The Mazda rotary / Wankel engine brings back memories to me of a personal nature. My dad worked as a research chemist for the likes of Shell and Esso/Exxon and when at Exxon Paramins division he was tasked with new engine oil formulations to help solve/overcome the rotor tip wear and sealing problems that the wankel engine suffered from. Also the higher thermal and localised temperatures the wankel engine would put components and lubrication under. On his home study desk he had a plastic desk toy of the wankel engine. Also were beautiful high colour and definition pictures of critical parts of the wankel engine. These pictures were before, during and after extensive bench an road testing with various different formulations. Wanting to be an engineer myself I had an early insight into how detailed, complex and expensive solving engineering problems can be.

Also why no oils are the same and why one should use only manufacturer recommend fluids *especially* on new technology engines. e.g. Wankel and MultiAir. The research chemists/additives specialist work hand in hand with the manufacturers to formulate new oils to solve current challenges.

https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/730047/

Of course after time and down the line the various technical specifications and requirements are standardised into "industry" standards and all oil manufacturers then level up to the same and one as a consumer has more choice.

Having worked on many different makes of ar over the years, my general view of French cars is that they do 'engineering' differently. Often there is no apparent reason for this, but it does make working on them a little more difficult. For dealer staff, or specialists, they'll have any odd special tools and experience, so no issues. This oddness does not seem to have any effect, neither better nor worse for operation or reliability.

As an example, I understand that some Peugeots have strange bolts that have pentagon heads, either male or female, requiring special spanners. If this an attempt to discourage DIY work, it is an expensive solution. Independent repairers will have a source for the tools, so DIY will too.
Many years ago, on a Citroen GS, the bumpers (proper chrome things) were held on with 7mm diameter bolts. Why? Only available from the Citroen dealer.

Peugeot/Citroen seem to be the worst, as Renault are a bit more logical, but occasionally throw up oddities. Replacing bent valves on my brother's Peugeot 307 recently was a nightmare, with so much being incredibly difficult to access, and yet easy to see how it could have been simpler.

Hopefully, their input into Fiat will be tempered. They might even see how simpler can be easier.

Electric shower making funny noises this morning - replacement not far away now.

I have a new one sitting in a box waiting for the day the current one expires, so at least it'll just be one morning standing covered in soap as it stops. Loking forward to it.

It is a Triton pumped model, as mains water pressure here is poor. The boiler has a hard life in any electric shower, mine usually last around 7 years, and this is now older than that. It occasionally makes an electric burning smell, which is internal to the boiler, and characteristic of being near the end of its life. The boilers usually just have one element fail, giving cooler water, suddenly, which is not nice, but occasionally they 'pop'. A bit of a shock, but no danger to the user. The boiler will then look 'fat' but is strong enough not to split. The electric pump will wear out, and mine is occasionally making extra noises, as it did this morning, although it is noisier than when new.

They are simple things to replace internal components, but this time it will be a complete unit. A new pump is £140, a boiler £70. Picked up a new unit complete for £188. And I'll have a stock of used spares for the flow valve and stop valve.

Place your bets on date of failure. My guess is Christmas morning.

Schumi2001 said:

The problem with mainstream brands doing 'premium' is they spectacularly miss the point.

Ford have done it with Vignale - covering everything in a PVC / leather mix and chucking every toy in the book at the dashboard doesn't turn a Mondeo into a 3-series competitor.

Premium isn't about kit levels, it's about the feel and solidity. The Hyundai Kona I hired a couple of weeks ago had loads more toys than my 5 series, but everything you touched felt like it was specified by bean counters. I'd happily have traded kit for more premium materials.

Citroen have done better with the DS range - but then they charge for it. I looked at DS7 pricing and nearly fell off my chair. Over £45k. For a Citroen. You can get a 530e for that kind of outlay.

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I remember the dealer at the new “DS Store” near me telling me how the DS7 was the first one to not bear a Citroen badge ‘anywhere’ according to him and how it was the first real, full fletched competitor to an Audi now from DS. Obviously, dealers do talk balls in the best of times, but I remember thinking it was uneasy how proud he was of the fact it lacked the two chevrons lol

It’s got some nice rear lights though, must say!

portland_bill said:

Electric shower making funny noises this morning - replacement not far away now.

