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Opel Fruit<P><BR>Opel Fruit, Dept. 53<P>

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Everything posted by Opel Fruit<P><BR>Opel Fruit, Dept. 53<P>

  1. Since nothing is forthcoming.... I suspect you are refering to Powerflow from Fry's. It works on light tarnish. Not corrosion or heavy "weathering".
  2. And this magic flux is called what "VJ"? In French. Or English. Certainly apparently unavailable from the merchants we use (although trade). I can almost hear the frantic sound of Google searches....
  3. Imperative that the copper is very bright, clean and grease free, this includes the fittings internally. Modern fluxes are quite mild. Never heard of fluxes that remove the need for clean metal!
  4. Sealed (pressurised) systems are the norm here. I think you have a problem with the pre-charge in your Expansion Vessel. You should be able to pressurise the system to 1 or 1.2 Bar cold. The pressure read off the manometer should rise as the system heats. You appear to have a problem. There will be a Schrader valve on the expansion vessel. Whilst the system is partly drained, and thus there is no hydraulic pressure acting on the vessel, I would suggest you use a tyre pressure gauge on the valve to establish whether there is any pre-charge in it. If the pressure is below 1 bar, add air. I would then leave it for a while and re-check to make sure that the vessel is holding air pressure. The air pressure disappears over a few years. The good news is that if the vessel is leaky, you can change it for less than 20 Eur.. French rad piping is normally TBOE, so you may have a blanking plug at the bottom of the rads, which is obviously easy to open for draining. Conversely, you should have an easily removable bleed valve fitment at the top of the rad, so adding Antigel is straightforward. Disturbing pipework is something to avoid if possible. Adding a drain point is obviously worthwhile, but I would see if it can be done without having to solder anything - water residue will be an issue otherwise. Commiserations on the microbore.  
  5. Since the present additive efficacy is unknown, as is its composition, I would recommend it is drained (not into the drains). Add the new to the old as a last resort - it should perform OK. Are you sure there is no drain? Most boilers have a tap right at the bottom, often obscured. Otherwise, crack one of the rad joints? Suggested products (cheaper in the UK!) Fernox Alphi 11 (combined inhibitor and anti-gel) http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/93-770 Sentinel X500 (combined inhibitor and anti-gel) http://www.gewater.com/applications/sentinel/x500_inf.jsp
  6. I wasn't expecting you to answer that! Someone will know, somewhere, for sure! It may be I'm rather sad!
  7. Which intrigues me even more! How do EDF "select" your Compteur? Is is programmed in some way during installation? As far as we knew, the HC times were fixed within an area, and the on/off signal was not encoded in any way.  
  8. Strange how someone's neighbour can be on a different HC time... One would assume that everyone fed from the same substation would be on the same times, since the signal is sent from somewhere central to one and all. Unless the Compteur has some bearing on this?
  9. The midday HC is dying off. We haven't had it since 1999. We only get 23.39 to 07.39 - it never varies. Nice...
  10. Hard Solder is usually called Soudure Etain 97% or Sanitaire. It comes with or without decapante (flux). It is awkward to use. Please practice on some scrap first.
  11. Lead-free soft solder isn't quite the same in terms of characteristics. In particular, it melts at a higher temperature than 60/40 lead/tin. (Don't confuse "Fusion" with melting point). If you were to use a temperature controlled soldering iron with a Curie bit calibrated for 60/40 lead/tin or 63/37 lead/tin and tried to successfully flow lead-free soft solder, it wouldn't work. From a potability point of view, any lead-free would do. From a pressure/frost resistance point, hard solder is preferred.
  12. The flux is largely the same though formulated for a higher working temperature, but to answer two questions in one, you can buy hard solder wire (2mm) which also has a flux in it. Flux is called decapante in France. Buy a small reel. And check whether it does have flux in it or not!! Do not use additional flux, it will catch fire and blacken the pipe making soldering "difficult". Fry's flux and the like from the UK will NOT do. Butane torches are fine. You need to completely replace all your previous soldered joints to ensure you don't end up pumping solder into the pipe and partially blocking it. Try if you like! You should be OK to heat and remove the old ones and leave the tinned copper ends of the pipe as is. Remember that ANY water in the joints will ruin a resolder joint. I assume you are doing this on mains pipes, not heating pipes. Heating pipes can be left as they are. Hard solder is used because it is lead free and therefore "potable" (and legal), and forms a much stronger alloyed joint than lead/tin soft solder.
  13. I need more info on your intentions, and what you currently have and wish to keep or not keep. If you already have a serviceable oil fired system with radiators, why do you want to change.... or do you wish to add to the system? If you want to restrict radiators during non-occupancy, CdH owners install TRVs in all rooms and set them back to the Frost setting. This retains an airing effect, but doesn't waste energy. What size Ballon do you have, assuming it is seperate? How many rooms do you need to provide for, and will they have baths? What about your own needs? Spell out what you intend/need/desire. I will try to provide a guide.
  14. I would be VERY careful about "shopping" native French. It can turn into a severe nightmare. You may find that your own personal and business life becomes the subject of a thorough and intimate investigation (a kind of vendetta). This has happened to a couple of English folk near us. They had recently set up a small Bio farm legitimately, and had one or two minor run-ins with local artisans. It has to be said that the husband has a particularly aggressive and vindictive attitude. He decided to try and get his own back, and he now has a major problem with pretty well everyone in the local town. The couple have been barred from all the local bars and restaurants, and cannot get ANY artisan to turn up for them. They have no local outlet for their produce, and have been "surveilled and audited" seceral times since. Think about it before you do anything rash. Play consequences.
  15. I would be VERY careful about "shopping" native French. It can turn into a severe nightmare. You may find that your own personal and business life becomes the subject of a thorough and intimate investigation (a kind of vendetta). This has happened to a couple of English folk near us. They had recently set up a small Bio farm legitimately, and had one or two minor run-ins with local artisans. It has to be said that the husband has a particularly aggressive and vindictive attitude. He decided to try and get his own back, and he now has a major problem with pretty well everyone in the local town. The couple have been barred from all the local bars and restaurants, and cannot get ANY artisan to turn up for them. They have no local outlet for their produce, and have been "surveilled and audited" seceral times since. Think about it before you do anything rash. Play consequences.
  16. 2-3 Euros for a plug in timer. That's what the French use. Simple, easy to program and very cheap. Putting one in a fuseboard ain't always practical.
  17. Indeed, FIMO is a requirement for PL/Heavy Goods, but isn't a requirement for 7.5 Tonnes or less. I gather. My wife could therefore become a Cariste! LOL
  18. Even if you don't need to allow the permanent drain, the 7 bar security valve is still a requirement! It is a safety feature - beware.
  19. Felting, there's a novelty. For that price, I would expect all the chevrons and lattes to be replaced too. And gold plated ardoises. 2 off SO3 Velux windows with fitting kit are less than 1000 Euro fitted. I think you need a realistic quote.....
  20. Depends on several things. How far north you are, season, microclimate, size and efficiency of kit. There are various eco-sites that have sizing and latitude tables for reference. Can't recall them at the moment, sorry.
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