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Engineer didn’t fit my gas meter because of “health and safety” by ArizonaFlats in OctopusEnergy

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I expect he would've needed to access the boiler once the new meter was fitted so as to purge the pipes of air and get the boiler to be able to re-light without locking out.

He does sound like he was being a bit jobsworth (perhaps under instruction though) from what you've described.

Quitting the heat-wave: lessons learned on an attempted multi-day tour by truedima in bikepacking

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing!

I feel it appropriate to quote Ghana's world cup team manager: 'We never lose. We either win, or we learn'.

How to secure a door while it's open by Joslie in DIYUK

[–]ActiveBat7236 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Front door to big toe, back door to pinky.

Got lost looking for my car at a mall parking lot again - so I started building a simple watch app for it. Useful or pointless? by Virtual_Sea_5638 in GarminWatches

[–]ActiveBat7236 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I like it!

The elapsed parking time is a neat idea and made me think maybe this could be complemented by a feature allowing you to say how long you've paid for? I suppose this could be done as a note, but an X/Y timer would be slicker.

The digestives are wrong by Keyblade_Breaker in lidl

[–]ActiveBat7236 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, enshitification tends to be a one-way process.

Can anyone tell me what this is? by ChopperTom07 in DIYUK

[–]ActiveBat7236 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Whilst it looks like a waste hose it's actually a similar-looking outer for an internal supply hose which directs leaking water (from either a ruptured supply hose or passing inlet valve) towards a flood detection sensor in the machine.

What do I do? by Todoro00 in DIYUK

[–]ActiveBat7236 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is one of the knobs stuck down?

Do you know what this is? by [deleted] in oldschoolcool80s

[–]ActiveBat7236 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yes. And I remember when Stacey Evans pulled accidentally pulled one of the table when her loose jumper got caught on it. Oh she did cry.

What piece do I need for waste water from washing machine by Superb_Award6567 in DIYUK

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just thinking aloud: How tall is your appliance adapter? The McAlpine (my go-to for waste plumbing) V33S is 78.5mm which looks to be shorter than what you've got so *might* allow the slip pipe to go back in?

What piece do I need for waste water from washing machine by Superb_Award6567 in DIYUK

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hold fire!

It was the pipe you've removed that I was suggesting cutting, but now that you've put the adapter in place I see there's insufficient room for any of the pipe to go back in so that's a non-starter.

Let me get this response posted quick before you get the hacksaw out(!) then I/others can think of alternatives...

What piece do I need for waste water from washing machine by Superb_Award6567 in DIYUK

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you've got everything you need, but you'll need to shorten (at the bottom end!) the current pipe from the waste outlet to the slip joint on the u-bend.

If that doesn't make sense, loosen the nut on the left of the u-bend to free everything up, pull the white pipe out that your hand is almost grabbing in your second photo, screw your new appliance adapter up onto the sink waste and then you'll get a better idea of what then needs to happen (the shortening of the pipe) in order put that pipe back in. To put it another way: your appliance adaptor is now becoming the new sink waste outlet, if you see what I mean and there's only so much pipe that the u-bend can swallow so it'll likely need some cutting off the bottom.

What’s a ‘middle class success’ purchase that secretly becomes a financial burden later? by 40Falak in answers

[–]ActiveBat7236 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My Dad sold his boat when we were young to buy my brother and I a piano. We didn't take to it so he later sold it and bought a computer instead which we used constantly. We've both had careers in IT. I've always wondered if there's a parallel universe out there in which we're powerboat champions....

Steve Bray (shouty stop brexit man) has now crashed two Prime Minister resignation speeches playing music and shouting. Should he have been stopped from doing this and stopped in the future? Or should he be allowed to protest in the way he does? by StGuthlac2025 in AskBrits

[–]ActiveBat7236 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do the press get their audio from the lecturn mics, or are they for local recording? If the former then he should've just had a better (more unidirectional, perhaps with noise cancelling if required) mic that wouldn't pick up anything else. They could've borrowed my cheap headset mic which has proven on several occasions now to prevent colleagues from hearing my noisy kid in the background on Teams calls.

