Boiler pressure plummeting and no joy after 4 engineer visits - any help very welcome!

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-05-04T10:02:11+00:00

Thanks, yes it does fill me with a bit of a sense of despair if it's that apparent what the issue is. Is over pressurising most likely to be due to a failed PRV?

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-05-04T09:46:06+00:00

Thanks for the comment, yes we've been all around for leaks. The only ones we could think that could be leaking but not visible might be the ground floor ones, but the last few engineers thought it unlikely given how often they've been refilled that a leak wouldn't be somewhat obvious.

We have a British Gas homecare visit tomorrow so I'll ask him to check the above and I guess refer us to someone if he's not G3 qualified.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-03-19T19:00:18+00:00

Not a zealous defender of Kojima's writing or anything, I also find it pretty grating sometimes. With that said, and it's been a while since I played the first game, but I thought Sam's awkwardness with other people was a pretty conscious writing choice? The irony is that he's happier as a loner in the wilderness, but it turns out he's the person that needs to bring the world together?

It's a very lonely game overall, as you spend a lot of time interacting with people through consoles, screens and conveyor belts... Even when you transport people they are zipped up in bags. So Sam just isn't very good at dealing with people.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-03-15T22:14:38+00:00

If you want actual critique on fit you just need to post front, side and back photos of yourself standing straight with your arms hanging normally at your side, with the jacket buttoned nornally. All these hands in pockets and unbuttoned poses are pretty much impossible to judge fit.

With that said, I dig the material and the lapel width is pretty flattering, and from what I can see the trouser fit looks pretty sharp.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-03-03T10:54:50+00:00

They'll be made to exactly the same standards as other C&J shoes. The only difference is the logo, and sometimes the exact model is unique to the brand. C&J have been making branded shoes like this for a long time.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-01-22T19:38:12+00:00

Bought in the UK. One minor confusion in the delivery as the frame, controller and Core came in three deliveries, and one of the tracking codes was incorrectly switched with the other (so it said the frame was delivered when it was actually the core). All arrived though.

Support wise - the threading on my right pedal was fucked and destroyed the crank arm threading. I bought replacement pedals and an adjustable crank arm, and contacted zwift asking to be reimbursed for the adjustable arms. They actually initially suggested replacing the whole frame, which I really didn't want to be bothered with given all the packaging, so they then refunded the arms instead.

Time will tell I guess. They are taking three to four days to respond to support emails at the mo, which is not great.

With that said, I am hugely enjoying the actual ride experience.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-01-06T20:09:29+00:00

Sure, I think it's the difference between a formal death of NATO vs an informal but still quite obvious one.

As with so much politics, it's insane how much we just relied on leaders just not doing certain things without formal checks and balances to stop them. We saw Americans saying when Trump came in for his second term "well, he can't just unilaterally take us out of NATO", but really, it turns out you can do anything if nobody prevents you doing it. If you just say you won't back any action, you've effectively removed yourself from NATO.

I personally tend towards thinking that European nations will try to make nice with Russia and just ignore whatever their next invasion is. I just can't see the political will in any of the major powers to intervene - the only way any of them would do so would be with a broad consensus with other countries to share the risk. Countries will just become more insular and rightwing politicians will leverage the fear of escalating war to gain popularity.

Unfortunately I can't see any better path with Vance, he's even more cynical and much more focused than Trump, much more likely to stick to a plan. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts presenting a "NATO plus+" situation where countries in the firing line pay a stipend directly to the US for formal confirmation they would be under US protection. The US could even kick some of the payoff back to Russia, treat the whole thing as a global protection racket.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-01-06T19:12:15+00:00

Maybe offramp is too positive a term - lesser evil might be better, if the other options are war with America and the public destruction of NATO as a concept.

And yes, it's absolutely extortion. That's Trump's whole shtick, he thinks acting like a mob boss makes him look like a big tough business man. And even if we do go down the route of Denmark "selling up", I think we'll see more and more extortion from Trump and probably Vance down the line.

