The grumpy thread

[cobblers]

14 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Maybe find a shit hot electronics guy? Oh, hang on

I don't know any of them!

[Talbot]

29 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

oil boiler

Sounds like it's tripping on high burner temperature or high water temperature due to lack of circulation.  Does the system have a header tank?  if so, check there is water in it.  Either that or an airlock somewhere maybe.

[hairnet]

Fuck medical

In the right place to get it fixed 

They've said it's normal so thank fuck for that

[Datsuncog]

29 minutes ago, Talbot said:

Sounds like it's tripping on high burner temperature or high water temperature due to lack of circulation.  Does the system have a header tank?  if so, check there is water in it.  Either that or an airlock somewhere maybe.

Cheers for that - yes, there's a header tank in the system. I've just been up to the attic to check and there is water in it at what appears to be the usual level, with the ballcock valve functioning as normal.

The plumber has previously been in and removed a few radiators to make way for the kitchen remodelling, so it's possible that's maybe created an airlock somewhere - just odd that it's taken a couple of weeks for this to manifest.

There was a bit of air in some of the radiators (not much), but they're all bled now and still no difference.

Have messaged the plumber again, so with any luck he can stop off later and take a look...

[Noel Tidybeard]

16 hours ago, cobblers said:

Parking my camper inside nowadays, I realise how much benefit the solar panel gave me, running the wifi, fresh air fan, heater controller etc all the time. 

I bought a CTEK charger thinking that they were a well trusted brand, not likely to go on fire and "by now these smart chargers are OK and not trying to be too smart for absolutely no reason"

Nope, of course not! It will only charge for 20 hours and if your battery isn't full by then it turns off. For absolutely no reason other than to add a nonsense "tick in the features box" to impress nobody. 

What an absolute bag of shit! JUST FUCKING CHARGE THE BATTERY LIKE WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO! PUT 3.8A INTO IT TIL IT GETS TO 14.4V! THIS WILL WORK PERFECTLY WITH EVERY CAR BATTERY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD FOR FUCKS SAKE!! AAARGH!!

get an aldi/lidl one or maybe a noco

my aldidl one stays on maintaining said battery

[mitsisigma01]

Trying to buy a mattress , go to a bed shop , fkin expensive, makes you've never heard of, can't find reviews about them , delivery time of minimum 4 weeks ....

Online, scammers ,spammers , wankers, more makes you've never heard of , delivery time 2 days but if it turns out to be shit you've got to pay for returning it . Fk off ...🤯

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Bollocks - the new oil boiler fitted back in June now isn't doing much to heat the house.

Working fine until this morning - but now it switches on, runs for two or three minutes, and then flicks itself off again. Then comes back on after ten minutes, and repeats.

Pump seems to be working okay, the outlet pipe gets up to temperature quickly, but the radiators are only mildly tepid at best. Everything looks alright inside the unit casing. Plenty of kero in the tank (and yes I did check again) and a new filter fitted along with everything else. I'm concerned there's a blockage within the house somewhere restricting flow; it's all rubbishy 10mm pipe going through an ancient manifold system.

SOS has been sent to the plumber who fitted it, but it could be a night for huddling under blankets...

How's your circulating pump? 

[cobblers]

1 hour ago, mitsisigma01 said:

Trying to buy a mattress , go to a bed shop , fkin expensive, makes you've never heard of, can't find reviews about them , delivery time of minimum 4 weeks ....

Online, scammers ,spammers , wankers, more makes you've never heard of , delivery time 2 days but if it turns out to be shit you've got to pay for returning it . Fk off ...🤯

Emma/eve/maureen/ whatever online mattresses are zero risk, buy one, try it for a few months then if you don't like it they collect it and refund FOC.

I have an Eve in my camper van (I got it half price as it was one that someone tried and didn't like so they put a new cover on) and it's pretty nice.

[Sunny Jim]

18 hours ago, cobblers said:

Parking my camper inside nowadays, I realise how much benefit the solar panel gave me, running the wifi, fresh air fan, heater controller etc all the time.

If the solar was up to the job could you not buy the requisite panel(s), put them on the roof of your unit and run a cable down to the charge controller in the van? 🌞

[chodweaver]

Cheers for that - yes, there's a header tank in the system. I've just been up to the attic to check and there is water in it at what appears to be the usual level, with the ballcock valve functioning as normal.
The plumber has previously been in and removed a few radiators to make way for the kitchen remodelling, so it's possible that's maybe created an airlock somewhere - just odd that it's taken a couple of weeks for this to manifest.
There was a bit of air in some of the radiators (not much), but they're all bled now and still no difference.
Have messaged the plumber again, so with any luck he can stop off later and take a look...

