A shocking waste

[yamin]

Ahhhh, so THATS where our 'new' car came from - I suspected the precious owners were hiding something.......

 

[Penners]

I suspect it's the increased complexity of modern cars that's driving such places out of business. The required investment in computerised diagnostic tools must be quite high

I'm sure that's the case, but Richard seems to have all the modern computer kit for engine diagnostics, emission checks, MOT's of all sorts, regardless of the marque of the car.

I suspect that the age of the garage proprietor is a significant factor. Elderly guys with no computer skills have probably shied away from buying the appropriate gear, whereas younger (by my standards!), more computer-literate ones have taken to the new technology quite readily, and been prepared to make the required investment.

 

[skier-hughes]

I just caught the end of a piece on the price of fuel, where the guy said there were now less forecourst in England than in 1912, or something like that, which seemed very odd to me, but it may be true.

 

[Penners]

I just caught the end of a piece on the price of fuel, where the guy said there were now less forecourst in England than in 1912, or something like that, which seemed very odd to me, but it may be true.

It seems extremely odd to me, too. But maybe he meant "fewer".

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I heard this a few weeks ago - there are now something like 9,000 (may have been 12,000) petrol stations in the UK- which is less than there were in 1912.

Mind you, in those days I'm sure evey village had a pump because you got about 12 furlongs out of a tank-full, and the chap with the flag needed a rest and a glass of lemonade.

 

[Penners]

there are now something like 9,000 (may have been 12,000) petrol stations in the UK- which is less than there were in 1912.

Maybe you meant "fewer", too.

P. Edant

 

[DaveBrigg]

I heard this a few weeks ago - there are now something like 9,000 (may have been 12,000) petrol stations in the UK

Most Tesco's round here sell petrol; if this is repeated nationally, they must account for about half that figure.
I've just had to throw out an almost perfectly good lawnmower because the blade is held on by a nylon nut which was factory tightened to such a degree that the corners sheared off before it could be loosened. :evil: Note: It's probably best not to leave old horse shoes in the long grass.

 

[Penners]

Try a good drenching with WD40 and a stillson wrench. Not much can resist its squeeze and torque.

 

[worms]

Sounds like the same make that I had! I used an overtightened mole wrench, threw away the mangled nylon nut and replaced it. Sadly that machine has now finally died and been replaced by another with the same set-up, so I will soon have to go through the same procedure again.

The "new" one cuts out after a short while and needs a rest before it will start again - presumably overheating for some reason. The air vents are clear and the problem seems to be eased by spraying WD40 onto the electric motor every couple of weeks, but A) that can't be good for it and B) the plastic lugs on the cover are not designed to be unclipped more than a couple of times in its life. Anyone with any suggestions on what the problem is?

(Apart from the obvious of 18 months being old age for appliances nowadays!)

 

[Penners]

Electric lawnmowers always carry a risk of overheating, and designers seem to show scant regard for this. The motor vents always seem to be strategically placed so that they clog up with grass and crud as quickly as possible. The only thing you can do is be scrupulous about keeping them clear and clean.

WD40 is magic stuff for easing tight nuts, etc, but you need to be a bit circumspect about squirting around too liberally on mechanisms such as locks, gears, motors, etc. Being an oil, it will tend to hold on to dust and muck. So what starts out as a nicely lubricated moving part can end up as a clogged mess.

I've also seen it act as a solvent on grease. This means that a mechanism that should be lubricated with good, thick, grease can end up relying on a thin, drippy oil.

 

[worms]

Yes, one of the reasons that I was reluctant to use WD40 on the mower was that in such a dusty environment it risks adding to the problem, but you know what it is like when the lawn is half-mowed and its about to rain and you just want to use whatever is to hand to quickly solve the immediate problem!

The older version had a coarse foam layer behind the vent to filter the incoming air but the new one doesn't have that - fewer air vents but less constriction, so presumably the same air flow at the cost of dust exclusion. Somewhere in the garage I've a pair of unused K&N filters that I once got to put on a V8 engine, perhaps that's the solution!

 

[Flyfisher]

held on by a nylon nut which was factory tightened to such a degree that the corners sheared off before it could be loosened.

Do you mean a nylon nut or a 'nylock' nut?
I wouldn't think a nylon nut could be overtightened without stripping the thread. A 'nylock' nut is a metal nut with a nylon insert to prevent loosening by vibration, which is more likely on a lawnmower blade, I think.

I agree with Penners that WD40 and a decent stillson (or mole wrench) should shift it, in conjunction with a block of wood to chock the blade - but wear gloves unless you have already lost the skin from your knuckles! If the nut/bolt is very corroded then lightly tapping with a hammer can sometimes work wonders. This can loosen the rust and allow the WD40 to more easily do its stuff.

 

[Feltwell]

..... and in really extreme cases, a bit of heat applied with a blow torch can work wonders with seized bolts, nuts etc. Only of course for metal parts and then not for those that have just been soaked in WD40, if you value your eyebrows!

A safer option is you can now buy aerosols of Freeze release - cools the part in question to encourage it to part company.

WD40 is an "all purpose" solution, they also do a bespoke penetrating oil which I've found works better. Time & patience is key though, give it 24 hours to soak in.

And if all else fails you can buy a nut splitter to try to break the nut in situ, but these don't always work well and are a last resort.

 

[worms]

The nut itself is nylon. Perhaps it is put on with some locking compound, or perhaps the heat of the shaft melts the threads onto the shaft, but whatever it is, the force required to free the nut is greater than the strength of the corners of the nut itself - which is presumably why when you buy a replacement blade it often comes in a pack with a replacement nut and washer.

 

[Flyfisher]

The nut itself is nylon.

Well, live and learn. Seems that built-in disposability is worse than I thought

 

[Penners]

The nut itself is nylon.

Well, live and learn. Seems that built-in disposability is worse than I thought

Well, if you reckon a disposable nylon nut is bad, I refer you back to my OP.

 

[DaveBrigg]

I tried WD40 - to no avail. The nut was help tight with mole grips while I bashed the old blade with a hammer, and discovered for myself the wisdom of wearing leather gloves. Wish I had some. Then I tried jamming the blade and bashing the mole grips with a hammer. The end result was a well rounded piece of plastic. Not to be beaten, I tried a hacksaw, and discovered that the nylon nut has a metal core. Angle grinding was the next option, but that would have left the threaded part still in place.
We now have a freezer with a faulty seal on the lid. The seal cannot be bought separately, and a new lid is £42 plus delivery. A 'factory second' freezer with a full guarantee is £13 more, so the freezer will be off to meet its maker soon too.

 

[AMc]

We now have a freezer with a faulty seal on the lid. The seal cannot be bought separately, and a new lid is £42 plus delivery. A 'factory second' freezer with a full guarantee is £13 more, so the freezer will be off to meet its maker soon too.

A roll of draft excluder could be substituted perhaps? If you are getting rid of it then freecycle it, don't send it to landfill - I'm amazed at the number of old fridges and freezers that do the rounds on our list some with what sound like major faults!

 

[Penners]

We now have a freezer with a faulty seal on the lid.

Scroll about halfway down the page. No idea of price.

http://www.eurocateringparts.com/acatalog/Refrigeration_Parts.html

 

[FamilyWiggs]

We now have a freezer with a faulty seal on the lid. (

You mean your seal has stopped catching beachballs and posing for kises? :lol:

On the topic of nylon nuts that have been rounded - sounds like a good blast with a blowlamp and then scrape the molten goo off might be be worth a try before buying a whole new mower.