Harnser
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Posts posted by Harnser
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I did a spreadsheet before we made our mind up which showed that even if the £/€ exchange rate was parity we could still survive and pay our way over here. The rate then 12 1/2 years ago was 1.16 as I recall.
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21 hours ago, EuroTr@sh said:
Of course if they are on S1s which most are (a lot wouldn't dream of coming if they had to pay for their own healthcare) the UK pays. And if France has any sense it charges full price and a bit more to cover costs. Might be a nice little earner! Other side of the coin, paying for them all to be mended in France must cost the UK far more than if they had stayed in the UK and crumbled to dust quietly while they waited for an appointment.
At some time in the past 12 years, the NHS used to give the french health service a substantial cash bung every year, per retired UK pensioner living in France with an S1 whether they used the french health service or not.
The NHS then obviously realised that they were paying through the nose to keep UK pensioners in health care so reverted to ad hoc payments on demand from the French health service for treatment of UK pensioners.
I can't give any dates but that is basically what happened.
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Once complete, the [\Morrocan] project will be capable of supplying 8 percent of Great Britain’s electricity needs.
Really? As much as 8%?
I notice there doesn't seem to be any cost estmates.
And the world's longest subsea high voltage direct current transmission cable is now:-
The UK's National Grid and Denmark's Energinet has begun work on the world's longest subsea power cable. The €2 billion Viking Link project, a 475-mile-long (765 km) cable, is being built in Lincolnshire. It will run between the UK and Denmark in order to share green energy between the two countries.
So, the Morrocan cable link is 3,800 km in length - never been done before at thet length.
The Viking link cable is 765 km in length. at a quoted cost of €2 billion.
3800/765 = 4.96 times the cost of Viking = 2 x 4.96 = €9.93 billion - so you can double that by the time it gets from project to comissioning say €20 billion, it's the way all projects go.
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (HPC) Status Under construction Construction began 11 December 2018 Construction cost £22 billion to £23 billion Owner(s) EDF Energy But we know the nukes work 24/7 - they grind out the power relentlessly, whether the sun is shining or the wind blowing.
Reliable power is what is needed from what is known to work.
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9 hours ago, Teapot1 said:
Thank you, you saw my question marks, that was indicating I wanted a response and the link showed how efficient
the nuclear power is in france and how well they recycled some of the components.
The worrying bit is the 200 grams of long lived waste per person. Thats a 300 year half life and stored in caves and old mine workings. 67 million people in france x 200 grams is still quite a lot yes, 13,400,000 kg of long lived waste, per year.
I fail to understand your concern for nuclear waste stored safely underground. If it's stored safely underground it's not a danger to us is it? And don't forget some of the waste is from medical usage. Would you want to stop all nuclear medical procedures? And you should stop eating bananas and brazil nuts, a truckload of bananas contains enough radioactivity to set off the import alarms at USA ports and brazil nuts contain radium.
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10 hours ago, Teapot1 said:
It is not an irrational fear, yes compared to filthy conventional power stations much better. Do we still dump the waste at the bottom of the oceans? The phenominal cost of building them and decommissioning at the end?
Once again your irrational assumptions are emphasised.
You need to read what is actually going on with regard to radioactive waste recycling and disposal.
https://www.orano.group/en/unpacking-nuclear/all-about-radioactive-waste-in-france
The cost of nuclear generated electrical power compared to renewables is cheaper, because with nuclear it is not necessary to provide an equivalent backup power source which has to be despatchable when the wind fails or clouds cover the sun, which means that the backup power source has to be kept running and hot but ready to deliver - it's called "spinning reserve". So every gigawatt of renewable power needs a gigawatt of non-renewable backup power running in the background!
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12 hours ago, anotherbanana said:
Perhaps the NG might plug into the brains of the anti- vaxxers who have spread the virus round and about in the name of a mythological choice. Ooops, maybe not as perhaps not enough there to power a newt!
You realise that fully vaccinated and boosted individuals can and do get infected and spread the virus?
Vaccines do an excellent job of preventing serious Covid illness and deaths, but are less good at stopping infections.
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3 hours ago, Teapot1 said:
It is doubtful going forward that lithium will feature in stationary batteries. That was Tesla's eary stuff, now they are using LFP and home storage is likely to be a different chemistry again. For those that think the UK plan is shabby and cheap, I hope France doesn't plan a wonderful new power station in your back yard! Yes we need a mix of both going forward but reducing the number and the cost and the impact can only be a good thing.
"I hope France doesn't plan a wonderful new power station in your back yard! "
Better that than hundreds of useless windmills going round and round!
Seriously, what's not to like, or what is your irrational fear based on?
