Recent content by Tim10

Thanks for the replies. That sounds like a reasonable explanation, I hope that is what’s happening! I think I might put the inhibiter in at the weekend and see how it settles down, topping up where necessary. I seem to remember when the boiler was first fitted 4 years ago it needed regular...

I fitted 6 new radiators last weekend, but after refilling the system the pressure has dropped from 1.5 bar to 1.2 bar since last Sunday. I have carefully checked all the joints that I’ve made into the new radiators and there are no signs of any leaks whatsoever. All joints appear bone dry to...

We’ll shortly be replacing the kitchen, which will involve moving the washing machine into the same corner as the incoming mains cold water. This will mean that the washing machine would have to be pulled out to gain access to the stopcock, not ideal if we ever have an emergency. It’s not...

The cutout fuse is a BS88 rated at 60 amps. It's always been 60 amps, we've never had it changed, so it seems strange that the meter is only rated at 40 amps max? I've calculated that under heavy load, we could potentially be using as much as 60-70 amps for short periods (not exceeding a few...

That makes sense as 1966 would co-incide with the publication of the fourteenth edition. Maybe this was where PME supplies were first introduced? Was there ever any regulation requiring cutouts be filled with oil, and/or subsequent later regulation banning this because of the kind of problem...

Thanks very much for the replies so far. I never had any intention of touching this myself, no worries about that! I have a good knowledge of domestic electrical systems. I was an apprentice electrician when I left school, although I didn't complete the apprentiship due to being made...

There appears to be an oil like substance leaking from the intake side of our Service Head. I’ve uploaded some pictures to show you exactly what is happening. The first picture shows our entire mains set up. The Service Head, a 100 amp Bill unit (the fuse inside is a 60 amp BS88) was put...

Well, we had the new combi boiler fitted last weekend. Of course, the fitter needed to turn the water off, so used quite a neat device, a handle that fits over the broken spindle. It's basically a small piece of spindle with a normal stopcock handle on one end, and a socket, which fits over the...

As I mentioned yesterday, I did manage to fit a new stopcock further up the same rising main about 15 years ago, and have fitted various other compression fittings to the existing pipework in our house. But I can't remember how difficult it was to get the olives on as it's a few years since I...

There's room for error on both sides, so if I do mess it up on the first attempt I can start again. I'll be going for the recommended finger tight then one full turn with a spanner. Hopefully that, and the PTFE tape which I always use should make a sound joint. Thanks for the help and...

The reason why a junior hacksaw is because I've got one of those to hand, and the 15 or 20 quid a pipe splice would cost seems a lot for something I'll only use once or twice, unless you think I'm likley to run into problems with a junior hacksaw? I fitted a stopcock further up the same rising...

I've made plenty of capillary joints before, but only on new, completely dry pipes. After further looking into things and realising how much of a problem drying the old pipe might be, I've decided to go for a straight couple compression fitting. It'll be a lot quicker and easier, I won't have to...

Thanks for the reply. OK, a new stand alone brass stopcock it is. That's exactly along the lines as I was thinking, but with so many different sorts available and no clear set of regulations (that I can find) that refer to stopcocks I wasn't sure. Space is extremely limited, but the kitchen...

The handle on the main stopcock where the rising main enters the house in the corner of the kitchen broke off many years ago. We have 2 ways to turn the water off that aren’t ideal. I have filed a square end onto the stopcock spindle where the handle used to fit so this can be turned off with a...

That's why I made sure I removed one of the spurs, so the spur now only supplies one single socket for the extractor. What worried me more than this was how the undersized junction box breaking into the ring was wired. Very untidy to have unsheathed cables protrouding from the junction box, even...