***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 172 *****
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 PCs. Please use the current "computer Related Questions" thread instead.
No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which we 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 171. 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
PLEASE NOTE:
When posting a NEW question, please "Reply to" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it's own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.
|
Question rang a distant bell!
According to the Blue Peter fourth book (1967):-
"Originally the clock was wound twice a week with a large handle. It took one man thirty hours so now it's done by an electric motor in 45 minutes" At the time the job was done by the manufacturers rep, a great nephew of the original builder Frederick Dent.
Illustrated with lots of pictures of Noakes in the bell tower, behind the clock face etc. Accuracy adjusted by adding/removing old pennies from the pendulum.
No doubt it's been overhauled since but I doubt they've installed a quartz movement!!!
|
|
|
Hi, time to spend money on our kitchen and like the idea of an induction hob.,trouble is I can't seem to find much info on them.
Does anyone out there have one?
Are they any good, I know you have to have special pans, just a bit unsure of the technology as regards reliabilty, will I be facing expensive element replacements in the future.
We have 4 halogen elements on current hob, are the rings as quick, hot and efficient as these.
I believe the heat is generated in the pan not the hob so does the hob get very hot .
Regards Mal.
|
Yeah we have one of the stand alone types. It is a wonderful device. Very easy to use and IIRC about 90% efficient as compared to about 45-50% for gas and electric. The hob surface does not get hot in itself - only the pan base heats up however there is some small heat transferrence from the pan to the hob obviously. The advantages are several a) efficency, b) speed - they seem to cook much more quickly than other hob types, c) the hob itself is easy to clean as nothing gets baked on as it never gets hot enough so cleaning is simple and you get no burning from spillages and rooms full of smoke, d) almost as controllable as gas.
I like cooking with gas and there is no substitute for this when using something like a wok IMO, however I would never be without an inudtcion hob and they are fast coming down in price. Can't comment of the built in variety but can't see how they'd be very much different other than in price - stand alone units only cost around £40 upwards.
You do of course need steel or cast iron pans pans for these to work and if using stainless steel pans make sure the bottoms aren't made of aluminium or copper.
|
You do of course need steel or cast iron pans pans for these to work and if using stainless steel pans make sure the bottoms aren't made of aluminium or copper.
Why is that?
--
L\'escargot.
|
|
If a magnet won't stick to ithe pan base it won't work on the induction hob. Ours is a Neff but the Bosch, Siemens etc were the same unit under thw badge when we bought it about 5 years ago. It has performed faultlessly and is very responsive - nearly as good as gas. Very fast as well Would buy another. Was expensive, about £500 IIRC correctly. Ours has the touch controls which have been fine - sometimes a spill confuses them but a wipe sorts it out and its easier than cleaning round knobs.
|
Just make sure you don't get your magnetic therapy bracelet too near the hob! ;-)
--
L\'escargot.
|
Why do you need 'magnetic' pans? I thought induction heating was due to the induced current in what is effectively a shorted turn, ie it has to be an electrical conductor.
For those who dont know, transformers (coils) are generally wound with copper wire.
--
pmh (was peter)
|
|
|
"You do of course need steel or cast iron pans pans
. . . . " ---- "Why is that?"
Iron is electrically lossy and heats up when placed in an induction field which induces current to flow in it. It is the reason iron is not used in house wiring. Aluminium is nearly as good as copper for not heating up. The cooker makes use of a magnet working a switch to make sure you are not using an aluminium or copper sourcepan.
Not come across these cookers myself yet although induction heating has been used in industry for years. I wonder what frequency they are using.
|
Buzbee
I was convinced by your answer until I looked up Wikp (yes i know it is not always correct) and to answer my own question above, and throw some doubt on yours, I quote their answer:
In induction cooking, Heat is generated in two ways:
1. Magnetic hysteresis. The rapidly oscillating magnetic field causes power in the magnetic field to be converted to heat in the ferromagnetic base of the pot due to hysteresis. The amount of heat produced is proportional to the area of the hysteresis loop. This is the primary source of heat.
