******* Thread now closed, please see volume 45 ********
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=22749
In this thread you may ask any question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.
It does not need to be motoring related. In fact, in this thread it should not be.
No Questions About PC\'s. They now go in another Thread.
No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which I think is not following the spirit of the thread
Nothing that risks the future of this site (please see the small print for details www.honestjohn.co.uk/credits/index.htm )
Any of the above will be deleted. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain it will simply be removed.
However, as has been said a couple of times, there is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.
This is Volume 44. Previous Volumes will not be deleted,
A list of previous volumes can be found here:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=18847
|
|
I think the Citröen Picasso is a nice looking car (Motoring link!) BUT - what do Backroomers think of the real thing? We went, with other members of the Townhall organised classes in Spanish, on a cultural visit to the provincial capital, Málaga.
We toured the ancient Moorish castle & palace (good & interesting) and finished up with a visit to the Picasso museum.(Picasso was a native Malagueño and the City's most famous son)
I have always had my doubts about "modern" art and I must say that they were completely vindicated and reinforced by the exhibits!
I have never seen such a lot of poor draughtsmanship and lack of artistic talent in any one place! (I have never SEEN any of Damien Hurst's "art" so I can't say that Picasso was the world's worst artist, but he must come close!)
I truly think that he progressed to the style with which he is associated because he couldn't paint figures or landscapes very well at all!
I think he was taking the mickey out of snobbish art lovers who must always be seen to be admiring the "in" thing.
On the other hand, he and his heirs made a lot of money out of his con trick - so who is/are the real idiot/s?
Roger in Spain
|
went to the Picasso museum in Barcelona, where they have a lot of his early work on faces, and naked male torso's. It was trully breathtaking, very good stuff very lifelike, then as you walk round chronologically you can see the exact moment where he went completely off his trolly.
Almost as tho he was abducted by aliens and replaced with something else.
|
|
|
I have always had my doubts about "modern" art and I must say that they were completely vindicated and reinforced by the exhibits!
So you like figurative art and don't "get" anything else. You're not the first. What's your point?
I have never seen such a lot of poor draughtsmanship and lack of artistic talent in any one place!
This is a very serious mistake and you'll never "get" modern (or any other kind of) art as long as you make it. Draughtsmanship and artistic talent are not the same thing. The former does not require the latter and the latter does not depend on the former. Certain types of painting and sculpture require draughtsmanship; others don't. Go figure.
I think he was taking the mickey out of snobbish art lovers who must always be seen to be admiring the "in" thing.
Maybe, and he wouldn't be the first artist to mock the art establishment. Marcel Duchamp (I think it was) poured actual urine on their heads as part of an exhibit. But I read a subtext here that you don't like people who display knowledge of art, as you see it, too ostentatiously. Many are snobs, I grant you, but don't forget that art theory is a highly technical subject and like any technical subject it can seem exclusive to those on the outside, mostly because it uses a specialist language. Don't label those who have this technical knowledge idiots just because you don't understand it. We don't do it with doctors and engineers, so why do it with those who study and enjoy art?
As for admiring the "in" thing; well enthusiasts about any subject do that. Just look at the posts on this forum.
Chris
|
|
|
|
|
Does anyone know if older Rayburns and Agas contain asbestos insulation?
|
A Rayburn I broke up from my old kitchen about 6 months ago did not.
It was a solid fuel one which was, I think, somewhere between 50 & 60 years old.
But this is the only one I know about, so I can't tell you if it is typical or not.
|
|
|
|
I think the rayburn "rope " seals under the hotplate and round the lids are asbestos,possibly also behind the firebricks ,probably only on older models but the last one I changed boiler on was packed with glass wool insulation inside.
|
|
The "rope" seals could have been, I didn't think of that. But there was no other substance I didn't recognise and the thing was sledgehammered to death in our kitchen so everything was exposed.
|
the thing was sledgehammered to death in our kitchen....
