The new news 24 thread

[meshking]

For anyone remotely interested Ive just worked out my second year end Solar PV generation income and savings:

 

Generation Income (FIT) £460

 

Savings over 2013 on gas use £90 (due to Immersun using surplus PV to heat water in DHW tank)

 

Savings on year on electricity £110

 

At this rate, Ill have broken even in another 4 years from my initial investment. The biggest boon is using the PV to heat the water for the house. And no i didnt have it installed to earn ££££, but to reduce my electricity bills - which over year 0 it has done by about a third. Its pretty crap over winter, but then this is the North of England so what do you expect?

 

 

I am interested, what was the initial outlay? When you say you saved 110 on leccy, are you saying you spent 110 less over the year after you fit "credit"?

[dollywobbler]

I assume you got in before the payback rates changed? Our neighbours got in just in time, but the sums were looking a lot less appealing by the time we cottoned on.

[320touring]

I assume you got in before the payback rates changed? Our neighbours got in just in time, but the sums were looking a lot less appealing by the time we cottoned on.

Similar here, but now I'm thinking there is a security of supply element too..

[The Moog]

Our landlord got £1600 fit last year. We get benefit of free electric during day but is pretty negligible overall especially if you have more than one thing turned on

[HMC]

Been gradually working through the fail sheet on the Range Rover. The only bit of MOT sanctioned welding are 2 small bits on each inner wheel arch. One bit is right next to the c pillar sunroof drain tube outlet which makes me think theres a weeping tube somewhere further up. That might be the only items deemed MOT necessary but as I suspect with lots of these, theres various areas with it gradually creeping through the structure that I will attend to. On the whole though the structure has stood up quite well. Long term owners have allowed it to be reasonably well attended to. It needs new front discs which involves taking off the hubs so Ill have a good look at the wheelbearings whilst im at it.

 

It had been mildly "One life LIVE IT' -ed and I have gradually been removing lifestyle stickers and various bolt on things, finishing today with the reinstatement of a chin spoiler which I know spoils its off roader capabilities but I think its got a bit of its original dignity back.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I was tempted by the idea of stainless sports system but being on a tight budget has meant ive welded up the holed bits in the exhaust system with bits of triumph spitfire bonnet. Back in the 70s Land Rover sales used to prop up the car divisions finances so maybe this is karma?

[Micrashed]

I am interested, what was the initial outlay? When you say you saved 110 on leccy, are you saying you spent 110 less over the year after you fit "credit"?

Initial outlay was £4800 for a 2.5 KWp system. The company did try to push for a 4KWp system but the other panels would have caught too much shade and pulled the rest of the system down. Add in another £400 for the proportional power device that fires a full 3Kw into the immersion heater element when we have surplus generation (look up burst fire control).

 

The £110 is based on the saving on our electric spend based on year zero, or the year before we got panels.

 

In terms of actual cheques from the Norweb Federation that totals £460 this year (£455 last year), the rest is money off the gas and electric bills.

 

Without the FiT it would take far longer to recoup the investment, that said personally if once the kit is paid for Norweb ceased to pay FiT I wouldn't care. The reason I got it was long term fuel savings. With five in the house our average daily consumption is 9Kwh/day/year - this however is down from 14Kwh/day/year from Year Zero.

 

It peaks in winter - I think we pulled 25Kwh on Christmas day of Electric, yet today we pulled just 4Kwh off the grid, but heated a full tank of water which was used for 5 showers, a bath a dishwasher load and bits of washing and had the washing machine and electric cooker running.

 

you tend to get a bit savvy about use, we no longer run things  like the dishwasher and washing machine simultaneously, the dyson pulls 1.5kw so is used  when other things are off - the background pull for the house (fridge, freezer, stuff on standby etc) is 220w. I suppose its a bit anal, but whilst not being full on green mother Earth loving hippies we are a bit more careful how we use electricity.

 

Im on the 21p generation FIT / 3p export FIT.

[Ghosty]

Peugeot Expert? 

 

Maybe he is a van and he needs a new engine for himself...

[dugong]

I assume you got in before the payback rates changed? Our neighbours got in just in time, but the sums were looking a lot less appealing by the time we cottoned on.

PARENTS_DUGONG got in on the earlier, higher rate. Worringly, FATHER_DUGONG tells me he now wants to buy a plug-in Prius, "because I can run it for nothing".

[Mr Livered]

Similar here, but now I'm thinking there is a security of supply element too..

I understand that a solar system will shut itself down during a power cut, so that when the grid doesn't work you're just as stuffed as those without solar installations.

 

Which is unfortunate - or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

[Cavcraft]

Thanks to Catsinwelder and Sloth, I do indeed have a new toy

 

Plan is to get the triumph up on ramps so I can have a good look underneath to make a plan. Also need to find a relevant course to learn how to use the magic sparking stick

 

Get round to Volksangyl's and practise on the Maestro first!

[320touring]

I understand that a solar system will shut itself down during a power cut, so that when the grid doesn't work you're just as stuffed as those without solar installations.

 

Which is unfortunate - or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

That's only if you wire it into the grid..

 

Some deep cycle batteries and a control circuit and you can store the generated power on site.