Got thermostatic radiator valves? Their favourite trick after a summer of no heating seems to be to seize in the closed position. Unscrew the collar that holds the big plastic top on, and check the tiny pin beneath that can move. Up is open.

Oddly, just had our combi serviced today and airlocks in the radiator circuit plus the fault with the TRVs was stopping half the rads from warming up and the combi to burn for 2minutes, decide it was up to temperature and switch off for 8 minutes. Then repeat.

Good luck!

[Yoss]

3 hours ago, High Jetter said:

RM on strike today, am not grumpy about that though. However, why did they turn up to deliver a parcel in the 15 minutes I was out getting dizzle?

You really were unlucky if the strike is as well supported as our office. Of around 120 staff we only have four strike breakers (we're not allowed to use the scab word!). On most strike days two of them stayed in sorting all day and the other two have been going out just doing special deliveries 

[bunglebus]

"You should scratch the car more often"

Is anyone else getting really pissed off with the latest Tesco ad?

[Noel Tidybeard]

3 hours ago, artdjones said:

How's your circulating pump? 

that's a bit of a personal question isn't it?🤣

[artdjones]

3 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

that's a bit of a personal question isn't it?🤣

[Lankytim]

The FIL volunteers at a food bank, going out and collecting donations from supermarkets, usually short dated food or stuff with slightly damaged packaging e.t.c. He takes the donated items to a church that run the food bank and the items are given to hard up people in the community He went to the local Tesco yesterday to make his weekly collection of donated goodies and was told that the stock had already been collected an hour or so prior. Turns out a couple of women posing as the food bank turned up and took the donation before the FIL got there. 

Imagine stealing from a food bank. The mind boggles. 

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, artdjones said:

How's your circulating pump? 

Brand new three months ago, as is the entire boiler and burner.

Seems to be pumping fine.

2 hours ago, chodweaver said:

Got thermostatic radiator valves? Their favourite trick after a summer of no heating seems to be to seize in the closed position. 

Nope, no TRVs fitted at all - and everything was working fine on Tuesday evening, nice and toasty.

We noticed it seemed a bit chilly when we came home late-ish last night, but it was quite cold out and since we were going to bed shortly, it seemed a bit pointless to boost the heating.

Only when it seemed very cold when I got up this morning did I realise the radiators were only mildly tepid, not actually hot.

Having looked over everything it seems that an airlock's the most likely culprit - I'm currently going through a rigmarole of turning the burner and pump on and off every ten seconds to try to shock the air out of the system, on the plumber's advice via text, and there's been a few almighty gurgles so far, though it still cuts out after three or four minutes.

Fun night ahead, I think - cheers for the suggestions, though!

[artdjones]

11 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Brand new three months ago, as is the entire boiler and burner.

Seems to be pumping fine.

Nope, no TRVs fitted at all - and everything was working fine on Tuesday evening, nice and toasty.

We noticed it seemed a bit chilly when we came home late-ish last night, but it was quite cold out and since we were going to bed shortly, it seemed a bit pointless to boost the heating.

Only when it seemed very cold when I got up this morning did I realise the radiators were only mildly tepid, not actually hot.

Having looked over everything it seems that an airlock's the most likely culprit - I'm currently going through a rigmarole of turning the burner and pump on and off every ten seconds to try to shock the air out of the system, on the plumber's advice via text, and there's been a few almighty gurgles so far, though it still cuts out after three or four minutes.

Fun night ahead, I think - cheers for the suggestions, though!

I hope it's not the boiler. Mine has just expired, and a Firebird is one of the main alternatives for a new one. Especially as they are made about 25 miles away.

[Stanky]

3 hours ago, cobblers said:

Emma/eve/maureen/ whatever online mattresses are zero risk, buy one, try it for a few months then if you don't like it they collect it and refund FOC.

I have an Eve in my camper van (I got it half price as it was one that someone tried and didn't like so they put a new cover on) and it's pretty nice.

@mitsisigma01 - this. Seriously. They even have an eBay store for the mattresses that have been returned, re-sleeved and fumigated, and are about 50% cheaper than brand new. I have one and it's brilliant, mine was a refurb and about £200 for a 3' single. Seriously looking at a 6' double now too

[cobblers]

5 minutes ago, Stanky said:

@mitsisigma01 - this. Seriously. They even have an eBay store for the mattresses that have been returned, re-sleeved and fumigated, and are about 50% cheaper than brand new. I have one and it's brilliant, mine was a refurb and about £200 for a 3' single. Seriously looking at a 6' double now too

You can't return the "recon" ones if you don't like em, but you can return the full price ones even if you do like them and then buy it back on ebay for half the price

[Datsuncog]

4 hours ago, artdjones said:

I hope it's not the boiler. Mine has just expired, and a Firebird is one of the main alternatives for a new one. Especially as they are made about 25 miles away.