Vandal!! The right person would pay good money for an old rayburn. When the landlord ripped ours and several neighbours rayburns out and subsequently fitted gas central heating, he sold them off for quite a bit of wonga.
|
|
Thanks for all of the replies. My Rayburn is about 50 years old. I'd thought of the rope seals but I would expect they'd have been replaced by now and besides, they would only contain about 15% white asbestos bonded to other materials. I asked because I was removing the thermometer from the oven door and inside the the inner metal casing of the door is a white fibrous material which looks like glass wool but I'd like to be sure. I've done extensive web searches and can find no reference to any asbestos here so hopefully it's ok.
|
An appliance of that vintage almost certainly contains asbestos in the gaskets and seals. It was still in use in the early 90's in gland packings. I had an involvement with an asbestos removal programme a few years back; I discovered a coil of rope seal, marked as containing asbestos, which was still in use. I was having it removed by specialist contractors whilst the pipe fitters were still installing it.
"only contain about 15% white asbestos". ??? Only? One fibre is all it takes. There is no safe limit.
"...bonded to other materials.." No. You can't rely on the mechanical bonding of something that you're sledgehammering apart to retain all fibres.
Get a sample analysed, probably £15 to £20, testing labs in the Yellow Pages.
|
"only contain about 15% white asbestos". ??? Only? One fibre is all it takes. There is no safe limit. "...bonded to other materials.." No. You can't rely on the mechanical bonding of something that you're sledgehammering apart to retain all fibres.
Asbestos roofing sheets contain about 10-15% white asbestos bonded with cement. HSE advice is that this can be removed taking normal anti-dust precautions - basic mask, overalls etc. No specialist contractor required. So it doesn't worry me too much as long as one is sensible. If it was that bad, millions of us would be dropping dead from all those garage rooves out there.
What type of asbestos used to be in brake pads BTW?
I think the risks are over-hyped like many things in this litigous world we live in. One fibre carries a theoretical risk, as does one cigarette. The key word is theoretical.
|
"So it doesn't worry me too much as long as one is sensible."
" the thing was sledgehammered to death in our kitchen so everything was exposed."
I rest my case.
If you're sledgehammering it apart, the air will be full of fibres and you will be breathing deeply. The fibres are inhaled deeply into the lungs and they stay in the lungs.
www.oeda.demon.co.uk/LSTelegr.htm
Some time later, scar tissue forms around those fibres. Try to find an HSE adviser who will enter a contaminated environment whilst wearing "basic mask, overalls etc."
"If it was that bad, millions of us would be dropping dead from all those garage rooves out there."
It isn't that bad, it's a lot worse. Hundreds of thousands of those who installed asbestos products are dying and have already died.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Had my car repaired today and looking at the bill got me thinking about the VAT. The cost of the parts is totalled with labour then VAT added. Assuming there is VAT on the parts when the garage buys them then surely this means I paid VAT on the VAT on the parts, if you see what I mean.
|
|
Nah the garage is vat registered so they dont pay it as long as they can show they got you to pay it.
|
|
Thanks for the reply, that's a relief as the bill was steep enough as it was.
|
|
|
|
ahh..but the garage can claim the vat on the parts back, and poor mr brown would go hungry, but as most folk aren't vat registered, mr brown gets taken out to dinner on us.
billy.
|
Now I'm confused.
Assuming the garage is VAT registered it can claim the VAT back on the parts it buys, then also passes on the VAT the customer pays.
If the garage is not VAT registered then it can't claim the VAT back on the parts and shouldn't charge the customer VAT? Is that correct?
|
|
Correct. VAT is claimed back at every stage until the reseller or purchaser isn't VAT registered, at which point 17.5% of the final, VAT free amount is paid by the purchaser to the seller, who passes it on to the taxman.
|
Yes and at what a cost in book-keeping & accountancy fees to the VAT registered firm,(as ever reflected in consumer proices), not to mention the bi-ennial visit from the nice C & E person who spends hours going through one's books to see if an underdeclaration of a tenner has crept through!
A totally inefficient tax to collect and administer and a gross imposition forced on the richer EU members to fund subsidies to peasant farmers with non-existent olive groves and imaginary pigs!
Roger in Spain
|
We used to have "purchase tax". Like VAT, but not charged to anyone who could quote their purchase tax number - ie if they were registered. This avoided 90% of the pointless admin.
We have to change to VAT when we joined the EU. We were told that purchase tax was a silly system and that we had to change to VAT. No option.
