The grumpy thread

[Louise2cv]

I hope the weather improves soon. My eyes can't take much more, such is the frequency of my having to roll them in response to the over reaction. Gawd helps us if ever it actually does snow properly one day!

 

(I understand some places have had a fair amount and that's made things difficult there, but it now seems that if there's snow somewhere there has to be a sympathetic response of behaving like there is snow disruption everywhere. There was a *bit* here on Monday but it had mostly melted by the evening and certainly the roads are clear... everything is still cancelled and being cancelled.).

 

TL:DR British reaction to snow sends me all a bit "Daily Mail".

[dollywobbler]

Where I am, the wind is the biggest problem. Most of the snow has just blown away. A few miles down the road though, in either direction, the roads are blocked by snowdrifts. I don't think it's that ridiculous to lie low during potentially hazardous weather.

 

The flipside being that you get folk stuck in cars overnight, moaning that there's a lack of information. Well, there was plenty of information before you set off advising you to stay at home. Last time I got stuck in the snow (when it took 14 hours to drive the 3 hours from Cardiff to home), it was my own stupid fault. We should have just booked another night in Cardiff and let the bloody cat look after itself, instead of battling tricky conditions and almost dying several times (what do you do when cadence braking fails down a steep, ice-clad hill?) just so poor Pebble didn't go hungry. Lesson learnt right there!

[xtriple]

Hellfire and Kitten socks, I CANNOT beleive it! There is proper arctic type weather outside, as in drifts of about 2 foot and the roads are terrible. Cars are covered in snow, which is fine, but it rained s well which has frozen and they are covered in sheet ice, the roof on the Mazda is absolutely solid, like a proper tintop! There is no way anone is getting into their cars round here without mucho work or damage, or both.

 

I took Chester out this moring (Phoebe stayed home, wise girl) and he loved it even though his poor little cock was tracing a line of every step he took and he bounded into a big bank and vanished! It did make me laugh He is now sat on the duvet with a heat pack on his todger

 

I have never seen the roads so quiet, it's lovely, not a car being driven anywhere. Torbay is not used to this at all. When the rest of the country is under feet of snow, we are usually basking in mild sunshine or rain. I'm not bothered at all, if the car wasn't a solid ice block, I'd take one out and have a play, because I am a big kid!

[DodgeRover]

I had underfloor when I lived in NZ. It's great until the first bill arrives. After which an extra jumper seemed to be the answer

We have a wet underfloor system, works fantastic and is switched on, on a timer, for. 6 months a year gas bill doesn't seem high, sadly our next house doesn't have gas so it's not possible there.

[Parky]

Clearing up a bit locally, roads seem ok but just wet. Pavements are proper slippery but that's to be expected.

 

It looks like the South is due for another load of snow this afternoon but after that the temperatures start creeping up. I feel for the poor buggers stuck on roads and trains though

[richardmorris]

Half our place has 15 foot vaulted ceilings.  Looks lovely.  Costs a lot to heat...

 

You should see my neighbour's bills for their barn conversions - about 30ft from floor to roof beams in their living rooms. I have underfloor downstairs which works ok now it's got a new pump.

[AMC Rebel]

FOR SALEIS BILL

1983 VW T25 CAMPER VAN,

1.9L DIESEL NON TURBO,

NUMBER PLATE READS AS VW BITZY 

(VWB 127Y)

 

No it fucking doesn't, you tool.

[flat4alfa]

I've just driven from Bedfordshire to Hertfordshire 20 miles in record time.

 

Yet the schools closed again.  Any excuse for a long weekend.

[Des]

[tooSavvy]

Bear >> "Oi m8, got any KFC gravy?"

 

TS

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Bear >> "Oi m8, got any KFC gravy?"

 

TS

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 I don't think it's that ridiculous to lie low during potentially hazardous weather.

 

 

 

 

It's common sense*. If there's heating, and food in the fridge, why the hell would you go outside? Just ride it out and let the other daft buggers do crashes and stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*oh shit. A flaw/plan interface. Public are involved.

[SiC]

It'll be mostly gone by the end of the weekend. 

 

We have it here bad, but so does the rest of Europe. A lot of Europe that usually doesn't get a lot of snow has been plunged into chaos too. 

[dollywobbler]

Aye. A metre of snow in Bulgaria apparently...

[sierraman]

I hope my polytunnel isn't fucked from the snow.

