The grumpy thread

[jakebullet]

26 minutes ago, louiepj said:

Just broke one of these snap rings putting a cv joint back on a corsa.
Phone Vauxhall and they say not available separately buy a outer joint for nearly £300 and it comes with it.....
All my motor factors say no to snap ring but joint available next day for £70.
J&R driveshafts have a complete shaft for £65 next day delivered so that's an expensive snap ring failure.
And after ordering it I was chatting to them and they said they sell a box of snap rings for £30 but how often would I use them?

Probably want one when the one that comes with the driveshaft also snaps.....

[andy18s]

1 hour ago, jakebullet said:

Maybe I need to think laterally. Wonder how big a fireball a butane refill in his burning bin would be? Hypothetically of course.

Would be a shame if it happened to take out his aircon wiring  and pipework at the same time.

Well away from the wall obviously 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

1 hour ago, jakebullet said:

Maybe I need to think laterally. Wonder how big a fireball a butane refill in his burning bin would be? Hypothetically of course.

May I recommend (and bear with me on this) the tubs that bovine teat antiseptic treatment comes in?  As a kid, my cousin and I may* have thrown a few of them on a bonfire at my aunt's farm.  They're very airtight, so when they go it's entertaining.  Not so entertaining if you're not expecting it...

[wuvvum]

5 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

How fscking much?!?

Just went to get a set of replacement wiper blades for the Caddy from Motorserv.  Nearly forty bloody quid!  For a standard 18 and 21" blade...after their computer tried (again) to specify these stupid aero conversion things that don't fit because of the kink in the end of the arms.  Plus look absolutely awful on anything made before 2010.

Think I'll shop around elsewhere...

Not much use to you obvs but Roys of Wroxham still do "standard" blades for £2.79 a pop, for any size from 13" up to 24".  So they do still exist.

[Bren]

I like Peter Kay. He is going on tour for the first time in years.

In fact it has made the BBC ten o'clock news when really it isn't news and just shows how poor the BBC has become.

[Metal Guru]

5 hours ago, jakebullet said:

Day 3 of cunts next door burning shit. How many days do we think before I can stick a report in to the council that fuckwit is burning trade waste?

Council won’t want to know, claiming cuts mean they have no one to see to it. You need the environmental agency, in Scotland it’s SEPA ,not sure who it is in the rest of the U.K.

A local joiner used to burn a few bits of waste wood on a Friday evening in a field behind my house. No problem, they usually only did it if the wind was blowing away from the houses. Then they stated bringing in lorry loads of rubbish , a lot of it plastic. Lots of fumes, sometimes smouldering over the whole weekend. Difficult to get any action as there was limited evidence left by the time anyone came out, but they started getting greedy and burning during the week. Got caught in the act, and it stopped for good.

[Lacquer Peel]

11 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Not much use to you obvs but Roys of Wroxham still do "standard" blades for £2.79 a pop, for any size from 13" up to 24".  So they do still exist.

TMS sell NAPA branded wiper blades that are very cheap and alright. Bosch wiper blades are crap these days. 

 

[Jazoli]

1 minute ago, Lacquer Peel said:

TMS sell NAPA branded wiper blades that are very cheap and alright. Bosch wiper blades are crap these days. 

 

Disagree, Bosch Aero twins are the best blades I've ever used, I put them on every car that I have, usually 23 quid a set from amazon.

[AnnoyingPentium]

21 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

TMS sell NAPA branded wiper blades that are very cheap and alright. Bosch wiper blades are crap these days. 

 

Wasn't a fan of the Bosch ones I had on the car, didn't last long.

I've got Tri-Co ones now, bought from my old work with the staff discount, so was about £11 for the pair.

[eddyramrod]

For years my standard breakfast cereal has been supermarket-brand Frostiealikes.  Not Frosties themselves, as they are Kelloggs and cost three times what the own-brand stuff does.  Except... for weeks now we've been unable to get any.  I'll be looking around town later in case I can find any.  MrsR has just returned from our nearby Aldi without, so I can rule out that one.   Barrow has two Aldis, and one (further from home, natch) seemed to have them longer than the other, but not any more.  Asda hasn't had them for some time now.  Tesco, nope.  Morrisons, I got the last two boxes a month ago.  Last week I went on to Asda's own honey-nut, which aren't as nice but they'll do.  My concern is, are we being nanny-stated out of cheap Frosties?  Or is it just a production/distribution issue?  It's a shame, I really like the Aldi flakes.

