Archive for July, 2015

CHILDLIKE, WITH MY EYES AND MIND WIDE OPEN

Wednesday, July 29th, 2015

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I returned to my childhood whilst watching the Punakha Tsechu. Watching stories unfold before my eyes, I started to believe in magic again, in demons and monsters, in angels and saints, casting away my cynical view on life. Bhutan is like that … it opens up the mind and soul!

by Lindsey

(PS Help Lindsey win her Holiday to Jordon, click here to vote: – http://www.onthegotours.com/feelgood/entry/Childlike-with-my-eyes-and-mind-wide-op)

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Out with the Dyson, and in with the Gtech AirRAM K9 and Gtech Multi

Tuesday, July 21st, 2015

Over five years ago, I purchased my first Dyson, and blogged here – I Thought My Carpets Were Clean Until I purchased a Dyson.

The big problem with the Dyson DC20, cylinder vacuum cleaner, it has a cord, and it’s very heavy, awkward to clean stairs, and very heavy to carry upstairs to clean the bedrooms, and landing….nothing wrong with it, and it’s just gone out of guarantee.

Honey sales have been good, so time for a new gadget, to help me (my new contract is to do the vacuum-ing around the house!).

After watching the TV Adverts, and reading all the reviews, I’ve decided to purchase a Gtech AirRAM K9 and Gtech Multi.

Gtech AirRAM K9 Cordless vacuum cleaner and Gtech Multi handheld

Gtech AirRAM K9 Cordless vacuum cleaner and Gtech Multi handheld

Gtech AirRAM K9 Cordless vacuum cleaner and Gtech Multi handheld

Gtech AirRAM K9 Cordless vacuum cleaner and Gtech Multi handheld

I placed the order with Gtech’s website on Sunday 19th July, and I was surprised it was not as automated as some websites, what I mean is, the email confirming your order, I never got one, one was never sent…and the Order Online, when I track it, is still sitting in Processing…..my other niggle, Gtech charge Credit Card holders 2% – this is a bit old fashioned! but they do not charge anything for Paypal, after a recent discussion by Martin Lewis about Paypal, Credit Cards and Losing your Section 75 Rights – this here Warning! Don’t use PayPal to pay on a credit card – I thought stuff Paypal on this one! But hey come on Gtech 2%, are you not making enough cash, to re-negotiate with the credit card companies!

yesterday, I was surprised to get an email from Interlink (sister company of DPD – I didn’t know this until today!) advising me I would get a delivery today from Gtech, and early this morning, as was advised Interlink would deliver between 13:57 – 14:57, and at 14:05 I was the proud owner of a Gtech AirRAM K9 and Gtech Multi.

So logistics and 2% CC charge aside –

Gtech AirRAM K9

Gtech AirRAM K9

Gtech Multi

Gtech Multi

WOW – these are fantastic – cordless, light, powerful, Dyson move over, there is a New Hoover King – Gtech! I’ve been vacuuming everywhere, until the charge they come with ran out, so both are on charge for four hours!

and they’ve got a fantastic new advert featuring music by Queen. (Freddie Mercury).

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Andy’s Chillis

Friday, July 10th, 2015

Here are some before and after pictures of my chili plants in the porch, where temperatures in the sun, get up to 58 degrees C!

June 14th

June 14th

July 9th - Almost 4 weeks later

July 9th - Almost 4 weeks later

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Collared dove from above

Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

This is a picture of one of our tame Collared doves in the garden!

Collared Dove on bee hive

Collared Dove on bee hive

Not quite feeding out of my hand, but I’m sure it will soon. This was without zoom, I was that close, when I took the picture.

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Andy’s new gadget for testing car batteries! – A Solar BA7 Battery and System Tester for 12 volt batteries

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

Yes, I have been experiencing car troubles again, well to be honest, the issue has never really gone away, and I’ve done nothing about it, other than keep charging my car battery!

The Problem

The issue has been, if I do not use my car for 24 hours, when starting the car, it does not turn over. So I have to ensure, I start and run my car 7 days a week. Lately, however this period of time, has been decreasing to less than 10 hours, so if I park up overnight, the car will not start the next morning.

The Temporary Solution

If I connect the battery to a battery charger, and charge for less than 5 minutes, it allows me to start the car. This is odd, because the battery is not going to charge much in 5 minutes.

This temporary solution to the issue, was becoming problematic, and delaying me getting off to work in the morning, unrolling the 50m extension lead, plugging in the battery charger, charging the battery, driving to work, and the car was always able to start after parking up in the car park, until Tuesday, when it refused to start, requiring me to get a jump start, with my special jump leads from my Boss! (I think Lindsey was probably getting p***** off as well, because my car is parked behind hers, on the drive!)

Discuss with “The Specialist”

I spoke to Paul from JLB Electronics, pop by their website, and purchase some electronics bits and bobs… about the issue with my car, I took some voltage readings with a voltmeter, before and after charging, and current draw from the battery at idle. The voltage of the battery was 12.4/12.5 volts, and current draw was 0.77A at idle (which could be high!), but not really enough to flatten a car battery overnight.

The Fix

So I decided to purchase a Solar BA7 Battery and System Tester for 12 volt batteries from Amazon.co.uk, this is not just a voltmeter, which can test starting minimum and maximum voltages, battery under load, battery at idle, to check your alternator is working correctly, but also checks the car battery conductance, and compares with the stated value on the battery e.g. the CCA (cold cranking amperes – this is the current which can be delivered for 30 seconds), the value is stamped on the battery!

Amazon parcel

Amazon parcel

Solar BA7 Battery & System Tester for 12v batteries

Solar BA7 Battery & System Tester for 12v batteries

Solar BA7 Battery & System Tester for 12v batteries

Solar BA7 Battery & System Tester for 12v batteries

As I had suspected the battery was at fault, I also purchased a new battery from Halfords – a Yuasa YBX5096, this brand in the UK, commonly associated with batteries in alarms, but very common in Japan and Japanese cars!

Old Car battery CCA 300 - FAIL

Old Car battery CCA 300 - FAIL

After connecting the tester, the CCA value tested is 300, the battery has a stated CCA of 680, so therefore it’s a fail, you cannot make out the numbers on the LED, but the fail light is lit! So it was nice to technically know, after testing the battery is duff!

New Yuasa Silver HSB096, 80Ah 760A (CCA) - PASS

New Yuasa Silver HSB096, 80Ah 760A (CCA) - PASS

Checking the new Yuasa Silver HSB096, 80Ah 760A (CCA) – it passes with a CCA value of 900, and 860. So good to know, my new battery is perfect!

So, before I removed the old battery, I tested, starting minimum and maximum voltages, and charging at idle and load and both these tests pass, so clearly it points to a duff battery, so it was quickly removed and changed.

New Yuasa Silver HSB096, 80Ah 760A (CCA) - PASS

New Yuasa Silver HSB096, 80Ah 760A (CCA) - PASS

New battery installed and connected…..sorry about the fuzzy photograph, excited!!!)

New battery installed....

New battery installed....

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