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I've just connected a new Hotpoint cooker (HUE 53PS). Everything worked, except for the main oven (no interior light, no fan). After many attempts to make sure there was no delay programmed (I was sure there wasn't) and many turns of the control knob to check again, I went to bed. This morning...

I'm changing the fuel pump on a Mk IV Fiesta. I'm struggling to remove the fuel lines from the pump connectors (colour coded red and white). I've tried squeezing the plastic tabs on the sides, but can't get the line fitting to release. Now I've managed to snap off one of the tabs, so...

I've just acquired a secondhand Elu mains drill (EMD403); I'd like to change the chuck for a better one if possible. Looking inside the chuck where I'd expect to find a retaining screw (the drill has reverse), I can see what looks like a screw. It has a very shallow slot, with a dimple in the...

I'm fitting a (mains powered) ionisation smoke alarm on my landing ceiling; the instructions specify the minimum distance from the walls (300mm) and add that the alarm shouldn't be mounted close to a fluorescent fitting, because of the chance of interference. But they don't specify any distance...

The government's telephone and online information system set up to deal with the swine flu pandemic is being overwhelmed by millions of enquiries as fear mounts. Makes you wonder how they would deal with a real crisis.

I heard a bang in the road outside (not a rare occurrence here) and went out to check. A Transit was stopped at the end of the drive; he'd been hit, lost a door mirror and had a damaged wheel. The other driver had fled the scene. I invited the Transit driver in to change the wheel. It took a...

My son's elderly 306 was bumping along the road and handling horribly; the garage I took it to told me that it had a seized torsion bar bearing, that it would be truly dreadful to extract it, and that if I asked them to do it the labour cost could be around £300 (and I didn't think they were...

Do you think that hard-working families should be entitled to the same perks as high-living MPs? Start by demanding free bath plugs: it's in the interests of fairness. Sign the petition.

I'm planning a concrete ramp for disabled access to my house. I want to cast a concrete kerb at the edge, and build a handrail on top of the kerb (probably using Kee Klamp). I'd prefer to use inset sockets for the handrail uprights, rather than bolted-down base plates. Is there a good...

I am fitting out a new walk-in larder, and hope to make some of the shelving from slate. I have a quantity of inch-thick dressed pieces in two different widths and a number of lengths. Is there a conventional way of joining pieces of slate; would a joint be strong enough to be left...

I've inherited an Aga and an oil-fired stove, both fitted with vapourising burners. Over the last few years I've been teaching myself how to service them (and it's been a bit frustrating at times). Now I hear (on BBC Radio 4) that many people with vapourising burners are having problems with...

There was much hilarity when George Bush attempted to leave a room in China through a door which turned out to be locked. Now his successor is seen trying to enter the White House through a window. Of course, it's early days and he's bound to make the odd mistake.

I've been reading the recent discussions on transformers with interest, and have some questions of my own. I have a Wolf 5-speed bench drill designed for 50 volts which I would like to recommission (it's the Wolf of yesteryear, not the stuff advertised in the weekend newspapers these days)...

My son has just presented me with a fan heater, which had a stray piece of plastic carrier bag stuck in the fan. Every time he'd tried pulling it out, a bit had come off and the rest remained stuck inside. He asked if I could work out how to dismantle the heater. The casing had four deeply...

I had an email last week from a tool supplier, advertising their new year sale. One item on the website caught my eye: nylon castors for -0.05p (minus five pence) each. So naturally, I ordered the entire remaining stock (not many left, unfortunately) along with enough other stuff to get free...

My daughter has just returned from a short holiday with her young child, and has presented me with the plug-in nightlight she took with them. The plastic 'earth pin' has sheared off. This makes me wonder if there is a socket outlet somewhere in Yorkshire with the shutters held open by a piece...

What do you think of the Chancellor's ideas for rescuing the economy?

Does anybody else find it irritating that so many posts on DIYNot have subject headings like this one, without giving a clue about the real subject of the post? It's very unhelpful when scrolling through pages of topics. Reluctant as I am to suggest making any more rules, is there a case for...

I had a delivery of boards recently and included a couple of tilebacker boards for a job I'm doing soon. With one thing and another, the tilebacker had to wait outside while I did other things. This morning I went out to cut them to size and found they were like wet sponges, weighed twice...

Sorry if this is a false accusation, but it appears that DIYnot is crashing my browser (Firefox 3.0.1) every time I view a thread with an ad displayed on the right hand side of the screen. This doesn't happen when the ad is a banner across the top. It means I'm not able to view some threads...