bejay

The effluent from a septic tank is far from fully treated. It is a highly complex and variable mix of organic decay products and bacteria, some of which are pathogens. It is in the drain field in the presence of oxygen and aerobic bacteria that the decomposition is completed.  It seems a reasonable  possibility that if this drain field is saturated after heavy rain then  this secondary process is not occurring at the moment. Whether this is just a temporary problem or is a flaw in the design of the drainage system can only be determined locally. Back to the installers I think. bj

[quote user="powerdesal"] edit. Is there any way of doing superscripts on the message panel.-  ie 752.4 x 10 superscript 6  ? [/quote] For these purposes most people settle for 752.4 x 10^6. Otherwise you have to develop a Latex fetish ;-) bj

[quote user="Clair"] Our boiler and fuel tank feed two pumps (our house and the gite). [/quote] Clair Do you mean by this, two C/H water circulating pumps? bj

[quote user="sheldonrobbo"][quote user="marc62"] Hi All   A question that I am fully qualified to respond too! does not happen very often. As the general manager for one of the largest kitchen manufactures & fully responsible for installations (installed 32,000 kitchens in 2007) I would not recomend the method which has been suggested. I reccomend that a masons mitre is used to make a good level joint, a jig is to be used (trend is the preffered choice but they can be hired) any decent kitchen fitter will have one. A router is to be used to cut the tops, a blade with a double cutting edged is better choice. The cut edges are to be sealed, silicone is to be used to seal the edges, do not use PVA glue, varnish or paint as the board will act like a sponge & it will create a ridge in time. Three bolts are also to be used to pull them together even. If you follow the guidelines you will achieve a perfect joint which you should not be able to feel. I fully agree with the suggestion tho practice on the offcuts first as you only get one chance to get it right. Remember the old saying "measure it twice - cut it once". One final word of advise would be to use 40mm worktops, with 30mm tops leave you very little room for error when cutting the keyholes & bolting up. Hope it helps   Marc [/quote]     As a kitchen fitter with 20+ years experience, i agree with all the above . The only additional thing i recomend is to use biscuit joints between the worktop bolts to align the worktop perfectly. If this this all sounds a bit complicated then i suggest you get a pro in to get the job done right. Worktops aren't cheap and in my experience people rarely save money doing it themselves.   good luck [/quote] Very good full advice. Its a help to use a sharp new router bit and if possible fit the worksurfaces soon after buying them..If the are left stored in poor conditions they can develop a very slight cup across the face, only a fraction of a millimetre but it doesn't make the job any easier! bj

[quote user="Gluestick"] With honeycomb briques, bejay, it simply runs into the large crevices before it sets. [/quote] Consider using  containment sleeves if this is a  problem. They  are there on the Screwfix link together with all sorts of other bits and bobs  to make your resin injecting experience happy and fulfilling (and very expensive). As I say  though it does need a little experimentation.but it is very effective stuff when used appropriately. bj

Consider a resin injection system if all else fails. http://www.screwfix.com/cats/100071/Fixings/Injection-Fixing;jsessionid=XNJVNKLJAANJYCSTHZOSFEY There's something for everyone here but little experimentation may be required for a particular situation. bj

The most significant thing about basic copper(II) carbonate in this context is its possible absence. Interested parties should read this link below: http://www.fwr.org/copper.pdf It is written by people who understand this subject in depth  and in my opinion is a much better source than lucky dipping in wikipedia. bj

[quote user="trees"] Now we have quite a lot of new copper piping in the extension, and last visit, I noted that the shower stall, the bidet, and the sink in the shower room, all white, were showing signs of turning blue[8-)] [/quote] There seems little doubt that normally aquired acidic water can cause this problem. If I have understood your post correctly it is the new pipework that is causing the difficulty. It does appear that new pipework together with standing water can build up corrosion products to above normal levels which would not be reached if the system were in continuous use. I think the best advice is still, at least in the first instance, to enquire locally to find out if it is a general problem in the area and work from there. bj

XLB Far Eastern  exterior grade ply  is about three times the price of plain MDF  This price difference rapidly starts to disappear when you look at surfaced MDF panels. I can guarantee you that there will be a trade scale supplier of 18 and 22 mm boards near you  wherever you are in France.but they may well be not be normal timber merchants. Exterior grade ply is marked WBP in the UK,  not sure in france. bj

When  it is appropriate  I like to try feed both wires under both screws in terminal  blocks. This is easy with two single strand conductors but much more difficult  with multi strand wires. I agree that is impossible to know just how many strands are actully clamped by a screw connection. I recently invested in a pair of decent quality crimping pliers and the necessary colour coded connectors and terminals. As it happens I have only used them on 12V DC  systems so far but I have found that they work very well on on multi strand conductors becuse they compresss straight across all the strands. They are not foolproof and you do need to match the cable to the connector but the end result is very neat.  One rarely sees solder joints these days in heavy current (as opposed to electronic) work. bj

1. Hailstorms;  it is very common for very intense summer storms to produce golf ball calibre grellons hereabouts, easily capable of denting cars and breaking roof tiles. Caussenarde I know you are correct about the size of hailstones My car has the dents to prove it, The only person I know who has fitted evacuated tubes was told by the fitter that the only thing they wouldn't stand is being struck by golf balls. HTH bj

Llwyncelyn. I think you can guarantee that new boards fitted by an electrician will have a 30 milliamp earth leakage trip in them. It does sound as if you have only 4kW per phase which is very likely to trip out the EDF supply long before any other overcurrent protection. There are two simple remedies, get EDF to raise the power supply for which you will pay an increased annual charge This figure can be found very easily on the EDF website (and its in English) or do what many French do which is just live with it. There is nothing  particulaly old fashioned about three phase and there are some of us who would get down on their knees and pray for such a supply.but it can cause practical difficulties. Punch wrote a full explantion of these problems in a very recent thread on 3phase.. bj    

  1)  You cannot measure the contents of an LPG cylinder by measuring pressure. The only accurate way to do it is by weight. This is not exactly a practical procedure with  an underground tank. So...... 2) A gauge is fitted to the tank which measures the liquid level in the tank, very like a petrol gauge except that it is mechanical..I assume that the gauge is calibrated to allow for the cylindrical shape of the tank but that, PatF you would need to confirm with your supplier. bj      

[quote user="Gluestick"] Apart from the fact that I don't agree, since the effective pressure reduces in direct proportion to the contents, your earlier statement - as above - disagrees with your last post! [/quote] I am not sure that I understand why you say that. Perhaps you have not read it fully. You are correct in one respect. The presure will of course drop as the cylinder becomes nearly empty. But this does not alter the fact that the pressure in the tank does not follow the inverse proportionality required by Boyles Law.Which is why it shouldn't be used. May I respectfully suggest that you read the wikipedia link you posted,.this may help. But, I suppose, enough of 17 th century Physics! Regards. bj  

A pressure gauge is fine for measuring the contents of an oxygen cylinder because this is a true gas which does obey the simple gas laws. Butane and propane can of course be used in small devices without a regulator because of the constant pressure. The fine tuning is done with a needle valve, bj