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Wasn't a fan of the Bosch ones I had on the car, didn't last long.

I've got Tri-Co ones now, bought from my old work with the staff discount, so was about £11 for the pair.

Bosch quality has certainly taken a dive over the last 10 years or so. Used to be my no 1 choice for power tools and kitchen appliances but the recent ones haven’t lasted at all well. Wipers were nothing to write home about either. I like the Michelin ones best.

[Zelandeth]

Can this wind and rain bugger off now please?  I would really like for us to be able to get the roofing work finished now.  

Firstly because the longer the scaffolding is here the more it will cost us as it's on rent, but moreso because I'm absolutely sick of hearing the loose edge of the felt above the conservatory flapping in the bloody wind.

Everything left to be done now involves mortar though, so it needs to be dry for more than 30 seconds before we can get it done.

[Andyrew]

Sometimes i just have to ask myself. 

Why the fuck do i bother. 

Borrowed the works van the other day. Upon driving it i figured id address the few issues it has. 

Tonight i took the van to the workshop. 

 wired the headunit properly , fitted the gear stick bush rebuild and swapped out the indicator stalk.  3 nice and simple jobs. 

Now id noted the igniton barrel had been a bit sticky.  Obviously tonights antics required the ignition on and off alot. Button every thing up and make sure all is well. Fire up van. Shut van off.  Pull key out. 

Put key in to drive out the workshop and the fucking steering locks stuck on. 

Could take the allegro home but that would require the van to be out the way. And guess what?

Yep of course its locked at full lock. 

Fucking

 

Fuck.

 

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

19 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Can this wind and rain bugger off now please?  I would really like for us to be able to get the roofing work finished now.  

Firstly because the longer the scaffolding is here the more it will cost us as it's on rent, but moreso because I'm absolutely sick of hearing the loose edge of the felt above the conservatory flapping in the bloody wind.

Everything left to be done now involves mortar though, so it needs to be dry for more than 30 seconds before we can get it done.

You're not wrong.  I was in my garden office yesterday with the dog and out of absolutely nowhere we had this enormous cloudburst.  It was like somebody had turned a waterfall on over our heads for five minutes, beating on the roof.  Of course, the dog then jumped three feet in the air out of surprise and spent the rest of the afternoon conveniently* sleeping under my desk.  Where my feet should have been...

[eddyramrod]

I was in our big Tesco yesterday and managed to find some OBF stock.   So I brought home two boxes.  Haven't really got room to store any more.

[loserone]

Love a good own brand frosties panic buy.  You should build an underground bunker for it.

[warch]

Bloody ebay sellers. Ordered a new bottom arm last week for my car's MoT next week. Noted the expected delivery date and the fact that it was marked for dispatch for November 3rd. Had a lot on so only just noticed that the thing hasn't arrived. Used the ebay 'where the fuck is my item request' and got a reply that it is delayed until next Tuesday (the day before my MoT). So presumably the seller hasn't got it in hand, can't get one until later this week, but has still marked it as dispatched to prevent ebay penalising them. 

It is all about honesty really, I don't mind if its a genuine mistake or if there are extenuating circumstances but it's all the bullshit people seem perfectly comfortable with that I find so aggravating. If they had just come clean I could have gone elsewhere and ordered one in plenty of time.   

[Jazoli]

36 minutes ago, warch said:

Bloody ebay sellers. Ordered a new bottom arm last week for my car's MoT next week. Noted the expected delivery date and the fact that it was marked for dispatch for November 3rd. Had a lot on so only just noticed that the thing hasn't arrived. Used the ebay 'where the fuck is my item request' and got a reply that it is delayed until next Tuesday (the day before my MoT). So presumably the seller hasn't got it in hand, can't get one until later this week, but has still marked it as dispatched to prevent ebay penalising them. 

It is all about honesty really, I don't mind if its a genuine mistake or if there are extenuating circumstances but it's all the bullshit people seem perfectly comfortable with that I find so aggravating. If they had just come clean I could have gone elsewhere and ordered one in plenty of time.   

Do you not have a local motor factors? They are usually no more expensive than ebay sellers for decent stuff, it makes no sense ordering something online when you actually need it for a specific date when you can probably pick one up locally same day.

[DavieW]

This woman walked her dog on the road with a very decent pavement right beside her. 