2. Eddy currents. The magnetic field produces electric currents (known as eddy currents) in the metal base of the pot, and these cause resistive heating of the metal.
So apparently it is NOT the elecrically lossy characteristic of the iron!
--
pmh (was peter)
|
|
Thanks for the info, going ahead with one but not much on the market to choose from unfortunately.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh and just to add on a very important safety note:
Sensors in these units detect the size of the object on the cooking surface and prevent the unit from functioning if it is under a certain diameter hence preventing anyone wearing a chain mail gauntlet from accidentally cooking their hand lol. The sensors also immediately switch off the unit if the pan is lifted off for more than a second or two. We've never had any problem with spillages affecting our hob so that may just be a problem with a particular brand or type of unit.
|
pmh: Sorry, only just got back to this.
Interesting.
Their explanation conflicts somewhat with the design of mains transformers. These have an iron core and it is laminated, with a very thin layer of insulation between each lamination because, without that, the eddy current losses would heat up the core! And yes, there is hysteresis loss as well.
However, having said it conflicts, I don't know what frequency they use for the cooker and I have not made the measurements of hysteresis loss and eddy current loss at that frequency to find out which is the larger. They could be right. One thing not disputed is, it has to be a lossy material like iron.
|
Yes, I remember lacquer? insulation between laminations to reduce eddy current losses (those were the days of winding your own transformers, I wonder whether anybody does it now?). IIRC induction hobs run at a much higher frequency, (in the early days I think WW had a design and the frequency was limited by the 'response/switching times of available thyristors, altho that is probably not such any issue now). Googling gives typical figures of 20-25 kHz which would account for the high hysteresis losses in iron generating the heat.
--
pmh (was peter)
|
At work, we wind our own solenoids, inductors and transformers, because we need to make sure there are no volatile materials used which might off-gas when placed under high-vacuum, either in a vacuum chamber, or in orbit. The problem with anything off-gassing is that the vapour would typically condense at the worst possible place - on a lens, mirror, or photo-detector, for example.
Number_Cruncher
|
If you want an induction hob but also want to have a gas burner for, say, a wok, you can get integrated units that have two rings each. So you can combine a gas module and an induction module to get the best of both.
I can't remember off-hand who made them, but looking in the Rangemaster, Neff and Bosch ranges would be a good starting point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm planning to spend a fortnight in the USA in October. In terms of getting the cheapest flights, should I book ASAP, or might it pay me to wait?
|
I kind of did both.
Start looking now, and do so at least twice a week so you can keep an eye on fluctuations. Either buy just as they start going up again after a low point, or lose your nerve (as I did!) and buy when they seem so low that they surely can't get any better.
As it happens, I was £2 away from their very lowest price, so i was quite happy, but I'd be a terrible gambler, Le Chiffre would beat me every time.
|
|
This might mean nothing, but looking back at my emails, I eventually bought the tickets 2 months before the holiday. Paid £250 each for flights to LA, via Chicago.
|
|
|
|
Try and arrive at the airport for your return journey quite latish. They're sometimes looking for people to bump onto the next flight and offer free tickets as incentive. I've had two free flights to New York this way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am sure I used to know the answer to this question but it must have got lost somewhere in my brain. You are standing on the magnetic north pole, if you got out a compass which way would it point to north?
|
If held horizontally to the ground (i.e. how you normally hold it) then I'd have thought it would not have a preferred direction and may even jump around. That's because the "north" pole of the tip of the compass normally aligns with the earth's magentic field and point to the magnetic north pole (which is in fact a "south pole" in terms of a magnet).
But if you turned the compass to hold it sideways then the point of the compass would point downwards towards the magnetic centre of the Earth wouldn't it?
|
Dunno about that specifically, but a friend has a photo taken on the Cuillin mountains on Skye with 2 compasses either side of a small nodule of rock - with the north indicators pointing at one another! Makes for interesting navigation....
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
|
|
|
|
|
I know the answer, so I've obviously completely failed to understand this question - but presumably wherever the needle points it's pointing South?
|
|
So to further confuse, which way is north in outer space?
|
Depending upon what you are doing, there are a number of co-ordinate systems you can use - either based on the plane of the earth's equator, or based upon the plane of the ecliptic (the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun). Stargazer will be able to give chapter & verse.
