rogerguzzi Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Hello Nick This why we went for LPG years ago! I saw enough sooted up burners in my apprintice days to know they mabe cheap but rubbish! Our boiler must be 30+ years now and needed a couple of heat sensor probes and 2!! pilot light bits and that is it! Our son who is a gas safe engineer tested last year and passed it as safe? Plus we have a gas hob and oven unit. Roger
JohnD Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Plenty of "Clean the carbon from your coked up exhaust" videos on't Net. EG:
Nick Jones Posted January 2, 2023 Author Posted January 2, 2023 Not that keen on trying that on a house flue that comes out on the roof…. Apparently there are things called soot breaker pellets…. Though I think this level of contamination needs direct methods….
PeteStupps Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 19 hours ago, Nick Jones said: Engineers?! Not hardly…. A much-abused job title! Someone told me the Germans have an official protected definition for 'engineer' like doctor or similar, so there's some limit on who gets to use it.
Nick Jones Posted January 2, 2023 Author Posted January 2, 2023 19 hours ago, rogerguzzi said: This why we went for LPG years ago! Perfectly possible to soot-up a gas boiler. You probably have to neglect it more wilfully and more likely to utterly ruin it… Edit: Got home this evening to find that our boiler wasn’t running when it should have been. Mild panic, especially when it proved not to be its current favourite trick of the recirculation pump being stuck and needing a clout. Then I realised it wasn’t even being called to run…. Attention turned to the remote thermostat, which turned out to be wanting a new battery. Ok. Panic over, except I now have to remember the arcane procedure for re-pairing it with the controller. Obviously I can’t…. Thanks Google! All fixed.
thebrookster Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 22 hours ago, Nick Jones said: fired right up…. But, looking at what was coming out of the chimney, it was not happy. Bit smoky. Back inside there was a bit of a fug forming after less than 2 minutes. Off! So, serviced three months ago… let’s have a look at the service sheet. No test figures…. “Oh, but that’s just the first visit”. Eh? Turns out that the day after the service a neighbour knocked on the door to tell them there was a lot of black smoke coming out of the chimney. Smoking like a tractor puller at full chat… So Dad got them back and they “fixed it”. Lots of hoovering involved. Yeah. Can imagine…. Must have a tougher hoover than mine though! Think they may have failed to notice that the chimney was seriously clogged after the sooting incident and frigged the settings to get it to run against a restricted flue. Possibly some of the soot then burned off so it had too much air for a while, which is what nearly melted the bottom baffle. Bad weather has then brought some of the caked soot down from the flue and obstructed the exit and started the sooting cycle again. So now the chimney needs sweeping and the boiler needs properly recommissioning….. Reduce the oil flow Nick (or increase the air). Same as a car, the smoke indicates too much fuel. The reported smoke after the "engineer" visited suggests to me he may have replaced the nozzle (might be called atomiser). The filter on the old one will have been dirty, and restricting the flow. The new nozzle with clean filter flows more oil, and that coupled with dirty flue usually equals smoke. Oddly enough, in one of those weird coincidences that happen, I have spent a fair chunk of time over Xmas and NY trying to rectify a similar issue with my "donkey" boiler. It didn't produce smoke however, it decided to pour copious quantities of diesel out the front instead!
rogerguzzi Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 4 hours ago, Nick Jones said: Perfectly possible to soot-up a gas boiler. You probably have to neglect it more wilfully and more likely to utterly ruin it… Yes but it would take about 10 ,20 years?? not every year! The odd times I have checked ours there has just about been a very light layer of dust on a few bits (there are no solids to try and burn as far as I know?) Roger
thebrookster Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 16 hours ago, rogerguzzi said: Yes but it would take about 10 ,20 years?? not every year! The odd times I have checked ours there has just about been a very light layer of dust on a few bits (there are no solids to try and burn as far as I know?) Roger Depends how you burn your gas, Roger! Stick this in a boiler and I suspect you might have soot pretty quick.
