Druidic Dabblings and General Twaddle !!

[Lancs Lad]

some slightly better ones, but as said really misty / foggy .... been yet another soggy night and not a lot done today ... very happy with how that's turned out .. there's a reason I didn't put any upstands on the sockets of the ladder rack, like the trailer's ladder racks have ..... think I might put a small ratchet strap round those boards, 'fore trying to pick this up and put it anywhere else ... everything else is pretty well packed and unlikely to move much

should be relatively easy to keep leaves, etc. from standing -- if the wind doesn't do the job, the leaf blower will

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No way you can just split the boxes apart and knock something up between em out of shs even? All that hardstanding and no covered area would do my nut in...pissed off with the wet here and virtually nil hardstanding at home

Even just a run of 16ft roofing sheets be better than nowt? Cheap as chips

Edit you watched ambition strikes doing theirs? Have my doubts if the wind gets up on there's but let's see ..

 

[V8Druid]

No way you can just split the boxes apart and knock something up between em out of shs even? All that hardstanding and no covered area would do my nut in...pissed off with the wet here and virtually nil hardstanding at home

Even just a run of 16ft roofing sheets be better than nowt? Cheap as chips

Edit you watched ambition strikes doing theirs? Have my doubts if the wind gets up on there's but let's see ..

just been looking at this weeks offering .... they seem to be getting short on content these days .. they have the major advantage of no neighbours and living in the states ... twist lock shed looks real nice ..... had considered doing it in my yard at work once to give me a nice painting bay under cover, but the usual planning issues knackered that one

 

[V8Druid]

less than 4 weeks of wet stuff's accumulation ... don't let anyone tell you we have had less this month -- and that's without what the gales have evaporated off the top .. got 2 gallon buckets overflowing ! 's been some wet month
last one is five days ago

actually dry all day today and got outside this afters to do a few odds an' sods ... last one being a freshen up coat on this ... First time it's been dry enough to contemplate giving it a coat ... beaten by the light, so the inside'll be another day

emptied the poly tunnel of all Vicki's attic contents last Wednesday into it and it was stuffed - glad to have had it back in service .. two trips into town, otherwise.
ladder racks got hauled out of a box, where they were taking up vital space - all over me benches in there - they'll 'live' outside ... 's where they normally reside, parked in the trailer, as a rule

got a.n.other attachment I want to try for a fit, 'fore I pop them back in their usual place, but kids tomorrow, so'll have to wait 'til Wed.s

 

[V8Druid]

grim old day today .... 4C and dank, horrible, drizzly-ish - on/off, foggy day .. Pam's compost box - half a spud box - other half contains gardening buckets, etc. and an old crate that she likes, beside it, had become an overgrown jungle of periwinkle and some other creeping type plant, which was in dire need of getting attacked with the hedge trimmer (for starters)
three barrows of tendrils later and I can see about a foot of compost, surrounding her bin/box, that'd escaped, with the help of plenty of rain.
Started to tackle it with a shovel and spade, 'til Pam says " I'd've thought you'd get your little digger out and clear that lot " ... now why didn't I think of that ??
So tracked lil' Jake down and spun the Haner around 90 deg.s , got meself in position and extracted 4 barrow-fulls of compost/roots/tendrils, 'til I could find the drain and planings again ... God knows how much is actually under the old spud box.
When I'm feeling enthused we might find out

couldn't see that crate for periwinkle when I started on it .... didn't think to take any pix before I started and had had a barrow-ful out fore I started / thought about it (unusually)

Little Haner was the perfect tool for the job and got 95% of it all out

total contrast to yesterday's sunny day ... got the patio furniture covers washed off, dried and the furniture relocated to its over-wintering grounds in the polytunnel ..... and a few 'can you justs' sorted too .... including a major clear up of said poly.

 

[TiltyShaun]

I always tell my over half that if it cant be done hydraulically it cant be done!!