In this image (hopefully!) you can see Sizewell B power station in the background behind the beach cafe.
I used to ride there with a motorcycle club a couple of times a year, park the bike in the car park behind the cafe, switch off, remove helmet and listen.
No noise at all - no smells - no steam or smoke.
One member of the club was a graduate level engineer there - mechanical not nuclear- and we used to take the mickey about him glowing in the dark etc and he used to reply that you are safer here than anywhere due to the amount of monitoring and safety systems operating.
He also said If there is a fire in a conventional power station you might get a few lines in the local paper, if someone gets blistered fingers from some paint stripper in a nuclear power station it's all over the national news and TV.
They do a storming full english breakfast in that cafe if you are in the area!
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"I hope France doesn't plan a wonderful new power station in your back yard! "
Better that than hundreds of useless windmills going round and round!
Seriously, what's not to like, or what's to be afraid of?
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9 hours ago, anotherbanana said:
I suppose that charging more at peak times would mean that cheap electricity is available off peak, say after midnight. It would seem logical to make this availability automatic rather than having special accounts as they do in France, or has that been stopped?
Most folk could cut their lighting bills substantially by just turning off lights when not in use.
Does bitcoin uses electricity from the grid? If so, ban the bl**dy thing, whatever it is.
Perhaps electricity for charging cars could be made cheaper at night or more expensive at other moments to encourage folk to be sensible?
Out of interest both France and UK are investigating mini nuclear plants, based locally as being much cheaper and quicker to build and more practical than the current big ones. Rolls Royce taking the UK lead.
Yesterday Macron announced the plan to build 14 new EPR2 reactors which when integrated into the current fleet of reactors, some of which will need replacing, will result in total of 6 more reactors than currently.
The EPR2 is a modularised version of the current standard EPR reactor.
He also announced the re-purchase by EDF of Alstom which was sold to General Electric in 2015, the sale of which he masterminded when he was Hollande's backroom wizzkid ! Oops !
(Alstom make the steam turbines that drive the electricity generators in nuclear power stations)
Impressive plans - it's the only way to go for energy security for France, it makes the UK's plans of using your car battery to keep the lights on look desperate, shabby and cheapskate.
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Having had experience of steel conduit wiring when I was an apprentice doing six months with the factory electricians in the UK many years ago, I wouldn't use it if plastic conduit is an alternative.
Without going into the finer details, you will have to cut to length and thread every piece of conduit to screw into the bushes which you fit into the socket boxes. That means that every threaded end will be covered in cutting paste - like a grease- from the threading which will have to be cleaned off.
EG - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324293014745?hash=item4b815eb4d9:g:SXQAAOSwGMVfXJuS
and a pipe vise to hold the pipe while you are threading it.
https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/portable-chain-yoke-vises
And turning the threading die is really hard work.
You have to ensure that all burrs and internal sharp edges are removed so that when the wiring is pulled through the insulation doesn't get damaged on any sharp edges.
https://www.grainger.com/product/GENERAL-Pipe-Reamer-3ZG95
I guess you are getting the picture now - don't use steel conduit in a domestic installation.
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"Electric car owners will be called on to help Britain avoid an energy crunch as suppliers prepare tariffs allowing them to draw power from parked vehicles at times of low supply or high demand.
Cars which are charging on driveways are to be plugged into a system responsible for balancing the National Grid for the first time, in an experiment aimed at easing the burden on the country's creaking energy infrastructure.
It will lay the groundwork for a national rollout of the technology if successful, paving the way for millions of electric cars to act as a giant battery so that power supply is stable at times of low wind speeds after the transition to green energy.
In the trial, which will begin at some point from April to June, car owners will agree to allow the grid to draw power from their vehicles and release it as and when required. They will be paid for energy which the grid drains off.
The scheme is being run by the National Grid and domestic supplier Octopus Energy, which has recruited 135 households.
Claire Miller, director of technology and innovation at Octopus, said that plugging millions of electric cars into the grid would “enable us to do more with what we have”.
Ms Miller said: “This will demonstrate how you can send a signal from the National Grid control room to those vehicles and contribute to balancing the grid at times when it needs a bit more electricity, for instance at tea time when there is a lot of demand.
“Conversely, on a windy night when our wind turbines are generating electricity, we might also need a place to put energy.
“What we're doing is the first step on that journey. We are showing the energy industry what is possible.”
The plans go considerably further than existing trials of so-called vehicle-to-grid technology, in which a small number of households already sell surplus power from their vehicles' batteries back to the grid in the same way solar panel owners do but are not part of the balancing mechanism.Julian Leslie, chief engineer at the network operator National Grid ESO, said they were working to ensure the network was fit for “a heavily renewables-driven” future.