I have a new one sitting in a box waiting for the day the current one expires, so at least it'll just be one morning standing covered in soap as it stops. Loking forward to it.

It is a Triton pumped model, as mains water pressure here is poor.

Click to expand...

Electric showers? I guess you're talking about the "all in one" type which sits on the wall in the shower enclosure and heats it's own water? My sister in law lives in an old rectory with 3 bathrooms all with this type of shower. She always goes for the cheapest option and all are absolutely hopeless - to describe their performance as a "dribble" is to malign the word dribble.

My younger boy has a "super duper top of the range" Mira pumped version which pulls so much current it had to have it's own dedicated wiring run from the distribution board! looks like jump lead diameter cable! It is really pretty good but still a little weedy musclewise.

We lived for nearly 30 years with a gravity fed bar shower (good make, Mira) optimized for gravity feed with large bore valves etc and a 0.5" hose. It works from the hot and cold house supply. I thought it was quite good until my pal had a wet room installed (at enormous expense). I got talking to my plumber friend, who does my boiler every year, and he said "pump it - you'll love it".

So I bought one of these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Salamand...974878&hash=item2889e4ff6e:g:1wUAAOSwjT9d4wLR

Actually an earlier version but basically the same pump. I absolutely love it. Nothing else had to be changed. It just raises the water pressure of both hot and cold water to the thermostatic bar control unit. Lots and lots of lovely hot forceful water now. The pump does make a wee bit of noise but nothing excessive, less noisy than our dishwasher. It's one of the best, non car related, presents I've ever bought myself! Five years in now and still going strong.

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

Electric showers? I guess you're talking about the "all in one" type which sits on the wall in the shower enclosure and heats it's own water?

My younger boy has a "super duper top of the range" Mira pumped version which pulls so much current it had to have it's own dedicated wiring run from the distribution board! looks like jump lead diameter cable! It is really pretty good but still a little weedy musclewise.

Click to expand...

Yep, it's a all-in-one unit, a Triton T80Si - pumped. Just needs a water supply, from the roof tank with 22mm pipe supply. And as you sya, its own dedicated electrical supply, like jump leads. Mine's an 8.5kw, plus the pump, and they do a 9.5kw too. Adequate is a good description of its performance, but mains pressure, or just from the roof is worse.
Triton seem to be very good, had them since 1987. Spares supply is very good, even after many years, although seem to be getting more expensive recently. They look complicated inside, but are straightforward to work on to replace components, no need to wait for an 'engineer' to call. Once out of warranty I've done all the replacements. The flow valve, that regulates flow and therefore temp will eventually leak, and the stop valve will too. Easy to replace, half-hour at most. Boiler or pump takes a little longer.

Pumping the hot and cold is a better option, but seems to work best with a new modern combi-boiler. With our hot tank system it would need a tankful of hot water to work. The electric option woeks even if there's no hot in the tank. If I was having any significant plumbing done, I'd go with the pumped like yours.

The best shower I had used a dumpy "micro" cylinder with about 50 litres capacity (maybe less) Central heating water passed though the cylinder body with a thermostat bypass valve for when it was hot enough. Hot water came from a high performance coil inside the cylinder which ran at mains pressure. The tube coils were under pressure not the cylinder itself so no complicated unvented safety rules to follow.

The bathroom shower and basin taps were mains pressure with almost instant hot water, excellent flow rate and no hassles with the shower mixer temperature.

Where I live now we have a 8KW mains pressure instant hot water shower. It does a good job but can be too good in summer. It has a half power switch but that's usually not quite good enough.

To protect the element, I always turn it to cold before switching off. It avoids the boiling sounds and heat soak as the water flow stops.

My oldest boy's first venture into property was a shambles of a tenement flat near the Leith docks. My kitchen company friend and I stripped it to bare walls and went from there. Took us about 6 months and I have to say it turned out absolutely grand being worth 3 times what he paid for it when sold a couple of years later when he got married.