 

[Routy56]

grim old day today .... 4C and dank, horrible, drizzly-ish - on/off, foggy day .. Pam's compost box - half a spud box - other half contains gardening buckets, etc. and an old crate that she likes, beside it, had become an overgrown jungle of periwinkle and some other creeping type plant, which was in dire need of getting attacked with the hedge trimmer (for starters)
three barrows of tendrils later and I can see about a foot of compost, surrounding her bin/box, that'd escaped, with the help of plenty of rain.
Started to tackle it with a shovel and spade, 'til Pam says " I'd've thought you'd get your little digger out and clear that lot " ... now why didn't I think of that ??
So tracked lil' Jake down and spun the Haner around 90 deg.s , got meself in position and extracted 4 barrow-fulls of compost/roots/tendrils, 'til I could find the drain and planings again ... God knows how much is actually under the old spud box.
When I'm feeling enthused we might find out
View attachment 53942
couldn't see that crate for periwinkle when I started on it .... didn't think to take any pix before I started and had had a barrow-ful out fore I started / thought about it (unusually)
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Little Haner was the perfect tool for the job and got 95% of it all out
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View attachment 53936

total contrast to yesterday's sunny day ... got the patio furniture covers washed off, dried and the furniture relocated to its over-wintering grounds in the polytunnel ..... and a few 'can you justs' sorted too .... including a major clear up of said poly.

View attachment 53943

A super productive day after all. And it looks like you're getting ready for winter
Have you got a good supply of logs ready
I've now got two sizes in crates/log stores - long one for the Barn and short ones for the 'new' Dimplex multi fuel

Photo shows it placed in position before proper installation.
Super little fire which fits in our 1960s style fireplace a treat

 

[V8Druid]

I always tell my over half that if it cant be done hydraulically it cant be done!!

must remember that one
just had me own 'hydraulic issue' to resolve ...
just got back from town on a supermarket hit, unloaded the car and Vicki's on the phone - boiler won't kick in - saying water pressure down ... tried to talk her through a system fill/top up ... and failed - not having had much of a look at it I / she was struggling a bit, so had to drive back into town.
weird fill loop set up on it and several taps to choose from ... pulled the front off it so I could work out WTF was what and had it sorted in about ten minutes - we had no chance over the phone, without me seeing it. Plenty of pix taken and some instruction given - for the next time --- can't see why it'd locked out though .. had over a bar of wasser in it and supposed to run between 0.5 and 2.5 bar ? gonna have to google the manual for it as now't left with/in the house
Ideal Logic + Combi 30

 

[Smiffy]

must remember that one
just had me own 'hydraulic issue' to resolve ...
just got back from town on a supermarket hit, unloaded the car and Vicki's on the phone - boiler won't kick in - saying water pressure down ... tried to talk her through a system fill/top up ... and failed - not having had much of a look at it I / she was struggling a bit, so had to drive back into town.
weird fill loop set up on it and several taps to choose from ... pulled the front off it so I could work out WTF was what and had it sorted in about ten minutes - we had no chance over the phone, without me seeing it. Plenty of pix taken and some instruction given - for the next time --- can't see why it'd locked out though .. had over a bar of wasser in it and supposed to run between 0.5 and 2.5 bar ? gonna have to google the manual for it as now't left with/in the house
Ideal Logic + Combi 30

I think mine is logic and just done the same. 4 years old. The pressure switch is failing. Plumber was meant to fit a new one Saturday but forgot to show up.

 

[V8Druid]

I think mine is logic and just done the same. 4 years old. The pressure switch is failing. Plumber was meant to fit a new one Saturday but forgot to show up.

cheers Boyo ... that'd make sense .... assume it's the unit screwed into the ali water jacket? Matt @pettsy 's 'the man' with the knowledge on these things

 

[Smiffy]

cheers Boyo ... that'd make sense .... assume it's the unit screwed into the ali water jacket? Matt @pettsy 's 'the man' with the knowledge on these things

No idea the plumber is a mate of mine just round the corner so when it packed up I managed to get him round quicker than I could get home. He said it will run for now but will get the part and fit it at some point

 

[Routy56]

must remember that one
just had me own 'hydraulic issue' to resolve ...
just got back from town on a supermarket hit, unloaded the car and Vicki's on the phone - boiler won't kick in - saying water pressure down ... tried to talk her through a system fill/top up ... and failed - not having had much of a look at it I / she was struggling a bit, so had to drive back into town.
weird fill loop set up on it and several taps to choose from ... pulled the front off it so I could work out WTF was what and had it sorted in about ten minutes - we had no chance over the phone, without me seeing it. Plenty of pix taken and some instruction given - for the next time --- can't see why it'd locked out though .. had over a bar of wasser in it and supposed to run between 0.5 and 2.5 bar ? gonna have to google the manual for it as now't left with/in the house
Ideal Logic + Combi 30

Our ‘new’ Grant Vortex Blue oil boiler has an additional lockout set at 0.2 bar. Usually set it at 1.0 bar and seems to be rock steady. Like you I’ve got the manual and keep an eye on it

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Our ‘new’ Grant Vortex Blue oil boiler has an additional lockout set at 0.2 bar. Usually set it at 1.0 bar and seems to be rock steady. Like you I’ve got the manual and keep an eye on it

Blue Flame is discontinued now. Pressure switches no longer manufacturer spec, but if you did far enough in warranty T+Cs they are required if you have plastic pipework.

