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Galvanising (cold or otherwise) Galvanising protects ferrous metals by providing a 'Sacrificial Anode' for electrolytic currents. In a nutshell, so long as there is any Zinc left in electrical contact with the ferrous metal being protected, the Zinc will be corroded rather than the Iron. That's...

Auto Maintenance I do (almost) all my own repair work, sourcing used parts where possible to keep costs down, or where new parts just aren't available any more. I've never been able to afford a new car (and doubt that I ever will), but I like to be sure that everything is right. I trust my...

Annual electricity usage Last year 31 January to this year 31 January 1,200 kWh. This year I'm expecting it to be less than 1,000, now that my Good Lady is spending less time here. Most heating (though very little actual heat) is by gas. Cooking and sundries all electric. Cost of electricity...

Just my '2c worth'..... My 'Good Lady' had a hose burst on her washer a couple of years ago. It was just a 'random event', possibly a pressure surge on the main, the washer wasn't in use at the time, so wasn't a failure as a solenoid valve closed. Luckily she was at home, and in the kitchen at...

Servis leak James..... I'm no expert in all things Servis, but I have worked on many types of machines over the years. If you want an 'extra pair of eyes' while tracing your leak, I am local to you in the ST5 area. All best Dave T

Stop mid-cycle Motor brushes??? How dead is 'dead'??? Any lights/LEDs?? Can you hear the 'whine' of brushes on commutator if you turn the drum by hand (assuming it's not got an induction motor)??? Photographs would probably help. All best Dave T

Motor problem Greetings from across the 'Pond', and welcome to AW.Org, Keith. What is the nature of the problem with your motor?? Have the bearings failed, or has it just 'stopped working'?? If the latter, it's just possible that the thermal 'fuse' may have failed, which is fairly cheap to...

CFL and LED lights I have exactly one of each installed. The CFL is timer controlled for one on-off cycle per day, and, if it is to give it's rated 10,000 hour life, should fail sometime in August 2018 (Watch This Space!!). The LED lamp is switched probably about 2-3 times per day (usually a...

Industrial Xray The one my friend operated was designed to penetrate iron or stainless steel castings up to 8 or 10 feet thick, to find flaws - cracks or blowholes, so that these could be bored into and filled with weld metal, before being re-Xrayed. Typical castings being Hydroelectric...

'Industrial' Xray A friend of mine used to operate such a machine..... (allegedly the most powerful in Europe) at a foundry near me..... No idea of full spec, but something like 400kV tube, and it lives in an underground 'bunker', with a 'labyrinthine' access, and dozens of 'interlock' switches...

Caretaker/giver On this side of the 'Pond', Caretakers generally look after buildings/property, while Caregivers look after people. Payment or lack of it is immaterial. I have no experience of C-60, but have a small quantity of Radium, and a small, portable X-ray machine, also a geiger...

Coin-op drycleaner A launderette near the house I grew up in had a coin-op dry cleaner. It was there from the '60s right through to the late '80s, but IIRC it was out of use from the mid '70s. Not sure whether our regulations outlawed public access to the solvents involved. I seem to recall my...

Memories, memories Interesting thread for an Ex-GPO Telephone Engineer. Iej is almost right in saying that there was a direct metallic connection for local calls. The windings of the 'First' (or was it 'Final'??) selector 'A' relay acted as a sort of isolation transformer, providing a...

Government regulation Whilst I am firmly of the opinion that (generally) heavy-handed government is a very bad thing, the sad truth is that, as the whole planet is getting desperately short of viable fossil fuel reserves, most people refuse to 'self regulate' their usage of this precious...

Projector lamp Has anyone considered a LED conversion???? Colour temperature matching may be difficult, but these new 10, 15, and 30W single chip LEDs (as used for security light fittings) are INSANELY bright!!!! You would just need the actual chip, a small (ish) heatsink, and the existing...

Landline-Cellphone Replies #2 and #3 give a pretty full assessment of the situation. Cordless landlines give the worst possible service, since a local power outage or line damage will deny service. I agree with Hydraulique that really you need both these days, if you really can't be without...

"What day you can drive" Already done!!! By stealth, of course..... The rate of duty on our fuel is now so high that many of us (myself included) have to plan journeys with almost military precision, including driving through the night in order to avoid traffic and thus maximise economy. We are...

'Childhood Machine' Optima (reply#12) mentions seeking a machine from the past. What 'model number' (from the front panel) or 'type number' (from the rear data-plate) are you seeking??? I live adjacent to the old Creda works, and the local second-hand shops still have Creda machines in them...

Best electric hedgetrimmer Little Wonder / Mantis. The BEST!! No others come anywhere near. Expensive, but you get what you pay for. I have managed to track down six of them on this side of the 'Pond', and am always looking for others and/or spare parts. With their double reduction gearbox...

Heater box at the bottom Similar to my English Electric IIRC. Sadly, I can't get anywhere near it to photograph it at the moment. I'll post pictures if this thread stays 'current'.... It came to me (30+ years ago) with a burnt-out timer switch. I fitted an industrial 16amp cam switch and it...