Then they extended VAT to cross-border transactions within the EU. Of course, a simple VAT system fails because the (say) French purchaser is trying to claim back from the French C&E VAT that was paid to the UK C&E. So, bright idea, no VAT is charged to EU customers if you can quote their VAT number!!!!
Question: if this system is so good they why not extend it to transactions within the same country? In other words, why can't we go back to purchase tax?
Answer: none forthcoming yet.....
|
'A totally inefficient tax to collect and administer'.
Not true I'm afraid. VAT is the cheapest tax to collect at just 7p per pound collected. The British VAT system has been adopted in Countries all over the World due to the low cost of collection.
|
Because a lot of the collection cost is bourne by the retailers. This in turn reflects in higher costs to the consumer. It should be renamed to reflect its true nature like in Australia where it is called "General Sales Tax"
Aussies like to call a spade a spade and dont like being fooled.
|
Sorry RF, it's Goods and services tax (GST)
Ian L.
|
|
|
Aussies like to call a spade a spade and dont like being fooled.
I was under the impression that Aussies called a spade \" a big shovel\"
;)
|
This is an extract from the Australian Tax Office website:
"Since 1 July 2000, businesses and other entities registered for the GST have been liable to pay GST on taxable supplies and taxable importations they make in carrying on their enterprise. They have also been entitled to claim input tax credits for the GST component of the price when acquiring goods and services or when importing goods in the course of carrying on that enterprise.
After the deduction of such credits, entities must remit to the ATO the net amount of GST on their sales and other taxable supplies and importations."
Maybe I'm missing something, but that sounds remarkably like VAT!
|
|
It is VAT with another name
|
Agreed, instead of a VAT registered business, each business or orgaisation has an ABN (Australian business number), other than the names and the rate (10%) it is like VAT.
Ian L.
|
|
|
If 7p per pound is the lowest then I'm afraid that is a sad indictment of the collection methods of other forms of tax.
If my credit control and accounts staff took up 7% of my turnover then their jobs would be at serious risk of outsourcing. Of course, they are not government employees so it is possible to take action if they can't/won't do their job.
|
Anyway, rant mode off and back to the point, VAT as opposed to purchase tax involves me paying my suppliers 17.5% more, which they must track and pay to C&E, and which I must track and claim back off C&E.
The money goes in a long circle from my bank account, to my suplier's, to C&E's, and then back to mine. It takes about 3 months to do so. It achieves nothing during this time, and I have to pay people to count it and watch where it goes.
Under a purchase tax system I simply quote my number to the supplier and three transactions are saved, I keep the money to invest or use as I see fit, and three organisations each have two less records to keep.
VAT more efficient? Oh really.
|
|
|
If 7p per pound is the lowest then I'm afraid that is a sad indictment of the collection methods of other forms of tax.
There are many reasons why tax collection is utterly different from a business collecting on its invoices. Here are a couple:
1. If a business charges £10 for a widget it needs to collect £10 from every customer--no calculation required. But not everyone pays the same tax rate. Everyone, but everyone, is different. They all need to be assessed to avoid under/overpayment and to avoid evasion. Plus the people paying tax on low incomes pay relatively little actual tax, but cost the same to collect from, so the marginal cost of collection is potentially higher for them. They would pay £10 for your widget, just like every other cutomer.
2. Evasion. Apart from the odd crook, most people who order a widget are prepared to pay for it. Taxes are there to be avoided and, for some people, evaded. Collecting taxes from these people is very expensive and must be done. You'd probably write off the odd widget, but the Inland Revenue can't just say "Oh, we can't be bothered to chase you any more, have a nice life in Antigua."
I run my own business now but I used to work collecting local government taxes. I wouldn't say local government was especially inefficient at it (understaffed and underpaid, yes), but it was an entirely different thing. For what it's worth I think the lack of understanding you've shown is the reason why so many successful private companies have so much trouble when it comes to running public sector projects. The company that took on Sheffield CC's benefits and council tax operation actually backed out of the contract saying they couldn't, after all, do it for the money.
|
This discussion is getting beyond the aims of the IHAQ thread. We will get moderated very soon! (I am just as much to blame).
regards
Ian L.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have a new (6 mo) brick wall at the front of my house.