 

[V8Druid]

Our ‘new’ Grant Vortex Blue oil boiler has an additional lockout set at 0.2 bar. Usually set it at 1.0 bar and seems to be rock steady. Like you I’ve got the manual and keep an eye on it

just found all the manuals on line and down loaded them for the Ideal ... have been trawling through them as there appear to be two for the same model and there are subtle differences ... pressure switch location being one of them, but pretty sure I have it sussed ..... see how it behaves. Taken some finding this evening.

we have a Grant Vortex 28 (IIRC) oil combi condensing ... have had a few relay contacts burning out a few years ago and probably due another ... multiple fingers in them though, so I'll just use a different set of contacts next time (having studied what played up first time) and rewire it ..
and yeh I keep an eye on the filled pressure, like you .. holds well enough 99% of the time ... just a very occasional top up required -- locks out at 0.4 bar .. keep it at 1.5 bar

have to say I am not a lover of oil combis ... boiler has to go through so much faff when hot water is demanded ... have banned Pam from just flicking the hot tap on for 20-30 sec.s ... "if you turn it on, leave it run for a while, or the boiler is still getting its act into gear, when you tell it to turn off again !! " not like gas with an instant flame .. oil has to get all cranked up to fire and turning it back off 'fore it's gone from light to run does not do any of it any good!!

the other thing that annoys me is the way it 'shuts down' ..we run a Computherm wireless thermo/timer ... when it reaches temp. it shuts the whole damned thing down, rather than just the burner, but allowing the pump to continue to circulate the system ... would be a lot more efficient if it continued and tripped the burner back in, as the entire system cooled - and just kept the whole thing topped up - the rads cool well before the boiler, in its insulated cab. and it then has to work harder to warm it all again .. would be the same issue if we weren't running a remote thermo ... the internal thermo performs exactly the same ....... bloody silly control system

 

[V8Druid]

most annoying thing about all modern boilers - oil or gas - is all the bloody electronics - PCB dies it's new one time .... and don't they charge for them

 

[TiltyShaun]

Put a condensing oil burner in around 7 years ago when we moved from the small side to the big side of the house along with solar thermal panels for the hot water. Drastic reduction in oil use.
None of this faffing around with pressure systems, good old fashioned header tanks.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

just found all the manuals on line and down loaded them for the Ideal ... have been trawling through them as there appear to be two for the same model and there are subtle differences ... pressure switch location being one of them, but pretty sure I have it sussed ..... see how it behaves. Taken some finding this evening.

we have a Grant Vortex 28 (IIRC) oil combi condensing ... have had a few relay contacts burning out a few years ago and probably due another ... multiple fingers in them though, so I'll just use a different set of contacts next time (having studied what played up first time) and rewire it ..
and yeh I keep an eye on the filled pressure, like you .. holds well enough 99% of the time ... just a very occasional top up required -- locks out at 0.4 bar .. keep it at 1.5 bar

have to say I am not a lover of oil combis ... boiler has to go through so much faff when hot water is demanded ... have banned Pam from just flicking the hot tap on for 20-30 sec.s ... "if you turn it on, leave it run for a while, or the boiler is still getting its act into gear, when you tell it to turn off again !! " not like gas with an instant flame .. oil has to get all cranked up to fire and turning it back off 'fore it's gone from light to run does not do any of it any good!!

the other thing that annoys me is the way it 'shuts down' ..we run a Computherm wireless thermo/timer ... when it reaches temp. it shuts the whole damned thing down, rather than just the burner, but allowing the pump to continue to circulate the system ... would be a lot more efficient if it continued and tripped the burner back in, as the entire system cooled - and just kept the whole thing topped up - the rads cool well before the boiler, in its insulated cab. and it then has to work harder to warm it all again .. would be the same issue if we weren't running a remote thermo ... the internal thermo performs exactly the same ....... bloody silly control system

