The Night Mail

[New Haven Neil]

IIRC plugs have to be moulded on nowadays?  Nanny state.....

[PupCam]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

My long extension lead has blown a fuse.  I have a full range of fuses from 3 to 10 Amp, but not a single 13 Amp fuse can be found.

 :

 :

 :

I do scavenge fuses from plugs of defunct electrical equipment which is probably where my vast collection of the lower amperage fuses have originated from.

 

I think I must have your correspondingly vast anti-collection of fuses ........

 

I have more spare 13 amp fuses than can be used in a lifetime, culled  from replacement plugs which are always supplied with a 13A but invariable replaced with more puny ratings to more accurately match their intended service.     Finding a 10A or 5A fuse is always tricky and as for 3A fuses well, I've got a far better chance of finding something left behind by a rocking horse!

 

6 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

I'm glad it's not just me who scavenges fuses and plugs if possible from old electrical equipment.

 

Me too, only I don't stop at fuses and plugs .... 🙄

 

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

Plugs?  Moulded on.  In-line switches?  Moulded on.  Pah. 

 

Without wishing to re-start any old and possibly bitter bipolar and partisan discussions, a consequence of legislation from our "Guardians" designed to save the great unwashed from themselves I do believe.

[newbryford]

4 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

IIRC plugs have to be moulded on nowadays?  Nanny state.....

 

Possibly - but I bet the instance of electrical fires caused by badly fitted plugs has decreased over the period since moulded plugs were law.

[New Haven Neil]

1 minute ago, newbryford said:

 

Possibly - but I bet the instance of electrical fires caused by badly fitted plugs has decreased over the period since moulded plugs were law.

 

Yes - they're all caused by crepe wall wart phone/device chargers now!

[BoD]

3 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Yes - they're all caused by crepe wall wart phone/device chargers now!

 

As they say...

 

You can make things idiot proof but then they just design better idiots.

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

Possibly - but I bet the instance of electrical fires caused by badly fitted plugs has decreased over the period since moulded plugs were law.

 

But if anyone wants/needs to fit a plug to something then all they need to do is buy a plug from screwfix/toolstation/one of the sheds etc. which kinda defeats the object of the exercise.

[newbryford]

13 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

But if anyone wants/needs to fit a plug to something then all they need to do is buy a plug from screwfix/toolstation/one of the sheds etc. which kinda defeats the object of the exercise.

 

But nowadays, the "want/need to fit a plug has massively reduced, because they're already fitted.....

 

I've probably fitted a plug per year for the last 15 years or so [*], for either a damaged cable or broken plug.

 

The exception was a bunch of equipment that had come second-hand from Australia that needed 13A plug tops fitting.

 

[BoD]

16 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

But if anyone wants/needs to fit a plug to something then all they need to do is buy a plug from screwfix/toolstation/one of the sheds etc. which kinda defeats the object of the exercise.

Hopefully though, with most things coming with fitted plugs your average joe public won’t feel the need to do that.  Those who do go out if their way to buy plugs either know what they are doing or fall into the category of my post immediately before yours and Darwinian  theories come into play.

[jamie92208]

10 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

I wonder if HM's cortege had to stop for fuel/driver breaks on the way. I'm sure the hearse and all the Range Rover will be a tad thirsty never mind Princess Anne's limo.

 

I have only watched bits of proceedings such as departing Balmoral and arrival in Edinburgh.

I did see a tractor guard of honour

Yes definitely  a personal needs break at Brechin.

7 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

But nowadays, the "want/need to fit a plug has massively reduced, because they're already fitted.....

 

I've probably fitted a plug per year for the last 15 years or so [*], for either a damaged cable or broken plug.

 

The exception was a bunch of equipment that had come second-hand from Australia that needed 13A plug tops fitting.

 

I've changed quite a lot of plugs in the last few years, cutting off moulded UK plugs and fitting French plugs bought at Bricomarché. Le Grand is the local equivalent of MK.

 

I was tempted today and gave in.  I bought a Jouef 65XX co co in HO scale.  It was shouting out "buy me" and I couldn't resist it looked so lovely on a stall at the brocante.

 

Jamie

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by jamie92208

[Dave Hunt]

One of the most dangerous weapons in the di*khead's armoury of potential fire starting devices is the multiple adapter. A fireman I was talking to at a county show a few years ago who was offering advice on smoke alarms showed me a photograph of the burnt remains of a setup they discovered following a house fire where through a multiple arrangement of adapters and extension leads no fewer that fifteen devices were connected to a single wall socket.

