyruje.jpg[/img]



Sadly no roof lying around so I'll have to buy that, but there is a door.

Is the convention to run power cables to a socket down the wall from the ceiling or up to it from the floor on the ground floor?

Either.

If you have a wooden floor, I'd imagine it's from below (as it's a smaller distance) but if you have a solid floor it will probably be from the ceiling.

We have a mixture here, most from the ceiling, but some from the floor.

Malc

I have concrete floors here and all my cables run from above.

Thank you very much. I took the front off a plug and they run from below. Let drilling now commence!

Trying to make dull shelves less dull.

The cable for sockets goes down (as in from the socket to the floor), light switches go up.

You'd be feeling pretty brave to assume that was how someone has done it previously (possibly thanks to people like Malc), but that's the general rule.

I have solid floors, the majority of my wires run from the ceiling to the wall sockets. I was there, I watched them do it.

Malc

There's no law to say you have to do it, and I guess you'd make exceptions if it would be harder to go down than up (especially if it's Friday afternoon).

I've just had the Boiler Man over to service my pipes

Anyway he recommended (because I have old pipes) installing one of these type devices.... anyone have one? Do they actually help?

I had one installed. No clue if it did anything. Cost a fucking fortune.

I haven't watched the video but I can understand the theory behind it.. but the guy who fitted my new boiler said they're not really worth it.

Don't know if that helps but it is one guys opinion.

Thanks, just a magnet in a box but as my pipe are rusty as fook I think it might be a good idea... piff.

I can't see the video as I'm at work but are we talking about a Magnaclean thing for your heating system? We got one fitted as part of our relatively recent boiler change as the guy who fitted it swore by them, especially in tenement buildings like ours. I've no idea if they're actually effectively but it made up a very small part of the overall cost of getting a new boiler fitter (about £100 if my memory serves) and they're a piece of piss to clean out yourself so we thought why not?

The same thing but for cars has been largely rubbished, but I don't know how comparable they are (I assume that water moves around a car engine much faster than your house, for example).

The last time I cleaned ours out there was quite a lot of horrible black shite stuck to it which makes it at least appear effective, but whether that stuff would do any real harm if left to roam our heating system I've utterly no idea. It's actually a really long time since I did that so I should probably do it again just to see how bad it is now. Related: we should probably get the thing serviced since it hasn't been for a couple of years!

Doesn't opening the system up allow the water to re-oxygenate, thus creating more rust?

Or was that just someone talking rubbish?

Yes but there's enough oxygen in water to do that anyway. So that's why you need inhibitor too for a heating system. also got told plastic pipe generally also lets air into the system so ensuring you have enough inhibitor is also a good idea.

I'm thinking I might get one that also has a gravity pit too to catch the not magnetic stuff. Saves on my $(pounds) 350 call out charge and new heat ex-changer next time.

Old pipes were fitted mid world war two, so are made of steel and other shit metals. Hence the main reason I think fitting one would be good idea as the cost of fixing is so high.

Ermehgerd, deh-errhh-weh.

Homemade gunge tank, I like it.
Who is the first victim?

That's really nice! Also, someone who understands showers need to be above head height!

That's really nice! Also, someone who understands showers need to be above head height!

Haha, I was once asked to let some plumbers into a friend's flat whilst they installed a shower. They took ages, I drank tea and then they left.

A few hours later my friend asked me around to her flat. She was 6ft2", which I am not (I'm closer to 5ft 11", as you will all know). They had installed the shower for me, not for someone Sonal's height

I have never understood why showers aren't just installed as high as possible, It's not like the water wont fall far enough or anything. I am 6'3" so have been blighted by LowShower for many years. its also pressurized by a pump, cant stand dribbly showers.

actually the picture was of the alien spacecraft downlighters, theres a further 5 of them in the room but I ran out of wire so only those 3 are lit and it looks pretty cool! (if a bit manky, needs a clean!)


Thanks



Ant and Dec.