[Talbot]

Talbot - the hdi 90 isn’t unheard of to pop its hg . I’ve done 3 in the last 18 months or so . One only one Ducato . None are nice jobs to do . Infact the last Berlingo I did I took the engine and box out to do it

Thanks.. That confirmes pretty much what I expected.. it's just a cow to do the OMGHGF with the engine in place, so it's coming out. And probably just getting an engine swap.

 

If I swap engines (same year, same engine, same car) does the ECU need to know it's talking to different injectors? I know I can't swap ECU's without having a major lexia/similar recoding session, but I'm hoping injectors are just plug-and-pray.

[Bren]

Whoever thought it was a good idea to install the battery at the back of the engine compartment, in the scuttle, on a passat, wants fucking.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Half our place has 15 foot vaulted ceilings.  Looks lovely.  Costs a lot to heat...

 

Ex-church?

[SierraMikeHotel]

My downstairs neighbour has moved out, which would usually be grin-worthy as she was a total pain in the arse. However, with the flat below empty, my floor is freezing. The heating normally just runs for 20 minutes or so to get the flat up to temperature but it's going for a couple of hours at a time now.

 

Mucked about with a fridge thermometer because I'm sad. One sensor on the floor, the other on the kitchen worksurface.

 

[dollywobbler]

Heatwave! It's 12.2 degrees in my office...

[dave21478]

It was properly bastard windy last night and in a massively unsurprising turn of events all the zinc fucked off from the apex of my roof, so today I took a brave pill and went up to fix it. I tied a safety line onto the pickups towbar over the roof and wore a harness with a one-way cam thing.... Classic example of all the gear and no idea as I hate heights and normally do everything I can to keep myself as close to the ground as possible...I'm sure that a little bit of pee came out.

Anyway, a sheet and a half of zinc, a load of screws and six tubes of sikaflex later and it's done.

[dollywobbler]

That is brave. Still gusting here, so our conservatory roof is staying off. Conservatory is now full of snow.

[SierraMikeHotel]

Heatwave! It's 12.2 degrees in my office...

Brrrr.

 

I am pleased to have working heating, especially as my sister was without for a couple of days, but that 4° gap over about four feet is just bizarre!

[Mally]

My downstairs neighbour has moved out, with the flat below empty, my floor is freezing. The heating normally just runs for 20 minutes or so to get the flat up to temperature but it's going for a couple of hours at a time now.

 

 

 

She must have been a Hottie!

[AMC Rebel]

Whoever thought it was a good idea to install the battery at the back of the engine compartment, in the scuttle, on a passat, wants fucking.

 

See also Corsa C - with different sides for RHD vs LHD meaning two big fuck off cables in the way of the pollen filter as they run across the car.

[flat4alfa]

Aye. A metre of snow in Bulgaria apparently...

 

Lad in my office flew in last night from Bansko.  Been out there snowboarding since Monday.  He says 'they had it all sorted'.  His delay flying back to Gatwick last night was stated by the airline as down to the 'English airport'.

[Talbot]

Flat below mine keeps mine warm.

Had this a fair few years back. In a flat above a shop.. it had 15' ceilings and was massive, and I expected it to cost an absolute fortune to heat as we were there from September to February.

 

Heating never clicked on once.

[SierraMikeHotel]

Also above a shop, but two storeys above it in the servants' quarters.  I've been in the other flats, they look lovely with big windows and high ceilings but I bet they're paying a fortune in gas bills!

We have Victorian sash windows which bleed heat but really good insulation in the loft so overall it hasn't been too bad on bills - actually slightly cheaper than my last place, which was built in 1990 but clearly to a budget.

[artdjones]

Thanks.. That confirms pretty much what I expected.. it's just a cow to do the OMGHGF with the engine in place, so it's coming out. And probably just getting an engine swap.

 

If I swap engines (same year, same engine, same car) does the ECU need to know it's talking to different injectors? I know I can't swap ECU's without having a major lexia/similar recoding session, but I'm hoping injectors are just plug-and-pray.

I would use your original injectors and ecu.Also , you may have to swap the camshaft sprocket.I did what you are planning to do on a van about 5 years ago and couldn't get the new engine to run until I had swapped the camshaft sprocket as well.There is a different sprocket on engines with a Bosch system from engines with a Siemens system,so the ECU was expecting a different signal from the camshaft sensor.

[Stanky]

Heating situation resolved! I rolled around in the rockwool in the loft and noticed that there is a flexi-pipe from the boiler output to the condensate pipe. Pulled that off and captured some of the resultant flood in a bucket, plugged it back in and its fired up. I'll have to go up there later to drain it off again i suspect but at least the bastard house is warming up a bit.