***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 189 *****
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 188. 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.
|
Not a question more of a suggestion ( I don't work for the Post Office)
Popped out to town today to get Traveller's Cheques for my forthcoming Hols but instead ended up with one of these. Basically it's a Top Up Visa Card you can top it up by phone, t'internet, or your local PO from you normal banked account, they are not linked to your accounts so provide some safeguard from cloning and scamming and it's a Visa card. Saves messing around with all them traveller's cheques and that signing malarkey, leave your credit cards in the safe at the hotel....
www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/jump1?catId=1930020...1
More info here contrary to the website they are available at town POs.
|
What a fab idea.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
I was going to use this last month, but instead went to a local travel agent, where they gave me the wrong currency that i had to exchange at an unfair rate in a strange city at 5pm on a friday night.
The most galling thing is they are blaming me so unless i get some sense from the ho there will be a how do i take them to court thread soon.
|
|
|
PU - this card idea is great but who determines the exchange rate for the £s that you change into Euros to top it up? The transactions may be commission free but this doesn't help if you get a poor rate to load the card. Travelex do something similar, the card, and they will sell you euros in cash, ordered on line at a really good rate but they will not apply that rate to putting credit onto their cash card - swings and roundabouts etc! Personally I use a debit and credit card from a certain ?wide Building Society, good exchange rate and no fees for foreign use.
|
Unless you are a very regular traveller the card cost of £10 with only a 2 year validity seems high, especially when travellers cheques are free.
If the top up rates are as per the Post Office I wouldn't be concerned. The PO and M&S always offer the best value when I look around. ?1.42 at both a couple of weeks ago and no commission. Travelex was less than ?1.40 and in the airport a paltry ?1.35 and £3 commission.
For European trips I generally take a few hundred in local currency, leave what I don't need in the safe then if I run out withdraw once using my debit card based on an estimate of spend. If I have any Euros left they get kept until the next trip - or get spent on cheap booze at the airport!
|
|
We haven't used this yet, but thought it was a good idea when the children travel abroad on their own as an emergency measure. Would be interested to hear from someone who has actually used one.
|
|
|
I can't see why anyone would use anything abroad but the plastic debit and credit cards you use at home. Shopping in High Street USA/Europe/Asia is just like shopping in High Street UK. Debit cards from cash machines and Credit cards for anything else.
The most important thing is the exchange rate and for cash or traveller's cheques the exchange rate is lousy. With 'Plastic' you get the commercial rate(VISA) less a maximum of 2.75%. With Nationwide B.S. plastic you get the full VISA rate without the 2.75% commission.
I spend several months abroad each year and even though I have a US$ current account, I use Nationwide plastic for all my spending. Its is cheaper, more convienient and IMO TCs are a relic from a bygone age!!
|
Cardew,
To avoid scamming and cloning
|
PU,
Does 'scaming and cloning' not happen in UK?
Most of the time I use a Nationwide Debit card and only transfer smallish amounts to my current account from savings; this can be done istanly by phone or internet.
|
scamming - instantly - oh for an edit button!>> PU
>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Popped out to town today to get Traveller's Cheques for my forthcoming Hols but instead ended up with one of these. Basically it's a Top Up Visa Card you can top it up by phone t'internet or your local PO from you normal banked account
They're a rip-off. Best to get a nationwide account (no withdrawal fees, no currency exchange fees as with most cards). You can get one with zero overdraft if you're worried. Just top it up before going on holiday. And credit cards will refund fraud.
Here's the fees that you will pay that you would avoid with either (or both) of Nationwide account and Nationwide Visa card:
Issuance fee on Card purchase £10
Reissuance/renewal fee £5
Commission on loading/reloading Card 1.5% of value (For Sterling only)
Cross border fee (if local currency is different to currency on card) 2.75% of transaction amount
Cash withdrawal fee £1.50 in the UK, £2 for cash withdrawals outside the UK and for euro withdrawals from euro dispensing ATMs in the UK
If you really want one of these type of cards, the one to go for is the Caxton FX Card (issued by Newcastle BS and is a Mastercard debit card)
www.caxtonfxcard.com/
It's a debit card, and there are no fees for purchases, and you don't pay the 2.75% currency charge either. There is a ?2 charge for withdrawawing cash from an ATM, but it's still better than nearly all banks (except Nationwide).
