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Jerac

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Everything posted by Jerac

  1. In all of this no-one has asked, or answered, the question as to what type of Aga it is - gas, oil, solid fuel. If it is described as 13amp it cannot be all electric.  I suspect that it derives its heat from combustion and only requires mains power for something like pump / flue fan / igniter / timer, in which case it will be perfectly happy just plugged into a mains outlet of whatever nationality.
  2. We have been using Eurotunnel for the past 5 years to carry furniture, building materials, tools and other personal property to our renovation in France. We have a Vito Van, capacity 4.5cubic metre (slightly smaller than a standard Transit) and gross weight well below the 3.5ton limit for Eurotunnel. A new question has appeared on their online booking for a van.  First you are asked whether you are carrying goods for any commercial purpose and having assured them that all is for personal use, you are asked whether the total load exceeds 3 cubic metres. Answer yes and you cannot travel. I queried this new question on the online booking form with Eurotunnel and got this reply - Thank you for your email. Providing that the laden weight of the vehicle does not exceed 3.5 tons and any goods being carried are no more than 3 cubic metres and are for private use, you would book as a van. You would then just need to select whether the overall height of the van was under or over 1.85 metres high. If, however, the weight will be more than 3.5 tons or the goods could be classed as commercial, you will need to call 0870 609 4081 for freight prices please. Please note that if the goods are for private use and exceed 3 cubic metres in size, you cannot travel on our service on this occasion. This has always been our policy. If you have been able to travel in the past, this has been at the discretion of the Check-in staff. This discretion has now been removed. As you carry personal goods then you will not be able to use our freight service. The freight service is totally separate from passenger travel and you would not be able to use your frequent traveller tickets on this service. So now we have the ludicrous situation where - "if the goods are for private use and exceed 3 cubic metres in size, you cannot travel on our service on this occasion" and yet - "As you carry personal goods then you will not be able to use our freight service" They did not indicate where this new restriction appears in their terms and conditions. Nor did they answer part of my question as to whether we could carry luggage over and above the 3cu.metre of goods. Their terms and conditions do make this distinction between goods and luggage. Also they did not say whether this restriction was of their own devising, or whether it is a new demand by Revenue and Customs, in which case it strikes me as an unwarranted restriction on a perfectly lawful activity by European Citizens. As I recall Customs have a past history of this sort of restriction (personal importation of taxable goods) and have been forced to backtrack. Just what difference does it make whether a light van is full or two-thirds full as long as it is underweight?
  3. It is true that some virus infestations can cause so much disk activity that the drive emits strange noises, but the symptoms that you describe are those of the bearings on the disk spindle failing - sometimes they grate or squeal, and sometimes the disk just doesn't spin up so the machine won't boot. If this is the case then total failure is inevitable, and imminent. You need to replace it ASAP. I have just had exactly the same problem and was able to replace the disk before I lost the whole system. Take backup copies of all your data, then you can either reinstall Windows, all of the device drivers,  all of your application programs, and go through all the Windows updates and then reload your data - or you can take a disk image, or clone your disk, to exactly replicate your system. I prefer the image/clone approach as a full rebuild and reload of my system takes many hours. There are a number of programs that can copy a complete disk. Providing your new disk is Seagate or Maxtor the Seagate website has a free download of DiskWizard. This will let you burn a bootable CD that will then let you clone your old disk onto the new, replace the old disk with the new and be up and running again.      
  4. Is the flue single skinned, or is it insulated twin wall?
  5. If the other burners are OK, and these light when pressure is maintained on the control then it is unlikely that there is anything wrong with the gas supply. The probable cause is failure of thermocouples to the flame failure safety devices. Are there two small spikes or similar next to each burner? One will be the spark gap for ignition and the second would be a thermocouple which when hot generates a small electrical current which is fed back to the control knob and holds open a solenoid valve in the gas supply to that burner.  When you hold the knob in the solenoid is overridden and gas flows. The thermocouple heats and the valve is held open. The flame goes out and the thermocouple cools and the valve closes.  
  6. I am waiting for Freesat to evolve, but in the meantime eBay UK is awash with cheap sky boxes as people go sky+.  I have just bought a Pace 430 for £18 + postage.  Even without an expired card it gives the same as freesat, and the sky programme guide is useful. A couple of those with a twin LNB will keep me in TV and Radio4 for the time being. 
  7. The pump would have to be submersible, or at least happy to live down the well within 10metres of the water level. There is no pump that can suck water up from 30 metres because on the suction side the system relies on atmospheric pressure to force the water into the vacuum or partial vacuum created by the pump, and the atmospheric pressure equates to about 10m of water. Any more suction than that and you will just have a 10m column of water with a vacuum above like a giant barometer. A submersible pump pushes the water and the only limit on the height is the strength of the pump and associated pipework. I cannot help with a formula for pressure/flow etc, but most pumps have a specification sheet that will tell you what they are capable of.