W hite substance has oozed from the bricks/mortar in a few places. Someone told me it is lime from the bricks.
It won't come off, even with the pressure washer.
Any suggestions please?
|
My only suggestion is that you don't use a pressure washer on it, otherwise you may end up dislodging the mortar. Better to have the efflorescence than no mortar. As far as I know, efflorescence is not harmful. I think you can buy a proprietary product to neutralise it but unfortunately I can't bring its name to mind. Have a look round the building section of B&Q.
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
hi,
i think the stuff to clean this is called "brick and patio cleaner", from B+Q type places.
if the wall is new, i would suggest leaving it a couple of months for all the "salts" to come out before cleaning, or you will probably end up doing it every couple of weeks at the mo'.
billy.
|
|
Yup, builders merchant, "brick cleaner" - used for getting excess mortar off bricks, it works with the salts too. Wait a while for all the salts to come out. If it at the bottom it will happen again as its soaking up water and leaching out the salts
|
This also occurs sometimes with properties that have been renovated.
The worst is internal walls that have been rendered then plastered. If these walls are prone to damp then the salts leach out into the room, it looks very ugly.
I would concurr with the other posters. Leave the wall up to a year or till next summer then do something about it. This problem won't affect the structural integrity of the wall.
If you're intending to paint it, I would tend to wait a while after cleaning it to see if the problem re occurs. If it does and you have painted it, your paint will be forced off.
H
|
|
|
|
I need to return to a South London Register Office, i.e. Births, Deaths and Marriages, to check the records for details of now deceased relatives.
On my first visit I was charged £18 to access the records and I did the search myself. Prior to making an appointment with the Register Office in question I spoke to a council employee who, when I queried the £18 charge said that I should consider myself lucky as some places charge £32.
I accept that there should be a charge for a copy of the appropriate certificates; even that there may be appropriate charges for photocopying sundry materials but as the Births, Deaths and Marriages are a matter of Public Record surely the public has the right to see them free of charge.
Does anyone out there know whether Councils have the discretionary power to charge a fee to the public who wish to access Public Records because, if so, then surely this fee could /would prevent members of the public from searching the records.
I certainly feel miffed that I will have to pay another charge which may not be laid down by statute to search the records again.
Rita
PS. I couldn\'t see how to get this onto the \'I have a question\' thread. I couldn\'t see a \'new topic\' button. Perhaps it can be transferred over. [Done, but see Smokie\'s message below for info on how to. DD]
|
Can you not do it online?? (looks cheaper at first glance)
Govt records office www.gro.gov.uk
|
|
|
|
Rita - for a new topic on I Have A Question, reply to the top post them change the title of your thread. But I can't answer your query, sorry!
|
|
|
|
|
Where are the best places to look for last minute holiday deals?
|
hi ben,
have you tried lastminute.com
its a uk site!
billy
(really need to be able to do links!!)
|
|
|
|
Have you tried Teletext Holidays (also on-line) - really depends where you fancy going and just how 'last minute' you are - might be worth asking a local travel agent....
|
|
Thanks, considering something very last minute- ie pack my bags, and then look on the net for something available in a few hours.
|
Ben, if you're still in the UK to read this.....
I have been booking "last-minute" for the last 6 years and have probably taken 15 short breaks (5-7 days) and 3 longer ones (20 days+) in that time.
Having practiced this noble art for a while, the best deals tend to be struck about 2-3 weeks before your planned date. After that time the number of breaks available diminishes and the prices start to rise, sometimes very quickly indeed!
If travelling further afield it may be worth asking yourself why there is so much availability. 2 years back I booked a last minute to Jamaica in late September, thinking the hurricane season would be over as it had been a quiet one up to then.
It wasn't over. Not by a long way.
Still, memorable holiday, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyone got a good way of getting rid of Ants, There are thousands in the garden and now I have seen a few in the house.
|
Garden Centres stock a powder that exterminates the blighters.
Wish it would do the same for him and his companion Dec on TV.
DVD
|
Wait \'till it turns thundery and you get the flying variety!