There's no fee to buy the card, and no fee for reloading the account (providing you do it online).
Only potential problem is minimum load is £500
|
|
|
|
Can anyone please advise of a source of recordings of bird calls? Seeking a suitable call to disperse seagulls. Have done the usual searches, resulting only in electric boxes to fit on wall costing hundreds of pounds. If anyone is aware of a suitable call, perhaps on a loop tape and where such can be obtained, it would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
|
Perhaps make your own up from this website:
www.10x50.com/sounds.htm
or buy from sites such as:
www.wildsounds.com/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Thanks Stewart, much appreciated.
Rgds.
|
|
|
|
Petel. If you live anywhere near an RAF base they might help you as they use recordings of bird calls to disperse birds which they do not want sucked down jet engines! Be warned that some calls used have been 'distress' calls and it has been found that the mates turn up to help their friend ie they arrive on the scene rather than being dispersed - if you follow me?
|
"Be warned that some calls used have been 'distress' calls and it has been found that the mates turn up to help their friend"
Indeed they will. A gull's natural response to a distress call is to mob the potential predator so they will head towards the sound source. If they are unalble to find the predator they tend to becom unsettled and disperse. Unfortunately they tend to become used to the continued playing of a distress call and will eventually ignore it.
|
|
|
|
Petel.
I have a friend who is in the Air Force and looking to leave in the next coupple of months....he asked me to look over his CV (which in fairness is quite impressive) he mentioned an RAF course he'd been on as a "Bird Scaring Course". Totally true they have a "Bird Scaring Course" I was rolling abuot with laughter at the mental imagary of that one !
|
Thank you all for the replies. Thankfully, I do not have an RAF base nearby.
Rgds.
|
|
|
I have a friend who is in the Air Force and looking to leave in the next coupple of months....he asked me to look over his CV (which in fairness is quite impressive) he mentioned an RAF course he'd been on as a "Bird Scaring Course". Totally true they have a "Bird Scaring Course" I was rolling abuot with laughter
> at the mental imagary of that one !
i now have this mental image of a grown man running about an RAF runway with large feathered wings akin to those early flight pioneers.......trying to scare away the 'smaller birds'.
|
PU, What have you done???I haven?t stopped chuckling.
I?ve now got another vision?this one entails a load of new ?RAF bird scaring recruits? in a classroom, with an older man as the instructor?(you know, handle bar moustache, immaculately turned out, shoes so polished they?re like mirrors)
He turns to the class and starts the lesson.
?Lesson 1 Gentlemen?..after me??all shout ?BOO? "
|
|
|
When I did air experience flying with the school CCF in '65 or '66 at RAF Ouston, the bird scarers would drive 3 yellow Land Rovers in line abreast up and down the runway and pop off Very pistols at the birds.
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
|
|
|
|
|
|
My in-laws have asked me to find a projector for a collection of slides (transparencies) the shape of which is unfamiliar to me. They are a good 45 years old and have just been unearthed from their attic. Their dimensions are 69mm square overall and the viewable portion is 53mm square leaving a border of 8mm. What is this format called? Is it perhaps the fabled 6x6? The problem is that I don't know what to call them, apart from "big slides". Can anyone help with naming the format? As ever, TIA.
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
|
|
Do not know what that format is. One suggestion would be to scan them onto a computer and then you can watch them on the PC, project them, watch them on a TV via TV-out or even burn to a DVD (although that will limit quality). This method also means once scanned you can store them away safely rather than handling 45 year old slides.
|
|
|
rtj
davey
Spot on. They are 6x6.
Thanks for your replies, both.
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
|
|
Before you price up how much to get someone else to scan the slides, bear in mind a scanner that can handle slides is probably not that expensive. And you get a scanner as well ;-) My Canon scanner does slides/negatives and it's a few years old now.
|
|
|
|
>>the viewable portion is 53mm square>>
These would appear to be the two-and-a-quarter by two-and-a-quarter inch film size - there was also a two-and-a-quarter by three-and-a-quarter version (the latter provided eight rather than 12 negatives on a 120 roll film).
Among the most popular cameras for this type of film, apart from box cameras and folding bellows cameras (I still have an Agfa Rapide), were twin lens reflexes such as those from Rollei, Yashica and Zeiss Ikon (Ikoflex).