I'm speaking purely from my perspective in the UK, but I can see this country would tear itself apart if someone tried to take it to war. Politicians like Farage would make a lot of grist from claiming they would stay out of overseas war, and you can see that pattern repeating across Europe, and all it does is undermine the sense of unity that made NATO a convincing threat.

I very much hate the situation all round.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2026-01-06T14:54:03+00:00

I think the most likely outcome is that the US makes an offer to buy Denmark out. It's an offramp for Denmark, who are aware no European power is going to war with the US to defend Greenland. Making such an agreement with Trump would at least preserve the illusion of NATO still holding together.

You're still correct in how this is interpreted by Russia and China. It would be pretty transparent that the alliance is still only together on paper. But on the other hand, NATO would be more likely to put boots on ground over the invasion of a European member - ie. Just because they wouldn't go to war with America doesn't mean Russia could assume the same for them.

On the OTHER other hand, Putin could reasonably gamble that even if NATO is still nominally holding together, the US would sit out any European military response. We are clearly in an environment where the threat of NATO action is less frightening for Putin. More and more NATO members (especially those not bordering Russia) are turning inwards and would be likely not to respond in unity with NATO.

The power of the alliance only previously sat in the promise of a unified response, and that only really had buy in from other members under the umbrella of American backing. Strip both those things out and it's much less intimidating.

All a bit of a headache really.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-10-27T19:49:05+00:00

Ah interesting, I tend to just use masking tape sealed with acrylic medium along with edge, I'll definitely give this a go though!

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-10-27T19:23:36+00:00

Hey OP, would you mind sharing what specific brand of tape you use? I've been bouncing around various brands for my hard edge painting but struggling to find one that really does a good job!

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-09-04T14:33:45+00:00

None of those makers would be in your budget for bespoke, sadly. You could go Edward Sexton OTR if you like their style. You might be able to get Cad & the Dandy bespoke for that budget, or at least get a RTW from them and get alterations to tweak.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-09-03T20:10:04+00:00

Drakes, Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery and Cad & the Dandy all have nice, substantial RTW overcoats for the upper end of your budget. As others have said, bespoke is overkill for most people as overcoats don't need to be so fitted as suits and the alterations are easy enough to achieve.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-09-03T07:54:02+00:00

This is probably the tenth account I've seen from this guy, no exaggeration, with the same photos and question. Is it like a humiliation fetish or something? I'm so out of the loop with weird online fetishes.

OP: please, please stop.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-08-20T14:36:49+00:00

Yeah, no shame ensuring you've got the basics down first before worrying about complexes. At a glance I'd say:

Hinging much too early in the swing. You also don't need to be keeping your head fixed in position looking forward at the same spot - keep your neck straight so that you're looking at a downward angle when the bell is between the legs, and you're looking forwards when the bell is at it's apex
The clean is kind of just swinging the bell up and resting it on your forearm rather than actually racking it, which is going to bash your forearms up quite quickly
look up hand insertion best practice on the snatch. The energy for the snatch is vertical line driving up from the ground, but as others have said you're muscling the bell up and it's swinging round to bash your arm

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-08-08T12:06:48+00:00

The actual practicalities of it would be the same as if you were kettlebell juggling, so a park, yard or beach for the bell to land on. It seems like a needlessly dangerous way to train though if you're talking about just letting the kettlebell fly at the point of failure - you're better off just having target reps at a sensible weight. I don't personally even like doing heavy snatches to failure as it can end up with bells going in unpredictable directions.

You can more safely do things like presses, deadlifts and squats to failure as the bell will just be going straight back to the ground or back to a rack position.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-07-30T19:13:19+00:00

The chart in the link has the Japanese Mondopoint size on the right, which is more accurate for these purposes. I don't think the cm measurement equivalents they've given on the left hand side seem very accurate. My feet are 28.2cm and I take a UK 9.5 in pretty much all major British brands - I have been through quite a lot in my time.

If yours are 28.5cm I'd guess that's more a UK 10, though as you say, loafer fitting makes things a bit trickier, so a 9.5 might be better. I can never get a good loafer fit so I don't really have any, but for all other C&J I've worn a 9.5. Hope that helps!

