[dunnyg]

If you are working at home then I doubt it makes a difference. I use battery powered for cutting up rocks in the middle of nowhere. Not sure it is the exact same model, but we do rinse through the batteries in about 10 minutes of cutting. Definitely last  <15 mins. Cutting limestone is probably more taxing for the battery than wire brushing stuff though.

Cordless things are nice though

I'd get a decent tool. If its good it will last and I think bosch have good a good guarantee. It is probably better balanced without the battery, but don't know this for sure, definitely lighter.

[remus]

Good knowledge, sounds like corded is the way then. I was at the wire brushing for 30mins and only got ~1/8th of the way through so can't be fucked recharging the batteries 10+ times.

[tomtom]

Depends how often you use it... I’ve an aldi/Lidl mains one that was £20 or less. Does me fine for the once a year on average I use it.

I might be tempted to a cordless one if I used it more often now I’ve bought into a power tool/battery ‘system’ though. Bike thieves tool of the trade nowadays - so expect they can perform quite well!

[nik at work]

The middle one.

For angle grinders, unless you have a very specific battery only requirement, then cordless is an “as well” option.

[CrimpyMcCrimpface]

Anyone have any carpet fitting experience?
I'm planning to instal a door in a carpeted hallway in the house and can't work out how to set the threshold. I'll have to cut the carpet to fit the door casing/jambs but I don't know what to do with the carpet.
The other doors on the same floor have Carpet-to-Carpet brass carpet joining bars like this, but I've also seen these brass plates you can just screw into the floor without cutting. I don't know whether to cut the carpet fully and instal the carpet-to-carpet plate, or to screw a plate on top and give the effect of a threshold. Anybody know?

[Paul B]

Are you Shauna and can I claim my £20? Sorry, I can't help with the carpet.

I was hoping to get UKB's opinion on lawnmowers. Years ago I burnt out my Dad's Flymo reluctantly cutting his lawn whilst listening to overly loud music (he still hasn't forgiven me). Still a decent time ago I helped him assemble a self-propelled petrol (Mountfield) that is still going strong. The new house has a decent amount of lawn (~350sqm; I think this dictates the size of the mower as ~46cm upwards). I'm not looking for something that gives a manicured finish, more something that'll require the least amount of effort for the mower to keep working reliably and takes as little time as possible to do. The neighbour has a ride-on (and his son has a John Deere electric kids toy that he follows his Dad on) but I think that's getting a bit silly!

I think realistically it's between petrol 4-stroke units such as:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/mountfield-hp185-46cm-125cc-hand-propelled-rotary-petrol-lawn-mower/202kg
https://hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk/garden-machinery/petrol-lawn-mowers/electric-start-petrol-lawnmowers/hyundai-hym460spe-self-propelled-electric-push-button-start-4-stroke-139cc-petrol-lawn-mower/
and also Honda's (which seem well reviewed but are quite a LOT of FAs):
https://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/honda-hrg416sk-izy-self-propelled-petrol-lawnmower/

and something such as the Erbauer battery:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-36v-5-0ah-li-ion-ext-brushless-cordless-46cm-lawn-mower/158fy

The only li-ion battery system I have currently is Bosch (blue) and they're not particularly large (1.5Ah perhaps). The reviews of the Erbauer include people saying they're better than their past self-propelled petrol mowers. This confuses me greatly.

[mrjonathanr]

I'd ask someone who really knows. Who services the Mountfield, for example? Mountfield were bought out years ago and the quality dipped, so if you want top quality, you'd go for Hayter now. i'd imagine the Hyundai and Honda would be reliable based on their cars. Saying that, you'll need to service them regularly, unlike the Erbauer.  It costs about £90 to get my 40 yr old Mountfield serviced every couple of years, though every year is the recommendation.

[Paul B]

I'd ask someone who really knows.

I was hoping on a friendly UKBer having the knowledge but I take your point. I asked my boss who likes to tinker in all things petrol powered and wished I hadn't as he went on a rant about Mountfield (the buy-out as you mentioned) and also declining quality of Briggs and Stratton. It was all a bit  .

[tomtom]

All the gardeners at work use(d) battery mowers. My dads switched to them now as well. He’s got a 48v set up...

