Early Risers.

[petethemole]

8 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Not quite, in the USA for high power uses like washing machines, some sockets are fed with 120V on the live wire with another phase on the neutral wire so giving the equivalent of 230V.

The pump that would be supplied with this pool in USA is 230v. three-phase

[Pacific231G]

3 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

US mains voltage is only 120 v it always sounds puny to out 230v.

Afternoon all

You need heavier cables to handle the increased current for the same wattage. W=VI (sort of, because alterrnating current is more complicated than DC with imaginary numbers flying around everywhere*)  You also need more local supply transformers as the lower voltage means greater transmission losses over distance. 120V is a lot less lethal than 230V but American sockets etc. are a lot less well protected.

I knew about the business of supplying cookers and washing machines from two phases but having two sorts of electricity in the home does seem like asking for trouble- a bit like the way people like Peter Denny and Frank Dyer had mains wiring and 12V wiring mixed up under the thing that must not be spoken of on ER. 

 

*When I was doing my Marine Engineering OND we referred to our electrical engineering lectures as "magic" !

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by Pacific231G

[Andrew P]

Talking of loosing weight, counting calories and weighing food before consumption. I do none of that, I should, but I can't be A***d. I have lost a bit of weight, but I'm a sweet toothed old bu66er and so like a few moments ago, when the Good Lady said; would you like some fudge, I could not say no, and it was a big bit, in fact it just about fitted into my gob in one go, I then nearly chocked trying to eat it.

 

Spose that's one way to lose weight. choke on it.

[Pacific231G]

1 hour ago, petethemole said:

The pump that would be supplied with this pool in USA is 230v. three-phase

Oh the horror!!....

All that stuff I almost forgot decades ago is attempting to reinfect my brain (is there such a thing as long post viral electrical engineering?). It's stuff like rotating magnetic fields and how you persuade an AC induction motor to run off a single phase supply; how to use a synchroscope to add a three phase generator (in a college in South Shields) to the national grid wihout anything going bang or more crudely just making three lights go out so things only go bang a little bit;  struggling a few years later to get my head around phantom powering and the circuit that produces a clean-feed foldback (so a remote contributor could hear a radio progamme minus their own voice) and how you really can make a working microphone from a paper cup, a strip of foil from a fag packet and a large magnet. Actually that was good fun and the resulting device produced surprisingly good audio. There's nothing like building something to understand how it works though that doesn't seem to apply to layout wiring. 

 

[Ian Abel]

Yikes, the days got away from me, but ... I'm BAAACCKKK

 

Busy past few days but for the life of me I'm not sure with what exactly!

Work is a flurry, so that accounts for a lot of time.

 

The fun side of life has been uneventful, windshield replacement went as expected Monday, Mrs and Jemma off for a few days to Grand Forks to start packing up her apartment in preparation for moving back here, they return later today.

 

More smart home devices added, to whit one robot vacuum. Perfect in a primarily single level house with wood floors and area rugs.

Mrs insisted on naming "her" Sue (inside joke for her as the cleaner at the place she works is named Sue) and it's way better to have a regular vacuuming that WE don't have to do, to collect the cat and dog hair more regularly than we ever managed to do it   "Alexa, get Sue", and off she goes 

 

Weather has been varied some hot some cold, little rain. Expecting severe thunderstorms today though.

 

Currently 17 and overcast 95% of rain (later!!) and a high reaching 25 maybe...

 

Tally ho.

[jamie92208]

4 hours ago, petethemole said:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21469048-sleepless-knight

 

A pallet load of boxes arrived shortly after I posted.  The contents have been taken to the back garden green thing to await erec  putting up.  We first have to deflate and pack up the spa pool and source a heater for the new one.  The pool came from USA so we have to get one for UK voltage.

 

Nearly time for lunch and hanging washing out.

 

Stay elfy.

It might be worth looming in something like Screwfix for  a 110v power supply as that is the standard forca lotbof industrial power tools.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

My neighbour has a pool for use in the summer. It has a solar panel heater. I have no idea how effective it is though. 

[simontaylor484]

Afternoon all 

 

Some more decking removed i used the plunge saw running up the side of the joists then have to split the remaining wood between the screws with a wood chisel most of the screws will pull out using a claw hammer or the nail puller on crow bar. The screws are so corroded the threads have disappeared. It's a slow job due to my legs. I have to keep stopping and having a sit down. If I have to go any distance i have a pair of crutches.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Just set up a new pre-payment account on Dart-charge. They can find no record of my previous account though and they have no record. I did try previously to check it but it didn't recognise my e-mail address which I thought at the time was rather odd. Now I will have to find the letter telling me that my previous account was cancelled which with my filing system (on top of the heap of bills and notices) might take some time.