Granted, the road is quiet, but why walk on the road with the traffic coming behind her? Nuts 🙄

[warch]

1 hour ago, Jazoli said:

Do you not have a local motor factors? They are usually no more expensive than ebay sellers for decent stuff, it makes no sense ordering something online when you actually need it for a specific date when you can probably pick one up locally same day.

I do, but my preferred factor is a 22 mile round trip from chez warch so I decided to be lazy and get it delivered (or in this case not delivered) to my door. That'll learn me. 

 

[vulgalour]

Why is everything I try and buy at least a 2 hour drive away?  Four hours for the round trip.  I wouldn't mind except for the fact I struggle to find three consecutive hours available, and that usually at this end of the day which is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.  Thankfully when I really come unstuck there's usually someone out there in the void willing and able to help out, I just wish I didn't have to ask.  This country is so tiny, how does it take so long to get anywhere?

[High Jetter]

No local Co-op?

[High Jetter]

Plumber today condemmed the combi boiler in one of the flats I let out. Plus some gas pipe to it is wrong size and must be replaced. Said gas pipe is, of course, under the floorboards.

[anonymous user]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Plumber today condemmed the combi boiler in one of the flats I let out. Plus some gas pipe to it is wrong size and must be replaced. Said gas pipe is, of course, under the floorboards.

 

[adw1977]

Why does nobody make built-in vented tumble dryers any more?

Plenty of vented freestanding ones, but I need a built-in type that the cupboard door attaches to and for some reason they are only available as a heat pump dryer which apparently takes 2-3 times as long to dry anything and requires emptying the condensed water out afterwards.  So the vent I have in the wall will be useless.  And the heat pump dryers cost twice as much.

Apparently they use a lot less electricity, but with the typical lifespan of modern appliances I doubt it will pay back within its lifetime. 

[adw1977]

Oh, and people with full beam headlights on ALL THE FUCKING TIME. Even in daylight they're pretty dazzling in the rear view mirror. 

[High Jetter]

2 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Oh, and people with full beam headlights on ALL THE FUCKING TIME. Even in daylight they're pretty dazzling in the rear view mirror. 

Yup, and if you pause to give way and let them through a gap and they BLIND you by flashing their high beams. Thanks.

[cobblers]

43 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Why does nobody make built-in vented tumble dryers any more?

Plenty of vented freestanding ones, but I need a built-in type that the cupboard door attaches to and for some reason they are only available as a heat pump dryer which apparently takes 2-3 times as long to dry anything and requires emptying the condensed water out afterwards.  So the vent I have in the wall will be useless.  And the heat pump dryers cost twice as much.

Apparently they use a lot less electricity, but with the typical lifespan of modern appliances I doubt it will pay back within its lifetime. 

I might have misread your post and this could be a granny with a gobful of eggs deal, but there are three main types of dryers on the market.

Vented tumble driers - they  continually draw about 2.5 kw, blow hot air into the drum and pump the hot exhaust straight out of the outlet pipe along with all the water out of your clothes. They work, but fucking hell man they are needlessly inefficient. I'm surprised they actually still sell these, they're a total false economy especially nowadays when a KWH of electricity costs £193

Condenser driers use the heat of the outgoing air to warm up the incoming air over a basic pressed metal heat exchanger. The moisture in the outgoing air condenses against the cold metal, and you have to tip a container of water down the sink every 4 or 5 loads. They use roughly half as much power as a vented drier, and the air that comes out of them is pretty dry so you can use them wherever (we have ours under the stairs in a tiny cupboard) the air coming out is hot, but dry. They're pretty much 90% as quick as a vented dryer. The first generation ones were total shite but the technology is very mature now and they work fine providing you take the heat exchanger out into the garden and hose the fluff off it every 9 -18 months (the instructions usually say to do it every load 😄)

Heat pump driers use much more sophisticated technology to suck every bit of heat from the outgoing air, so the air they exhaust is cold - every bit of heat possible is pumped back into the intake. Very energy efficient, but much more expensive to buy, less powerful and quite highly strung. 

I'd wait a few generations before going for a heat pump drier but there is absolutely no good reason for a normal person to go for a vented dryer

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, adw1977 said:

Oh, and people with full beam headlights on ALL THE FUCKING TIME. Even in daylight they're pretty dazzling in the rear view mirror. 

You mean motorcyclists?

[barefoot]

7 hours ago, cobblers said:

... providing you take the heat exchanger out into the garden and hose the fluff off it every 9 -18 months 

I didn't know that.