chrisbooth

The flights are now back on for Liverpool to Nimes end of October through the winter but only on a Monday and Thursday

If it is only surface rust I would paint directly on the rust. If there are any flaky bits, remove those. I didnt buy the hammerite brush cleaner/thinners, better to buy cheap brushes and throw them away. There is alo a problem of where to dispose of the used thinners. Happy painting Chris

Hi Chris, are you classed as resident in France, we have a maison secondaire and have just had an approved insert installed (flamme vert), would we be able to claim this rebate Regards Chris

Hi Mike, yes the whole twenty litres (it tells you on the container how much you need in terms of percentage) and did think about putting in 40 litres as it not only protects against frost but also other things and it advises that you should always add to much rather than not enough. I do not leave the heating on when I am not there as the oil consumption is considerable. A 20% concentration is probably good to -9 degrees c. I have also put a trace heating wire on the cold water pipes that run under the house (sous sol), to protect against frost. I have 9 radiators some are fairly small but some are around 2 metres high. I have no idea how much the system holds but have been told by people with more experience than I that the average system holds around 100 litres ???. The house has a floor area of 140 sq metres and is a pavillon. I did  ponder on how to put the liquid in as I have in the past used the vents at the top of the radiator, but for 20 litres this would have more difficult. In the end I used a small pump attached to the drainage tap on the bottom of the boiler, it worked really well. I also think you can buy a kit to add. Bit like a garden sprayer???. Let me know if you need any more advice, although I am not an expert,  but am very good at most DIY Chris

I have just added this to my system. I purchased from a heating suppliers in Ales (Gard 30). they sell it in 20 litre containers and it cost about 80 euros., I dont think you will have much luck buying trying to buy it from the average Bricos The product also protects against corrosion. People often say that you only have to put in a small amount but you will find that you must have a greater concentration to provide protection. Have sourced the product it was cheaper that fernox Chris

Hi Mark, I tried to get the professional in but he was busy and we needed to have the chimney swept before the insert was installed. My french neighbour said it was cheaper to buy the brushes and do the job yourself. I bough a set of brushes to suit our chimney. The set came with a metal brush for the original chimney and a nylon one that we will use for the stainless liner we now have fitted with the insert. Our neighbour came round climbed on the roof and the whole job took about ten minutes. Before I forget we taped a sheeet over the fireplace opening to stop soot blowing inside the salon. Not a difficult job!!, have not used one of blocks from the supermarket yet Happy sweeping Chris

Thanks Michael for your advice, Kind regards Chris

Dear LF members, I need some help on an oil boiler related question. Opel Fruit has given me some really good advice in the past and hope he or another member can help. I have a Lamborghini oil fired boiler that is about two years old. On my last visit to France a couple of weeks ago, the pressure valve on the front of the boiler was of the scale (low or empty) the boiler was showing an error warning. I am not sure where the water has gone as there appeared to be no leaks. It probably needed around 20 litres to bring back upto a normal pressure. There appeared to be a fair amoiunt of air/gas in the radiators, and everything was fine after this. Ungil a few days later when there was evidence of water on the floor of the bolier room. I took the top off the boiler an noticed a small brass valve?? with a small knurled screw and a rubber washer. This appered to be leaking a very small amount of water. It appeared to have worked loose and may have been the cause of the leak when the pressure dropped. Two questions I am asking:- should this small screw be tightened to prevent leaking or is it supposed to be loos to prevent high pressure. The other question is should the system develop a drop in pressure due to a build up of air. Everything was working well when I left but am worried about the small brass screw. Can anyone help Regards Chris

Hi Gabe, I have recently bought a new house that has the oil fired bolier and the plastic oil tank in a small boiler room that is built onto the side  of the house, in reality there is only breeze block between the boiler room and the main house. The tank is about 2 feet from the boiler. the house has recently been given a certificate of conformity. The chauffagiste, recently came to adjust the combustion and never remarked that the boiler or tank were a problem. You now have me worried that it shouldnt comply. Can anyone answer these questions Regards Chris

I am not an expert, but have you checked to see how many kilowatts supply you are being charged for. We have 6kw and the standing charge ia about 100 euros a year spread over 12 months. However if you have more kilowatts then the charges can be significantly more and can go as high 1000 euros a year. May be worth looking at   Chris

Thanks once again for your kind help, have a good xmas and new year   Chris

Hi again, hope you dont mind me asking another question. I have manged to download a pdf file with the instructions for the Lamborghini boiler. It appears the boiler has an output of around 34kw, it is a combi bolier but we only use it to heat the radiators. the water is provided by electric on heures creuse. If I purchased new injector for 0.50gph (does this stand for gallons per hour?), is it possible for me to self fit. I am confident of being able to physically fit the part into the burner unit, but if it then needs to be adjusted it will be beyond my expertise. I am off to france on Boxing day and now you have kindly given me information I would like to use that in making the boiler more efficient   Thanks again   Chris

Thanks for your prompt and informative reply   Kind regards   Chris

Hi Kevin, I read your information on oil heating and found it makes excellent reading. I have recently bought a house in dept 30. It has a new oil heating system, using a Lamborghini boiler. I have fitted a wireless room stat, a frost stat as non of these were fitted with the system. After reading your information I am concerned that the burner is not operating correctly. The boiler fires up and then after a while it swtiches off for a few minutes and then fires back on again. I am not sure if this is because the internal boiler water  temperature has reached its correct temperature or ??????. Is this normal or should the boiler run continuously. I am fairly competent with most mechanical things bu have never experienced an oil boiler. If there is a problem, is it one I can rectify/adjust. You also mention injectors, is this the brass nozzle that vapourises the oil. You have probably guessed that I am keen to learn the workings of an oil boiler Would be grateful for any advice Kind regards   Chris