Gluestick

Wot Ho JJ. That's a bleedin' big bockle! Sounds to me like one a them big buggers standing on little leggies in the Jardin And, yes those do have contents gauges. 26%? Nawh probs! That's nearly 30% of  850 Kgs = (Where's that bloody calculator?[8-)]), 221 Kgs. That's lots and lots, if not more! [:D] Back to the woodshed for you!  

The Leyland masonry paint states ten year endurance, 105E. If it flakes off before, I shall be having words.................. Benjamin, a tip I have given herein before. When I go to Leyland, I always take my Screwfix catalogue and quote their prices for Leyland's paint! The Leyland "Official" price always comes tumbling down, somehow! Strange that..............[;-)]  

Ummmmm, in fact I had considered (and even planned) to manifold my two large bottles, JC, fitting the bottles in the garage and running the feed pipe through the loft. Various realities! First is the circa 70 foot run: Second is the need to run the feed pipe at bottle pressure, which then means an "official" installation by an approved installer: expensive! Plus the cost of the correct feed pipe; even more expnsive! Then the extra cost of an auto cutoff/regulator to be "bulkhead" mounted: Finally I concluded that since the gas is only used for cooking, itis easier to move the storage cupboard when I re-plan the kitchen - in train -  and simply swap the bottles as necessary! If I was using the gas for say hotwater and cooking, then I might consider it.  

Chris: The fluid dynamics of pumps are in fact quite simple. The questions you must ask and answer are: 1.    What Operating Pressure do I require? 2.    What rate of delivery do I need? (i.e. gallons per minute; cubic metres per minute); 3.    What "Head" must I be able to pump to? (In other words, what is the height difference between the lowest level in the water tank and the highest point in your garden? Answer, e.g. 6 metres = Head.). Finally, what is the expected operating (duty) cycle? In other words, for how long do you intend to operate said device? One hour? Two hours? Last bit is purely practical. Is the pump self-priming? In other words will it prime itself from the feed pipe if the pump cavity is dry? if not, then you will need to "Prime" the pump every time you want to use it.   Your  - (probable (bear in mind I do not know the numbers!) -  best bet is a submersible pump, able to deliver the expected performance in terms of pressure, delivery rate for the time you need it operating. This should be self-priming (as the inlet port is under water: make sense really!), and cooled buy immersion , which expands the duty (operating) cycle. Clark in the UK offer some good pumps; check out their retailer Machine Mart online. Most of these pumps are made in Asia and simply "Badged" according to which importer sells them: many are identical in France.  

Interesting...................... So, do tell, Aly. On another French forum, a lady member worked for ICI-Dulux France and she was supposed to be coming back with the answers; never actually did. I do wonder if some of the horror stories have any truth or value: or are they apocryphal? Chinese Whispers? Old Wive's Tales? So, what's the difference between French plasterboard and British plasterboard? What's the difference between French pine shutters and British pine? Masonry Paint: surely, if one uses a masonry paint based on Pliolite Resin, which I believe is a Dupont patent, Worldwide, and is breathable, does it really matter if it's French masonry paint or British masonry paint or Spanish masonry paint? Personally, I have taken over Leyland trade products (masonry paint and wood stain/preservative for new shutters), after some research with Leyland's tech service labs and online. Also, personally, I would never use Dulux: too expensive and never been pleased with the result. I have always used "trade" paint; Johnstones (which is now Leyland) and Leyland, and Signpost and Three Elms etc.  

One of the problems, GP. Butane - particularly - is bottled at such a low pressure, it gives no real advance notice of dying! Propane is marginally better: as are other industrial gases I use for welding such as Argonmix, Oxygen and Acetylene, as they are filled at much higher pressures. Actully quite surprising that no one has come up as yet with any form of content gauge for basic butane bottles used for cooking! The last time it happened, I was showered after a hard days manual graft and sweat, all was locked up and I was tucking into my third large scotch, prior to dinner! Had to trot down to the garage along the terrace - 70 feet, unlock all the garage, load the spare bottle onto the special trolley, pull it up the steps onto the terrace; wheel it back to the kitchen; disconnect the old bottle, connect the new, trapping a finger as I lifted the  - heavy - large bottle into the cupboard! And then wheel the displaced  bottle back to garage and lock all up. Phew! Should have had bloody salad!  