He said the grid would always find ways to manage but added: “If we can get 10 million vehicles doing vehicle-to-grid, then fantastic.”Hmm - So that's why they have been pushing the electric vehicle agenda recently also getting as many as possible onto smart meters !
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We had €200 paid into our bank a few days ago. We have never worked here, are retired and pay french tax etc.
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Putin mauls Macron:-
Or, if you prefer the French media viewpoint:-
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You have to admit that Pecresse suddenly emerging from obscurity to becoming a presidential candidate is more than a little suspicious.
Hubby is a globalist - You dont get to be vice-president of a GE company without being a globalist.
GE Renewable Energy
France plays a major role for GE Renewable Energy: it hosts the global headquarters of GE Renewable Energy and three of its divisions: GE Hydro, GE Grid Solutions and GE Offshore Wind. GE Renewable Energy also has six main industrial sites in France, including a new wind turbine blade factory, which opened in Cherbourg in 2019. It is in France that GE builds the Haliade-X, the most powerful offshore wind turbine in the world, whose blades of 107 meters are the longest ever built in the industry.
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"I Doubt that once the lights start going out any politician will stick with the 'green' alternative"
Switzerland is sticking with greeness and warning that the lights might go out.
https://lenews.ch/2021/10/18/swiss-president-warns-nation-to-prepare-for-electricity-shortages/
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Unfortunately, Macron seems to be the best way forward for France.
Pecresse to my mind could be a Trojan horse for the renewable power lobby.
Why? Here's why - https://www.ge.com/renewableenergy/about-us/meet-our-executives
Macron wants to progress the building of new nuclear power stations to replace those which are nearing the end of their lives. This is the only practical way to ensure future energy security for France IMHO.
Renewables are a dead end if you want reliable power. Windmills don't cut it when the wind doesn't blow, solar is useless at night. Ok have a few of those just to keep the green blob onside, but the real hard work gets done by the nukes.
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5 hours ago, anotherbanana said:
Well, it used to be the City of Light but now……? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/05/sacre-bleu-has-beautiful-paris-now-turned-into-the-city-of-blight
Whose head should roll?
According to that Grauniad article - It's all the fault of the "far right"- not the socialist maire and administration.
But when did any socialist administration ever own up to it's own faults?
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Since we have been Linkyfied the touch lamps we have each side of our bed switch on during the night at random times.
Spooky!
"Convincing oneself and others that smart meters are intrinsically evil is easy in France because in classic French bureaucratic fashion, the Powers That Be decided that every single smart meter in the country had to be the same type, from the same manufacturer and with the same outward design. Worse, they are all the same colour: a kind of runny-nose green.
Worst of all, some idiot in the energy ministry must have signed off on a request to give the smart meters an infantile brand name: the Linky.
Suddenly this gave the tin-foil hat brigade a very tangible and not-at-all wibbly target: those ugly green Linky bastards are invading our homes, sleeping with our wives and stealing the souls of our children! Allez, Marcel, grab your hi-viz vest and pitchfork, let's head to the town hall for an afternoon of impotent irrational shouting and incongruous vehicle pyromania!"
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2 hours ago, anotherbanana said:
Well, I must say the new British blue passport is a mess; the key page seems to be stuck into the rest and there is a hole with the photo copied horizontally, like a peephole.
The latest version of the UK passport which is blue was designed by a French company and is printed in Poland.
But it is certified to be carbon neutral - whatever that means.
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25 minutes ago, Gardian said:
Actually, this is more about driving in the UK.
Mrs G has a carte mobilite, which is the ‘blue pass’ card which allows the disabled to use the designated parking spots.
We’ll (hopefully) be going to the UK in a month or two’s time and was wondering whether anybody knows whether our card will be recognised in the UK now that Brexit has happened?
I’d be tempted to just go ahead anyway, but I know that the authorities are getting better at cross-border fines these days.
I doubt that it would be valid in the UK.
A UK blue badge can be used in many European countries - except France!
They are "undecided" as of September last year.
Another reason is that these badges are issued by UK local councils who are probably less likely to be aware that other european countries issue them as as well.
Having said all that, the cross border database co-operation for speeding etc was cancelled after brexit, so how are the UK authorities going to trace you, unless you get clamped at the time of the "offence" of course.
Try phoning the local council in the UK where you will be visiting?
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Just as reminder good people, you can buy caustic soda [sodium hydroxide] [ hydroxide de soude] granules here in France.
Do not under any circumstances add water to these, always do it the other way round, add these to the water otherwise they will get very hot and possibly blow back over you and even melt plastic pipes.
Adding these to water, the solution will still get warm but not hot enough to be dangerous.