Kettlefull of boiling water works here.
|
|
|
Garden Centres stock a powder that exterminates the blighters. Wish it would do the same for him and his companion Dec on TV. DVD
Anyone got a powder that gets rid of T.V.!! 90% carp imho.
Reg's
|
|
|
|
If you've a Wilkinson (Wilko) store nearby, get yourself along to it and buy "Ant Stop! Bait Station" You get 2 for £2.99.
We tried powder to get rid of ants in the kitchen but to no avail, but putting one of these bait stations down got rid of them overnight.
Can be used in or outdoors.
|
My Mum used to go along with the theory that if you draw a fairly wide chalk line around areas where they go into the house, they will not cross the line.
I used to laugh at that, but it did seem to work.
|
going along with the "folk-lore" remedys,
if you put a small open jar of honey close to the nest, the ants will forage from there instead of further afield, i.e your house and garden.
billy.
|
|
SWMBO uses a tactic. If she finds any in the house, she kills a few and leaves their bodies in the vicinty. She seems to think that this will put them off. Seems to work despite my cynical view.
|
SWMBO uses a tactic. If she finds any in the house, she kills a few and leaves their bodies in the vicinty.
I will take care to be very nice to her if we ever meet!
|
|
|
|
Nippon do a thick liquid that you put down for the ants. They collect it (I believe it's very sugary, though I've not tasted it) and take it back to the nest. Then, when it ends up in the queen's dinner and kills her, the colony dies out. Very effective in my experience. It's about £2 for a very small tube, which should last you a decade.
V
|
|
The perverse thing about ant poison is that the ones available for home use work too well. So they kill the workers too quickly - before they've fed their queen. If you get the pest control man in, he will use something considerably weaker, they take longer to die, but they all die! (Or so a pest controlling friend told me.)
|
|
|
|
Nippon liquid for inside the house, and the cheapest insecticide powder you can find for outside the house.
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
In the house they follow a strict route. The trick is to trace this - and it's fascinating to do! I've always followed the trail to where they get into the house and blocked the access (mastic, polyfilla etc whatever is appropriate).
--
Terry
"You'll have to speak up I'm wearing a towel"
|
|
|
|
|
For Renault Familly. This is a follow on from the 'Cuba' posts in "I have a question Vol 43" (now closed)
There has been much in the press about changes in the rules for entry into USA and this has led to confusion - particularly about 'biometric' passports.
This is the position as I understand it.
The normal method of entry for UK citizens is the Visa Waiver system on the green I-94W form and this has not changed. Basically you must have a ticket for return to UK within 90 days. A valid Machine Readable Passport(MRP) for all your stay. - Children need their own MRP. Never have been arrested(doesn't matter if convicted or not). Never refused entry. Not seeking work. It is important to note that you do not have a right to enter and if the immigration officer has any doubts he can, and will, refuse entry.
Current US legislation requires that UK passports issued on or after 26th October 2004 must contain biometric information. However a proposal is currently before Congress to delay introduction of this legislation and, in any event, non-biometric passports issued prior to this date, will still be accepted for visa free travel.
On or around September 30th 2004, all Visa Waiver Passengers will be finger scanned and their pictures taken upon arrival in the USA. This will take place during the inspection with US Customs & Border Protection who will use an inkless digital finger scanner to electronically capture the left & right index fingers of the traveller. A digital photograph of the traveller will also be taken. The process usually takes an average of 15 seconds and should not inconvenience or delay arrival into the USA.
An I-94W form must be completed by all foreign nationals and presented to US Customs & Border Protection Authorities at the first point of entry into the United States. Arriving visitors will now have to provide an accurate address of the place that they intend to stay on their first night in America and it is no longer acceptable to show 'touring' if on a fly-drive holiday, or 'staying with relatives'.
Additionally, this same information will also need to be in the airline booking system when the aircraft departs the UK and will be sent, ahead of arrival, to US Customs & Border Protection officials at the destination airport. The address recorded in the airline booking system and the address shown on the I-94W completed by the visitor en-route, must be identical and may be checked by US Customs & Border officers upon arrival to ensure that the information matches.
|
|
|
Earlier today I heard a light aircraft limping back to the local airport with "low volts due to magneto not charging".