I had one of the Yashica models, plus an Ikoflex, over the years - the Yashica was especially popular with professionals because of its superb lens. The pin used to work out of the film transport handle but that was a common fault and easily cured.
The 6x6 film size was much larger (medium format) and related to models such as the Hasselblad and the Japanese equivalent, the Mamiya. Hasselblad cameras were used by NASA on space flights from the beginning (October 1962) and the company recently launched the world's first 39MP DSLR camera and camera backs.
But I suspect if you have to ask the price of the latter......
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
>>the viewable portion is 53mm square>> These would appear to be the two-and-a-quarter by two-and-a-quarter inch film size - >>
Agreed, otherwise known as 6x6, there were/are also 6x4.5, 6x7, 6x9, 6x10 and 6x12 formats, all on 120, 220 or 620 film, the latter is an old format with a very narrow spindle, 120 is most common, I have a 1950's Agfa bellows camera using 120 format film and it is still made today. 220 is twice the length of 120 though does not have backing paper (so it fits on the same size spool / magazine) and is liable to fogging. 53 x 53mm is the normal useable are of a 6x6 negative / transparency.
|
It's the 6x6 that I appear to have misread as I was used to two-and-a-quarter square (slightly smaller of course); had the thought that the Hasselblad/Mamiya sizes were larger than they actually were, but time plays tricks.
Another link to these film sizes at:
www.design215.com/toolbox/film_chart.php
The main problem, of course, if you were doing weddings, sport etc was that you had to keep changing films pretty rapidly, whereas 35mm was much better in this respect.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
|
|
I wondered if any BRoomers have experience of Evesham's LCD TVs.
At £350 for a 32 inch model, they look to be excellent value. Lad in the shop advised that the model I had my eye on was a Phillips/LG build. Is this good? Would appreciate any feedback you can provide.
{moves question to correct place in thread, as per the PLEASE NOTE message at the top - DD}
|
You can now buy a 32in for £283 from:
tinyurl.com/2e9dv5
It's by Hanns, who are better known in the UK for computer monitors; in fact its 19in model is £93 from the same source.
Only snag is that this LCD TV doesn't have a built-in Freeview tuner, but a set top box from Humax or similar (FOX FT-2) or even a cheapie will still work out at a good overall price.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
For what its worth, here is a review of 2 Evesham LCD TVs; dont know if this is what you are looking at.
tinyurl.com/2dpcwm
|
|
Thanks ......... looks reasonable VFM!
|
|
|
|
Most days I go online and check my current account to see what, generally minor transactions have occurred as both debits and credits. However, last Thursday, the postman came before I had to chance to view my statement etc. A letter addressed to me was from the Fraud and Security dept. of my bank, informing me of 'unusual' activity on a card with number ending **** and would I phone them immediately. Straight away I assumed that this was because I'd been using my Mastercard credit card more than usual with various unusually expensive (for me) purchases etc.
It was only when I phoned them did I realised it was nothing to do with my Credit card but was to do with my Maestro Debit card. Apparently it has been cloned (or whatever) and some scrote has been having a spending spree in Auckland NZ. The dept asked whether the four cash withdrawals currently, (now seven) were mine, which of course they weren't. Suffice it to say they were stopping the card and I have got to wait for a claims form which will need to be ompleted to confirm the un-authorised transaction and hopefully I'll get back the current total of nearly £800 that has been filched from my account! Last Saturday, in fact, I received a new Debit card with a new 16 digit number etc.
I don't know when or where this might have happened? I use it for all petrol purchases and sometimes in the supermarkets and M&S but haven't used it online for yonks. However, I did use it on the phone this year to renew my car insurance.
After phoning them, I went online and saw, to my horror, four transactions through a NZ bank for varying amounts - hopefully these un-authorised withdrawals will dry up now.
The total amount withdrawn was eventually just under £800 which has now been credited back to my account, thank goodness. A rather unnerving experience, but quite common, apparently
|
Very interesting OG! I am not a gambling man but can you confirm that you have used your debit card to buy fuel somewhere in the South-East recently, close to or within the M25? Usually these scams end up with bank transactions in Sri Lanka but yours may be a first. As an aside, it is gratifying to see that the banks and CC issuers have a system in place to monitor unusual spending patterns. I have been told that it is worth pre-warning them if you intend going abroad and making extensive use of a card, to prevent it being blocked while you are away and having the holiday of a life time. I hope you get a refund and the situation tidied up asap!
|
If you watched BBC 2's Newsnight programme last night this very subject arose and included the banks' strangely insipid response through one of its representatives.