The shower was really unusual it used hot water from the gravity tank (so low pressure) and cold water from the mains. I'd never heard of a shower mixer like this before. It works much like an old style carburettor in that it worked on the venturi principal. If you can imagine a smallish tube (cold mains water) surrounded by a large diameter tube (hot low pressure water) arranged much like the choke tube and jet on a carb. When the cold mains was switched on - it was either on or off, no inbetween - the relatively small quantity of high pressure water being injected into the middle of the venturi would pull the hot water with it. The hot supply was variable to control temperature but the cold was either on or off only. It was "different" to use but actually worked very well and gave a most invigorating shower

Mine was the last one on this list
http://www.showerright.co.uk/system_types.htm

5:45pm, power cut.
Looked outside, whole street dark, main road ok.
We are at the end of the town, and are strangely on a sector supplying outlying villages, so occasionally get cuts due to trees on lines a few miles away.
Called the electric bods, 9 minutes after the cut. Had to get a torch and find the number in the files. At that time, I was first report, two more were logged during my call.
5 minutes later, they called back with an update, engineer will be on site at 6:30, hopefully mended by 7:30, 8:30 latest. Only two more reports. So most people assume that either the power company are aware, or they assume others will report. (Many years ago, 1989 I think, living in a small village, lots of snow, whole village lost power around 9am Saturday. At 4:30pm I called for update on repair progress, no-one had reported, power company unaware!)
Power restored 8:33, so ok for estimated deadline. All now well, warm again.

During the power cut in 1989 we heated water for tea in a saucepan using my blowlamp, luckily we had candles. On the Monday we 'panic bought' a Camping Gaz lamp and single burner stove. Actually ran out of gas in the lamp this evening, had to put a new canister in, replacing the original. Burner is halfway through its second canister. So not used too many times over the years.

Does make you aware how much we rely on electricity. Heating won't work, internet needs power to the router, so even a laptop is not that useful.

portland_bill said:

5:45pm, power cut.
Looked outside, whole street dark, main road ok.
We are at the end of the town, and are strangely on a sector supplying outlying villages, so occasionally get cuts due to trees on lines a few miles away.
Called the electric bods, 9 minutes after the cut. Had to get a torch and find the number in the files. At that time, I was first report, two more were logged during my call.
5 minutes later, they called back with an update, engineer will be on site at 6:30, hopefully mended by 7:30, 8:30 latest. Only two more reports. So most people assume that either the power company are aware, or they assume others will report. (Many years ago, 1989 I think, living in a small village, lots of snow, whole village lost power around 9am Saturday. At 4:30pm I called for update on repair progress, no-one had reported, power company unaware!)
Power restored 8:33, so ok for estimated deadline. All now well, warm again.

During the power cut in 1989 we heated water for tea in a saucepan using my blowlamp, luckily we had candles. On the Monday we 'panic bought' a Camping Gaz lamp and single burner stove. Actually ran out of gas in the lamp this evening, had to put a new canister in, replacing the original. Burner is halfway through its second canister. So not used too many times over the years.

Does make you aware how much we rely on electricity. Heating won't work, internet needs power to the router, so even a laptop is not that useful.

Click to expand...

This is one of (admittedly very few) advantages of smart metering, as all the meters in an area will not be reporting the REC (Regional Electricity Company) will know that there is an outage and get onto it within the hour - the initial assumption will be that it's a communication disruption, but that can be ruled out very quickly, especially since the company who owns the comms infrastructure may also have a relay in the area which is likely to be affected by the same cut, so may already have reported it to the REC.
Source: Me, I work for a smart metering infrastructure provider

Couple of things here...

Makes you realise how screwed you'd be if you were relying on a fully charged electric car this morning!

Secondly... smart meters are the work of those who want to selectively charge / tax electricity according to use. For example, charging an electric car. They can detect 'signatures' on use and charge accordingly.

It's for this reason, I refuse to have one.

