dave said:

Haven't used my big compressor for years so thought i'd start it up see if it still works, then i undid the drain screw without concentrating and it came right out, big jet of air hits my finger and hurt like hell for a second.
later i noticed my finger looks like it has bits of grit embedded in it

View attachment 210278

Click to expand...

Go to A&E, or at least call 111. Sooner rather than later. Not in the morning.

Compressed air is dangerous, an air bubble injected into the skin can cause problems. If it is injected into a vein it can move around, and if it hits the brain things are not good.

One of the first things I learnt when I joined the motor trade was about compressed air safety, never play with it, never point it at yourself, or others.

Swapping batteries around..

1.3 diesel
1.2 petrol
1.3 diesel

Pass the parcel style

Come to put a battery back onto the 08 grande I use for work..

Cables hang in their natural position.. they been there for 12 years..
Right whereI want to aim the battery

Jostle it through that obstacle..

Now it wont fit in the tray

Most peculiar.. because it come off my 07 last week

Battery wriggled back out.. look closer.. there is a 'stop' in the way


It unplugs..like a lego brick..

Once its in my hand I realise Ive got another of these 'stops' in the boot

I cannot really see the point of it..
If you forgot to bolt the battery down.. I dont think this will offer much resistance

Ok it helps locate a Correct Size battery in the tray.. but it doesnt clip it in.. I thought it was a 'foot' originally.. that you slide the batteries base into ..
But the thing has vertical sides.

At least I didnt have Brucie in there..

'Nothing for a pair.. not in this game'

dave said:

Haven't used my big compressor for years so thought i'd start it up see if it still works, then i undid the drain screw without concentrating and it came right out, big jet of air hits my finger and hurt like hell for a second.
later i noticed my finger looks like it has bits of grit embedded in it

View attachment 210278

Click to expand...

Ouch,

You don't want an infection so those imbedded rusty particles have to come out.

If a scrubbing brush wont get them all out Sterilize a Stanley knife blade or a needle and pick them out.

After getting them all out, clean thoroughly with lots of soap and water dry then an antiseptic.

After all that give yourself a large portion of your favourite treat.

Hope you feeling better today.

Jack

dave said:

Haven't used my big compressor for years so thought i'd start it up see if it still works, then i undid the drain screw without concentrating and it came right out, big jet of air hits my finger and hurt like hell for a second.
later i noticed my finger looks like it has bits of grit embedded in it

View attachment 210278

Click to expand...

dave, I too, like andyd, have done silly and reckless things in my younger life - don't think I'm as good a learner as he is though as I fell off a ladder a couple of years ago! However a number of years ago I stuck the ends of the fingers on my right hand in my lawnmower blade whilst it was running - oh please don't ask! anyway the mess was considerable and necessitated a visit to the local A&E where they scrubbed them out with what looked like a nailbrush to remove all the embedded muck. I won't be doing that again the brushing hurt more than the original injury. The relevant point though was that I got a big lecture about how dangerous cuts and abrasions of this type are in terms of infection and an anti tet injection.

I think a lot of us who have this passion for working on our vehicles tend to forget all the highly dangerous stuff we run over in our cars - just for instance, animal droppings - dog dirt in particular - and when we cut or break the skin don't really take this into consideration. I think you would be wise to at least call in at your local pharmacy - amazing what pharmacies do these days.

Regarding the air compressor. I bought a new compressor just a couple of years ago to replace my 1954 BEN which I'd owned most of my adult life. For comparison here's my old friend:



And here's the new one, yet to see if he's going to be a friend!



When I sold the BEN one of the chaps who rang up about it asked when it had last been pressure tested. I suppose I knew in the back of my mind you should get pressure vessels tested but I'd never tested it. He didn't buy. So I thought I'd find out what testing involved so rang up a local engineering company who do this testing. We spent some time identifying it and then the chap said "Oh, one of them! I haven't seen one of them in years! I wouldn't waste your money son, they were built out of 'boiler plate' it'll out last you and your son, if you pass it on!" The new compressor I bought is not constructed on anything like the monolithic scale of the old BEN though so maybe I should give the guy a ring for further advice? The point of all that rambling is, looking at the rust in your finger, wonder what sort of nick the inside of your old compressor is? Could be worth pulling a bung and shining a torch inside?

Yep..

We had a visit from a 'new' insurance inspector..