If you are concerned with what your compass needle will do, the answer is very complex. The magnetic field we read on earth is dominated by the magnetic field of the earth's interior. As your altitude increases, this field decays, until that cause by the sun becomes dominant - the field patterns where the two are of comparable strength are really quite complex. To find out more, try a google search for magnetosphere and also searching about the aurorae will be interesting, because this phenomenon is a result of the interaction between our magnetosphere and the solar magnetic fields.
What happens beyond our local environment, I don't know - I suspect this is covered in the theory of the inter-stellar medium.
Number_Cruncher
|
|
And magnetic north is moving closer to Siberia all the time...
|
|
Is the earth tilting a bit more and should we all move so as to compensate?
|
|
Magnetic north is due to the earth's core and it's magnetic field always in a state of flux. I guess the core is moving/rotating hence the change of where the magnetic north is.
|
|
|
|
|
I own a Stihl MS170 their smallest standard chainsaw. The oil has stopped coming to the blade, as far as I can see the oilway at the blade end is not blocked. I have so far dismantled it - taken the engine casing out of the handle frame, I did this because the oil feed from the tank goes to the underside of the engine casing but where it went into the body the pipe dissappeared out of sight behind the handle frame. So I took it out to get a look in that hole to see if anything was amiss - It looks ok.
In this hole is a metal insert with an internal M5 screw thread which comes to a dead end. On the outside of this metal insert one 'side' (it's a circle) is a tiny hole. presumably the oil gets sucked through this hole.
I don't know what I can do next
I have not removed the engine from the grey plastic surround/cover, and I could still at this stage start the engine to test it if I wanted. Removing it from the cover could get a bit complicated.
If you are familiar with this model and know of the problem, I could do with some help.
Thanks
|
Oh do I have a good link for you............
www.stihlusa.com/information/info_product2.html
As far as I know its the manuals for their whole range of equipment.I didn't check that yours was there specifically.
|
Thank you for the link. I do have the manual, I looked at the USA version but there is no in depth information on repairing, they expect you to take it to Stihl for repairs.
It was a long shot - asking here - but worth a try.
|
|
|
|
The oil pump is pretty easy to change on these Stihl chainsaws.
Last one I did on a MS210 cost less then £25 in parts
Normally the oil pump will just pop out with a little bit of small screwdriver action after the handle has been removed, The O ring seal holds them in.
|
Thanks Lee,
I think the mechanism is different on this one, the black rubber oil pipe slots snugly into this hole and there is no O ring, I just screwed the "blade/tension adjuster screw" (M5 thread and long) into the screw thread in the hole and tried to pull it out but it didn't budge. I think I'm going to have to
1. Start the engine again to see if it has fixed itself.
2. Remove the engine cover to see inside.
The chain brake assembly looks scarily complicated but if I take a few photos first I should be alright.
thanks
|
|
|
|
|
The time has come; I can't delay this fiddly job any more.
Our smart en-suite is completely ruined in my eyes by the cack handed application of silicone sealant by the original fitter, made even worse by the appalling touch up work undertaken by the previous owner. In essence I need to complete strip away the sealant from the bath, the bath panel, the sink, the loo base, and all round the skirting where it meets a Karndean tiled floor.
There are large runs of unecessary width, so in doing this job I want to be sure that new paint (on the skirting) will "take" when I repaint prior to laying new sealant.
What to remove all traces of the existing sealant with, please? Meths, as indicated in the "etched handprints" thread?
Ta.
|
IIRC Screwfix sell a product specifically for the removal of silicone sealant. Not sure how well this works but there are also small tools available to manually remove it.
You'll no doubt be wanting to replace it with similar so it may well be worth also purchasing a set of the special applicators which allow you to create profiles of varying sizes and make application far less messy.
|
it may well be worth also purchasing a set of the special applicators which allow you to create profiles of varying sizes and make application far less messy.