That's not strictly true. While micro information from meters can be gathered they have no explicit way to determine what is the consumer in your home such as a storage meter or car. In theory a supplier could offer you a contract which changes charges by the half hour, if you want to take it, but again that won't know what you use that for. The data can be used on a street level and above to manage the grid supply and pre empt demand, most consider that to be a good idea and happens already on a bigger scale.
There are conflicting views on if they cause individuals to reduce use by better visibility, i that is neutral in practice.

Schumi2001 said:

Couple of things here...

Makes you realise how screwed you'd be if you were relying on a fully charged electric car this morning!

Secondly... smart meters are the work of those who want to selectively charge / tax electricity according to use. For example, charging an electric car. They can detect 'signatures' on use and charge accordingly.

It's for this reason, I refuse to have one.

Click to expand...

You may want to google for it!

All appliances leave a signature on the supply - Smart Meters can be programmed to recognise this signature - and a car charger has a different signature to a fridge, for example.

This tech. may not yet be in use - but I can almost guarantee it will come as the government loses tax from fossil fuels.

There are good reasons to encourage chargers to be connected to a controlling network for load levelling and management reasons. That could open the door for a taxation route I guess, things have to be paid for. I doubt smart meters will be used that way without an explicit data connection to the device, it would be too easy for an electrician to trick one and other loads cannot easily be removed from the overall reading, you are talking subtle signatures not reliable enough for a tax base, for example.

Schumi2001 said:

You may want to google for it!

All appliances leave a signature on the supply - Smart Meters can be programmed to recognise this signature - and a car charger has a different signature to a fridge, for example.

This tech. may not yet be in use - but I can almost guarantee it will come as the government loses tax from fossil fuels.

Click to expand...

Schumi2001 said:

All appliances leave a signature on the supply

Click to expand...

Wonder what sort of "signature" my crude arc welder leaves when well cranked up?

A big spikey one?

Schumi2001 said:

Couple of things here...

Makes you realise how screwed you'd be if you were relying on a fully charged electric car this morning!

Secondly... smart meters are the work of those who want to selectively charge / tax electricity according to use. For example, charging an electric car. They can detect 'signatures' on use and charge accordingly.

It's for this reason, I refuse to have one.

Click to expand...

Mrs Jock is very savvy with all things financial (lucky me) so every time something like car or house insurance, gas and/or electricity, broadband, etc comes up for renewal she's right in there on her iPad beavering away for a better deal. Consequently we are very seldom with the same supplier for more than the terms of the contract. (With the exception of Sky who have proved very keen to negotiate and we've had some super deals for our broadband and landline once they realize we are being serious about leaving)

Our electricity supplier fitted a "smart" meter quite a few years ago (I think it was SSE?) but the first time we changed it stopped working properly - failed to communicate with the new supplier - Ever since subsequent suppliers have required us to email readings. Last year something went wrong with the "hub" display in the living room and it stopped working too. I feel it's just another useless piece of unreliable and needless complication. I'm very happy popping out once a month to read the gas meter and the electric is easy as it's just under the stairs. I won't be bothering with another one unless they force one upon me!

Puggit and Jock, you are quite right, we have a dumb meter now too because we moved suppliers. The government bodies and industry failed completely to get it right first time for various reasons, some technical, some social, as noted here. We do need a better managed system, new meters have a common standard that can follow suppliers, however we are a long way from a useful connection for management or tax or any other reason. That is a failure in my view and we should work on it.
A more burning issue for me is that these meters are not better employed to assist those now on expensive pre payment versions, to better protect the consumer, supplier and landlords to much better mutual benefit.

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

Last year something went wrong with the "hub" display in the living room and it stopped working too. I feel it's just another useless piece of unreliable and needless complication. I'm very happy popping out once a month to read the gas meter and the electric is easy as it's just under the stairs. I won't be bothering with another one unless they force one upon me!

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Well you may be on for a new Gas Meter before you expected if you make frequent meter readings.

The the earlier smart gas meters have an internal battery. Apparently customers were more familiar with directly reading the meter than using the smart internal display unit so they went outside and push the gad meter button to scroll though the displays. This resulted in a dead battery before the normal expected time. Needless to say the battery is non replaceable and a new meter has to be fitted.

Don't know abou the more recent ones.