Welcome to the forum, Matelot. [:D] If I wanted to seal a porous surface and make it partially waterproof against splashes, I would use a mixture of contract emulsion (which is water miscible) and PVA, (which is also water miscible). Fine thereafter to paint, tile, whatever.  

Personally, I have two bottles and as soon as one runs out and is changed (and it did happen in the middle of cooking dinner one night!), the empty bottle is changed ASAP. And BTW these are large bottles! And BTW 2: we are only in residence for a few weeks each year. Once I can become properly organised, I will weigh a newly filled bottle; and an empty bottle. Best way to know how much gas is left!    

One fears, Clair, that you have now self-adopted this Forum's role as its resident Tile Guru![:D] And why not? Done nicely, they are totally magnificent! Done nastily, they are totally 'orrible!  

Suggest you explore the concept of setting up a small limited liability company in the UK and setting up a Small Self Invested Pension Plan. You can literally write your ticket with this! Normally, of course, regular amounts would be contributed by the employer (the company) or the employee or both; however, nothing preventing lump sum contributions. Any contributions would primarily be free of UK tax: however and of course, you would need a revenue stream for this and thus some trading activity. Once established, thereafter you can achieve all sorts of wonderful things!  

I cannot think of many appliances today, which lack their own On/Off switch. The user nomally has the option of leaving an appliance (e.g. T.V.) on either "Off" or "Standby". So, in France (and the UK actually!), simply leave the apliance switched off and it will consume no power. If still concerned about safety, unplug it![;-)]  

I have always used an atmospheric "U" Tube manometer, however, the latest technlogy, a digital manometer, seems the norm, presently. Simple enough to even make a U Tube Manometer. Bit of gash ply; three feet of plastic tube; some suitable staples; splash of water; and a wooden ruler! Bob's your uncle, one Manometer.  

Good point, EE. Yes, perhaps we are all guilty of assuming the regulator is functioning correctly. And yes, I agree again; over time, he synthetic rubber diaphragms do lose their elasticity and thus control. I know from my own experience with welding gas regulators, how even when not used very much (And I always leave mine completely loosened off and thus not under tension) the diaphraghms fail. Normally, they start to oscillate on the seatings and thus the low pressure gas is delivered pulsating! No use at all when one needs Acetylene at 4-5 psi and it's cycling between 2-18 psi! [:@]  

Sadly, Suey, only part time at present but with a fair following wind, soon, permanently! Our old place is in Ambricourt, which is next to Tramecourt; which is next to Azincourt (or as we Brits call it Agincourt). nearest town is Fruges; Hesdin is circa 25 mins up the road. Where are you?  (Edit) Ooops! [:$] Silly me! bad day today. Fairly obviously in the Canche Valley! At Ligne! As a thought, if you re-render the bottom of the walls where the damp(??) has caused the crumbling - after treating with the anti-saltpetre liquid if necessary -  why not try a coat of Crepi and see how it works? Don't forget to dig out any lose or suspect rendering well above the crumbling line. Be ruthless! If you have cured the damp now, it could be OK? After all, if it doesn't work, then you can always dry line afterwards with plaque de plâtre. Crepi is much cheaper and far quicker!    

Bearing in mind, of course, that EDF don't really care if you burn down your house............. Their main concern is that their trip protects their system! As we found, EDF are pretty laid back about your installation: if it already exists. Play safe: the inspection and, hopefully, subsequent certification is not carried out by EDF. If you are planning on a complete re-wire as part of the project, as Nick (who is a French certified working electrician and in fact a very well qualified Electronic Engineer!) states, have a temporary supply which is safe, for the renovation.  

Interesting point raised by Friend of Stouby AKA, Jamie. Last year, I replaced the mild steel flue pipe on our woodburner. It is installed in a 200 year old fireplace, which was modified by a galvanised sheet sitting on 90 deg. angle iron, with the flue pipe going up through a hole in the galvanised sheet. All done by the previous owner. Chatting about this to my heating engineer chum, whilst we all probably think a flue is a simple matter of conducting fumes away and that's it, this is far from the truth. Until and unless the flue pipe reaches a minimum working temp and is dry, the correct level of draught will simply not occur. Further - as Jamie states -  spurious air currents, like up stairwells, can destroy a carefully calculated plan! At the end of the day, it's all about Heat In : Heat Out, as we have discussed on these boards umpteen times before! So, a little bit of front end planning, consideration and design, is going to pay a big bonus. I haven't a clue what the heat output of our woodburner is: all I can say is that it's very big! And eats logs like there is no tomorrow! Despite this, on its own in Winter, there is no way it could heat our Saloon, which is circa 6.8 X 4.7 metres, on its own. let alone any of the other rooms.    

