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  • Re: Mac Mini impressions and upside-down mouse [OT]

    From Liz Tuddenham@21:1/5 to TimS on Mon May 13 19:20:59 2024
    TimS <[email protected]> wrote:

    [...]
    Having heated front seats is a major plus, I must say.

    Not in some models of Volvo: they didn't bother to fit a thermal cutout,
    so if the thermostat stuck, the seat caught fire. I cut the wiring
    right off mine so as to be safe.


    The best thing I have fitted to ny van is a diesel heater. I switch it
    on half an hour before I need the van and it really takes the chill off
    it. By running it for at least an hour a week during the Winter, with
    the cab heater/blower on too, (usually during the weekly shopping trip),
    it prevents the bedding and soft furnishings from becoming damp and
    mouldy.

    The first time I used it, the atmosphere inside the van became horribly
    stuffy but it still felt cold and clammy. I allowed the interior to
    heat up, then opened all the doors and changed the air. After about
    three cycles of this, the accumulated moisture was gradually dispersed
    and it began to feel warm and cozy.

    The Chinese versions have a poor reputation, but the only thing that is
    really wrong with them is the handbook; it is written in the very worst Chinglish. They have even stolen the 'Right' and 'Wrong' drawings from
    the hendbook of a reputable German manufacturer - but they have omitted
    the captions, so you don't know which is which.

    Some aspecte of the installation are quite critical, but unless you have
    a good knowledge of engineering -- hydraulic, electrical and mechanical
    -- you can easily go wrong. Nearly all the problems reported by users
    seem to be caused by faulty installation.

    --
    ~ Liz Tuddenham ~
    (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
    www.poppyrecords.co.uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Graeme Wall@21:1/5 to Liz Tuddenham on Mon May 13 20:20:55 2024
    On 13/05/2024 19:20, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
    Having heated front seats is a major plus, I must say.
    Not in some models of Volvo: they didn't bother to fit a thermal cutout,
    so if the thermostat stuck, the seat caught fire. I cut the wiring
    right off mine so as to be safe.

    Also weren't necessarily the best thing after a curry the night before!
    --
    Graeme Wall
    This account not read.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From J. J. Lodder@21:1/5 to Liz Tuddenham on Tue May 14 14:02:44 2024
    Liz Tuddenham <[email protected]d> wrote:

    TimS <[email protected]> wrote:

    [...]
    Having heated front seats is a major plus, I must say.

    Not in some models of Volvo: they didn't bother to fit a thermal cutout,
    so if the thermostat stuck, the seat caught fire. I cut the wiring
    right off mine so as to be safe.


    The best thing I have fitted to ny van is a diesel heater. I switch it
    on half an hour before I need the van and it really takes the chill off
    it. By running it for at least an hour a week during the Winter, with
    the cab heater/blower on too, (usually during the weekly shopping trip),
    it prevents the bedding and soft furnishings from becoming damp and
    mouldy.

    The first time I used it, the atmosphere inside the van became horribly stuffy but it still felt cold and clammy. I allowed the interior to
    heat up, then opened all the doors and changed the air. After about
    three cycles of this, the accumulated moisture was gradually dispersed
    and it began to feel warm and cozy.

    A much cheaper and better alternative to all this
    is the use of silica gel in bags.
    They come in 350 and 1000 gram bags,
    and take up about a third of their weight in water.

    Modern ones are microwave compatible.
    Five minutes at full power drives out the water again.

    Strangely enough they call this 'recharging'.
    There is an indicator that turns blue when dry,
    and pink when saturated,

    Jan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Liz Tuddenham@21:1/5 to J. J. Lodder on Wed May 15 14:56:59 2024
    J. J. Lodder <[email protected]> wrote:

    Liz Tuddenham <[email protected]d> wrote:

    TimS <[email protected]> wrote:

    [...]
    Having heated front seats is a major plus, I must say.

    Not in some models of Volvo: they didn't bother to fit a thermal cutout,
    so if the thermostat stuck, the seat caught fire. I cut the wiring
    right off mine so as to be safe.


    The best thing I have fitted to ny van is a diesel heater. I switch it
    on half an hour before I need the van and it really takes the chill off
    it. By running it for at least an hour a week during the Winter, with
    the cab heater/blower on too, (usually during the weekly shopping trip),
    it prevents the bedding and soft furnishings from becoming damp and
    mouldy.

    The first time I used it, the atmosphere inside the van became horribly stuffy but it still felt cold and clammy. I allowed the interior to
    heat up, then opened all the doors and changed the air. After about
    three cycles of this, the accumulated moisture was gradually dispersed
    and it began to feel warm and cozy.

    A much cheaper and better alternative to all this
    is the use of silica gel in bags.
    They come in 350 and 1000 gram bags,
    and take up about a third of their weight in water.

    Modern ones are microwave compatible.
    Five minutes at full power drives out the water again.

    Strangely enough they call this 'recharging'.
    There is an indicator that turns blue when dry,
    and pink when saturated,

    I can see three objections to that method in my particular
    circumstances:

    The moisture is merely transferred from the van to the kitchen, so the
    humidity in the house rises and that has to be ventilated. The
    microwave oven uses energy and the warm air from the house is lost, so
    it is not cost-free.

    That method cannot be applied when you are away from home.

    It doesn't warm up the van on a cold day.


    The actual cost of running the heater is about 8 UKP-worth of diesel per
    month in Winter, including leaving it on for several hours each Sunday
    when we want a nice warm van to come back to after walking about in the
    cold weather. Startup takes 12 amps for about 5 minutes, running up to temperature takes about 2 amps for 20 minutes and then it drops back to
    a bit less than that, so the drain on the 140 AH van battery is not a
    worry either.


    --
    ~ Liz Tuddenham ~
    (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
    www.poppyrecords.co.uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)