Did raising the tank fix the pump priming prob then?

yup, insta-whoooooosh now no noticeable difference to the hot water pressure upstairs but thats ok, its not that bad. I could run all the taps off the pump as well....

This pressurised pump intrigues me. Our hot water pressure in the kitchen is terrible. Do you think a pump might work (somehow) for this, or is it only for showers?

Nah works for everything apparently. mine is a 1.5 bar pump that really shifts the water but doesn't drill holes in your back when your in the shower. good pressure for me but I would say a 2 bar would be a good one to go for. Salamander was recommended to me by a plumber and has been great so far for me. between 100 and 200 squids should see you with a good pump, if you're only using it to boost the hot water you only need a single sided pump so price should come down for that. total piece of piss to install, just split the pipe and join the pump in. if you do it, most important things to do are: mount it on soft rubbers or something, don't screw it straight to a rafter cos it makes a lot of noise if you do. The other thing is to make sure that the bottom of the water tank that feeds the pump is 600mm higher than the top of the pump. important that bit.

I advise it, its transformed the shower

Actually 2 bar gets pricey, this might be what your after...

I like a powerful (cold) shower, but I always hold the shower head, so I don't care how high it is.

The fact that I can't (or don't appear to be able to) hold yours would distress me.

Not a lot, though.

You wash yourself with one hand? theres is a tap to turn it to hand held mode...

You are distressed because you're not allowed to hold the shower head for Krazywookie as he scrubs himself down? Poor kinky Grim...

Thank you for typing all that out. Sadly our water tank is on the floor, so there won't be that important 600mm available

see my first picture, build a table out of bits of wood, extend the pipes up to it using 90 degree push fit connectors. Couple of hours. Is your header tank on the floor or the hot water cylinder?

I saw the way you raised yours. Actually, it is the cylinder on the floor, and the water tank above... so a pump might still work?

yeah dont worry about the cylinder, the way I did mine was put a T piece in the vent pipe from the cylinder at floor level in the attic, this is all on the same circuit as the rest of the hot water so its fine. in fact if you could find a wee corner to mount the pump on the floor next to the hot water cylinder somewhere all the better, even on a shelf above the cylinder would work fine and might make branching in to the hot water system easier, the key factor is distance below header tank.

Ignore the blue circuit unless cold water pressure is also a problem. I'm assuming its mains pressure.

So just to make sure I understand it, a pump would fit for hot water only coming straight out of the hot water cylinder on that pipe, as long as the pump is 60mm below the bottom of the water tank, and that will add super pressure to all the hot water taps further down the line i.e. sink, bath, kitchen tap?

pressure depends what pump you get but yes, thats how I understand it. of course im not a plumber so it might be worth checking all this with one of those but my setup works fine

A semi (but not really) related question about pressure.

Yesterday we had the taps replaced in the kitchen.

Afterwards the taps in the bathroom (sink and bath) would explode with pressure when you turned them on.

I've seen that before, and I just thought it would be a one off for each tap once the pressure had equalised. However, it continued all of yesterday and this morning. It's just at the start for 2-3 seconds or so, then it's normal again.

Anyone have any ideas why?

Malc

I had this and it was just a matter of turning my main stop tap into the house down a little bit.

It may not be the same for you, but it's worth a try.

I did wonder if they'd done something like that, but they said they didn't need to isolate it, as the taps themselves had isolator valves, and that was enough. Also I'm sure it was fully open before.

Malc

If they used the isolator taps then you're right, they wouldn't have had to mess with the main stop cock.. but you never know. It's definitely worth a try.

Cheers krazywookie.

Shower pumps don't last in a "whole house" application, they sell expensive and more durable pumps for that. You don't want an unreliable water supply.

A common problem with gravity fed domestic hot water systems (which usually date back to the 70s or earlier) is that people DIY upgrade taps or shower mixers to modern ones from B&Q.. These are always designed for a mains pressure supply, and restrict the water flow horribly when used on a gravity system. Switch back to ones designed for gravity feed for magical improvements...

Shelves done. Almost.

I don't think those shelves will hold up that chimney breast!

MAlc