>>
I have a full set of these but have found that a wet finger along the joint does a much better job.
|
Interesting....
where did you get that wet finger from ?
:)
|
|
|
|
|
First use a sharp craft knife to remove as much of the old silcone sealant as possible. Then apply silcone sealant remover.
tinyurl.com/2vwbp3
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
|
www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A235353&t...8
Also found this in the Tiling Tools section
Good luck :)
|
Before replacing the sealant, a final wipe-down with meths will help ensure it's squeaky clean.
V
|
|
Fill the bath with water too before applying.
|
|
And leave it full until it has dried.
|
|
Thanks, again, All. I knew the full bath trick having applied sealant before and in a similar vein learned some tricks before I started, but have never had the pleasure of removing it. I now feel suitably equipped!
|
|
|
And leave it full until it has dried.
Agree with this BIG time. Also insert a Prop forward too if available!
vbr..............MD.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Silicon sealant remover is I think based on (or pure) acetone. Anyhow silicon can be removed with acetone. In our nanny state not easy to come by, but nailpolish remover used to be acetone. and you can get it from fibreglass sellers.
|
|
|
Forget silicone sealant around the bath. Fit a two-part plastic strip. One is glued to the bath and the other then fits over the first and is glued to the wall. They allow both vertical and lateral movement of the bath while keeping a tight seal.
Kevin...
|
Forget silicone sealant around the bath. Fit a two-part plastic strip. One is glued to the bath and the other then fits over the first and is glued to the wall. They allow both vertical and lateral movement of the bath while keeping a tight seal. Kevin...
Bought a reel a couple of days ago along with the sealant for the sink and flooring/skirting join and the silicone remover, but ta anyway!
|
Bought a reel a couple of days ago along with the sealant for the sink and flooring/skirting join and the silicone remover, but ta anyway!
Just realised we are talking about different things; I purchased a "one part" reel of continuous sealer with adhesive backing of the same type that worked a treat for the five years it was installed in one of the bathrooms in our last house. The type you describe unfortunately won't fit the bath in question as it has a highly pronounced shape designed to be of comfort to the occupants shoulders, and which runs right up to the wall.
|
|
|
|
Question addressed to Kevin with his 2 part strip.
Have you got a brand name for that sealing strip?
or do you mean this?
www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A235272&t...7
|
Similar but not exactly the same. Can't remember the brand name unfortunately.
Kevin...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pub quiz niff naff and trivia stuff! Have we reached the point where the cost of an aluminium can and/or plastic bottle costs more than the fizzy contents? I am meaning soft drinks, not beer and stuff with extra taxes on it. You rthoughts and comments would be welcome.
|
|
Well when Tesco charges 17p for a two litres of fizzy water...........
|
I know that is what they charge for their grotty own brand cola but what is the cost breakdown please? 10p for bottl eand 7p for contents or something different?
|
|
I wouldn't think it's as simple as that. Tesco have to factor in storage, handling, delivery miles, local storage and handling before even considering a profit margin - if there is one, it may be a loss leader after all.
|
I will rephrase the question for my learned friend PU! Is the cost of the contents less than the cost of the bottle, production costs, distribution costs and Tesco's profit?
|
SWMBO who is an expert says "probably" in the case of fizzy water (which is er.... water with added C02) she says that that probability deminishes with different contents, the unknown factor is whether at that price any profit is actually made, Tescos wouldn't tell you ! She figures the price of the bottle and associated costs is in the region of 10p and the contents 5p or less. Hope that answers the question !
What you have to remember is that a lorry load of these is heavy and would cost a packet to shift, she argues that it would be cheaper to bottle at locally and shift the empties around the UK. In fact bottled water is a metaphor for our times. Selling something (albeit unfizzy) that you can easily get at a minscule price from your tap. Suppose inventing a C02 injector could be my other retirement plan.... We have a spring in oour garden which was tested a couple of years ago, remarkably free from nitrates it's as clean if not cleaner than tap water.
|
P
"inventing a C02 injector " and solve global warming along the way?
