Keen Diy'ers?

[Shyheels 183]

I can just about spell DIY....

I'd rather call in the nice lass with the otk boots...

 

Edited January 5, 2018 by Shyheels

[Puffer 258]

I can certainly see your dilemma, Freddy.   If only the spring was just about here, you could get on with the replacement rather than the repair without time and comfort being 'of the essence'.

It must sound like a hollow offer, but I rather wish that the limitations of geography and time did not preclude my practical assistance to you 'on site' for a week or so.   I'm sure that, between us, we could get all that old and new pipework sorted out and the new boiler in and working before your fingers and toes went completely blue.   That is, of course, if we could each tolerate the other's particular (peculiar?) ways of tackling the various tasks!    (My wife will be glad to provide a glowing reference as to my mild, co-operative and flexible attitude to work, and life in general.   See separate correspondence on that point on this board.  )

Edited January 5, 2018 by Puffer
typo

[Shyheels 183]

Sounds like it would be a welcome break from your routine, too

[FastFreddy2 282]

7 hours ago, Puffer said:

 That is, of course, if we could each tolerate the other's particular (peculiar?) ways of tackling the various tasks!    (My wife will be glad to provide a glowing reference as to my mild, co-operative and flexible attitude to work, and life in general.   See separate correspondence on that point on this board.  )

I'm sure anything is possible when "needs must".

I am after all, used to working with/for people with your grade of "flexibility" ....    (As you are aware from recent emailed comms. )

[Shyheels 183]

And if you wanted to pour oil on troubled flames you could always tell your wife that the chap you were going to help out was a fellow heel wearer. 

[FastFreddy2 282]

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

And if you wanted to pour oil on troubled flames you could always tell your wife that the chap you were going to help out was a fellow heel wearer. 

I have already mentioned his skills, energy and doggedness in concluding works in a timely manner. 

Were I to threaten her with Puffer, I would put a large financial bet on her welcoming him with open arms. I would equally bet, if it got him here quicker, she would provide the heels for him to wear while he worked here.  I assure you (and him), I do not exaggerate. 

[FastFreddy2 282]

Today's news ....

In the kit I bought I got a lot of useful bits. Two sensors I wasn't expecting to be included. A gasket I'd already bought for the repair initiative (£10). The two 'O' ring seals I wondered/worried about. Also a metal seal with location lugs and rubber core. I've seen something like it before, but can't at this time remember where. (Possibly on the sump of a car - maybe?) Anyway .....

Not wishing to do something stupid like assemble the kit and leave something important out (seal), I contacted the makers this morning by email before visiting the dentist. I had hoped when I returned later in the day, I'd have a response. Nope.

This evening I twice rang a Customer Helpline that was no longer used, despite the number being on the makers web site. I rang their Technical Support line, and asked about the email - couldn't be found. They sent me an email that I (at their request) replied to, so it HAD to be delivered to them. They'd told me to include a phone number so they could ring me back. 40 minutes later, I rang them again. (4th attempt, after 2 emails.) The chap I spoke to told me the email team had left 20 minutes before they sent me an email. (???) I explained that may not have been fully the case ..... Although reluctant to deal with my query I explained the problem. His response was "We get a lot of queries over that part." I had to laugh - why didn't they do something about it? Anyway, I was assured it was a surplus part. "Ignore it." Another day lost. Possibly because I don't know everything there is to know about these boilers, or because the world and his friend likes to trip people up? It's like a 'parts boobytrap'.

Anyway, I'll be putting things back together tomorrow. Finally.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2018 by FastFreddy2

[Puffer 258]

10 hours ago, FastFreddy2 said:

I have already mentioned his skills, energy and doggedness in concluding works in a timely manner. 

Were I to threaten her with Puffer, I would put a large financial bet on her welcoming him with open arms. I would equally bet, if it got him here quicker, she would provide the heels for him to wear while he worked here.  I assure you (and him), I do not exaggerate. 