 

Dave

[newbryford]

2 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

One of the most dangerous weapons in the di*khead's armoury of potential fire starting devices is the multiple adapter. A fireman I was talking to at a county show a few years ago who was offering advice on smoke alarms showed me a photograph of the burnt remains of a setup they discovered following a house fire where through a multiple arrangement of adapters and extension leads no fewer that fifteen devices were connected to a single wall socket.

 

Dave

Not far behind will be the "windup" extension reels that aren't fully unwound.

Never underestimate the power of inductive heating.

 

[Dave Hunt]

3 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I was tempted today and gave in.  I bought a Jouef 65XX co co in HO scale.  It was shouting out "buy me" and I couldn't resist it looked so lovely on a stall at the brocante.

 

That should fit in well on Lancaster Green Ayre Jamie 😋.

 

Dave

[PupCam]

43 minutes ago, polybear said:

But if anyone wants/needs to fit a plug to something then all they need to do is buy a plug from screwfix/toolstation/one of the sheds etc. which kinda defeats the object of the exercise.

 

Careful Bear!   

 

Before you know it there'll be a law that says you are not permitted to fit an appliance plug unless you've done a 6 year training course, paid your £450 annual membership fee to the Institute of Appliance Plug Fitters and your £3k* registration fee to "PlugSafe".

 

* Includes £10M Public Liability insurance cover and you get a nice A4 folder to keep your certificates  and plug-fitting proforma charts in

[Mike Bellamy]

23 hours ago, Northmoor said:

 . . . . made to wait for a staff member to appear and approve the alcohol they're trying to self-scan.  

 

I tried to avoid that by using a conventional till instead of self-serve to then find that as the cashier was under 18, he had to get an adult to confirm I could by a bottle of beer . . . so I ended up waiting even longer than those at the self-serve tills !!

 

 

7 hours ago, Northmoor said:

 . . .  I was most annoyed to not be able to drain the 3/4-full diesel fuel tank (about £65 at the time) 

 

Many years ago my son had a terminal failure with his Ford Escort which caught fire for an unknown reason - he was most upset as he had just filled up with petrol and thought that the value of the fuel was probably worth more than the car. Happily the insurance assessor had other ideas and we were paid out more than we expected as it had originally been my wife's car, had very low milage, a full service history and he said the remaining bodywork showed it had been well looked after . . . 

.

[BoD]

23 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I went into Tess Coes this afternoon. Every till was open but there was queues down the aisles. I used the auto tills as it was quicker.

Next week they will ask you  to stack the shelves before using the self scan checkouts.

[newbryford]

On a lighter note, hockey season has resumed this weekend. (Ice hockey that is).

 

I've followed the Blackburn Hawks  with some fervour for a few years now and gone from the highs of "The Invincibles" that didn't lose a game all season, to the last couple of years where they've languished as 3rd/2nd/next to bottom.

Although their efforts could not be faulted over the last two years.

 

They now have a new coach who has brought in a lot of younger players for this year, so it was going to be a bit of a step into the unknown for this season.

(By young - the average age of the squad is the youngest in the league at 21-something - and would be far less if they didn't include the 39 year old Captain for 2022-23!. One other team in the league has an average age of 32)

We (Junior NB and I) do get to some away games, but couldn't get to last night's away game in Sheffield where they recorded a 5-1 win and almost a shutout conceding with 2 seconds to go. A good start.

 

Tonight's first home game of the season was against the well-established squad from Solihull Barons (ave age 27).

0-1 at the end of the first and 0-2 at the end of the second period. Certainly not outclassed and showing some promise for the young squad. And the young lads were certainly giving the more experienced Barons players a few headaches.

10 minutes into P3 and it's 3-2....

But a penalty by our Captain upset the momentum. (He was complaining about the very obvious missed penalty [*] against Solihull that hadn't been called for having too many men on the ice for too long).

The game finished 3-4 with the Hawks all over the Barons, for the last couple for minutes - hitting the post and somehow not equalising for an overtime shootout.

 

The season bodes well if the team can learn from the experience - which I'm sure they will.

Roll on the rest of the season.

 

[*] I know we all give the ref some stick if things aren't going to plan, but even the Solihull players consoled our Captain at the end, knowing that they'd managed to ride their luck with the referee.