JH
|
Thank you PU and Mrs PU! Moving on from JH's post I was in another forum where somebody suggested that they will find some way of making CO2 combustible. As it is presently used, among other things, as a fire extinguishing agent, that will be some very advanced chemistry!
|
A
Burn CO2?! I'm afraid my chemistry isn't up to that one. If you could separate the carbon from the oxygen (using vast quantities of energy to do so) you could then burn the carbon, in the presence of oxygen, so producing... CO2? Sounds like a perpetual motion machine.
JH
|
As an 'A' level chemist, in 195? I know that CO burns like crazy; logic would suggest that CO2 with twice the oxygen would burn even better but, as we know, it doesn't. CO burns without the C being split from the O but I am not going to lose any sleep over this one!
|
|
"Suppose inventing a C02 injector could be my other retirement plan"
Doesn't Sodastream do that?
--
Phil
|
|
doh ! There goes another plan.
|
doh ! There goes another plan.
You could try making a version which creates drinks not entirely unlike the real thing, that might be profitable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I seem to remember that in the UK there is a web site which you can type an address or a street name and see the price that houses on that street most recently changed hands for. In fact I remember using it, but I have forgotten the URL... does anyone here know which site I mean? Thanks!
|
|
www.hometrack.co.uk/
|
|
This site rocks - two excellent answers in 10 minutes. Thanks all!
|
|
There is one which is linked from www.petrolprices.com again, free.
|
|
Another one to choose from: When recently buying another house I used www.rightmove.co.uk/ both to find potential stock and to compare prices with others recently (last five years?) sold.
|
..When .. buying another house .... to find potential stock ....
i.mo., the site of choice for searching locations is
ononemap.com/map/
try it and see what i mean.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I use www.houseprices.co.uk completely free
|
|
|
|
|
Is there a household chemical that will restore my bike handlebars and pedal cranks to shiny new appearance? Currently tarnished with white spots from being outdoors for too long. Is it the same metal as found on car alloy wheels?
|
>will restore my bike handlebars and pedal cranks to shiny new appearance
Brillo pads from your mothers kitchen together with hot water will do nicely.
Happy Cycling Phil I
|
|
|
|
Any ideas?
We have fitted new forks to my son's bike and have looked at fitting his old ones to my bike, however my bike has cantilever type brakes comprising an arm attached to each fork leg, on my current forks there is a spigot on which the brake arm pivots secured by a bolt, the inner end of the spigot is wider with a small hole in it to accomodate the return spring.
My son's bike has disc brakes however his old forks can clearly accomodate conventional brakes, they have a short stub that is same as the inner, wider end of the spigot on my forks which is internal threaded and features the small hole for the return spring, I assume I need to obtain some kind of threaded stud to screw into the existing stub so as to form a spigot compatible with that on my current forks?
Any experiences / thoughts?
Thanks.
|
There could be more to it that the brake mountings--it sounds like you will be able to fit "V" brakes to it (forget cantilever brakes, they are rubbish by comparison and for the past number of years have only been used on the very cheapest). If his bike is much newer than yours these stubs may only fit "V" brakes. Anyway you should check with a bike shop. A good one will advise you for nothing. Buy an innertube from him in return.
Other things to consider are the length and rake of the forks, which will affect the handling. The original forks, unless straight up and down suspension forks, may have been made to match the geometry of the frame. Badly chosen forks can make a bike horrible and hard work to ride. Also check the spacing as different forks are made for different axle lengths/tyre thicknesses. This last one is less likely, but still an annoying possibility.
Then there is the bearing race on the top of the fork crown. Will it fit your headset or will that need to be replaced as well? What about the length of the steering tube? Will it be the right length for your head tube? Is the headset design the same?
Given that a set of new forks is a pretty cheap proposition if these are not exactly right I would keep them as spares for when your son bends his. He will.
|
There could be more to it that the brake mountings--it sounds like you will be able to fit "V" brakes to it (forget cantilever brakes, they are rubbish by comparison and for the past number of years have only been used on the very cheapest). If his bike is much newer than yours these stubs may only fit "V" brakes.
