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Alternators are pretty amazing devices. No doubt different sizes on different vehicles will have different specs. I've heard of people using alternators as portable arc welders. That's because they can deliver large amounts of current. Some of them up to 200 amps. Simply amazing. Once the car...

Nah, you're wrong Robin. You make some valid points, but the guy who left the headlights on last night and has a stony flat battery this morning and has a job interview first up wants the car started as soon as possible and as easily as possible. There's only one solution: big fat copper wires...

Starter motors draw a lot of current. Depending upon the car (ie. large or small) you can expect several hundred amps to pass through the jumper cable to get the starter to turn the engine over fast enough for a start. A diesel engine would likely draw more current for the equivalent-sized...

I used to own a hydrometer. I found it mildly interesting to measure each cell's specific gravity, but at the end of the day it didn't really matter. While the SG could tell the charge state, another good way was to listen to how the engine turned over as you tried to start it (spinning freely...

Good points. But only the OP knows who owns the building. The landlord, if there is one, might not give two hoots. And if the landlord is paying for electricity might welcome their idea.

I think Harry misunderstood my comment. Voltage is irrelevant because someone replacing a light bulb will go to their local lighting shop, supermarket, or hardware store, etc., for a replacement, which will only sell products suitable for the local electrical network. You can't buy a US-made...

Eric (above) made an interesting contribution on the issue. Fine. Voltage? Irrelevant. The components in different countries will be matched. The principles of operation are what are important. Regulations? This is a DIY forum. People want to have a go at things themselves. It's not a...

I doubt it matters. How does it differ in the UK?

No idea. Probably not, but just imagine a builder who does the right thing and decides to discontinue using their remaining stock of asbestos sheeting and buys placement materials. The asbestos sheets have been at the back of his shed for 20 years. And now someone comes along needing a quick...

Not just the mighty T? My Morris Oxford could be started that way, too. I did it often in the days when I couldn't afford a new battery. But one of the good things about those old bombs was that they could run without a battery (once you got them started); so long as you kept the revs up, they'd...

Photos 2 and 3 look like a plastic product. Photo 1 looks like timber. So, I take it you are looking for an identical product. If no one chips in on the forum, take a sample and get a length machined from timber. Stain and polish it to look the same as what you've got. Unless there's a specific...

Batteries will have a harder time in winter than in summer. If starting was a bit iffy in the warmer months, then you'll probably find it dead one cold morning in winter. As insurance, buy a good quality set of jumper leads and don't worry about the battery life too much. You can always get a...

As an engineer, you may be interested in the eng-tips site.

Some of the things I did when I was young scare me even now, just thinking about them.

I couldn't help smiling. Laughing to myself. You're from Fife. That says it all. Thinking of what you've said. Thinking of what I was like as a kid, living there. Then, thinking of what I might have been like if I had stayed. So many of my friends and me would have been one of those bike...

If you think everyone is honest and does the right thing, you've got your head in the clouds. Even builders take shortcuts. Think of the Grenfell Tower.

Asbestos tends to be tough. Hard to drill through. It was used for roofing and fences; therefore, it resists water. If you are worried, get someone to test it. But remember, if left and not touched, it won't do you any harm. Do you really want to rip it out, which will scatter fragments all over...

Good point. So, when (some) EVs are stationary at traffic lights (foot on the brake), when you ease off on the brake, the motor engages, without touching the accelerator pedal to give that familiar slow crawl forward that conventional auto trans vehicles do. Not sure I like that idea.

As mentioned above, creeping forward is normal. Put your foot on the brake, as noted. I've never driven an electric vehicle, but from what I've heard, they also want to creep forward at traffic lights, and you have to apply the brake with them, too. I would have expected an electric vehicle to...