You can watch the relevant sections of the programme, if you wish, on a special BBC report at:
tinyurl.com/yp3hee
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
It happens all over the country. See:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6222576.stm
for instance about a similar scam on The Wirral.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
Very interesting OG! >> I hope you get a refund and the situation tidied up asap!
Well, the warning came a week last Thursday and the refund was credited to my account this Tues/Weds. However no other communication has been forthcoming, as yet. I'd been told that form/s confirming illicit amounts withdrawn would need to be signed and sent back with the old card cut up in two.
Apart from one petrol purchase, in the Tonbridge area, I tend to buy petrol at the same garages in and around my area of domicile. I think that I will present cash in future although this would be a nuisance as I brim my tank, always, and don't really know exactly how much cash I would need to carry around with me. Of course, I would need to use my new card in an ATM in order to get this cash or go into the bank and draw money on a cheque!
|
|
Just out of interest do you remember which place in Tonbridge you used? I often fill up at various stations in the area.. Would be helpful to know so that I (and others in the area) can be aware?
|
Just out of interest do you remember which place in Tonbridge you used? I often fill up at various stations in the area.. Would be helpful to know so that I (and others in the area) can be aware?
My petrol receipt apparently confirmed that I must have filled up somewhere on the A21 near Pembury. It was a Shell Fairthorne garage - don't exactly go that way very often, just the occasional day trip to Bexhill via the A21 and Battle etc.
|
|
Thanks for that. Glad you got your money refunded by the way!
|
You were lucky OG - my card was cloned I believe in a garage near Gatwick Airport and bills started arriving from Sri Lanka to the tune of over £4000 ....
It was all sorted eventually but the aggravation was having to have a new card when already having booked hotels, holidays etc on the old one.
Generally chip and pin was supposed to stop all the problems but don't believe it. Our local Sainsburys found that they had a false front on their ATM which was virtually indistinguishable from the real one resulting in fraudsters obtaining pin numbers and cloning their cards.
I see these days the banks don't even seem to bother to report these frauds to the police.
The only way to stay safe is to keep your card in sight at all times and not use ATM machines.
|
quoted post deleted - PU ,
If someone hits my CC it will get sorted without me "loosing " funds. With a debit card there is a big delay before a refund which can cause a lot of problems for those on a rtight budget.
You may have to escort your card in some locations.
I was paying in a restaurant when the lass wandered off with my card in the machine.
I queried this and she explained it was of poor reception of the signal.
She demonstrated that this was in fact the case.
Reports this week in my local papers. Surrey folk are still being affected by cloned cards.
Filling stations are still suspected as being the problem.
|
|
|
|
It is, apparently, safer to use cashback while shopping - and pleases the shops as they have to pay to bank cash!
|
Snipquote ! - PU
I'd use that facility if they started giving reasonable amounts! £50 cashback maximum at Sainsbury is a laugh, if you ask me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend a good passport courier service?
I need to renew my passport (probably next week) I can't spare the time myself. I would like a courier to take the forms etc, to Petty France, wait and bring the new passport back.
What would that cost? I have Googled, but a personal recommendation is better!
|
We renewed the passports ofr our three children in the last couple of weeks. Although they say allow up to four weeks, it seemed like they were all back with us within 10 days or even less. I was just wondering if they had received the applications when the old passports were returned.
At this speed, why not simply pop an application in the post?
|
|
|
expensive.
In effect you are hiring a taxi + driver. couriers are not interested in waiting because you it stops their other work.
|
Add to the cost of the courier the extra cost of the actual passport - it will be £108 instead of £66 if done in a day, and an appointment must be made in advance or you/your courier will not be seen. You can fill in the form on line at www.passport.gov.uk who return the completed form within 24 hours for you to check and sign and then it is processed very quickly. Not sure of the extra charge for this service, but there is bound to be one.
|
|
The passport needs to be renewed between arriving in UK on a Friday evening and leaving again, early on the Monday morning 10 days later.
|
|
there is a letter about a very similar thing in yesterdays travel telegraph
|
|
|
|
|
|
My current pension company are - in short - useless from the admin angle, grabbing direct debits out of my account whenever they feel like it. Can I transfer the contributions I have made into the scheme to another pension company, and not loose anything ?
|
Information here.
tinyurl.com/2c6ks6
wemyss
|
|
|
Complex area.