  8. If you have a cheap(ish) SDS then in all probability it will be SDSplus. SDSmax is a heavier duty machine, less common and with fewer bits and chisels on offer. SDSplus bits have four large grooves around the shank. SDSmax have three large grooves and two narrower grooves. The bits are not interchangeable. I have not seen a converter to put SDSmax bits into an SDSplus drill. DeWalt do a converter to put SDSplus into an SDSmax, but at around £60 my choice would be to buy a cheap SDSplus.
  9. I once spent ages looking for the leakage in a toaster which gave a small shock from its metal body. Eventually I discovered that the double socket that it was plugged into had a fault on the earth connection.  The source of the shock was not the toaster but  a freezer plugged into the same socket and leaking some voltage to earth, which was finding its way via the earth connections to the toaster. The leakage probably comes from interference suppressors fitted inside some appliances with motors.  Capacitors connect between the supply neutral and phase and earth and remove the transient spikes that cause interference. These capacitors will leak a very small current to earth.  Normally this dissipates to earth harmlessly, and is too small to bother the 30ma differential.  If there is no earth then this small leakage will appear as a voltage strong enough for some people to feel. If it is the case that the installation has earth connections to all sockets, but there is not a proper connection to an adequate earth, then  the real danger is if appliance develops a full blown phase to earth short .  Not only will the casing of that appliance become live, but that leak will travel through all the interconnected earths to other appliances making them live as well.  If the installation is modern and protected by 30ma differentials then as soon as the leaked current starts to travel through the unfortunate that has touched it the differential will trip, but if there is no differential then the consequences would probably be fatal.
  10. I agree with Anton Redman. I think that what you have is a telerupteur controlling the light, and not the system of two way and intermediate switches more common in the UK. A telerupteur is a latching relay, one pulse from a controlling switch and it latches on, another pulse and it latches off. They are very common in French systems. Usually fitted within the tableau, but I have heard of freestanding ones.  If you have a telerupteur then all of the switches involved will just have one pair of wires to them, and when pushed they will provide a pulse of phase voltage to the telerupteur.  The big advantage is that you can have as many switches as you like all connected in parallell with just two wires. The buzzing may be  if yours have been incorrectly wired with on/off switches, or if the spring in the switch has broken, so that the switch can supply a constant current  then that would account for a constant buzzing - the solenoid in the mechanism is meant to be actuated momentarily to toggle the contacts between on and off, and is not meant to receive a constant current. There could be a risk of overheating if that is the case. Typical wiring http://www.batirmoinscher.com/wmedias/catalogue-electricite/prtection-gestion/commande-modulaire/telerupteur.pdf
  11. This link is to a UK site, but the advice holds good.   http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/fitting_a_stove.html The important factor is the size of the existing chimney. We just fitted a stove with a pipe into an existing chimney of small cross section and all was OK. If the existing chimney is wide then it will be essential to line it with flexible flue. In some cases it is also advised to insulate the flexible flue with a 'duvet' of rockwool.
  12. Ridiculously expensive!  This year I paid 9.50 per 100m of 2.7mm thick green pvc coated fil de tension, and 25.90 per 25m for 1.0m high green pvc coated grillage. (Brico Depot)
  13. Sorry, should have said present rather than required. For a new installation the minimum is 2, increasing according to floor area, but for an older existing installation where there is only one then  "En conséquence, lorsque l’installation est protégée par un seul dispositif différentiel ≤ 30 mA, placé en tête : il sera donc de type A."  - Hagers  "L’installation électrique dans l’habitat : mode d’emploi"  
  14. As I understand it the only items for which a type A differential is obligatory are washing machines and induction hobs ( basically a large electromagnet) which impose a large inductive load which can upset the more sensitive type AC differential.  It would be sensible to put anything else with an inductive load onto the type A, such as dishwasher, tumble drier and fridge/freezer - anything with a large(ish)motor. It is allowed to put other circuits onto the type A, and in smaller properties where only one differential is required it should be a type A and everything can be connected through it.
  15. Three phase is tricky - the need to balance loads across the three phases, dangerous - touch the wrong bits and there is over 400 volts available to kill you, and expensive to equip - look at the prices for three phase differentials. The only reasons to keep it are if 1.   EDF are unable/unwilling to change it - unlikely except in the most distant rural locations. 2.    You have, or intend to get equipment requiring three phase energy. In a normal domestic situation this is only likely to apply to the hot water immersion and a cooker. Quite often both can be reconfigured. If you want to run something like heavy woodworking machinery then that could require three phase.
