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Hi, Are irons notoriously bad for causing RCDs to trip? My wife's old iron used to do it in her previous house and her new one does it in ours. Are there any makes of iron which seem to do this less? Surely there must be some issue with the appliance if it causes leakage to earth - if live...

I popped to a local plumbers' merchant today and got a different sort of rubber bung. This one is softer rubber and much more flexible, plus it's got thinner sealing/gripping ridges so they flop in more easily. So far so good - it's gone in easily and isn't showing signs of pushing out again...

Don't know what the official reason is but when they built my house 30 years ago they put the central heating copper pipes into the screed and in some places it's broken the screed up where over the years the pipes have been expanding and contracting. The screed has crumbled away and if I brush...

It all came with the bathroom when it was fitted about 2 years ago. The cistern is a hidden away plastic one inside a Shades vanity unit. Due to the position of other pipes I don't think it's possible to get a rigid pipe in - the flexible pipe has to bend round some other plumbing that...

Thanks. Common problem? Sounds like someone needs to come up with a better design! The current pipe isn't too short - it's a flexible pipe that's already compressed a bit shorter to fit in between the cistern and the pan. The force of the bung pushing back out overcomes the push of the...

Hi, How do you get the flush pipe from the cistern to stay pushed into the hole at the back of the toilet pan? The fitting I've got is a push fit rubber bung that fits into the back of the pan. It's quite a snug fit. The end of the flush pipe (don't know it's real name) is then a push fit...

Thanks. I've already got a fairly new 7 day programmable Honeywell electronic stat (which was about £70) so would prefer to use that if I can. I've had a look round and reckon that I could put the stat on the under stairs cupboard wall and run cables up the inside of the wall. I still have...

I don't know what would be best in your situation, I'm no heating engineer. Honeywell do a system where you've got an electronic thermostatic valve on each radiator (with batteries). Each valve has a wireless link back to a central controller which presumably takes the place of your normal...

I'm hoping I'll be able to avoid that! The room will be freshly decorated by then and I don't want to have to start tearing new chunks into the walls to chase in the cable in a new location. I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed!

Damn, that's what I feared. We only thought about moving the radiator after we'd had the room plastered :cry: Not sure we want to go down that route! Thanks for your replies. What is normally considered 'too close' ?

Thanks. We're recently had to have the outlet temperature of our boiler turned down because it was slamming when it clicked off so I guess this is going to help efficiency too. We certainly noticed a difference in the heating. For starters, the en-suite doesn't get stifling any more and I no...

Is that meaning you get 40% more output from a finned rad, so if I started off with a 700mm high rad, I could go to 700 / 1.4 = 500mm high? Kev - yes, good point!

Hi, As we're planning to move a radiator, it's occurred to me that it might be a bit too close to the room thermostat. Is there a recommended minimum horizontal distance? If we mount the radiator under the window where it's going to be the most convenient, it will be within about 4 feet...

Hi, How much more output would you get from a single finned radiator compared to an unfinned one of the same size? I want to replace an old 1740mm x 700mm unfinned single radiator with a new 1800mm long finned single radiator. I'm already resigned to having to change the pipework slightly...

Hi, Having just removed the skirting board in our dining room ready for the plasterer to come next week I've just found that we've got a double socket spur feeding on to a further spur. What is more, the cable route is bad. The supply from the ring comes down from the ceiling to the first...

OK, thanks for clearing that up.

Hi, I have always used earth sleeving when wiring sockets and things because I know you're supposed to. I've never really fully understood the reason why, though. The only thing I can think is that in places you use earth sleeving there may be live parts that a bare CPC could short out on...

I figured that the RCBO would be less likely to trip than the main RCD because it's only supplying two appliances (F/F). And due to the location of the sockets, I can't bet someone won't try to plug an extension lead in and trail it outside.

Agreed with streetlighter about fitting bigger CU. I've just replaced my own CU. The old one had 5 fuses and circuits: - two 30A fuses for the rings, - a 30A fuse for the oven, - a 15A fuse for the immersion + boiler - a 5A fuse for lights. I installed a 17 way one and have used 14...

Wow that is SO neat.