 

10 hours ago, FastFreddy2 said:

...

Anyway, I'll be putting things back together tomorrow. Finally.

 

What?   Without me?   Does Mrs F approve?

[Shyheels 183]

11 hours ago, FastFreddy2 said:

I have already mentioned his skills, energy and doggedness in concluding works in a timely manner. 

Were I to threaten her with Puffer, I would put a large financial bet on her welcoming him with open arms. I would equally bet, if it got him here quicker, she would provide the heels for him to wear while he worked here.  I assure you (and him), I do not exaggerate. 

Golly! That’s hospitable! 

[FastFreddy2 282]

1 hour ago, Puffer said:

What?   Without me?   Does Mrs F approve?

Mrs F is keen to remain "unaware" of anything I'm doing with that boiler.... 

 

1 hour ago, Shyheels said:

Golly! That’s hospitable! 

Given his usual "hourly rate", he could be put up in a Premier Inn, fed and watered for a week, worked for 8 hours a day, and we'd still save 50% of the cost of a regular tradesman - plus get a better job.

I've told him he has at least two "fans" here, willing to give him work, and possibly a third if he could fit in with "when and how" she wanted the work done. (Woman known to us as 'blondie'.) It's one of the reasons I think he underestimates his attractiveness to the opposite sex. Not maybe as a budding Marlon Brando/James Dean/Daniel Craig figure, but a loyal homebuilder - who isn't broke. (So not someone looking to marry money - and invite the women as a bride.) He couldn't move up here, but I'm fairly certain he'd be kept busy, mixing 'business' with pleasure. I don't suppose he has time to test the water locally, but I'd be amazed if an ad' in his local newspaper and shops, that ran along the line of "Mature and experienced DIY'er looking for paid work - no job too small" didn't have the phone ringing off the hook.  I know two women 'of a certain age' that pay people good money to clean their homes, that either don't need cleaning or need very little cleaning. They are buying company and stimulation, because they can afford to.  

I'm absolutely sure, there is at least one woman out there who would accommodate a private interest in a partner wearing a manly looking heel, if he made her happy in just about every other respect. Why? Because she is happy in just about every other respect. 

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by FastFreddy2

[Shyheels 183]

Sounds as though a very pleasant future could await the right sort of guy up in your neck of the woods.

Edited January 6, 2018 by Shyheels

[FastFreddy2 282]

25 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

Sounds as though a very pleasant future could await the right sort of guy up in your neck of the woods.

And his neck of the woods. 

The further South he ventured, the bigger the potential 'market' of opportunity. A lot of elderly couples retire to the coast and sadly, both don't always live for long. It often leaves a woman without a partner to share her life, or even parts of it, with her reluctant (or plain unable) to move back to her old social circle again. Like all 'regular' people, these women aren't looking for a Don Juan or Howard Hughes figure (though one or two might), they are looking for agreeable company. Just that, agreeable company. 

 

[FastFreddy2 282]

Yay!

We have heat ..... 

And a leaking condense siphon. Not ideal, but I'll be fixing that much later today, or more likely tomorrow.

But warm rooms while it's 0' outside.  

[Puffer 258]

10 hours ago, FastFreddy2 said:

And his neck of the woods. 

The further South he ventured, the bigger the potential 'market' of opportunity. A lot of elderly couples retire to the coast and sadly, both don't always live for long. It often leaves a woman without a partner to share her life, or even parts of it, with her reluctant (or plain unable) to move back to her old social circle again. Like all 'regular' people, these women aren't looking for a Don Juan or Howard Hughes figure (though one or two might), they are looking for agreeable company. Just that, agreeable company. 

 

Oh, dear!   My future was looking quite a lot rosier [blush] until that bit was mentioned.

 

20 minutes ago, FastFreddy2 said:

Yay!

We have heat ..... 

And a leaking condense siphon. Not ideal, but I'll be fixing that much later today, or more likely tomorrow.

But warm rooms while it's 0' outside.  