Seemed a bit of a 'jobsworth' but its him signing it all over as ok

We had to strip something that had obviously never been apart..(or checked ) since its build

Pretty much any corrosion is bad news

My Dads old workshop compressed air system was:
A 240v fridge motor
Rubber hose
WW2 bomber oxgen cylinder (rated to 650psi.. but with a 1980's PRV @150)

I dont think I will recommision it..


I am a bit like Dave..
Like to get the motor running before opening the bleed .. it shifts more junk that way..

But as PB:Nigel pointed out it has its risks.


BTW. Last time I did any 'proper' damage to myself.. I rolled up my sleeve for the Tetanus jab
'We dont do that anymore..' top of your Glutes..
I seem to recall a decade before that they said .. once youve had a couple of tetanus jabs.. you are probably covered for life..

But..if you have an open wound.. full of 'foreign matter' then you are treated to another jab.

Since Im on blood thinners I dont tend to get into these situations..

Old age eh ..

AndyRKett said:

More misunderstanding than picky.

The Tipo is a fiat copy of an astra in my view, there are a lot of very similar styling ques and the car is designed to be in the same place in the market with very similar spec levels.

So when I say its basically an Astra, What I mean is it is a Fiat Astra. It is fiats version of an Astra, there is little to differentiate the two cars on paper, or really in appearance.

A platform is essentially a set of measurements that a car manufacturer uses to cut costs because they don't have to retool every time they make a new car and they may have components that already fit from the parts bin if they follow those measurements. It doesn't mean the floor pan of one car is the same as another or that every mechanical parts off a Vauxhall Adam fits a Punto and a jeep renegade which are all built on the same platform, it just means they can use some common components.

If you go on say ebay and look up the 4 wheel drive components of a fiat 500x, there is no way they will bolt onto a Punto or Corsa D, but they all come from the same "platform"

Click to expand...

I'm with you now.

Sitting working at the kitchen table #lockdown fun

Washing machine behind me goes full foam party....

Cue spending my lunch break messing with the pump to try and get it to drain correctly.

At least it appears to have worked as it's successfully done 2 loads since without incident.

It's a 10 year old machine and was cheap given we have a 2 year old if anything amazed it's still going given it's probably on 10 times a week.

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

dave, I too, like andyd, have done silly and reckless things in my younger life - don't think I'm as good a learner as he is though as I fell off a ladder a couple of years ago! However a number of years ago I stuck the ends of the fingers on my right hand in my lawnmower blade whilst it was running - oh please don't ask! anyway the mess was considerable and necessitated a visit to the local A&E where they scrubbed them out with what looked like a nailbrush to remove all the embedded muck. I won't be doing that again the brushing hurt more than the original injury. The relevant point though was that I got a big lecture about how dangerous cuts and abrasions of this type are in terms of infection and an anti tet injection.

I think a lot of us who have this passion for working on our vehicles tend to forget all the highly dangerous stuff we run over in our cars - just for instance, animal droppings - dog dirt in particular - and when we cut or break the skin don't really take this into consideration. I think you would be wise to at least call in at your local pharmacy - amazing what pharmacies do these days.

Regarding the air compressor. I bought a new compressor just a couple of years ago to replace my 1954 BEN which I'd owned most of my adult life. For comparison here's my old friend:

View attachment 210292

And here's the new one, yet to see if he's going to be a friend!

View attachment 210293

When I sold the BEN one of the chaps who rang up about it asked when it had last been pressure tested. I suppose I knew in the back of my mind you should get pressure vessels tested but I'd never tested it. He didn't buy. So I thought I'd find out what testing involved so rang up a local engineering company who do this testing. We spent some time identifying it and then the chap said "Oh, one of them! I haven't seen one of them in years! I wouldn't waste your money son, they were built out of 'boiler plate' it'll out last you and your son, if you pass it on!" The new compressor I bought is not constructed on anything like the monolithic scale of the old BEN though so maybe I should give the guy a ring for further advice? The point of all that rambling is, looking at the rust in your finger, wonder what sort of nick the inside of your old compressor is? Could be worth pulling a bung and shining a torch inside?

Click to expand...

that yellow one looks nearly identical to my old one. the bits are not deep in my finger just in the hard dead skin working hands have, If i went to A&E every time i got a cut or some thing they would charge me rent. i go home from work with so many bruises it looks like i have been abused.

Point taken about the finger dave - i don't always practice what I preach.