It made me wonder - is that an old name sticking for what we all call an alternator these days, or is there actually a different type of unit involved?
|
|
aircraft still use magneto's as opposed to alternators, and they are a different type of unit. two of the more common manufactures are bendix and slick.
|
|
furthermore, just done a quick "google", and the magneto is a type of coil providing high voltage to the engine H.T circuits, and not a charging device aka alternater/dynamo.
|
|
not knowing anything about aircraft.how do they start the engine without battery or charging device??
|
Aircraft do have batteries, for example on turbo-props, to spool up the engine while fuel is injected for starting purposes.
Ground Power Units (GPU) or Auxiliary Power Units (APU), diesel or gasoline driven that plug in and deliver the power to fire up the engine are also used.
If it's a Tiger Moth, then a Biggles hat and a silk scarf and goggles are required, along with a hefty swing on the prop and someone to switch on the magneto and shout "contact!" is SOP.
|
|
|
|
|
Our 4 year old Qualcast ?Cobra 32? electric rotary mower has developed an electrical fault.
Judging by the stuff that has oozed out of what I take to be the ?starter? (white plastic cylindrical thing attached to the side of the motor), I assume that it is this which is the problem and that replacement will be a simple DIY job.
The question is ~ how do the two white wires from the starter connect to the connecting block on the side of the motor? It looks as if they might have crimped-on connectors, but they are too shielded for me to see properly. I?m a bit loath to just yank on the wires until I?m sure.
Also, am I right in thinking that aforementioned cylindrical thing is a ?starter?, and that the motor is brushless?
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
The white cylinder thing is a capacitor, and the stuff oozing out is electrolyte. Its broken.
Here is the spare parts catalogue, and you can find the location of a spares agent here too.
etli.bosch-pt.com/main_frame.asp
|
The white cylinder thing is a capacitor, and the stuff oozing out is electrolyte. Its broken. Here is the spare parts catalogue, and you can find the location of a spares agent here too. etli.bosch-pt.com/main_frame.asp
Thanks, Renault Family, that's a start anyway. At least I now know it's a capacitor.
Tried your link but unfortunately it came up immediately with the message "Session has timeout, please restart application..."
Now what do I do? (In layman's language please!)
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
|
Ooo sorry mate, here you go
www.qualcast.co.uk
then qualcast owners page
then spares locator
should get you to
etli.bosch-pt.com/main_frame.asp
click product, and you can find your way from there.
Question, is this the Cordless or corded? Suspect its the Cordless?
|
|
|
|
|
simple job to replace it ,it will possibly have a no with a mark like an upside down u telling its load size and be available at an electricians .if you put the two wires on the wrong way the motor may run backwards ,simply change them over to correct.
|
|
I will correct that to read a number then uf eg 6.5uf or similar they are not very expensive
|
|
|
|
|
Last year in France we came across a restaurant reccomendation scheme that directed us to some super places to eat. A bit like Michellin or Les Routiers in that there is a guide book and the establishments have a sign to show that they are in the book. We did not have the book so went by word of mouth. Unfortunately I have forgotten the name of the guide and want to buy one before this year's holiday. The signs are yellow and green. That's all I can rememebr - anyone know any more info? A bit of a long shot but I'm sure someone will able to help.
Cheers
|
That's the one. It took 11 whole minutes for someone to reply.! Outstanding.
Many thanks
|
|
|
|
Hello!
I don't think I'm on the electoral roll. I never registered up here because I didn't think it was permanent (and 2 years later am still here) and I don't think my parents put me on their form any more as I haven't lived there for 2 years.
I failed a security check for a new job the other day, which in the end didn't turn out to be a problem because I could prove I did actually exist, but I can see it being a problem in future with mortgages, credit checks etc, and the fact that I don't think I am eligible to vote next week.
Am I breaking the law by not being registered, and how do I sort it out please?