[Sidehaas]

My lawn mower knowledge is nil, however, I have several power tools (drill, grinder, circular saw) in that same erbauer EXT range (ie with the same battery system) and they are all awesome. I expect a traditional preference for petrol lawn mowers is not that dissimilar to a traditional preference for cords on some power tools - you will see a lot of people swear that battery powered drills and grinders are a shit idea - but in my opinion with things like these it is no longer warranted.
Obviously worth looking at reviews of the actual lawn mower in question though.

[Oldmanmatt]

Apart from my big MacAlister drill, that comes out for thick concrete orLimestone walls, we use all battery kit. From impacts and drills to circular saws etc. Erbauer are perfectly adequate, if you spring for the brushless versions. Swap out the 2Ah batteries supplied with them for the4Ah version and you’re laughing. We started out with a few brands, DeWalt and others, but over the last eight years realised the Erbs were lasting and performing as well as the more expensive models.
Also, cheaper to repair and buy accessories for.

[Paul B]

My lawn mower knowledge is nil, however, I have several power tools (drill, grinder, circular saw) in that same erbauer EXT range (ie with the same battery system) and they are all awesome.

We started out with a few brands, DeWalt and others, but over the last eight years realised the Erbs were lasting and performing as well as the more expensive models.
Also, cheaper to repair and buy accessories for.

I'm aware I'm going to need a few other bits soon enough (including a strimmer) so that's why leaning towards Erbauer. Funnily enough my father in law has a battery powered mower currently and the batteries are specific to the mower rather than a system. That seems pretty nuts to me.

[James Malloch]

Our dishwasher has started playing up. It seems to heat up too much as if the sensor isn't working properly. Then when it stops you just get wall of steam emerging when you open it. It does this on shorter 30 degree washes too when you shouldn't really be getting steam like that.

It's returning an error which isn't in the manual but it sounds like this is the issue (taken from an espares.co.uk website):

We believe E60 is a heater fault and the description you have given suggests the module is not being informed of the water temperature. This sounds like the sensor or NTC has failed or unplugged or possibly the heater relay on the board has welded contacts.

Sometimes it does work fine sometimes but I'm not really sure what this means. Maybe a dodgy connection rather than a broken part?

Could possibly be the thermostat or maybe something is up with the PCB? The thermostat is cheap to replace (c.£25) but the PCB is pricey.

Any thoughts would be welcomed.

[dunnyg]

Not helpful, but depending on how free your time is these days,  it is worth having a look to see if you can spot any obvious dodgy connections. Not sure how easy it is to replace the sensor, but an hour or 2 and £25 would be worth a punt (for me). If you make a proper hash of it you can always get someone to come and fix it! I'm sure there will be a youtube viddy out there (there are some really boring but informative channels out there!)
I had a problem with ours (pump messed up) and didn't manage to fix it or make it worse, but it was a vaguely interesting way to spend a rainy morning taking it apart and re-assembling it.

[tomtom]

I changed the ecu / pcb n a washer drier with an Espares exchange part (60-70 quid) and it worked a couple of times then sealed the door and went on a boil wash until it had boiled off all the water 😱

I binned it. Well it’s still in the kitchen.., anyway - £25 punt on a sensor is worth it.. much more less so etx...

[Paul B]

Any thoughts would be welcomed.

My thoughts are I've got a whole range of kitchen white goods in the garage as the lunatic we bought off left them all (despite saying she wasn't going to). I'll do you a good price. 

[Fultonius]

Our dishwasher has started playing up. It seems to heat up too much as if the sensor isn't working properly. Then when it stops you just get wall of steam emerging when you open it. It does this on shorter 30 degree washes too when you shouldn't really be getting steam like that.

It's returning an error which isn't in the manual but it sounds like this is the issue (taken from an espares.co.uk website):

We believe E60 is a heater fault and the description you have given suggests the module is not being informed of the water temperature. This sounds like the sensor or NTC has failed or unplugged or possibly the heater relay on the board has welded contacts.

Sometimes it does work fine sometimes but I'm not really sure what this means. Maybe a dodgy connection rather than a broken part?