I hope not either - but it's still under warranty, so even if it comes to that we should be alright.

Since we've had various radiators removed and capped off over the past few weeks, I'd say the likelihood is an airlock's developed somewhere in the manifold system and needs chased out.

At least we've the gas fire as a backup, anyway - so we're not completely frozen tonight.

[MiniMinorMk3]

15 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Brand new three months ago, as is the entire boiler and burner.

Seems to be pumping fine.

Nope, no TRVs fitted at all - and everything was working fine on Tuesday evening, nice and toasty.

We noticed it seemed a bit chilly when we came home late-ish last night, but it was quite cold out and since we were going to bed shortly, it seemed a bit pointless to boost the heating.

Only when it seemed very cold when I got up this morning did I realise the radiators were only mildly tepid, not actually hot.

Having looked over everything it seems that an airlock's the most likely culprit - I'm currently going through a rigmarole of turning the burner and pump on and off every ten seconds to try to shock the air out of the system, on the plumber's advice via text, and there's been a few almighty gurgles so far, though it still cuts out after three or four minutes.

Fun night ahead, I think - cheers for the suggestions, though!

Is the pressure in the system OK? Does it need a top up after the venting.

[Datsuncog]

Just now, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Is the pressure in the system OK? Does it need a top up after the venting.

It seems okay - the ball valve in the header tank seems to be working properly, and the water that's in there currently seems commensurate with the 'normal' level (going by the ring of crust halfway up).

I'm in the office today, but MrsDC's working from home and has done some more stop-start shunting this morning, producing more gurgling in the pipes and more air to be bled from the radiators - so I'm hopeful the airlock will eventually work its way out.

The plumber's advised that if we still can't get the system running by Monday, he'll call over and have a poke...

[Split_Pin]

Cut the neck off a plastic bottle and use it as a kind of flexible funnel, open the bleed valve on each radiator and let the water spout out and into a bucket or basin. Even if water is coming out there might be air behind it so keep going.

I had to do this with a few of the radiators in my house, although the airlock didn't impact the function of the boiler. I hope you get it sorted, temperamental heating and leaking plumbing are 2 things that keep me awake at hight.

[vulgalour]

Our driveway looks pretty bad now.  It was a temporary solution that was supposed to last 6-12 months... three years ago.  So now the paving slabs are sinking, cracked, and wonky and since I drive over them almost every day, they're just getting worse.  It's the one driveway you can see really clearly when pulling on to the street too, and it's bordering on eyesore now.  This also means we get cold-called semi-regularly by driveway replacement companies.

Now, I know stereotypes exist for a reason, and I don't wish to jump to conclusions, but why do they always have some degree of Irish accent?

What I don't like is how pushy some of them are to get you to agree to pay on the doorstep.  Even if I had the £Xgrand quoted lying about the place, there's no way I'm going to agree to works until I've done some research into the company in question and got some prices for getting the work done to make sure you're competitive.  The sooner we can afford to get the driveway done properly the better, maybe then they'll leave us alone.

[barefoot]

1 hour ago, vulgalour said:

The sooner we can afford to get the driveway done properly the better, maybe then they'll leave us alone.

I wouldn't count on it, I was doorstepped about a fortnight after my new drive went down!

[fairkens]

1 hour ago, barefoot said:

I wouldn't count on it, I was doorstepped about a fortnight after my new drive went down!

We used to have similar with cavity wall insulation salesmen (for they were always men). If I had a quid for everytime I told them that the entire street had solid walls...

[Richard_FM]

I was once cold called on the phone by someone trying to sell me a conservatory, even after pointing out I live in a first floor flat owned by a housing association!

[vulgalour]

6 hours ago, barefoot said:

I wouldn't count on it, I was doorstepped about a fortnight after my new drive went down!

Might have to invest in a sign on the front door that simply says "No thank you" so I can look at it pointedly when we get cold called until they go away.

[RoverFolkUs]

Oh bugger. Just been out in the Focus, first proper cold drive out in it for a while, headlights, blowers, both heated screens, radio etc all switched on. And the alternator is whining under load, so is on its way out basically..

Just like this video 

https://youtube.com/shorts/7pAvOwmcru0?feature=share

Oh well, can't really complain. It looks original and it's not wanted for much else recently 

[High Jetter]

39 minutes ago, Richard_FM said:

I was once cold called on the phone by someone trying to sell me a conservatory, even after pointing out I live in a first floor flat owned by a housing association!

It's good to talk