Go see a decent IFA.
|
|
|
|
When a letter drops through my letterbox, correctly addressed and intended for me, do I then "own" it? If the sender asks for it to be returned or destroyed, can I refuse?
I don't mean NIP or other fill in and return mail, just from one person to another.
|
Yes. It's yours. They obviously want you not to keep it for a reason, my suspicions would be raised.
--
PU without his Mod Hard Hat on !
|
Would the other person be aware if you had already opened the letter or was the request (if genuine) made before it arrived?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
The request has not been made, yet, if it ever will be. I like to be prepared and to have done some reconnaissance before the "enemy" opens fire.
The fact that I have opened the letter will be apparent soon.
|
|
|
|
I have broadband via 3g and I've bought an external attena to boost the signal. Does anyone know of a map online showing the location of masts so I can align the attena for best effect. I've tried a couple of google search terms but not found anything, just hundreds of pages referring to planning applications for specific masts.
Vodafone don't publish the info themselves.
Ta
|
www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/
15 seconds of Googling. I'm only saying this 'cos RF accused me of being lazy when I posed a similar sort of question.
--
PU without his Mod Hard Hat on !
|
Thanks, as far as I can see that tells you how many base stations there are but not where they are.
|
".... but not where they are."
Thanks for the link!
Had a look for my post code and up came the mystery mast on the road where I live.
It says it is a "Single operator UMTS technology" mast.
Anyone know what that means?
--
e Prôf - Another Recycled Teenager
|
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS-TDD
May or may not have a steering wheel as stock though :-)
--
PU without his Mod Hard Hat on !
|
|
So, it's whatever UMTS is and operated/owned by one of the phone networks. I suppose there are all sorts of syndication arrangements between them, you use ours we use yours sort of thing?
|
|
UMTS is '3G' phone technology in consumer terms, and yes there are sorts of arrangements for using each others' sites.
|
Vodafone announced a sharing deal with Orange for 3G, and 3 uses O2 where it does not have coverage, though that will only be GSM/GPRS, not 3G.
You can't really align an antenna for 3G - the frequency is so high it either works or it does not. Height is good, and try to minimise walls, especially if they have breeze blocks in them. The problem with 3G is that signals attenuate (weaken) more the higher the frequency, and the frequency in the UK is over 2x higher than original GSM.
|
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend an upright vacuum cleaner for £100 or under, preferably bagless? We are about to get a puppy, so I guess one of the ones that are supposed to be good for pet hair would be best. If we can pick it up at Argos/Comet/Currys even better.
We've currently got an old Dyson DC05, which seems to be great for dust but not so good for bigger bits and is quite heavy. It's also got a hole in the hose so is due for replacement.
Cheers
John
|
We are on our third under a ton vacuum in 5 years the latest i got from makro for £35 but it was £99 in named stores,we are as at this weekend talking about a new one but i have no faith in bagless expensive tat.
Im inclined to go get an old fashioned henry as they do what they say on the tin
|
A S/H Sebo. IF you can find one.
( My local repair man says they are so good that even if the motor costs £75 they are worth repairing.)
They are quite compact, very well made, quieter than most and in a quiet colour
The press button main brush removal is a boon. Access to the debris paths is without any tools.
Oh and it is made in Germany.
|
We've had a Sebo X4 for about four years - superb machine, beautifully built, highly efficient and with allergy filters for those that have need for them.
Same marvellous quality levels with our Miele washing machine.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
We've had a Sebo X4 for about four years
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> youve just blown his budget by 100% though
|
|
|
How are these Sebo's ? for actual weight. We have had a Panasonic for the last few years and is excellent but is far too heavy. Its like dragging a pece of furniture up the stairs.
wemyss
|
Re blown budget - I was aware of the budget, merely backing up the the fact they are a great buy new or secondhand (if you could find one).
Re weight. Yes, it's heavier than most vacuum cleaners, although there's a convenient carrying notch.
But build quality usually means a bit of weight - ask anyone with a somewhat flimsy Dyson how often they have had to replace damaged bits and bobs, plus other more expensive parts, during ownership?