So, no more 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire; Jack Frost nipping at your toes' ??

[FastFreddy2 282]

1 hour ago, Puffer said:

So, no more 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire; Jack Frost nipping at your toes' ??

An open fire would have been very welcome over the last two weeks, believe me. 

It's going to take about a day to get the walls warmed up, having been allowed to cool off over a long period. I don't mean the outside walls either. Even though we've been using fan heaters, they have warmed the air, not the house. EVERYTHING is cold. 

We used a Christmas present for the first time 2 evenings ago. A 'steamer' used for cooking vegetables and fish. Interesting idea, like a pressure cooker without the pressure. Anyway, it put moisture in the air, which condensed on glasses inside a kitchen cupboard, because they were so cold. 

Tonight we have radiators that are too hot to touch. I can't remember the last time I felt them that warm. The new heat exchanger is so far, doing a good job.

It was touch and go though .... The new seals supplied were the wrong size! I had to carefully reclaim the old ones. At the time of writing, they are holding up. Not sure how the siphon is not doing the job it's supposed to, because there's a lug to make sure it is positioned correctly, and a clamp to hold it in place. I have managed to rig up a cloth that is collecting the leaked water, and dropping it into a bucket.

My biggest concern now, is the mixer fan. It sounds like a bag of spanners. Replacements are circa £140 I think, and I would be loathe to replace that too. I might price one up before the current item fails - just in case. If the house gets warm enough, I may be able to work in it, rather than sit huddled under a blanket with a hot water bottle, I kid you not. One day last week it was noticeably warmer outside than inside Maison Freddy. It's not nice, sitting in a cold house.   

 

 

[Puffer 258]

8 hours ago, FastFreddy2 said:

...

It was touch and go though .... The new seals supplied were the wrong size! I had to carefully reclaim the old ones. At the time of writing, they are holding up. Not sure how the siphon is not doing the job it's supposed to, because there's a lug to make sure it is positioned correctly, and a clamp to hold it in place. I have managed to rig up a cloth that is collecting the leaked water, and dropping it into a bucket.

...

 

 

Do you mean 'siphon' - or is it a tundish, which is overflowing?

[FastFreddy2 282]

3 hours ago, Puffer said:

Do you mean 'siphon' - or is it a tundish, which is overflowing?

Siphon.

It slips across a flange, and a rubber seal prevents water from getting out of the join between the siphon bowl and the heat exchanger sump. The way it works (unlike a tundish,) is warm water collects and periodically leaves as a warm stream, rather than droplets. It helps prevent freezing if the outlet pipe goes outside. 

I've had another go at positioning it correctly this morning, and it still leaks. I either need a new seal, or a new assembly. New assembly £14-£18 from Evilbay. There are two versions, neither of which are exactly the same as the one I have. The earlier 'replacement' style looks to have an extra (orange) shim between the sump and the siphon. The MKIII version has a tube that goes up into the sump, with an internal seal. Obviously, there has been a longterm (design) problem with leaking.....

 

 

I may be able to replace the bearings in the fan for £3-50. Might be worth a punt. Complete fan assemblies can be had for £100 from Evilbay, up to £190 retail, although £130-£140 delivered is more typical. If the bearing seize, they can take the PCB with them, not an attractive prospect.

 

I need to start laying pipework for the new boiler as a matter of urgency.....

Edited January 7, 2018 by FastFreddy2
Picture added.

[Puffer 258]

Hmmm.   I wonder if simply using some sealant (Tru-Blu or similar) will suffice to stop the weep.   Worth a try, rather than replacing?

I know that Freddy Towers is not a small dwelling and I'm just wondering whether a combi is going to be man-enough for all your needs.   (I don't know what kit you have in mind but I'm guessing 30kW minimum.)   But I suppose that, unless Mrs F likes to spend hours in a deep bath in the East Wing, the chance of your abode being rendered uncomfortably chilly whilst hot water is being drawn is acceptably low.