I found it interesting, when I was researching compressors before buying this one, how similar many of them look. I suppose there are only so many ways you can configure the receiver so maybe not too surprising to see so many looking the same but there seems to be only a few different compressors. Wonder if they are in fact all being made in just two or maybe three enormous factories somewhere in China? The Wolf branded one I bought is definitely for sale with two other brand stickers on it - maybe more?

Perhaps it's the same as bikes, they mostly look the sameish but tends to be more you spend the better quality components. Perhaps better motor or valves etc.

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

Point taken about the finger dave - i don't always practice what I preach.

I found it interesting, when I was researching compressors before buying this one, how similar many of them look. I suppose there are only so many ways you can configure the receiver so maybe not too surprising to see so many looking the same but there seems to be only a few different compressors. Wonder if they are in fact all being made in just two or maybe three enormous factories somewhere in China? The Wolf branded one I bought is definitely for sale with two other brand stickers on it - maybe more?

Click to expand...

How about these two? Identical from what I can see in the illustrations don't you think?

https://gtair.co.uk/air-compressors...r0vTa17LFfukStQPVFyOSq90IhkPFbARoC8GMQAvD_BwE

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/sc9...1p-XyIRMslN6ZK3r_HKq7ULlK6vT2ylRoCXMcQAvD_BwE

Perhaps interestingly? My Wolf branded one seems to now be painted blue and has seen a price hike since I bought it from UKHS

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wolf-Pro...987017&hash=item365ee9aa1f:g:rJ4AAOSw1N1e0hnO

Some years ago I bought an Aldi compressor to go with some air tools they had going. The most useful tool - high speed die grinder would drain the tank in 30 seconds. The pump just couldn't keep up. The tools were put away and It got used for pumping tyres. I gave it away when I moved to a different part of the country.


I still have the tools but never not got around to finding a compressor that's up to driving them.

DaveMcT said:

Some years ago I bought an Aldi compressor to go with some air tools they had going. The most useful tool - high speed die grinder would drain the tank in 30 seconds. The pump just couldn't keep up. The tools were put away and It got used for pumping tyres. I gave it away when I moved to a different part of the country.


I still have the tools but never not got around to finding a compressor that's up to driving them.

Click to expand...

Over a year ago ALDI had a lovely twin cyl compressor with a 25l tank. Seemed close in spec to Machine Mart and SGS. It seems to power their impact wrench well without running out of oomph.

A benefit of lockdown is the reduction in ambient noise. Sadly increasing over the last week or so. This morning, once again the peace is shattered, a petrol driven bit of small machinery. (Can't decide what is more irritating, small machines, or small aircraft that won't go away)

Tools and machines make different noises when used by professionals, reasonably skilled amateurs, or complete amateurs. Sadly the noise this morning, turns out to be a chainsaw, is making amateur noises, so the most irritating. A few minutes in, there's a woman's voice, "What are you doing?". Presumably next door neighbour, not informed of pruning plans, and apparently not happy. Noise now stopped.

Then looking out the front, I see a van in a drive down the road. A landscaping company. Professionals? You'd think so, or hope so, but previous encounters with them would suggest the noises this morning are normal.

My most annoying local noise is the woman across the road shouting at her dog to be quiet.

Ruff Ruff Ruff Ruff Ruff
Shut Up Fido
Ruff Ruff Ruff Ruff Ruff
Shut Up Fido
Ruff Ruff Ruff Ruff Ruff
Shut Up Fido

Fido obviously thinks it's a great game or "Mum's barking so I'd better join in".

portland_bill said:

Over a year ago ALDI had a lovely twin cyl compressor with a 25l tank. Seemed close in spec to Machine Mart and SGS. It seems to power their impact wrench well without running out of oomph.

Click to expand...

Aye PB. I learned the hard way. Small compressors are of very limited use to the home mechanic. You can use them to blow up tyres and work a small air pistol but don't even dream of running something like an impact gun or paint sprayer.

Purely by accident I struck comparatively lucky with my first compressor because although it was a low output pump unit it had a nice big tank - probably around 100 litres in modern "money" so although it took forever to fill the tank (to approx 100 psi) it would run my cheap air gun for a few seconds before the pressure dropped too much - not ideal but Ok for occasional use.