Only the fact that the Dysons now come with a five year guarantee has prompted a well known consumer magazine to change its previous advice about the brand - Sebo, in contrast, is rated as a Best Buy.
With most household appliances and gadgets these days you either buy cheap and twice or get a properly engineered product at a price that's fully consistent with the quality.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
>>How are these Sebo's for actual weight ?
>>
"- Light and easy to use- Weight: 7.3kg
- Excellent for allergy sufferers.
- Ideal for carpet, hard floors (They automatically adjust the height )
- and pet hair"
IIRC they are a just little lighter than most.
There is a good brochure / consumables & spares list online.
( A replacement hose is £15 and of course no tools needed to fit it)
|
Thanks for the advice- Sebo certainly sounds good, and might be cheaper in the long term. Will have to think about it.
John
|
I have a Dyson Animal which does a fine job of sucking up greyhound hair, stray dog food and anything else I've thrown at it. Nothing has broken on it and I've yet to need a tool to assemble or disassemble it.
The ?99 "Pets" vac I had before it lasted a year before giving up the ghost, and needed constant stripping to clean out hair from the filters and dust collector ... something I'd expect a vac made with pets and allergens in mind to be good at!
|
I'd go along with the Dyson Animal. I have 5 dogs and it copes well. Nothing broken so far. I had a Dyson DC01 before, two things went wrong: the cord wore through which I just cut short and reconnected and a wheel broke. A new one was £5 delivered fron Dyson and it came within 3 days, fitted with no tools in 30 seconds.
One of the tools with the Animal broke quite quickly, so I rang the customer services and got straight through, they said it was a design fault and sent a new redesigned one FOC.
So although they haven't been totally faultless, their customer service has been excellent which is why I bought again. Better of course if I hadn't had to!
|
|
|
|
I will also go along with the Sebo for quality etc.
Not mentioned here is that the handle can be lowered completely to the floor and used under beds etc as long there is a few inches clearance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I would recommend to Sir a Henry Turbo HVR200T-22, but unfortunately it's above your budget at £150. This machine has a 24-V electric "Turbo" brush head, as well as the usual benefits to be had when purchasing Numatic cleaners.
|
|
|
|
I am 'ripping' out my kitchen tomorrow, and selling it, complete with all appliances, to a friend.
Some time next month, or even August, I shall instal a replacement and was talking about one of these inbuilt, or under mounted s/steel sinks in the pub and was advised that you can buy a 'double skin' one which is more robust. I do not have time this week to visit a kitchen supplier to pick up a Franke, or similar, brochure, and was just going to buy the cheapest on t'web.
Does such a thing exist...I can find no mention of a 'double skin' sink despite much browsing?
Any advice gratefully received.
|
Just renewed my kitchen, and i got my Franke sink from here
delivered to my place in three days, cheapest I found anywhere.
www.sinks-taps.com/category-46-Kitchen_Sinks.aspx
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
|
|
|
Does anyone out there know of a quiet kettle?
Our present one drowns out all conversation until it has finished boiling.
I'm sure I heard recently about a kettle recently that could boil in three seconds (but presumably not quietly)
SWMBO is convinced that a quiet kettle must exist, I'm equally sure that the nature of the beast means that it can't.
Any recommendations would be gratefully received. Failing that there's a fortune to be made out there for the inventor of the silent kettle!
|
I thought my grandmother, who passed on 15+ years ago, was actually the last owner of a kettle than you placed on the gas ring and when boiled, gave a delightful whistling noise- I didn't know people still used them - how quaint.
sorry to be no help- but I HATE tea !!
|
|
|
We have a £10.99 cordless Igenix kettle - certainly not noisy.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
Sorry, I can't help with road tests of kettles, but, it may be worth trying some resilient matting between the base of the kettle and whatever you are standing it on. It's really easy to couple vibration into the worktop, from where it can easily be re-radiated as noise.
This will help to reduce the noise radiating area to that of the kettle itself, rather than your whole worktop and cupboards.
What you are trying to acheive is an abrupt impedance mismatch as you can - so typically, this means you want a compliant, or squashy mat.