[FastFreddy2 282]

50 minutes ago, Puffer said:

Hmmm.   I wonder if simply using some sealant (Tru-Blu or similar) will suffice to stop the weep.   Worth a try, rather than replacing?

I know that Freddy Towers is not a small dwelling and I'm just wondering whether a combi is going to be man-enough for all your needs.   (I don't know what kit you have in mind but I'm guessing 30kW minimum.)   But I suppose that, unless Mrs F likes to spend hours in a deep bath in the East Wing, the chance of your abode being rendered uncomfortably chilly whilst hot water is being drawn is acceptably low.

I am happy to use "Plumbers Gold" to seal anything wet. Trouble is, it's semi-permanent, and I'm sure I'll have to remove the bloody siphon for some reason in the future. At this stage, I'm very reluctant to risk more time without proper heating. If I had to replace the fan and the bloody siphon, I've upgraded/refurbed the boiler, and it ought to be worth more than it was as an 8 year old (worn out) unit. There are two boilers identical to mine on Evilbay at the moment. One £50 B-I-N, another circa £21 with a couple of days left for bidding. I have the seal part number, and it might be worth a try ordering that. I might even find a part number for the orange bit, which could make a difference. Either way, I'm going to be replacing parts. I'm not cutting corners with a boiler, as attractive as not spending/wasting money might be.

The combi boiler I already have is a 30kw rated one. Good enough to run 2 baths or showers at the same time. My current boiler (when new) is rated at 19kw. The heating demand for the house -on paper at least- is 10-13kw. The current boiler stops feeding two rads when asked to heat water too. It just isn't up to the job, even with the new H/E. That said, (and I repeat myself here) the boiler is at least 10m away from the H/W cylinder, and much of that pipework is 28mm copper. It may be we now use the immersion heater which can cook the cylinder in 30 minutes, rather than the hour or so it takes the boiler. The boiler should be cheaper, but I don't know it is, given how much effort goes into heating the water so inefficiently.

Mrs F no longer likes a bath, preferring to shower. When the combi is connected, I very much doubt we will notice the potential 10 minute lull in CH performance, assuming there is one when she showers. I like a 'barfy', but given how much water I use, and how long I get to soak, I might as well shower too. Like today .... Bath well past half full with lovely hot water before I dipped my limbs into the wet stuff, with me out of it inside about 7 minutes. Given the current flow rate from the HW cylinder, it probably took as long to run, as I spent in it. What a waste. A shower would have used a third of the water and I would have been finished 7 minutes earlier. I dread to think how much money we could have saved by installing the combi the first year we moved in. Easily enough to pay for a pair of hand made "tailor" fitted crotch length leather boots with a 5" heel ... Every other year....  

  

[Puffer 258]

OK, you should be fine with the new 30kW combi, given that there is just the two of you and showers are more usual.   (I much prefer a relaxing soak in a bath, so am biased against any set-up which makes a bath more onerous.   A combi would not be adequate in my house.)

As to the 'weep', I would have thought a trial with sealant (but not PG) would be worthwhile - nothing to lose and it might just do the trick.

[FastFreddy2 282]

27 minutes ago, Puffer said:

As to the 'weep', I would have thought a trial with sealant (but not PG) would be worthwhile - nothing to lose and it might just do the trick.

I need something that allows me to remove/replace with ease. I'll know by the end of today what the cost will be, when I've contacted the makers for a confirmed part number. Honestly, saving £15 against losing the heating again, isn't a decision I need to make. We were using £3 a day on electric to stay mildly warm. 

The bigger worry is a fan or bearing replacement. That's a bigger number that goes from under £4 to £100 or just over. Double that if the fan fails and takes the PCB with it (which isn't unheard of). 

[FastFreddy2 282]

I may live to regret reporting this, but the fan seems to have quietened down substantially. It now sounds like it used to. 

Today I fitted one of these .....

 

 

I had thought (in the absence of details suggesting otherwise) the orange bit helped seal the siphon to the boiler sump. Not on my boiler.... Another surplus part....