[PhilJ W]

I was just looking through some old e-mails and found a reminder that my card I'd used to set up the original Dart-charge account was about to expire. It does however have the all important original account number. 

[petethemole]

47 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

It might be worth looming in something like Screwfix for  a 110v power supply as that is the standard forca lotbof industrial power tools.

 

Jamie

The pool needs a heater with more power than 110v will give; in USA it needs US style  3 phase 240v.  It is possible to heat this on ordinary UK mains with a heater up to 3kw.  It needs a filter pump as well, but you can get the pair from the same maker.  The spa pool has a combined unit, which unfortunately didn't survive the winter.

[TheQ]

38 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Afternoon all 

 

Some more decking removed i used the plunge saw running up the side of the joists then have to split the remaining wood between the screws with a wood chisel most of the screws will pull out using a claw hammer or the nail puller on crow bar. The screws are so corroded the threads have disappeared. It's a slow job due to my legs. I have to keep stopping and having a sit down. If I have to go any distance i have a pair of crutches.

On my ex deck I found the joists were in perfect condition, just most of  the decking planks had failed, I levered the planks off. Like you the so called passivated screws had rusted solid. Once I've finished demolishing, then I'll set up the portable work bench to take the joists .. no bending over to remove screws.. Then an angle grinder to the screws and so I'll be able to reuse the joists..

[leopardml2341]

4 minutes ago, TheQ said:

On my ex deck I found the joists were in perfect condition, just most of  the decking planks had failed,.......

Exact opposite in my case, most boards OK, so much so that they were recycled into planters; it was the joists that were rotten.

 

I don't quite lose weight if I overeat, but it does take a lot of being lazy to put on weight - in fact in lockdown 1 I lost about 6 kilos because I was more active than of late. I too have quite a high metabolic rate and the heat I produce means that I don't possess a jumper and only about 3 long sleeve shirts, I simply don't need them to keep warm. Sometimes it's a bit of a pain though, imagine that Ready Brek glow surrounding your body on a hot day, not comfortable at all.

 

Just waiting a delivery of a large item and then beer and food will be partaken of.

[simontaylor484]

47 minutes ago, TheQ said:

On my ex deck I found the joists were in perfect condition, just most of  the decking planks had failed, I levered the planks off. Like you the so called passivated screws had rusted solid. Once I've finished demolishing, then I'll set up the portable work bench to take the joists .. no bending over to remove screws.. Then an angle grinder to the screws and so I'll be able to reuse the joists..

Most of the joists are ok there are a couple of dodgy patches. These will be re inforced with treated CLS timber either side new boards will then be fitted using different brand screws. The old deck boards are being sorted to see what can be re used and what is fit for bonfire night

[polybear]

Bear spent a fair wedge of today doing buddy's brakes - all four calipers stripped, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt, along with new fluid all round.  The NSR caliper had a seized caliper guide pin (they're supposed to slide in & out) but was removed pretty easily for cleaning and refitting after first coating with high temp. brake grease; in fact all pins were done just for the hell of it.  Buddy's input to proceedings was pumping the brake pedal as required, digging stones out of tyres, and jacking up.  Plus moral support; the last time he "did" brakes was on his Ford Capri....

A test drive proved successful, with no trees hit; brakes are much quieter (not totally silent - the discs have a fair wear ridge on them which probably doesn't help) but it stops PDQ and in a straight line too.  Job done.

Bear was rewarded with freebie Saveloy & Chips; SWMBO also provided a couple of Simmon's Bakery Jam Donuts

 

The afternoon (well, post 3pm cos' that's when we'd finished the brakes & subsequent scoffin') was to be used for fitting a few more door handles, but an overwhelming need to zed for a couple of hours won the day.

 

And a surprise call from Nurse Covid resulted in Bear's monthly Covid test this evening; sadly no black stockings were in evidence, though on reflection that was definitely A Good Thing since "Nurse" was a Caribbean Guy called Enoch 

 

Buddy next door has offered to assist Bear in hedge cutting and gardening activities tomorrow, which is a very fair swap for doing brakes.

Edited July 14, 2021 by polybear

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

120V is a lot less lethal than 230V but American sockets etc. are a lot less well protected.