Number_Cruncher
|
|
Thanks - the squashy mat is an interesting idea - I'll give it a go in the morning
|
Oops, in tidying up L'escargot's multiple replies, I have accidentally deleted all of them. Fortunately I copied everything beforehand - which follows below:-
Wed 27 Jun 07 05:39
I've always assumed the noise occurs when air in the water expands due to an increase in temperature and is released from the surface or from the surface of the element ~ or something like that. If this is the case the noise is probably a function of the amount of air in the water rather than the design of the kettle. In the interest of science I'm going to do a test comparing boiling water fresh from the tap with water that has stood overnight. Now the subject has been raised I need to get to the bottom of the matter for my own satisfaction!
Wed 27 Jun 07 05:49
This is what the Greenfield Tea company says :-
"As it is known water boils at 100°C;. However, this is not an instant process because the lower layers of water in a kettle are heated faster. Small bubbles appear in these layers that together with the hot water rise to the surface and mix with the upper "colder" layers of water. At this stage a kettle usually produces quite a lot of noise or "sings".
The Chinese call this state of boiling water "white spring". "
(See tinyurl.com/2l4yyd for more information about making tea.)
Wed 27 Jun 07 05:59
Lin Yutang describes the boiling kettle thus:
He turns round to look at the stove, and from the time the kettle begins to sing, he never leaves it, but continues to fan the fire harder than before. Perhaps he stops to take the lid off and look at the tiny bubbles, technically called "fish eyes" or "crab froth," appearing on the bottom of the kettle, and puts the lid on again. This is the "first boil." He listens carefully as the gentle singing increases in volume to that of a "gurgle," with small bubbles coming up the sides of the kettle, technically called the "second boil."
Wed 27 Jun 07 06:07
Further research reveals that the Russell Hobbs 10925 has been rated as ....... a non-singing, non-dancing standard kettle that does what it would say on the tin!
And all of this information in these posts has been because I got up early because I couldn't sleep!
--
L'escargot.
|
There's a question in the excellent book, "Why don't penguin's feet freeze?" on this very subject. I can't remember the answer, but I do know it's very complex.
Away from theory, the huge increase in noise levels seemed to happen when the move was made to flat-bottomed kettles.
A soft mat of some kind will help - it stops your worktop being a sounding board and amplifying the noise.
But for me, the ideal solution, if you have a gas stove, is a proper kettle with a whistle.
1. It's the cheapest way to heat water.
2. It's quiet.
3. And this is the big advantage. I used to put the kettle on, then forget and two hours later go back to restart the whole process. Now, once the whistle goes, I make the tea. It's an age thing.
V
|
At a guess i'd say the more powerfull the kettle the more noise it is likely to make. Ours is the flat type but only just over 2kW. Slow, but quiet.
Are flat ones noiser because convection currents within the water and around the heater are not so good so the water around the base starts boiling vigoursly as soon as its switched on?
|
|
I actually rather like the noise - or rather, I appreciate it as a safety feature that reminds me the kettle is on and likely to be hot. Ours (Morphy Richards 3 kW stainless steel thing that replaced two successive Electrolux kettles that kept failing to switch off) is noisy but so fast that it boils in three minutes even when full, so it doesn't dominate the kitchen for long.
|
|
|
|
> I used to put the kettle on, then forget
Oh Dear Vin, senior moments there.
We have a cordless plastic electric kettle, with a water filter cartridge built in, sits on a cork mat, - really very quiet.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
|
we have a plastic cordless kettle from a supermarket and it's very quick and quiet, sits directly on its base on the work surface. My parents have a cordless stainless steel expensive one and it's incredibly noisy - can't remember the name but it begins with M.
|
The three second kettle only heats enough water for one cup at a time in a spiral tube - but it does not boil so no good for tea - and costs about £60.
We have a Brita filter kettle which is reasonably quiet. We used to have a Rayburn previously so the kettle was hissing away quietly most of the time! The quietest of all would be a plumbed in water boiler - boiling water on tap, so to speak.
|
|
We have a quiet kettle. Cheap enough, but the Aga it sits on is a bit pricey. It's a genuine Aga kettle, with a large base - boils a pint from cold in 1 minute.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The 'squashy' matting (in this case some thick velvet) certainly helps, but reading some of the other post's I think the solution is to go back to a stove top gas heated kettle. Our previous one was plastic and equally as loud as the current stainless steel one.
I've a suspicion that the problem lies in the design of the newish jug shaped kettles being louder than the old (for the want of a better word) 'kettle' shaped kettles.
Any more thoughts on the subject gratefully received.
|
|
|
|
|