  16. For new installations to pass consuel inspection the lights must be connected by DCL connectors and not by what would be called a ceiling rose in the UK scheme of things. DCL connectors are little 3 pin plugs that connect the lumiere to the wall/ceiling outlet. The socket part of the DCL is equipped for the power to be fed on to the next in the chain (max of 8). The DCL wall/ceiling socket box acts as a boite de derivation. What is not permitted is for the feed for the next in the chain to be taken from the light fitting itself, however I do not think that this allows the switch circuit to be dropped off the DCL as in the UK 'loop in loop out' system. I think that you can use the DCL to daisy chain lights fed from the same switch but that you have to use a separate boite de derivation to drop the switch circuit.
  17. This may be useful http://boutique.cstb.fr/dyn/cstb/upload/fichiers/ext_cheminee.pdf
  18. The crucial question is whether or not you have an existing supply. If you do then you have a bit more leeway, but if you have to apply for a new connection then you must get an inspection certificate from 'The Consuel', and you have a whole set of very precise standards to meet, not only for the main electrics but also for TV connections and telephone/computer network points.     For the ordinary lighting and power then you can have up to 8 'connections' per radial circuit, but the main kitchen appliances are all one per radial. Just how many is defined by the habitable area of the house. The area also defines how many RCDs (interrupteur differential) are required. Our renovation is over 100 sq.m and we have four rows in the tableau, each protected by a RCD. There are 40 individual circuit breakers.
  19. It is important to deburr the pipes before test assembly, but only sandpaper to deglaze the surfaces after the test assembly, otherwise they can stick as if glued. As to the twist/no twist question I have seen both methods advocated.  The twist, if applied, is only a slight twisting motion and not a screwing together. I prefer to apply a twist to ensure a good distribution of the melted pvc, but as I said before care is needed to avoid the weld grabbing whilst the joint is out of alignment
  20. Cut the pipe and de-burr the cut ends, otherwise the pipe will jam. Assemble the joint dry and with a felt tip mark the pipe for both the depth into the joint and the angle of the pipe into the fitting. Disassemble and deglaze the surfaces with some fine sandpaper and wipe any dust off. Apply the cement all round both surfaces - time is critical from hereon in. Assemble the joint with a twisting motion to spread the solvent and melted pvc around the joint BUT WORK QUICKLY as you have only a few seconds to get the felt tip marks in line. Suddenly the weld will 'grab' and from then there is no way back.
  21. It is not a glue as such, but a gel of pvc solvent which temporarily dissolves the surfaces and then evaporates leaving a solid joint. http://www.diyfixit.co.uk/nflash/plumbing/WasteSolv/WasteSolv.htm In the UK it is called Solvent Weld Cement, in France Colle PVC.  Usually found in bricos at the end of the shelves for PVC pipes. Available in a tube or a small screw top can.
  22. It would do no good at all to fit the vent or air admittance valve to a separate branch pipe lower down.  The whole point of the vent or air admittance valve is to allow air into the stack behind  the plug of water as it moves down the drainage stack. The plug of water, as it moves down the stack, creates a partial vacuum behind it. Unless air is admitted to fill this vacuum then the water will be sucked out of the traps.  Air cannot be admitted behind the descending water if the vent/valve is fitted to a separate branch which connects to the stack lower down.
  23. Have a look at this thread for an explantion of the Durgo valve. http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/961437/ShowPost.aspx You really must have a vent or air admittance valve above the WC, otherwise the plug of descending flush water will suck the water out of all the traps on the stack.
  24.   A proprietary name is 'Clapet Durgo' http://www.colena.com/clapet-durgo/index.html And advice on fitting and function http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/air_admittance_valves.htm
  25. There should be either an open vent or an air admittance valve. An open stack will be outside either through the roof or up past the eaves. It should be capped with a grill or grating or a 'mushroom' to keep out nests and creatures. If you have a fosse then there should be two, one for the fosse and one for the soil stack. Sometimes, to avoid penetrating the roof, an air admittance valve is used. It would be at a level above the highest draining fitting and usually within the roof space. There would be a vertical pipe, usually 100mm but possibly smaller which just ends and is capped with a plastic contraption which has a plastic disk which lifts under negative pressure differential to allow air into the soil stack above and behind the descending flush water. It is not unheard of for the vent pipe to just end within the roof space without a valve. This results in a foul smell. If nothing else has changed in the configuration of your plumbing then I have no doubt that you have either a nest in an open vent pipe or a stuck air admittance valve.
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