My Day

[grendel]

well my day started off badly, half way up the M2 heading for work, a warning light came up, battery warning, and a message electrical service required. at this point I also noticed the steering was heavy, oh I thought- broken alternator belt. I safely pulled into a service station that happened to be handy, upon checking under the bonnet, there is the alternator belt, its not broken, but isnt on the pulleys. hmm why I wonder, closer inspection revealed the alternator pulley way off alignment with the other pulleys.

well I carefully drove home, no electrics or power steering, then it was a two hour tussle to swap the old alternator from my old car into the new one, this achieved, it was time to look into the reason the pulley had failed - this pulley has a clutch in it to stop the alternator being overrevved. this one was freewheeling in both directions, when I removed the pulley the centre was allowing the outer to spin around it, the actual clutch part had seized. so car once again running, this is the second time my old car has saved the day by donating spare parts.

[FairTmiddlin]

" it was a two hour tussle to swap the old alternator from my old car into the new one"

If I just leave this here you can use the sentence again and again, just edit the name of the part replaced.

It's not a new car you have there it's just becoming a clone of the old one.

[grendel]

this is why I prefer to keep an older car going, at least then I know what work has been done, and whats likely to need doing. when I get a new to me car, I dont know what will fail next, whats been replaced recently, etc, but then, you have to start somewhere with a newer car occasionally.

[Matt]

Well I am pleased to say that my 15 year old Vauxhall Corsa SXI passes her MOT yesterday first time with just one advisory.

However, signs of rust breaking through underneath ☹️


Sent from my iPhone using Norfolk Broads Network

[TheQ]

I collected My 1984 Land Rover from it's MOT and service yesterday, the new back door and Back axle rebuild dented the pocket somewhat..

[BroadAmbition]

This morning at around 0700 I noticed yet again our Baxi boiler was not providing hot water to the taps or radiators.  It's being showing a E133 error code more and more often.  Usually a reset or power on / off cures it.  So up the loft I go, 5 mins later - Sorted.  By 0800 I'm off to my local farm for our game shoot day (After the obligatory expensive breakfast at the Mount Pleasant Hotel)  The days shoot - I've had better, low cloud steady drizzle all day.  Got home by around 1800.  Gear needs cleaning and drying.  Macie Dog is proper mucky, needs cleaning / drying off.  MrsG at work - Boiler not working yet again, I am duly informed it has been off since 0830.  This time it won't reset no matter how many times I try.  Right onto Youtube - Next door to useless for a change, but one snippit gave me a clue.  Ok off control panel, off outer and inner covers.  Remove spark igniter and temp sensor, clean, refit, everything back together and BINGO it is fixed as of 1915.  I will purchase a new igniter and temp sensor next week and fit them next time it packs up.  I wouldn't mind but I've been on at 'My' plumber for an age now to service the blasted thing.

Griff

[ChrisB]

Get yourself a Worcester Bosch for Christmas. This house had a Baxi when we moved in dreadful! 

[Guest]

Isn't an E133 just a frozen waste pipe?

I only say that as I think I had the same once and after a quick (2 hours) look around the boiler sorted it with a healthy dose of water from the kettle over the pipe. 

Although I guess it's not been that cold....yet

[Hylander]

12 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

This morning at around 0700 I noticed yet again our Baxi boiler was not providing hot water to the taps or radiators.  It's being showing a E133 error code more and more often.  Usually a reset or power on / off cures it.  So up the loft I go, 5 mins later - Sorted.  By 0800 I'm off to my local farm for our game shoot day (After the obligatory expensive breakfast at the Mount Pleasant Hotel)  The days shoot - I've had better, low cloud steady drizzle all day.  Got home by around 1800.  Gear needs cleaning and drying.  Macie Dog is proper mucky, needs cleaning / drying off.  MrsG at work - Boiler not working yet again, I am duly informed it has been off since 0830.  This time it won't reset no matter how many times I try.  Right onto Youtube - Next door to useless for a change, but one snippit gave me a clue.  Ok off control panel, off outer and inner covers.  Remove spark igniter and temp sensor, clean, refit, everything back together and BINGO it is fixed as of 1915.  I will purchase a new igniter and temp sensor next week and fit them next time it packs up.  I wouldn't mind but I've been on at 'My' plumber for an age now to service the blasted thing.