Thanks
|
hi PG,
give your local council office a ring, they should put you in touch with the council electoral register office, who should send you a form to fill in. send it back, and hey presto! you will be plagued with the forms for years to come.
and yes, you must exist, for you are here.
billy
ps,
you might even find the number in yellow pages under "council"
|
|
|
|
I have just removed a large shed from my garden and want to replace it with grass. The shed was sitting on a large patch (6m x 2m) of concrete. I did a bit digging last night and found the concrete layer to be about 6 inches thick (well, it is at the edges). I have no doubt that swinging a sledge hammer won't break it up so short of hiring a man with a pneumatic drill what are my options for removing this lump? Is there something that the average bloke can hire that would do the job?
Many thanks
|
You hit the nail on the head. Pneumatic drill.
Extensive exprience speaking here, had to knock down and remove an air raid shelter with a 6 inch reinforced concrete roof.
you need to hire an electric type demolition drill. Kango 2500, Bosch 11304, Makita HM1800. they are about 35 quid a day, dont forget the safety kit (gloves, goggles, hard hat, ear muffs)
get them at HSS or Speedy tool hire shops.
Plus the skip to get rid of the rubbish.
|
dont forget the safety kit (gloves, goggles, hard hat, ear muffs)
Experience speaking here too: get steel toe-cap boots as well. Concrete is heavy and one tends to get clumsy after a while.
|
I remember seeing Tommy Walsh breaking up a (demolished) garage floor on TV using a long crowbar to lever one side up, keeping it held up by his oppo standing on the crowbar and then hitting it in the middle with a sledgehammer (the concrete, not the crowbar!). Looked like hard work even for him.
I must get out more!
--
Terry
"You'll have to speak up I'm wearing a towel"
|
|
|
|
Many thanks for the tips. The local hire shop can do me an electric heavy duty breaker for £35/day. I've already got the steel toe cap wellies. Sounds like a fun weekend to come, especially the carrying it all out to the skip at the front of the house.
|
When I had this problem in my garden I didn't like the idea of handling one of those huge noisy compressor drills, and was determined to do it myself.
Tried a sledghammer, but it just bounced. Tried a lump hammer with a chisely thing, but it just bent the chisel. Finally, a pickaxe was really easy: I just tried to develop crack lines in the concrete, and it broke up quite easily. Did a little bit every day for a week and by the end it was all reduced to chunks which were easily moveable.
Soon afterwards, I posted about it on a difft forum, where the boys were trying to persuade a woman to use one of those powered monster-hammers, and ended my post by saying "You'd be surprised what a determined woman can do with a pickaxe".
The next posted killed the thread dead with a one-liner: "I pity your husband" ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
This subject was raised a couple of months ago in 'I have a question Volume 38' and as a result of the recommendations I bought a set of 'PlaneQuiet' headphones. Somebody then asked for me to post my impressions.
I have now tried them on a couple of train trips in UK and as a passenger in a car and on a plane coming here. There are some detailed reviews in the links posted in Vol 38 and I would support those impressions. If you haven't tried them they are a revelation and I can follow the soundtrack of in-flight movies without difficulty.
They reduce the roar of the aircraft engines to a hiss and I wore them when reading only - noise cancellation switched on but no audio input.
I felt they are as comfortable and effective as the Bose set I tried; but without a back to back test it is only a subjective view; but at the price of the Planequiet set it really is a 'no contest'.
I wish I had bought some years ago.
|
Hmm.. What are the 'medical' implications of them?
Foam earphones keep out noise & protect the ear.
Continual exposure to loud noise and the ear protects itself to some extent, by reducing its sensitivity to such noises - which is (partly) why you are deafened by a loud noise.
Planequiet sends out input noise half a wavelength later, thus cancelling out input noise. The sound energy is therefore cancelled - but how is it dissipated?
If they're that good, shouldn't roadworkers be using them instead of (or as well as) ear defenders?
|
"The sound energy is therefore cancelled - but how is it dissipated?"
At a molecular level, take a molecule that would be moving (say towards the eardrum) due to the energy of the soundwave from the plane's engine. Another source of energy has been added such that there is an opposite force acting on the molecule, so it doesn't move at all. Hence, nothing to hear, and no damage to the eardrum.
"If they're that good, shouldn't roadworkers be using them instead of (or as well as) ear defenders?"