Thanks Baskerville, I am up to speed on bikes generally, used to time trial and hill climb, however I used the wrong term, mine are V-Brakes as per the top on this page ...
www.edinburghbicycle.com/resource/v_brake_news.html
... the problem is that the new forks do not have what is referered to here as "F Arm Fits Standard Cantilever Bosses", instead they have a threaded insert which I assume allows a "boss" to be fitted thus allowing them to be dual purpose, disc or conventional brakes, I will call my friendly bike shop as you say.
The forks fit, head stock, wheel spacing etc is all fine, as is the rake re handling.
Thanks.
|
Aha!
If his bike came with a disk brake as stock, I wonder if another bike using the same forks came with hydraulic rim brakes and/or a fork strengthener and that's what these bosses are for. I'll bet you can get something to make them fit V brakes.
If you haven't used them the Edinburgh Coop are excellent by the way.
|
|
|
|
Have a 3 seater and 2 seater leather suite where the four outside chairs all recline individually. This is done by pulling a lever at the side which (after investigation) is linked to a cable that pulls the recliner mechanism.
The cable on one has snapped, has anyone experience of replacing said cables and if so, where did you get them from? Looking at the cable, at the recliner side it seems to have a loop like a washer on the end that holds it to the mechanism. On the lever side, it possibly has a tiny barrel shape (similar to bike brake levers) that slots into the handle.
Any help, as always, much appreciated.
|
Have you tried googling for the manufacturer? Alternatively a local furniture repair shop ~ look in Yellow Pages.
--
L\'escargot.
|
Tip - if you have to make up a replacement cable to specific length with a loop at one end you can use the inner metal part of an electrical 'chocolate block' to act as aa adjustable cable clamp. A 2A or 5A block depending on cable thickness. It can also be used as a stop end.
--
pmh (was peter)
|
|
pmh an improvement on your tip if I may, on twisted wire as most are slip the block on before making the loop then unwind 3 strands out of 6 back to where you want your loop then wind the ends back in to the lay of the strands forming your loop and a small tail and slip the connector block back over the tail ,it makes it very strong and doesnt rely on the block for strength
|
Good one. i have done it where additional strength is required. akin to splicing?
--
pmh (was peter)
|
|
|
|
If you need a short wire cable made up to a specific size then go to a yacht chandlers as they will make rigging for yachts and dinghies whilst you wait (usually). You may have to take the old one or an undamaged one to get an exact match.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
|
|
|
|
Hello! Having a bit of an excel nightmare at the moment - I know we are so close to the solution but just can't find it!
Basically, there's a spreadsheet which has product codes and prices on it (among other things but I'm trying to keep it simple so I don't confuse myself). There are two worksheets within this spreadsheet. One is all the workings of products, taxes, prices etc, and then the second sheet is the published price list.
If the landed cost of a product changes, so the price list changes. We have set the published price list up so that each price cell on there references the price cell for the product on the other sheet, so that if that product price changes, it automatically changes on the published price list.
The problem comes when the working price list is sorted according to a different factor. The published price list is still linked to a specific cell, which now contains different data. So the price list becomes wrong.
We've worked out that we need to put in a VLookup formula so that the sheet will look for the product code and then the price cell in the same row as that, instead of just linking it to a cell.
We think we've got the formula right thanks to excel help and a few books, but we've hit another problem! The product codes are in the format A000BC, and when we put them in the VLookup formula and press enter, the zeros are disregarded, making it ABC, which of course it can't find, because on the working price sheet it's A00BC and we have set the Vlookup formula to false, so that it only finds exact matches.
How do we make the formula include the zeros in the product code? Is it something to do with telling it those cells are text and not numbers, or do we need to put `in front? We have tried the ' and it appeared to make no difference.
I know there must be a simple solution out there!
|
Try highlighting the cells and going Format>Cells>Number and then trying Text or General, one or other might do it, if not a VLookup expert will be along in a minute no doubt.
