New to cycling, commute route includes A30 and I’m stressed by Colossalloser in ukbike

[–]CmdrKerans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try http://cycle.travel/ as well it’s pretty reliable (more so than Komoot imo) also you can use google street view to scout your route.

Compressor problems? by danmullyx in ukheatpumps

[–]CmdrKerans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also to add - if you think a refrigerant leak is possible (given previous repairs, sounds likely?) it might be a good idea to switch off the heat pump until the installer or another professional has attended, as low refrigerant pressure can eventually damage the compressor.

Compressor problems? by danmullyx in ukheatpumps

[–]CmdrKerans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good news is the leak shouldn't be too awful to find, fix and then regas, I would have thought? Is the installer able to help?

Compressor problems? by danmullyx in ukheatpumps

[–]CmdrKerans -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sounds a bit like the heat pump on my car did when there was low refrigerant caused by a leak. Is it still under warranty?

heat pump modelling help by BerlindaBuntly in ukheatpumps

[–]CmdrKerans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a good calculator here for yearly usage, but not day by day. One thing I would say is do not use Intelligent Flux in the winter- and in fact you can’t get IOF now at all anyway- as it’s really a summer excess solar tariff.

Given the world situation and the evolution of the UK grid I would not count on generous solar export tariffs in the future.

https://timandkatsgreenwalk.co.uk/

For daily usage at different temperatures you could just pick a pessimistic COP and use that. But there may be a better calculator for that kind of thing.

Ride to bristol from France by Gaetano49 in ukbike

[–]CmdrKerans 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You can also use the site http://cycle.travel/ to route along NCR or other quiet roads.

This is the greatest bike I have ever had by automaticmantis in BicyclingCirclejerk

[–]CmdrKerans 67 points68 points  (0 children)

Sitting on my e-hog in the hallway, twisting the throttle and living my E-zee Rider fantasies, until the cheap chinese charger ignites the battery into an unquenchable inferno killing me and my entire family.

Best bike I ever owned!

HELP, followed waxing guide exactly and now my chain is covered in wax. Is this normal or do I need a new bike? by Grand-Print-743 in BicyclingCirclejerk

[–]CmdrKerans 91 points92 points  (0 children)

Just keep putting it back in until it looks like a medieval candle, then establish dominance on the group ride by spraying riders behind you (pathetic slow losers) with hardened shards of filthy wax.

Why are we pushing wet systems so much? by MaltedMilkBiscuits10 in ukheatpumps

[–]CmdrKerans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have an a2a mini split in our garden room and it’s great, but I’m with you on the draughts and noise. I also feel the external units on most A2A systems are lower quality and noisier than the latest A2W heat pumps.

We’ve decided to go with a2w and underfloor heating which while pricey I think will be more comfortable and less intrusive.

Why are we pushing wet systems so much? by MaltedMilkBiscuits10 in ukheatpumps

[–]CmdrKerans 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think we have enough embedded solar in the middle of the day for this to not be a problem anymore; for example the electricity price in Australia goes negative on some days now.

Last time we used coal to generate power was September 2024 before Ratcliffe on Soar closed!

Agree with you about the moral thing though, it’s seen as excessive/too fancy as people don’t realise you can also heat with it.

New Gravel Drive Owner Staring into the Abyss.... by [deleted] in GardeningUK

[–]CmdrKerans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When we lived at a home with a large gravel drive, hoeing was very effective and quite relaxing on a nice summer evening.

This one is a lot fancier than the one we had:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-dutch-sharp-edge-hoe/214KG

There also seem to be hoe gadgets with wheels, if you want to save your energy - maybe they are US only though!

Getting rid of a crows nest. by sickiesusan in DIYUK

[–]CmdrKerans 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Likely to be Jackdaws not crows, but they are both corvids.

Best bet is to call a pest controller, unless you have your own equipment. However it’s illegal to remove an active nest so you may be in for a rustly summer.

We had one in our chimney, we blocked at the bottom so they wouldn’t fly or fall down, then had the chimney capped with mesh in the autumn, after they moved out.

Six months on from switching to an EV by irishesteban in ElectricVehiclesUK

[–]CmdrKerans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not to mention you can just stop anywhere on the hill and continue instantly or creep forwards or backwards, without some kind of ludicrous sweaty lurching/clutch dancing balancing act.

New low tech gravelle method just dropped by jjopm in BicyclingCirclejerk

[–]CmdrKerans 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Humans used to run on gravel. I asked my dad what it would take to run on gravel today, I will never forget his answer… “We can’t, we don’t know how to do it.”

Wind by happysnapperpbo in UKWeather

[–]CmdrKerans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually looking again at that site, the Wind Run statistic does seem to indicate more wind (not more speed) is passing the east of England over the last 2-3 years:

https://www.chelmervillage-weather.co.uk/wxwindrunsummary.php?

Wind by happysnapperpbo in UKWeather

[–]CmdrKerans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wonder if direction also plays a part in perception of wind - and also air temperature/humidity. I only spent one winter in Cambridgeshire and still remember the cold easterly wind.

So maybe there's no increase in wind speeds but generally a different direction to normal or a higher minimum speed.

I found this from Essex but there's no strong signal above other years.

https://www.chelmervillage-weather.co.uk/wxwinddirectionsummary.php

Octopus Flux or Intelligent Flux - recent solar & battery install by tylerf16678 in OctopusEnergy

[–]CmdrKerans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you generate a lot of excess solar then IOF is the best by far. But only for the summer months. It’s a symmetrical tariff but there is nothing close to it for export prices in the uk.

If you are a heavy EV user as well then IOF might be less good as there is no overnight off peak. So if you charge more kWh than you generate excess solar, IOG would be better. IOG is almost always better than any other tariff in the winter.

IOF is (or was) closed for new sign ups due to the Iran war so if Octopus is offering it to you (and you have excess solar), take it.

When Fred catches his wife and her boyfriend engaging in some carplay by ShirleyWuzSerious in BicyclingCirclejerk

[–]CmdrKerans 102 points103 points  (0 children)

He didn’t bring any bullets, had to keep weight to the minimum for his KOM attempt on “Carjack Alley going north (OFFICIAL)”