They are beginning to - but they are a bit more costly than a 50p set of foam earplugs:
www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=10790&ts=3...4
Additionally, they are better with droning and hissing type noises, e.g. engine noises, tyre noises, washing/drying machines, SWMBO, etc. Not as good with pneumatic drills because of the long gaps between noise peaks. One of the things that is good about them is that they (at least the Bose ones) drown out voices far less than background noise, so wearing them in a factory, you would still be able to hear people talking (though at a slightly reduced volume) while nearly all background noise was gone.
V
|
I'm very happy about the two opposing vector forces cancelling. But a sound wave contains energy, and energy is not a vector, so I do not think that the energies cancel. I suppose that the answer is that it is dissipated as heat, and assume that the dissipated heat doesn't overheat the eardrum - but that was my concern.
'(at least the Bose ones) drown out voices far less than background noise' probably because they are 'intelligent' and like hearding aids (which (are supposed to) amplify voices at the expense of background noise).
|
|
What do you give a deaf fisherman? a herring aid. I suppose a hearding aid goes to a deaf shepherd. I meant, of course, hearing aid. Sorry.
|
|
|
I'd guess that away from your ear, both sounds can be heard. There will only be quiet in the area where the two waveforms are in register.
Hence no loss of energy?
|
|
|
|
peaks. One of the things that is good about them is that they (at least the Bose ones) drown out voices far less than background noise, so wearing them in a factory, you would still be able to hear people talking (though at a slightly reduced volume) while nearly all background noise was gone.
That is certainly so when you have noise cancellation on with no audio input.
Noise Induced Hearing(NIH) damage is a problem associated with very loud noises at a particular frequency - jet engines, rifle/guns etc.
In the Army it was a serious problem until the use of ear defenders became widespread. It was particularly bad in the Royal Artillery - always known as The Gunners. It was said that many suffered from Gunner Ear - but you should take care to pronounce that carefully.
|
|
|
|
|
Cardew,
Thanks for posting back - I was wondering how you'd got on. Where did you buy them and how much were they in the end? I'll be looking for some soon.
V
PS Will they silence SWMBO?
|
Vin/Mapmaker
The normal price is $79.99 but I got them for $69.99(39 pounds approx)- a $10 discount via a link in Vol 38.
Their site is sales@outsidetheboxgroup.com and phone No from UK is 001 704 583 1100 ext 2. This site also gives a couple of reviews. I phoned and the man said they send quite a few to UK, although I had them sent to my USA address and my son brought them to UK.
As for Mapmaker's question on the potential for hearing damage I have no idea but I have never read anything about a problem. I would have thought that the Airlines in the USA that issue them to their first class passengers would have been ultra cautious given the litigious society that exists in the Land of the Free.
As for SWMBO well the air hostess joked that these headphones are a nuisance as nobody can here them.
C
|
|
|
This is a real long shot I know...
Have a Philips widescreen TV, about 18 months old. Has started to switch itself to standby at random, sometimes every few seconds/minutes and sometimes it goes for a couple of hours or so. Very annoying.
Have ruled out any obvious problem, e.g. r/c etc.
Anyone had a similar problem or able to suggest a possible fix?
Like I said, a long shot...
|
Have you tried covering up the remote control receiver window on the tv? It could be external.
Failing that a software upgrade may fix it. Yes most modern TVs are ECU controlled, just like cars.
|
Oh for an edit button
Disconnect any scart plugs ofr testing, TVs can be put into standby by an external device up the control lead.
|
Oddly enough, my rather more elderly Philips portable does this. Sometimes several times a day, sometimes once a week. I put it down to a dry joint (which I have failed to find).
Just wonder if your could be same problem?
|
|
My Philips TV has an auto shutoff if there is no picture.
|
Thanks for the suggestions - I will give them a go.
Have since heard that this may be a 'known problem' with modern Philips TV's. Philips won't comment though...
Only bought it 'cos Philips were supposed to be well made and reliable - probably were in the days of valves. Hmmph.
Cheers
|
|
|
|
|
I remember seeing a Philips 21" set a while back that was doing this, and it turned out that the power supply had started to drift and wasn't pushing out enough juice. I couldn't work out the intermittent behaviour as you'd imagine the drain would be more or less constant with no user intervention, but getting the supply replaced seemed to fix the problem.
|
|
|
|