Could possibly be the thermostat or maybe something is up with the PCB? The thermostat is cheap to replace (c.£25) but the PCB is pricey.

Any thoughts would be welcomed.

Mum's machine had a similar issue (well, heating related), in that as soon as the heater came on during the cycle, the circuit breaker would trip. Assumed it was a short in the heater element (should have checked with a multimeter (better a megger if I could have borrowed one)) and bought a new one for £75 of eSpares. Many....many months later I got it fitted, was all proud of myself for being the good son...started it up....seemed to be working...then BAM....breaker tripped.

What model is yours? We've got a spare out the back now with 2 working heaters and a (presumed) dud PCB. In hindsight it's probably a dead relay or Mosfet or whatever they use to switch on the heater circuit.

You might be able to test the existing temp sensor...  A multimeter might do it, or a wee arduino circuit. What's the make model and temps sensor model?

[James Malloch]

We’ve been given a bunch of ceiling lights from family but they were all purchased in continental Europe and therefore don’t seem to have an Earth cable.

Is there any issues fitting these in the UK where, I assume, the ceiling lights will be earthed?

[James Malloch]

Also, if anyone could recommend a roofer in the Skipton area it would be much appreciated!

[Fultonius]

We’ve been given a bunch of ceiling lights from family but they were all purchased in continental Europe and therefore don’t seem to have an Earth cable.

Is there any issues fitting these in the UK where, I assume, the ceiling lights will be earthed?

The fitting is usually earthed, but the bulb won't be. Most LED/halogen spots aren't "earthed" as such, but you just terminate the earth wire in the body of the fitting somewhere.

[note, I'm no sparky]

[James Malloch]

We’ve been given a bunch of ceiling lights from family but they were all purchased in continental Europe and therefore don’t seem to have an Earth cable.

Is there any issues fitting these in the UK where, I assume, the ceiling lights will be earthed?

The fitting is usually earthed, but the bulb won't be. Most LED/halogen spots aren't "earthed" as such, but you just terminate the earth wire in the body of the fitting somewhere.

[note, I'm no sparky]

Cheers - good to hear that it'll be possible before we put lots of though into where they'll go etc.

[dunnyg]

Canal boat matt was putting a velux in so may know a roofer.

[Paul B]

What've people got in terms of garage security (also ground anchors for bikes)?

We had an attempted break-in through the slate roof of the garage the other weekend as it runs to ground level. One will soon have a board running end to end which won't present a very appealing prospect if they do tear through the roof but the other (albeit closer to the house) has our bikes in it and also my Dad's whilst they move house. Currently it'd be pretty easy to just wheel these out which needs to change.

I was thinking CCTV but then it was pointed out to me that the local farm has some great footage of someone pushing their quad bike out of a shed then up their drive and it's effectively useless.

You can get wireless alarm kits such as these:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/yale-hsa-essentials-alarm-kit/344jf

Are they useful?

[Ballsofcottonwool]

When I was a student in Nottingham we got some  40mm rebar bent up into  rectangular hoops, set them in a couple of 100kg of postcrete, cut holes in the shed floor and put the shed on top. Our bikes were locked to the rebar hoops with Kryptonite New York locks and chains and were not defeated despite a few break in attempts over 3 years.

Admittedly this was in the era of boltcroppers before thieves got tooled up with battery powered angle grinders.

I live in rural NE Scotland now and bike theft is pretty much unheard of, I see ££££ bikes left unlocked outside the local supermarket and they are still there when they come back. Locking the garage door is the only security I've needed in 13 years.

[tomtom]

The wireless alarms work -as in go off and make a din - and will let you know if someone is burgling your garage while you are in...

Anti theft measures come in two types
1. Deterrent. Dog, security lights, CCTV, alarms etc.. Makes someone else's place an easier proposition than yours...

2. Time. Anything can be taken if you have long enough - but the longer it takes the (a) harder it is to take and (b) less attractive to the robber as they will be vulnerable to being caught for longer.

3. Concealment. If they don't know its there - they can't nick it. Though if they have enough time they can cause alot of damage looking - or have seen you riding in on your spangly carbon bike they'll know its there....