Remember also that if you buy a unit which is "just" big enough and use it a lot then the motor and pump are going to be running almost constantly and it won't like it. I suspect direct coupled high reving units are liable to be much more vulnerable than a slower running belt driven unit. (and the direct drive units are a lot more noisy - worth thinking about if you are in high density housing.) This was brought home to me a few months ago, before Covid, when I was in Machine Mart and a chap came in with one of the little direct coupled portable units which dribbled oil all the way to the sales desk! I took off to look at some of the displays and left them to it. When I returned the unit was sitting on the counter dripping oil so I asked the chap what had happened. I don't really know said he, I'll be sending it back for examination as it's under warranty. He went on to say that was the second unit he'd honored the warranty on to that customer but he wouldn't be doing another and he suspected the customer was abusing the unit by trying to run a high capacity tool on it.

Look for the FAD (free air delivery) figure for the compressor - an awful lot of them quote the displacement figure but the FAD is what it'll actually pump so you need one with a FAD greater than the air consumption of the tool you intend to run. Then the bigger the air receiver the better as a big receiver means the pump will run less. For example my new compressor is described as a 14CFM pump on a 90 litre receiver. It took a bit of digging to find out it's FAD is somewhere around 9, maybe 10 CFM (cubic feet per minute) so the quoted 14CFM is almost meaningless. You can take a very rough guess at the FAD figure by saying it will be between two thirds and three quarters of the displacement CFM. It will vary from one design of compressor to another. I run mine at 125psi - the manual says it can be run at up to 150 psi but the compressor pump sounds a bit strained (you can hear it working hard) at the higher pressures. Even this won't actually keep up with the flat out demand of my biggest air gun but the gun runs at a regulated pressure of 90 psi so it gives a very useful run time before the pressure drops below the 90 psi and it runs my other tools without problem.

So, with compressors anyway, size really does matter. You need a pump which can keep up with the tool and then the bigger the tank the better - space permitting

Noises from outside of two car doors. Glanced out, a couple, apparently visiting. Each carrying a coffee. I watched them walk to a house still carrying their coffees. Costa is just a few hundred yards away.

Why stop and buy expensive coffees, just a couple of minutes away from your destination, and then take them in with you?

Don't like your host's coffee?
Host only has tea?
Habit and not thinking?
So hooked on the 'lifestyle' thing that they cannot pass a Costa?

Very puzzling. I would never think of arriving anywhere carrying my own drink, although I have some friends who do sometimes need a big push to get the kettle on.

Edit: Seems they only stayed about half an hour. So what was the highlight of their visit? Seeing a parent, or getting a Costa coffee?

aldi also had a very nice 2.8kw generator. very useful use it as a standby .never now when you will need it

portland_bill said:

Noises from outside of two car doors. Glanced out, a couple, apparently visiting. Each carrying a coffee. I watched them walk to a house still carrying their coffees. Costa is just a few hundred yards away.

Why stop and buy expensive coffees, just a couple of minutes away from your destination, and then take them in with you?

Don't like your host's coffee?
Host only has tea?
Habit and not thinking?
So hooked on the 'lifestyle' thing that they cannot pass a Costa?

Very puzzling. I would never think of arriving anywhere carrying my own drink, although I have some friends who do sometimes need a big push to get the kettle on.

Edit: Seems they only stayed about half an hour. So what was the highlight of their visit? Seeing a parent, or getting a Costa coffee?

Click to expand...

There are some reasons and I have done this, firstly you can get coffee from costa or Starbucks you’d struggle or simply cannot make yourself at home, pretty much anything requiring flavoured syrups and a £10k coffee machine is not really doable at home.

Secondly there are time I have taken a coffee to someone’s house, usually because I don’t trust or like their coffee or in one particular instance I can think of I don’t trust the cleanliness of their kitchen, also as you point out there are some people who don’t understand the unwritten laws of Britishness and don’t put the kettle on when you turn up.

In answer to your edit, the coffee was probably the highlight lol

AndyRKett said:

There are some reasons and I have done this, firstly you can get coffee from costa or Starbucks you’d struggle or simply cannot make yourself at home, pretty much anything requiring flavoured syrups and a £10k coffee machine is not really doable at home.

Secondly there are time I have taken a coffee to someone’s house, usually because I don’t trust or like their coffee or in one particular instance I can think of I don’t trust the cleanliness of their kitchen, also as you point out there are some people who don’t understand the unwritten laws of Britishness and don’t put the kettle on when you turn up.

In answer to your edit, the coffee was probably the highlight lol

Click to expand...

So why not take coffees for the parents?