It may be that a new seal (£3) may have solved the leak problem, but if it didn't..... So even if I didn't need to spend £11 for a new siphon, I'm happy that I did. The new siphon fits the new sump, much better than the old one fitted it. Although I had cleaned out the old siphon, there was still some debris inside that wouldn't budge, and it had yellowed. The new siphon looks nice, fits nice, and doesn't leak. (Yay!)   

There's no apparent need to do anything more, but I will be doing a final gas check Friday or Saturday when my £6 bottle of Rothenberger spray arrives. 

 

[Puffer 258]

20 hours ago, FastFreddy2 said:

I may live to regret reporting this, but the fan seems to have quietened down substantially. It now sounds like it used to. 

...

There's no apparent need to do anything more, but I will be doing a final gas check Friday or Saturday when my £6 bottle of Rothenberger spray arrives. 

 

Good news!   

It could be that the fan (bearings) were just a bit sticky and the fan not turning as it should - a drop of lubrication may be beneficial.   (I had the same problem on an oven fan recently, which appeared to have seized up - and, if the oven was used, there was a real danger of the element burning out because of the lack of an air current.   On removing the fan and after cleaning/lubricating it, it worked perfectly.   A good result - minimal delay and no cost.)

Although I do use a gas-detection spray (e.g. Toolstation, which does one for £3.58), it is not essential as the traditional soap suds solution does the trick (but is best washed off afterwards).   Checking for leaks is obviously very necessary; it can also be achieved by isolating all appliances except the one under test and watching for a meter movement, although that will not of course pinpoint the source of any leak.   I had to do that some time ago at another property when a very faint smell of gas was noticed; there was a leak - at the meter itself, but fortunately easy to put right.

[FastFreddy2 282]

22 minutes ago, Puffer said:

Although I do use a gas-detection spray (e.g. Toolstation, which does one for £3.58), it is not essential as the traditional soap suds solution does the trick (but is best washed off afterwards).   Checking for leaks is obviously very necessary; it can also be achieved by isolating all appliances except the one under test and watching for a meter movement, although that will not of course pinpoint the source of any leak.   I had to do that some time ago at another property when a very faint smell of gas was noticed; there was a leak - at the meter itself, but fortunately easy to put right.

The only direct connection I touched, now checked (and the one I didn't touch), all good. Video'd too, so should anything go *bang*, I have evidence it wasn't any lack of "competency" on my part.  

In my gas welding days, soapy water water was the order of the day, but £6 is a good/cheap insurance policy.

Cover back on the boiler, I am going to try and forget it has a 'history' until I'm ready to (permanently) turn it off. 

[FastFreddy2 282]

Bit of a traumatic weekend ...... 

I started a new job in 1983, working at a large factory on the shop floor. It was manual work (I'd been advised this was a good way to get into computer work I was trained for, through the backdoor, so-to-speak) and I was given a pair of overalls to work in.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait a year before I changed jobs (as was procedure) but got a role I wanted in 3 months because a vacancy arrived and I'd already made a name for myself as someone reliable and enthusiastic. Before 1983 was concluded, I was in an office doing stuff with computers. The overalls went home, not least because they had no use for me at my employers and would have been 'binned' otherwise.

I used those overalls for several short (manual) jobs later on, a few jobs on my car(s), but mostly while decorating mine or other's homes. I could conservatively estimate, they had more use by me, than any other item of clothing I've ever owned. I had to stop using them for every dirty job circa 5 years ago, because I split the crotch on them and really weren't worth having them repaired. I did still used them infrequently, but they were way past their best.

On Sunday, they went in the bin. Too badly contaminated with fillers and paints, the material couldn't be reclaimed via a donation to a charity collecting clothing. That's not bad going though, 30 years active service in a life of just under 35 years. I won't miss them, but I felt really guilty disposing of them. Bit like discarding a friend.... 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2018 by FastFreddy2