Griff

I hope you are careful,   I thought you were not allowed to touch boilers unless you are registered Gas Safe.      

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Hylander said:

I hope you are careful,   I thought you were not allowed to touch boilers unless you are registered Gas Safe.      

What's the worst that can happen? 

[Hylander]

1 minute ago, Jayfire said:

What's the worst that can happen? 

You tell me.   I just obey the rules.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Hylander said:

You tell me.   I just obey the rules.

Never a way to live 

[ChrisB]

1 hour ago, Jayfire said:

Isn't an E133 just a frozen waste pipe?

I only say that as I think I had the same once and after a quick (2 hours) look around the boiler sorted it with a healthy dose of water from the kettle over the pipe. 

Although I guess it's not been that cold....yet

If you have a modern install where the condense pipe runs to a soak-a-way filed with limestone chips in very wet weather it can become waterlogged and the fluid can't get away as if it were frozen. My answer to that problem was a 3mm drill to the bottom of the pipe, never had a problem since.

 

HAND DRILL!  you don't want the the water spurting out as you break through ruining your Makita Cordless and you certainly don't want it in the mains variety.....

[BroadAmbition]

Yes I was careful, I did not have to disturb / undoe any gas fittings.  I looked up the codes E133 for this model ain't a frozen condensate pipe.  Besides before I had this boiler installed I was aware of that issue so in our case the condensate pipe is inside the loft plumbed into the downpipe so it's all inside the house, cannot freeze or block.  Last night I eventually got the cleaning / drying done and got the house toasty.  if our boiler ain't performing, then no hot showers as our system the shower water comes off the boiler so I just had to get it working

Griff

[Hylander]

7 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

Yes I was careful, I did not have to disturb / undoe any gas fittings.  I looked up the codes E133 for this model ain't a frozen condensate pipe.  Besides before I had this boiler installed I was aware of that issue so in our case the condensate pipe is inside the loft plumbed into the downpipe so it's all inside the house, cannot freeze or block.  Last night I eventually got the cleaning / drying done and got the house toasty.  if our boiler ain't performing, then no hot showers as our system the shower water comes off the boiler so I just had to get it working

Griff

That is good to hear,   cannot beat all nice and toasty with lashings of hot water.

 

 

[YnysMon]

Well, my yesterday really...

My cousin came over to stay for the weekend and we were looking for Christmas markets/events to visit. Sandra has been to the Birmingham Christmas market and most events within striking distance of Milton Keynes seemed to be booked up, so we went to St Albans. The Christmas Market there wasn’t great, but not that bad either (I was interested to see a couple of stalls selling stained/fused glass items and the prices they were charging). It was more than a bit drizzly to start with, but luckily for us the cafe at the Cathedral was being worked on and there was a temporary cafe in a marquee.  They had some portable heaters which helped dry off our slightly damp jeans.  (We stood in front of them, steaming slightly.)

After that we visited the Cathedral (Abbey?).

We joined a free guided tour around the Cathedral, which took about an hour.  Very interesting it was too, covering the history of St Albans as a town and the development of the Abbey from a Saxon Benedictine monastery through to becoming the town’s parish church to becoming a Cathedral. Also the building is an example of architectural development from its original Romanesque (Norman) form with additions from early, middle and late Gothic (medieval) architectural styles. 

You can see on the right how early gothic architecture (pointy arches) was used in place of earlier Norman style (round arches) after that side’s walls had collapsed. Oh, and the Guide said that that the Norman walls were built using material ‘recycled’ from the nearby Roman town (Verelanium or something, which I can’t be bothered to look up at the moment(!).

After our tour we had a lovely lunch in a cafe called ‘No Moo Moo’ (vegan). It was right next to the Cathedral and the menu sounded good...the food was good too and very tasty, even for us meat eaters.

In the afternoon we had a wander around the very good and varied street market and we popped into the St Albans Museum and Gallery. The cafe there has seating in the old court room. 

The loos are down in the prison cells below the old court room.