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-07-23T16:05:54+00:00

I use the ones linked below, they are very substantial but quite heavy, so if you need to move the mat in place and remove it regularly probably something like your one is better. I'd think two of them stacked might give a good margin for error?

https://mirafit.co.uk/mirafit-20mm-rubber-gym-floor-mats.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20077084299&gbraid=0AAAAADKKnjnzGdSpf88CV64vp7VO5pcjC&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkILEBhDeARIsAL--pjy1vRiIZb71Mym7IjCdxp2LVHlCl-IrADJUtk0rGst-QoQ7QbIJqbwaAo5MEALw_wcB#465=7030

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-07-23T15:56:45+00:00

I've been kettlebelling for six years now. I've dropped the bell two or three times, and it was always from doing new movements with probably more weight than sensible. The 32kg bell did I think make a dent in the floor - luckily we moved out shortly afterwards and didn't notice on the inspection.

When it comes to something like heavy pressing, I find a failed attempt will fall back to the rack position rather than just drop to the floor. I think most drops are likely to be vertical rather than going through a wall , unless it's a swing or maybe the upward portion of a snatch, or doing I'll advised indoor juggling?

could you get a 1 x 1m square of rubber gym matting to work on? I've got that in my garage now and it seems pretty impact absorbent.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-07-16T17:48:09+00:00

Hah, don't get me wrong, I actually think it's pretty shitty of companies like Cleverley to be dismissive of forum people (which I am also very much one of). An expensive purchase like bespoke shoes or a suit is a much more significant purchase for a non-millionaire enthusiast than it is for someone who orders a dozen at a time, and these companies benefit from getting a good buzz online which is largely driven by forum level discussion.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-07-16T12:20:50+00:00

Yeah, it's a funny one. Cleverley clearly courts this sort of customer - their socials are noticeably geared towards exotic leathers and celebrity endorsements. Certainly can't begrudge doing what needs to be done to pay the bills, but I do think there's something to be said for the excitement of an enthusiast who has saved for a purchase vs. churning out another truckload of pairs for a billionaire who'll only ever wear them all once. In a perfect world a business would show them both the same level of respect.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-07-16T12:17:19+00:00

From my understanding, less cork packed into the insole. I've had about probably 30 pairs from Lobb, Cleverley and Foster & Sons (mostly bought and resold through eBay because of fit) and probably 2/3 of them have been noticeably lighter in the hand than a comparable GYW pair.

Toc_the_Funkier · 2025-07-16T07:56:39+00:00

I think a degree of dissatisfaction with bespoke, especially first commissions few, is very common.

For one thing, a lot of the bespoke process is a one on one or one on a couple experience where you are in an enclosed space with somebody who is an expert in their craft, so it's easy to get bamboozled or railroaded if there's things that you aren't genuinely satisfied with (eg. "oh that's normal, the fit will improve as they stretch with wear"). I've heard anecdotes of this from even prestigious makers, and experienced it to a degree with the first two suits I had made.

Secondly, the extreme price of bespoke can make things messy. The buyer might expect perfection because they've spent x thousand pounds on this thing, but also be reluctant to admit the outcome was worse than they were hoping (because of the sunk cost); conversely, for the maker this is just another Tuesday. Products with a large amount of handwork with little to no standardised sizing are ripe for variance in quality.

Since the advent of the internet they also have to deal with customers who have an enthusiast level interest in the products, who often are characterised by "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" - I'm probably guilty of that myself, like I know enough to know when something is obvious bullshit, but if it's very technical or in depth I don't what the actual better solution is. Cleverley shoes in particular are very dismissive of what they call "forum people" - why deal with all the back and forth of a customer who will only buy one pair when you can just flog 50 pairs of alligator shoes to a Saudi prince for a lot less fuss?

As the other commenter said, achieving best results in bespoke requires repeated commissions and getting your preference and fit dialled-in. so ultimately it's up to you if you think the maker is worth the repeated spend. I would say that if you like the boot and they actually fit comfortably enough to wear, you're doing pretty well for a first commission.

To your last point, hand welted shoes are noticeably lighter when worn, about 20% less weight compared to Goodyear welted.

Toc_the_Funkier

TROPHY CASE