If you get even a tiny speck in your eye it's good bye eye - be warned.
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3 hours ago, cajal said:
It might help if you were to define what you regard to be 'a fortune'.
HERE is one that could be thinned out and applied as a sealer and doesn't appear to cost a fortune.
Thanks but the paint you linked to is a "Decorative and protective washable finish intended for woodwork, furniture, frames and metal supports covered with a suitable primer"
And there's about 30 sq metres to prime and seal so I will try diluted PVA on an offcut and see how that goes, but when the weather gets a bit warmer to allow it to dry out before test painting.
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I built my small workshop panelling it with 11 mm OSB. I painted it inside using UK traditional oil based undercoat as a primer before white acrylic paint two coats. Tried just using acrylic without the undercoat but some parts of the OSB bleed through no matter how many coats are applied, probably oil or oily wood in the osb.
So, finishing off the store room at the end of the workshop, what can I get here that will seal the surface and doesn't cost a fortune?
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We also have a downstairs toilet than is prone to getting blocked. Rather than dig up the tiled floor and repipe it we have always used a big powerful wet vac with a custom plywood panel faced with neoprene sponge tape to seal against the top of the toilet bowl. Block off overflow with a cork in the cistern, vac through centre hole in plywood and it drags all the unmentionables back into the bowl, loosens it and usually works to be able to flush it all away.
I saw that Lidl had one of these (in the video) for sale so risked €6.50 and bought one.
The next time the toilet got blocked with the bowl full, rigged it up with the biggest round adaptor, pumped it up as hard as I could, inserted it through the water and pushed down hard until it sealed against the bottom of the bowl which isn't round but it still seals and fired it.
It creates a shock wave in the water and shifts the blockage - It works. A brilliant effective tool.
It also worked on a slow draining kitchen sink, remembering to block the overflows and have the sink with 2 -3 inches (50 to 75 mm) of water to get the proper shock wave.
It is, for a Lidl gadget, strong and robust.
Oops - forgot the link to the video -Yer 'tis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJAY3EAnlOs
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From my previous experience with a basin drain blockage in my parent's bungalow.
For years they had a problem with the bathroom basin drain not draining quickly as it should, I tried with various chemical and mechanical methods, they had Dyno Rod in who recommended digging the drains up in the garden, achieved nothing and sent a huge bill which my father paid against my advice.
Culminating in the basin drain blocking up totally. I consulted a plumber friend who told me to go to a small local plumbing supplies shop he used and buy professional drain unblocker. This stuff is dangerous, highly corrosive and is mainly concentrated sulphuric acid. You need to wear heavy rubber gloves and a face shield - not just disposable gloves and safety glasses.
I dismantled the pipework to reveal the plain end of the pipe, carefully poured the stuff down the pipe and waited about 4 hours. It partially unblocked the pipe but not completely.
I then used a wet vac after flushing the pipe with water. The vac brought out a plug of cement mortar complete with much hair and other debris. The acid had partially dissolved the mortar plug and loosened it sufficiently to allow the vac to remove it.
Typical builder's debris, too lazy to get a bucket of water to wash their tools off with, just run the basin tap and let the stuff go down the drain where it sets and remains for 20 years.
I've had drain problems in all 3 new UK houses we bought through our married life, it was usually plaster or artex washed down drains by the builders not mortar.
This type of deboucher seems to be available in france:-
Wind turbines not popular in Brittany.
in The Complete France Post Bag
Posted
1 - There has been a long running battle to stop the operation of three wind turbines about 3 km from us since 2008 when they were commissioned. They were installed too close to houses,
The operators have reached the end of the legal road of appeal after appeal and the prefect has ordered them to be dismantled + removed.
https://www.letelegramme.fr/morbihan/pontivy/eoliennes-a-guern-le-combat-sera-termine-quand-on-aura-recupere-le-dernier-boulon-12-01-2022-12903706.php
2 - A more recent development on another wind farm is again the withdrawal of permission for the continued operation of huge wind turbines at Noyal-Muzillac between Vannes and Roche Bernard. Cue a long sage of costly legal tomfoolery to follow no doubt.
These are a really monstrous blot on the landscape, they are each 180 metres high built on an 80 high plot so that's close on 800 feet high above the surrounding countryside, only recently commissioned.
The stated reason for removal seems to be that the sun behind the rotating blades creates a kaleidoscope effect on the nearby residents.
https://www.letelegramme.fr/bretagne/a-noyal-muzillac-des-riverains-obtiennent-l-arret-d-un-parc-eolien-deja-en-service-16-02-2022-12923778.php
It looks from the report that the owners took a chance on building them in that location. Serve 'en right IMHO if they have to remove them by dismantling and removing the foundations.