We returned to the Cathedral for the 4pm Evensong service. Lovely service and beautiful music from the Cathedral Choir. 

As we returned to our car we passed the town clock and were very impressed with the animated Christmas Tree lumination (the snowflakes were falling).

 

[Thiswan]

On 27/11/2018 at 15:04, grendel said:

well my day started off badly, half way up the M2 heading for work, a warning light came up, battery warning, and a message electrical service required. at this point I also noticed the steering was heavy, oh I thought- broken alternator belt. I safely pulled into a service station that happened to be handy, upon checking under the bonnet, there is the alternator belt, its not broken, but isnt on the pulleys. hmm why I wonder, closer inspection revealed the alternator pulley way off alignment with the other pulleys.

well I carefully drove home, no electrics or power steering, then it was a two hour tussle to swap the old alternator from my old car into the new one, this achieved, it was time to look into the reason the pulley had failed - this pulley has a clutch in it to stop the alternator being overrevved. this one was freewheeling in both directions, when I removed the pulley the centre was allowing the outer to spin around it, the actual clutch part had seized. so car once again running, this is the second time my old car has saved the day by donating spare parts.

 

On 27/11/2018 at 15:04, grendel said:

well my day started off badly, half way up the M2 heading for work, a warning light came up, battery warning, and a message electrical service required. at this point I also noticed the steering was heavy, oh I thought- broken alternator belt. I safely pulled into a service station that happened to be handy, upon checking under the bonnet, there is the alternator belt, its not broken, but isnt on the pulleys. hmm why I wonder, closer inspection revealed the alternator pulley way off alignment with the other pulleys.

well I carefully drove home, no electrics or power steering, then it was a two hour tussle to swap the old alternator from my old car into the new one, this achieved, it was time to look into the reason the pulley had failed - this pulley has a clutch in it to stop the alternator being overrevved. this one was freewheeling in both directions, when I removed the pulley the centre was allowing the outer to spin around it, the actual clutch part had seized. so car once again running, this is the second time my old car has saved the day by donating spare parts.

Now if that had happened on my car with an otherwise excellent Volvo D5 engine the loose belt would have taken out the Cambelt and wrecked the engine completely a few years back that is, in fact, what happened only the bit that started it all was the clutch/pulley on the A/C compressor. thank heaven for small mercies

[grendel]

I was doubly lucky, the belt was fairly new and slipped off rather than breaking, plus it loosened the belt when it came off so the pulley driving it slipped with the belt still around it, if it had gone sideways on that pulley, it would have taken out the timing belt as you describe.

[MauriceMynah]

The power steering pulley failed on mine (Volvo 850) just over a year ago, Suddenly I lost the PAS, and all the dashboard lights came on. The main belt had come off. No issues with the cam belt though!. I do hope that I'm not going to have this problem EVERY 200,000 miles! 

[grendel]

I had that on my 850 at about 200,000 miles, though on mine it was a failed alternator.

[ChrisB]

Got out on the marsh at Blakeney today as tomorrow looks fowl again. Juno is back in her winter berth minus rigging so it must be the year for a refurb. Lion of Stiffkey is also up for the winter. Poor old girl needs a good going over and refit. I love the lines of Lion, unfortunately the light was not kind to me today but she has the most wonderful counter stern, rounded, the like of which was blamed for the destruction of the French Tunny Fleet but beautiful to the eye. If I was younger I would love to take her on.

 

[SwanR]

Great pictures Chris. What a fabulous place to be. I've only visited the north Norfolk coast one summer when we toured around a bit. Now I keep stopping at the Broads and not getting any further!! 

[SwanR]

 

Been a grey day here but I fancied some fresh air and a walk as I had the day off work. So we went to RHS Hyde Hall Gardens ... always interesting no matter what the season. It was about 10 degrees so not cold. And although a bit drizzly when we arrived it was soon dry. We're very lucky to have this only about 15 minutes drive away. Being RHS members therefore pays for itself for us over the course of a year.

[ChrisB]

Is that the RHS garden that specialises in plants for dry areas?

[SwanR]

1 minute ago, ChrisB said:

Is that the RHS garden that specialises in plants for dry areas?

Yes it is. You can read more about it here.