If you have a Grant Vortex Combi with relays it will be the 2006-2009 with 2 PCBs and 3 relays. Not the best design and Grant offer a reasonably priced upgrade to the newer control panel with single PCB. This has a pump over run for CH and is by far superior It’s been out for 14 years and the PCBs are not that dear. Also easy enough to wire in a timer on DHW which stops the burner kicking in when water being drawn, you will still get a couple of bowl fulls from the store, so I’d set up the timer to only be on for bathing times and a lunch too up. It’s quieter and kinder on the boiler. If you want to really get into it then you can fit a burner with fan post purge. If you wanted to get clever you could fit a decent stat on the pipework linked to DHW pump to give much longer pump over run, but you’d need a relay to still allow the DHW pump to cut out the CH. probably cheaper and better to just use a better room thermostat like the Honeywell T6 RHW which lets you fiddle with the hourly start times. Quite good for oil.

 

[Routy56]

Blue Flame is discontinued now. Pressure switches no longer manufacturer spec, but if you did far enough in warranty T+Cs they are required if you have plastic pipework.

Thanks for the update on this change - I looked it up! Grant news
Looks like they changed it last year without telling me
And yes when we installed it in 2019 there was a nice run of 22mm F + R to/from the garage.
The Grant accredited installer put the additional pressure switch beside the boiler
We qualified for the Grant 5 year warranty and have so far only required a replacement capacitor on the burner motor.
And I actually choose the Vortex Blue because as well as being an ECO boiler it has reduced NOX emissions
The blast tube is certainly much longer and apparently ensues more complete combustion.
I’m all for that - it certainly burns cleanly and smells ok

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Thanks for the update on this change - I looked it up! Grant news
Looks like they changed it last year without telling me
And yes when we installed it in 2019 there was a nice run of 22mm F + R to/from the garage.
The Grant accredited installer put the additional pressure switch beside the boiler
We qualified for the Grant 5 year warranty and have so far only required a replacement capacitor on the burner motor.
And I actually choose the Vortex Blue because as well as being an ECO boiler it has reduced NOX emissions
The blast tube is certainly much longer and apparently ensues more complete combustion.
I’m all for that - it certainly burns cleanly and smells ok

Vortex Blue should be 10 year manufacturers warranty…. That was their selling point. The newer RDB 2.2 low nox Yellow Flame is virtually as clean and certainly much quieter and considered more reliable, hence the discontinuation of the Vortex Blue. And 10 years warranty on the standard Vortex Pro now as well if G1 registered.

 

[Routy56]

Put a condensing oil burner in around 7 years ago when we moved from the small side to the big side of the house along with solar thermal panels for the hot water. Drastic reduction in oil use.
None of this faffing around with pressure systems, good old fashioned header tanks.

Yes like yer thinking on that
4 years ago during a kitchen refit it was decided to move the oil boiler from the kitchen to the garage.
The existing Boulter Camray II had given 30 years loyal service.
Mind you it was bit like Triggers Broom. And like @V8Druid been rebuilt loads of times including the burner.
In the last few years of service I changed the whole boiler for an identical used one after it started leaking
The old one is stored on a pallet in my yard of ‘come in handy’ stuff
But we decided to keep a larger tank for DHW fed from the old CW tank in the loft (more on that to come!)
AND then upgrade to a nice S plan system and not go for a Combi boiler.
Like many of you I think that it;’s too much to expect an oil boiler to keep cranking up to wash yer hands etc

 

[Routy56]

Vortex Blue should be 10 year manufacturers warranty…. That was their selling point. The newer RDB 2.2 low nox Yellow Flame is virtually as clean and certainly much quieter and considered more reliable, hence the discontinuation of the Vortex Blue. And 10 years warranty on the standard Vortex Pro now as well if G1 registered.

Ah yes now you mention it it is in fact a 10 year warranty and we used a G1 registered installer.
He was a little concerned when I supplied the boiler much cheaper than he could have done.
We used PlumbNation Wholesale.
The sweetener for the G1 Installer was the extra work for him with the bigger tank and S plan installation.
And yes it sounder lovely when running but no problem ‘cos it runs the side of the garage
Now how come you know all this useful stuff