Nick Jones Posted January 3, 2023 Author Posted January 3, 2023 18 hours ago, rogerguzzi said: Yes but it would take about 10 ,20 years? With a badly obstructed air supply, a few hours will suffice. A gas boiler or fire will black-smoke just as vigorously as an oil one. And cobwebs can be enough. Guess how I know this…… Anyhow, the chimney sweep went to the house today. He was impressed. About the worst he’s ever seen apparently. Nearly completely choked. Now to try and capture a heating engineer worthy of the name!
Escadrille Ecosse Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 21 hours ago, thebrookster said: That looks better
mpbarrett Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 cooker hood fans. We have a Rangemaster 3 speed (switched windings) cooker hood fan than has mechanical filters and then vents outside. I seem to have continuous problem with the bearings drying out in the fan motor, this is double ended with a centrifugal fan on either end. Its now down to a MTBF of <2 months. It gets slower and eventually stops rotating, not enough torque in the motor to overcome the bearings friction... I strip it down, clean and lubricate the bearing and away it's goes for a few more weeks The bearings are plain, possible phosphors bronze, I usually treat them to some Plusgaz to free them then add light oil (3in1 or similar). This is not a long term solution as the problem returns. I could buy a new fan and motor but Rangemaster want >£400 for that! It occurs to me that I am using the wrong oil and it's drying out due to the heat, so any recommendations, maybe a graphite based lubrication? Or it could be one of these oiled for life bearing. I do have 5L of EP80 in the garage but that might be a bit thick... Its getting to the stage where £400 would be a good investment, without the ventilation working the cooker and kitchen are beginning to suffer. cheers Mike
DeTRacted Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 If the bearings are stiff and you need plus-gas to free them, then it sounds to me as though the oil you are using is turning to glue. The other possibility is that it is cooking oil fume doing that. The inside of an extractor is usually pretty gloopy and that certainly does go very sticky in time. Are you sure they are plain bronze bearings and not sintered 'oilite' ones? If they are sintered they may need soaking for some time in warm engine oil to re-lubricate them (if you can get them out of the motor). 1
Nick Jones Posted January 4, 2023 Author Posted January 4, 2023 I think Rob has nailed it. Almost certainly Oilite bearings and likely the pores in the sintered material are clogged. If you can get them out it may be worth soaking them in a warm degreasing solvent in an attempt to clear the pores, or you could try a bit of direct heat (carefully, don’t cook them!) to see what bubbles out. Once you feel like you’ve got them clear, soak in warm engine oil for as long as possible (overnight ideally) and refit. If they are a simple shape it might be worth having a rootle round onbthe web to see if you can just buy new. Oilite bearings are cheap. If the housing shape is conducive to swapping to sealed ball bearings, better still! Good luck 1
mpbarrett Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 Rob, nick that makes sense. Would explain why it's getting worse. Will try getting bearing out to clean them or changing them for something different. Cheers mike
Nick Jones Posted February 23, 2023 Author Posted February 23, 2023 SM has had her Bosch hairdryer longer than she’s known me…. And it’s our 30th anniversary this year(!). I take it apart every few years when it starts making hot smells and clean the fur out of it, and off it goes again. This morning something bad happened. She went to use it this morning and there was a most impressive flash, bang and startled squawk! I was still dozing peacefully and it woke me right up. Initially she went into immediate mourning at the apparent death of this faithful friend, but on questioning revealed that the flash had come from the plug….. Ahhhh, that’ll do it! Flexed to the point of failure. Probably explains why the upstairs ring main was tripped yesterday (as it did again this morning), though no drama noticeable yesterday. Easy fix. Remarkably the plug fuse (13A) was intact.
Escadrille Ecosse Posted February 23, 2023 Posted February 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Nick Jones said: Easy fix. Remarkably the plug fuse (13A) was intact I assume you no longer use nails in the main fuse box.
Nick Jones Posted February 23, 2023 Author Posted February 23, 2023 30 minutes ago, Escadrille Ecosse said: I assume you no longer use nails in the main fuse box. No sir..... I believe our (newish) consumer unit even meets current standards. Some other areas..... possibly not. I was doubly relieved that a). yesterday's mystery trip was not caused by the bastard Saniflow, which is spurred off the upstairs ring, or even the slightly less hated shower pump. b). the hairdryer was a really easy fix.... though I think I might invest in a new length of flex for it and maybe even a new plug, the original has scars....
