hi, another newbie here :o)

[Muddypause]

Ah, hmm.... Back boilers are something I don't have much experience of, though the principles will be the same. The whoosing noise you hear is the main burner in the boiler igniting. It will do this when any timer setting is 'ON' and any thermostats say more heat is needed.

It would be unusual to have a hot water tank (usually a round cylinder about 3' high and 1½' across with some sort of insulation around it) in the attic. Often they are in the airing cupboard. It would also be unusual the have the switch for the immersion heater very far from the cylinder (typically, it is about 2 feet away, with a thick wire leading to the top of the cylinder). Normally, it is cold water in the attic, where it is high enough to give good pressure in all the taps. But there are always exceptions to all this.

Trouble is, it's hard to give definitive advice over a forum. Usually most people know which the hot tank is because it ...er...gets hot. It may be that you have a combination boiler (though TBH, I don't know if this is an option in back boilers), which doesn't have a hot tank at all, because it heats the water instantaneously as soon as you turn a tap on (you hear the boiler light up as soon as you run hot water). If so, it may be that the immesion heater switch is no longer connected to anything because there is no longer a hot tank.

If it is a combi boiler (which is really two boilers in one, one for the central heating and one for the hot water, both sharing the same burner) then it is more likely to be a problem inside the boiler, rather than a controller outside it.

Unless you want to spend some time getting more intimately aquainted with your plumbing, I guess this means you've got to get someone in. Sorry I can't be more help.

[Millymollymandy]

I like your piccy, FvS!

[flowers-v-spuds]

Happy NewYear everybody

Hi again muddy pause, I guess it could be possible, maybe, theoretically, on the off chance, a 'female' thing, that all we get aquanted with is the pretty light on the box - plumbing etc is not important (till it all goes wrong)... am saving my pennies and will call someone out to take a look soon - thanks for your help though

Hi MMM i used to read those books!! little girl with black curly hair if i'm not mistaken (it was a long time ago now) I think there was a teddy in the stories too. And thank you for liking my pic lol, i think it needs some work on it though....

[Millymollymandy]

Flowers - yeah, a LONG time ago!

Muddypause - is that YOU in the photo with the parsnip?

[Muddypause]

Muddypause - is that YOU in the photo with the parsnip?

It depends whether you think those are brutish good looks, or of a fat old codger. But enough about the parsnip...

[Millymollymandy]

The beard - it's amazing. However I always had you down as a neat and tidy scientist type of person (possibly in a suit!).

BUT - I am always completely wrong with my ideas of what my online buddies look like!!!

[Wombat]

G'Day All,

Well, M3, now that I have met stew I can attest that he is a sprightly young lad with a truly wonderful beard.

FvS

A calcium containing material such as gypsum or agricultural lime will help break down the clay (concrete takes a bit longer!). The vege Vs flower thing is a constant source of "discussion" between My wife and myself, but Ina is right - edible flowers are the way to go.....

and welcome to the site!

Nev

[Muddypause]

now that I have met stew I can attest that he is a sprightly young lad

<cough, splutter, wheeze>Nurse! The screens</>.

Ahem.

I'd also like to confirm the Nev is every bit as dapper as he appears in his photo.

[flowers-v-spuds]

flowers-v-spuds here, i cannae sign in

thanks for the welcome Nev

i got andys email about the cookies but i still can't log on

Making notes of all tips, most welcome!

I am in the process of getting some plans for a wind turbine, the kind you make yourself - and also searching the web for a government grant -seems they give you 30% towards the cost of a bought one (price out of my league at the mo though) Don't know how good they are -seems to a bit debate about whether they are silent as the manufacturers claim, and one site said you'd need 2 to boil a kettle??
I guess the relaity may be you would still need to be hooked up to the power companies, and small wind turbines are okay for the likes of the garage, garden lights etc (no good to me then!)

Anyone got any thoughts on this?
Must admit all the kw outage is double dutch to me, I havn't a clue how much power you'd need to run a home. Don't havea clue about much to be honest lol

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flowers-v-spuds
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[flowers-v-spuds]

???? seems i signed in afterall -oops!
kept gettingpage not available -darn i bet i was signed in the other day too and never had a problem at all

[Wombat]

G'Day FvS,

Have a look at the discussion (I think there have been a number) on wind power in the Alternative Energy section.

It craps me when people say things like it taking two wind generators to boil a kettle!

When we move to alternative power sources you can't just transfer our old energy profligate ways, we have to rethink how we do things. Using sustainably generated electricity to generate heat is a waste of energy (unless you have hydro and need to run heaters to balance the load). It makes more sense to use biomass or direct solar energy for heat and use the electricity to do things we cant do any other way, like run lighting and computers and pumps, electric motors and such.

Sorry but it sounds like those sites are part of the problem rather than part of the solution (to coin a phrase)!

Nev