Aitch, whilst I do agree that specifying anything, slightly larger than calculations dictate is needed is always an excellent concept, I do however advocate that your starting point is a heat calculation. Manufacturers and of course, salesmen will always quote optimum performance/output, however, this tends to be on the basis that it's downhill with a strong following hurricane! With a woodburner, so many different variable come into play: as has already been pointed out, different wood fuel produces differing heat values; different levels of dampness, age etc, for identical types of wood, will again affect heat output. Ducted heat from woodburners is a very variable process: depends on the length of the duct/s, what they go through to reach their destination, what air currents exist in the destination, what the house aire circulation is and so on. Generally, remember, woodburners are used as boost heat, rather than source heat. If your locale reaches minus 10 degrees C, then you really need some robust and stable source of core heat, with the woodburner acting as a very pleasant focal point and source of additional/supplementary heating when it's very cold and the core heating, perhaps when not so cold. Woodburners are not cheap: neither is their professional installation. Go carefully!  

Makes no difference what appliance or system you use, Aitch. First calculate the heat loss for the room or area. Then decide what the comfortable ambient temperature you desire is. Thereafter, input enough heat capacity to heat the room/area to your desired temperature, whilst losing heat at the rate you have calculated. Simple way to do this is to use a calculator. Quite a few on the web. Google "Central Heating Calculator". Some are delivered as downloadable freeware software; some are web apps (Web Applications) delivered in real time on screen.  

Good to hear that, GDW. One wonders how many other of this manufacturers gas appliances are lose in Europe with no egulator being used![blink]

Why is it "Crumbling"? Normally, this is due to execssive damp penetration plus Saltpetre corrosion. This can be recognised by white crystals on the surface of the crumbling cement or plaster. Agree with Nick, use plaque de plâtre, (plasterboard): however, prior to this, remedy the crumbling and treat with Traitment de Saltpètre ( Anti-Saltpetre Solution), where necessary. If the wall is cement render, then repair with cement. BTW: In your original post you state that the wall is concrete/cement. Concrete is cement mixed with aggregate (small stones): cement is cement mixed with various grades of sand. Most cement rendering would be cement and sand, as it would be impossible to render a smooth surface vertically in concrete. What is the basic construction of the building? Quite a few newer French houses are built from pre-cast concrete.  

Funny thing about that old MG I mentioned earlier, the cable brakes were all connected, so with the flyoff handbrake off, when the footbrake was depressed and then released, the handbake lever would move up and down in direct harmony. Which was fine, except when the owner had a young lady passenger, she would instantly try and slap his face as the handbrake rubbed up and down her thigh.....................................  

A Woody? Wot's a Woody? Allan? Woodbine? A Welsh Hoody?  

The machine shop is in Ilford, Essex, just outside London. Strangely enough, my scrapers and the sharpener were all ex Army (replete with the arrow!). Chum of mine used to deal in job lots from aucions: he went through a phase of tools. It was all good stuff, Britool, Moore and Wright etc. Calipers, veniers, all sorts of chrome vanadium spanners. I still most of it. Bet you wish you still had the MG now! Classic shape sports car. When we were starting out, (1960??) mechanic chum of mine had an MG Midget, 1932 ish. Even had an original Junior Car Club (Brooklands) badge with both  original RAC and AA badges too. The badges would be worth far more than he paid for the whole car now! Happy days............  

Sorry, JJ having been away, missed this. ____________________ P.S. I have also made and scraped out white metal main and big end bearings, but they wouldn't be the 'a la mode' now would they?? John. Still needed on restoration jobs, where the owner wants to keep everything original. I only know one machine shop now near London that pours, moulds and even line bores.  

I'm really confused.............. [8-)] Are Welsh Wenches made out of wood? Which way does the grain run? Do they stand up all by themselves or fall over? What wood is best to make them with?