Escadrille Ecosse Posted February 23, 2023 Posted February 23, 2023 16 minutes ago, Nick Jones said: yesterday's mystery trip was not caused by the bastard Saniflow, which is spurred off the upstairs ring, or even the slightly less hated shower pump. I can appreciate that 17 minutes ago, Nick Jones said: the hairdryer was a really easy fix.... though I think I might invest in a new length of flex for it and maybe even a new plug, the original has scars.... Seems only fair to the beastie.
Nick Jones Posted August 19, 2023 Author Posted August 19, 2023 I’m afraid I don’t think I can fix this…… It lost power, started making odd noises and began to smell funny on my last hedge scragging session. I was hacking at holly, berberis with the inevitable bramble garnish and was almost grateful for a reason to stop. Examination shows the brushes are completely done (could sort that), a serious crack in the gearbox casing where the blade attaches (could probably sort that, though not best use of time) and the actual reason for the odd behaviour, at least one dead coil in the armature, which I definitely can’t. Not sure what caused that (the knackered brushes maybe?), but I suppose many years of merciless abuse could be a factor. It’s done well though. Bought from the B & D seconds shop at Clark’s Village in Street at least 20 years ago. Goodbye old friend, veteran of many a thorny battle. 1
Escadrille Ecosse Posted August 19, 2023 Posted August 19, 2023 33 minutes ago, Nick Jones said: I’m afraid I don’t think I can fix this…… It lost power, started making odd noises and began to smell funny on my last hedge scragging session. I was hacking at holly, berberis with the inevitable bramble garnish and was almost grateful for a reason to stop. Examination shows the brushes are completely done (could sort that), a serious crack in the gearbox casing where the blade attaches (could probably sort that, though not best use of time) and the actual reason for the odd behaviour, at least one dead coil in the armature, which I definitely can’t. Not sure what caused that (the knackered brushes maybe?), but I suppose many years of merciless abuse could be a factor. It’s done well though. Bought from the B & D seconds shop at Clark’s Village in Street at least 20 years ago. Goodbye old friend, veteran of many a thorny battle. Off to the great bramble bush in the sky... 1
Nick Jones Posted August 20, 2023 Author Posted August 20, 2023 That’s a bit harsh. That would definitely be the hellish end of the spectrum. Beech, yew, box etc more the heaven end 1
RogerH Posted August 20, 2023 Posted August 20, 2023 The house across the road from me has a 3ft high hedge type thing. When the husband died (C 2016) I would go over through the year to give it a quick trim. I quite enjoyed trying to get milling machine precision to the flat surfaces. Then the wife died (C 2021) The house was sold ands became a multi occupancy tip. I offered to cut the hedge and was greeted by a surly look and 'How much'. I felt like walking away - foreign people have no class. I did it for two or three months and then became ill. Next thing I see him armed with an electric trimmer attacking the hedge as if he had a lumber jack 4ft axe. I couldn't stand it. I went over and gave him a few minutes training and explained what a milling machine is. The final result looked like the waves on a Captain Pugwash TV show. The vertical ends came direct from Pisa. Do they have hedges in deserts? Roger
Nick Jones Posted August 20, 2023 Author Posted August 20, 2023 3 hours ago, RogerH said: Do they have hedges in deserts? Probably not. I don’t find it hard myself to get straight(ish) lines and level(ish) surfaces, but have frequently observed that others apparently do!
RogerH Posted August 21, 2023 Posted August 21, 2023 Within minutes of posting yesterday the neighbour was out attacking the hedge. His action is interesting. When I use a hedge trimmer I simply move the cutter along and allow the reciprocating blades to do the work My neighbour actually has a chopping action. He hacks at the hedge. It looks knackering. The result was a recipe to induce seasickness. His other party trick - weeding the flower border with the lawn mower. Last Summer he came over and asked if I could remove the blade from the mower. Upon inspection the blade was not just blunt but the end 3" or so were curled up similar to a Boeing B757 wing tip Utter ^&*($%£ madness. Roger 1
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