Another thought, it could be that VLookup is looking to sort the A000BC codes numerically, what about each product line having its own row number in the cell neighbouring the product code so VLookup searches against a number not alpha numerics.
|
|
|
ISTR the reference table that VLookup uses must be sorted in alpha/numeric order.
Makes no difference if this reference column is text, numerical, or general, but if you want a mix, e.g. AB123, it's best to format the column as text, then sort (ascending/descending).
When I used to troubleshoot spreads like this for people, the main reason they didn't work properly was a non-sequential order to the first column.
VLookup runs down the 1st (key) column asking the question "how does this compare to the number I'm checking against?" If the answer is smaller, it moves on to the next, asks the question again, etc. As soon as the number is exact, it stops. If the answer is bigger, it stops, giving the last 'smaller' answer.
One out of place big or wrongly formatted reference can screw the whole thing up.
|
|
|
I just tried this for myself.
I have found it works no problem when the first column is referenced & sorted in numerical order so put your part Numbers into column B and call each part in column A by a number starting with 1, and continuing for each part in turn in column A, like so..... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 etc etc
I ended up with a formula looking like this for the cell value =VLOOKUP(4,A3:C7,3,FALSE)
You will then have no problems at all.
When I tried with column A as part No.s A000BCD etc I found the formula accepted the reference no problem, but the result returned was #N/A. Itried formatting the cells to be numbers then tried text, and then sorted in ascending order, but still no result,, I also changed the value look_up to be 000, or 012 or ABC etc and it didn't work.
|
It does work! Try a little mini version first..
The trick is to format the cells before you put the data in.
So when the spreadsheet has blank cells, highlight and format as text the cells taking your part numbers. Then enter your part numbers in this column, then associated data in the other columns can be in whatever format you want.
Reformatting the cells doesn't always work after the data goes in. You might have to format the cells on a fresh worksheet then copy and paste values across (right-click, paste special) to avoid overwriting your preferred formatting.
|
|
|
|
|
I have a leak from the plumbing in my bath, but in order to remove the bath panel I have to remove a radiator (oil filled electric in chrome). My problem is that the chrome screws fixing the radiator are so tight that they are just breaking off.
My problem is that once the radiator is removed (having broken all the fixing screws), can somebody please advise the best way of removing these screw stumps from the wall without damaging the tiled surface. The original length of screws would be 50mm, so approx 40mm stumps left in the wall.
Any help would be much appreciated.
|
My first thought is that the screws broke because they had become rusted into the wall fue to rusting (highly likely as it is a bathroom). I would make sure the screws are below the surface of the tiles and then drill a new fixing hole close along side. The existing fixing will work as part of the wall and the radiator should cover the old hole (if not a bit of grout will do the trick). A little tip, grease the new screws to prevent rust and helps when they are removed in the future.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
|
|
|
How many screws stumps in total are in need of possible " treatment? Are they steel or brass?
Assuming the screws go through some sort of flange, is it possible, in any way, to rotate / invert the flange so that new holes could be drilled but retaining the radiator in the same location?
|
Thanks for your replies, there are six screws (chromed steel) in question on 3 flanges. Unfortunately there isn`t the flexibility to rotate or invert the flanges, as suggested without exposing the original holes.
I was hoping that there was some way of extracting these screw stumps without ruining the tiles., but realise that it is going to be quite a difficult task
|
what ere the screws actually holding in to ? are they screws in to timber or are they plaster fixings
if plaster fixings you may be able to gently tap them in to the wall void and put in new ones depending on the type
if they are in timber can you drill a larger hole and fit a rawplug in it ?
|
|
Screws are fixed via rawlplugs to a tiled & plastered 4" concrete block wall.
|
You can often remove them by using an ordinary steel drill bit of the same diameter as the hole. Fairly easy if they are brass but still possible with some steel ones.
Chromed screws are often brass.....
|
I would also suggest drilling ,use the largest bit and slowest drill speed you can or even use an old fashioned hand drill cos if you break the drill bit in the hole you will have fun
I did once have success on a similer job by heating a very thin pipe to red hot with a blow lamp and forcing it over the screw by melting its way through the rawplug but it took a while
good luck
|
|
|
|
|