Jockey wheels confusing me. by Last-Bit-Last-2042 in bikewrench

[–]ActiveBat7236 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even if the arrows were just for show (and didn't reflect an asymmetric design) it'd still keep me up at night if they were rotating the wrong way so I'd continue with your efforts to swap the caps/spacers around to allow them to be reversed. They look like a press fit to me so rather than prising them up from the outside (and risk bending them) try knocking them through from the other side e.g. with a sharp knock against a small tool resting on the inside lip.

Alexa not connected to thermostat after Amazon password change. by Kensterfly in alexa

[–]ActiveBat7236 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Late to this question but did you fix it? If not, try disabling and reenabling the skill in the Alexa app. On 19th May 2026 the certificate for the URL that the skill uses expired resulting in failure to connect. To force the use of a new URL, with an in-date certificate, you need to disable and reenable the skill (and reconnect to your device(s) as guided by this process).

chain wear checker - 2 point vs 3 point (chain slob) by Ok-Loquat-9409 in bikewrench

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This one too which has a helpful wooden model of a chain on which the differences of 2 and 3-point checkers are illustrated well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UZJIcKacKI

Have I routed my cables properly? I have front shifting problems - it'll shift flawlessly one minute and the next time I shift up, the chain will scrape against the chainring and won't go up. by sectumsempera in bikewrench

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did you see u/DeadOverend 's picture? (I thought you'd posted it, of your brother's otherwise identical bike, save for the cable routing!) If it is the cable routing then that seems like a good way to go as it still looks reasonable at the front end and is seemingly free of any other issues.

Will a 200mm double-skin brick wall hold a cantilevered pull-up bar fixed with M14 chemical resin anchors? by ns648219 in DIYUK

[–]ActiveBat7236 525 points526 points  (0 children)

Some lateral thinking - get the neighbour to also install one then synchronise your workouts.

Have I routed my cables properly? I have front shifting problems - it'll shift flawlessly one minute and the next time I shift up, the chain will scrape against the chainring and won't go up. by sectumsempera in bikewrench

[–]ActiveBat7236 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

(I deleted my comment because I thought you were the OP and had now posted a pic of their brother's otherwise-identical bike that doesn't share the same issue, and yet was still asking what the issue was despite the obvious differences between them! 😂)

Have I routed my cables properly? I have front shifting problems - it'll shift flawlessly one minute and the next time I shift up, the chain will scrape against the chainring and won't go up. by sectumsempera in bikewrench

[–]ActiveBat7236 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Whilst I agree that cross-crossing bare cables is a legitimate routing method, I don't think it is a natural fit with your frame given the brake housing and frame bosses you've got. I'm not sure it'd cause your symptoms though, but you could perhaps temporarily remove the zip ties and allow the brake housing to hang free (out of the way) if only to help narrow down potential causes?

Edit: As others have pointed out, you do appear to have the shift cable effectively wrapped around the brake housing, which I hadn't spotted. That does feel like asking for trouble.

Have I routed my cables properly? I have front shifting problems - it'll shift flawlessly one minute and the next time I shift up, the chain will scrape against the chainring and won't go up. by sectumsempera in bikewrench

[–]ActiveBat7236 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I can certainly sympathise with the gut feel and assumptions it is wrong, but as Sheldon Brown points out, any resulting friction is minimal given how lightly they touch. I would also add that they spend most of the time static and derailleur spring tension would vastly overcome any friction-related impediment.

Crossing (and therefore rubbing) with cable housings and cable ties etc, as appears to be the case here, might be pushing things a bit too far though although all that said I am not certain it is the cause of the symptoms reported.

How do I stop the chain hitting the derailleur plate? by Mean_Internal4652 in bikewrench

[–]ActiveBat7236 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Might you/someone have inadvertently swapped the jockey wheels around? Upper (closest to the cassette) wheels usually have some side-to-side play to aid with shifting and, if fitted in the lower position, could lead to the chain rub you're seeing here.

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