 

 

[Canal Digger]

6 hours ago, SM42 said:

My long extension lead has blown a fuse.  I have a full range of fuses from 3 to 10 Amp, but not a single 13 Amp fuse can be found.

 

I can guarantee that buying a new pack will result in there being a pack (-1) sitting for many years in the garage's fuse bin without being required. 

 

I do scavenge fuses from plugs of defunct electrical equipment which is probably where my vast collection of the lower amperage fuses have originated from.

I to scavenge/ salvage things, I could start a shop for 13A fuses!  If you can wait a few days for Postman Pat I'll send you some, my son who tidy's the garage for me will thank you!

[AndyID]

If you are salvaging old fuses it's best to make sure they are still working. The safest way to test them is with a car battery and jumper cables.

 

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

One of the most dangerous weapons in the di*khead's armoury of potential fire starting devices is the multiple adapter. A fireman I was talking to at a county show a few years ago who was offering advice on smoke alarms showed me a photograph of the burnt remains of a setup they discovered following a house fire where through a multiple arrangement of adapters and extension leads no fewer that fifteen devices were connected to a single wall socket.

 

Dave

 

It doesn't help that the expletive system lets you pull seven and a half kilowatts out of a single outlet!! I could run my big welder on that. 😮

 

(I'm not a big fan of the UK ring mains. I actually think it's a load of cobulars not to mention quite dangerous.)

[AndyID]

We had some excess peaches. They came from a store and they were not quite as good as the locally grown ones but they were good enough to be made into these 😀

 

 

Keen observers will note a Scottie lurking in that pic.

[BR60103]

I was inspired to go down to look for fuses.  Either I don't have any or I don't know where to look.

We don't need household fuses as the wiring is all circuit breakers. Fuses in plugs are unknown here, although we have a hair dryer with a ground fault breaker in it.

I have a collection of glass cylinder fuses for some model/hi-fi work, and a bunch for the motorhome.

 

Today was designated clean-the-rugs day.  The carpet washer was duly brought out, the instructions found and read, and the carpet in the most used area cleaned.  The dirty water contained a lot of cat hair and a quantity of small white lumps that I can't figure out.

 

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Yes definitely  a personal needs break at Brechin.

 

 

I stayed with my cousins in Brechin many times in my youth. The best bit was the run up to Forfar or Bridge of Dun from Buchanan Street Station in Glasgow. Unfortunately I did not have a decent camera or any sort of photographic skill back then.

[AndyID]

21 minutes ago, BR60103 said:

I was inspired to go down to look for fuses.  Either I don't have any or I don't know where to look.

 

 

I used to have some UK plug-top fuses as I still had a couple of things that came with us and ran on an extension with two 13A outlets but I must have dumped them when the last UK device finally packed in a few years ago. But in the process of looking for fuses I did find this which is certain to be of interest to the audiophiles among us:

 

On the top it says "50 Semi-permanent Needles".

 

On the bottom "Polar Bear Needles for a total of 1000 Record Sides. Made in Germany"

 

 

[SM42]

1 hour ago, BR60103 said:

I was inspired to go down to look for fuses.  Either I don't have any or I don't know where to look.

We don't need household fuses as the wiring is all circuit breakers. Fuses in plugs are unknown here, although we have a hair dryer with a ground fault breaker in it.

 

 

 

You may think that 

 

When I chopped the hedge trimmer cable, I repaired said cable and nothing happened when I tried to finish cutting the hedge

 

" aha" said  I.  " need to reset circuit breaker"

 

Reset breaker at socket. It wasn't tripped.  Circuit breaker at consumer unit still in. 

 

What had blown was the fuse as I has connected live to neutral during the cable chop. 

 

Appatently had I connected to earth the CB would have tripped. 

 

Andy

[TheQ]

One other thig with the cheap extension cables is they are often 10A not 13A.

At one point some ***** from high above decided every mains cable with the plug in connector at the equipment end, needed changing every year, so I have plenty of spare cables like that as well All perfectly serviceable.. That lasted a couple of years till someone sensible took over health and safety..

 

 When in the RAF they banned multi adaptors.. Meaning the type that's a brick and had no fuses..

So we came into work that night and were unable to do our work... they'd thrown away all muti adapters even those properly fused on extension cables...

 

So we couldn't do any work because we had no way of getting power to our test equipment...