[Mike D]

I have finally got the new interior in the bug

 

 

 

 

[Micrashed]

I understand that a solar system will shut itself down during a power cut, so that when the grid doesn't work you're just as stuffed as those without solar installations.

 

Which is unfortunate - or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

It does, and this is so that it doesnt fire off 240v into a grid which some poor bugger may be working on thinking its dead.

 

There is however a workaround as with so many things to make the system still generate during daylight hours even if the supply from the DNO is off.

 

In other news - does anyone else think this resus doll looks like ex President of the United States Richard Nixon?

[Noel Tidybeard]

PARENTS_DUGONG got in on the earlier, higher rate. Worringly, FATHER_DUGONG tells me he now wants to buy a plug-in Prius, "because I can run it for nothing".

maybe you need to find a plug in 106 and do it shitter-style

[HMC]

Fleet news- GT6 can haz MOT. It was last taxed in 1980(!)  and missed the historic vehicle tax shenannegins in the 90s whilst it was slumbering in a central london lockup, so the next task is to get the DVLA to change it from PLG to historic....

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

In other news - does anyone else think this resus doll looks like ex President of the United States Richard Nixon?

This is the creepiest close harmony group I've ever seen.

[Angrydicky]

What happened to the 504 brookjm?

[The Moog]

Saab now has mot. Cost£600 but included engine mount, handbrake cable and rocker gasket.

 

Engine mount has made a huge difference as the car now responds immediately when pressing the go pedal which means it feels twelfty times faster

[derskine]

Done quite a lot of work on Cortina, hoping to mot and paint it next weekend, hugely excited as it's been 4 years in the making.

Also bought a pair of rear arch repair panels for my 18, thought I would have to make them but I was directed to a very moderately priced (36 euros each) french auto body website.

 

Action shot

 

[HMC]

What happened to the 504 brookjm?

Sadly Needed more complicated welding than I was capable of, sold it to a local chap who already owns a pickup!

[stuboy]

gonna be having an op.. saw consultant on friday and have torn cartlidge and cyst in my left knee.

that be why its soo dam painfull

[Honey Badger]

gonna be having an op.. saw consultant on friday and have torn cartlidge and cyst in my left knee.[/size]

that be why its soo dam painfull[/size]

 

I had a Bakers cyst on my knee burst, possibly the most pain I've ever been in, including my now fucked back.

 

The keyhole cartridge op I had was a peice of piss though, so much quicker to heal and a lot less painful than the one I had in the early 90s, 2 weeks after the op and your knee will feel like new.

[Sloth in a bowl]

I'm going to have to acept that I like the Kia enough to spend money on it which is totaly not what I intended. The thing has no rust worthy of the name and apart from a crap change into 2nd gear drives very sweetly. I have even had it upto 88 on sat nav speed with power in reseserve.

It currently has 5 brands of tyre (hankook, roadstone, rayal, kumho and firestone) on the wheels and though they all have useful tread the sidewalls on a couple are rather dodgy so I'm going to bite the bullet and get fresh boots.

A call to Selly Oak Tyres beckons.

[phil_lihp]

Sadly Needed more complicated welding than I was capable of, sold it to a local chap who already owns a pickup!

 

What?  Nooo!  Sad news.  Sounds like it's in good hands though.

[cort16]

Sadly Needed more complicated welding than I was capable of, sold it to a local chap who already owns a pickup!

 

When you watch the likes of b0ll0x or tonybmw doing it they make boshing up panels and welding them in from a sheet of old road sign  look easy. The truth is it's really hard and takes ages.

I've got a fair bit of experience with welding but so far it's taken me 7 hours to cut out,clean up then make up and weld in some new panels on the floor of my cortina.

If you've got donor panels it's much easier.

[Junkman]

Fleet news- GT6 can haz MOT. It was last taxed in 1980(!)  and missed the historic vehicle tax shenannegins in the 90s whilst it was slumbering in a central london lockup, so the next task is to get the DVLA to change it from PLG to historic....

IMG_37281.JPG

IMG_37301.JPG

IMG_37291.JPG

 

Bloody ace!

 

So it will be at Chodmanglery Coldmongely Chumley Castle?

[beko1987]

A guy over the road asked me what the eml light on his 2004 golf tsi something was, perfect excuse to grab my obd dongle! P2096 which apparently is something to do with an o2 sensor, apparently there's a few, wtf? Anyone have any idea? I'll pop round and let him know if so.

 

He got fleeced £70 to get it plugged in and a sentence of doctors writing on a bit of paper, fiver well spent I think!

[beko1987]

Not fleeced, stung. Suppose the car blokes got to make a crust I suppose

[Timewaster]

It does, and this is so that it doesnt fire off 240v into a grid which some poor bugger may be working on

If the poor bugger in question is working the other side of the local transformer he might end up with an unwelcome 11000 volts.

 

Fortunately there are several safeguards against this happening.

[wuvvum]

I have even had it upto 88 on sat nav speed with power in reseserve.

My Mazda 121 (basically exactly the same thing, but with a carb and no rev limiter) would hold a genuine ton on the flat.  Didn't have much left in reserve though to be fair.