Australian outlets (other than being switched per code and having angled prong receptacles) are little different structurally than US outlets (similarly sized conductors etc) yet are designed for 240V RMS. UK outlets and plugs are over designed.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I don't have wooden decking as its not advisable with the number of foxes around. However in the old shed I had a tongue and grooved chest of which the ingress of water had rotted out the bottom. However I was able to rescue some of the boards that are now doing service as shelves in the new shed. Of the remains the end boards were not long enough to use as shelves but enough of them to make a box about 18" X 18" and about 4" deep. The rest was too rotten and went on the bonfire. Tea has brewed so I'll be back later.

[J. S. Bach]

8 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 ...snip... However, by not cutting out fat (e.g. leaving the fat on a nice grilled steak) you end up being satiated much quicker and for longer (after eating 150 g of slow roast pork belly I am full to the brim and satiated and will remain so for a good 6 - 7 hours; after 150 g of pasta I will be hungry again in only a couple of hours).  ...snip...

Enjoy hump day

iD

Plus, most of the flavor is in the fat; at least for me. I did not know (or maybe remember) about the feeling satiated sooner with the fat left on. That probably explains why when I have my corned beef and cabbage lunch on Thursdays at Gene's (I always ask for slices with a lot of fat) I feel somewhat "over-stuffed" and usually do not eat anything else that day. However those weeks when I go in on Fridays for the catfish, I am usually hungry again in time for an evening munch. I learned something today, thank you.

Edited July 14, 2021 by J. S. Bach
to do a minor edit.

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

... in the USA for high power uses like washing machines, some sockets are fed with 120V on the live wire with another phase on the neutral wire so giving the equivalent of 230V.

I made sure that I have a 220V* service in my panel and wired in the garage (currently behind the drywall) in the off chance that one day I need to install an electric car charger.

 

* Actually 240V but it is conventionally called a 220V service. The minimum single phase operating voltage is 110V, but the supply is 120V.

 

It's actually a split-phase connection (single phase transformer) where the normal supply is a centre-tapped neutral, rather than phase-to-phase, three phase (which would be  207V with 120V single phase). 

[New Haven Neil]

Us enlightened T2 diabetics have been harping on about this for some time, carbs are the enemy, good fat does the job., portion control is (difficult.....) is paramount also!

 

Michael Oz, I'd say UK sockets and plugs are well designed, not over designed - in my travels around the world and in non-UK built ships, I find the alternatives to be rather dodgy in some cases, and poorly designed.

[The White Rabbit]

I'm glad it's been a better day for many. Thoughts still with certain folk though. 

 

The weather here seems to have taken a step change, looks like the Grand Prix weekend will be fine and sunny. It's Britain, so we're only talking up to around 26 degrees (C) but when you're working that's plenty warm enough! 

 

So far, so good with this week, progress made on various bits round house, garden and official paperwork. All the stone is now in place, so ready to start the third 'Great Wall' at the weekend. 

 

Re food, the most dramatic illustration I had of 'the cliff' was when I went through a stage of having Weetabix (with added sultanas) for breakfast. Long mornings (breakfast about 7.30, lunch around 14.00) and I would run out of energy about 11.30. A change of breakfast (to a variation of Welsh Rarebit) and that gave me a whole 'morning's' worth of energy. 

[Andrew P]

Still quite warm init.

 

Shorts put to good use and the exposed legs didn't seem to bother the nurse in the X Ray unit, in and out before my allotted time.  (of the X Ray unit, not the nurse I hasten to add).

[PhilJ W]

Did someone mention sheds.

https://www.cuprinol.co.uk/shedoftheyear.jsp

[Ozexpatriate]

33 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

I'd say UK sockets and plugs are well designed, not over designed - in my travels around the world and in non-UK built ships, I find the alternatives to be rather dodgy in some cases, and poorly designed.

I wouldn't dream of attempting to contradict you for a maritime setting!  US outlets are not well suited for that environment.

 

At one point I rented an old house with old wiring. The kitchen outlets had active + neutral pins (no earth pin). To operate appliances, a converter plug with the earth screwed to the outlet plate retaining screw was required. Talk about dodgy. Fortunately these are not installed today.

 

On the other hand I had issues with UK style plugs in terrestrial settings. In Singapore Malaysia, my laptop was plugged into an outlet mounted under a worktop. The plug fuse blew in my lap. Quite unpleasant. Maybe it was a cheap and nasty converter plug but this never happened with theoretically 'less safe' designs. Some of the configurations I've seen (and used) particularly with European outlet/plug converters are quite scary (lots of open earth connectors but fortunately with double insulated equipment like laptops).

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by Ozexpatriate
Wrong country!

[New Haven Neil]

9 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Did someone mention sheds.

https://www.cuprinol.co.uk/shedoftheyear.jsp

 

 

Pah!