WCMUT....what cheered me up today

We bought a new front door from a local company a couple of years ago so we contacted them to ask if a fitter could come and look at the kitchen PVC door as it was difficult to push up the handle after closing it. We had it installed years ago and not by them.He came at 1.30pm today..right on time,spent 15 minutes adjusting it and wasn't able to make it as easy as before the problem but much better and much less strain on the hand. I asked him how much and he said they wouldn't charge so I gave him £20. He could easily have said it was beyond adjustment and we'd have accepted that and bought a new one from them at about £500-600. We will,however, go back to them when we do need it replacing. The company had been recommended by friends .
 
JohnC6 said:
We bought a new front door from a local company a couple of years ago so we contacted them to ask if a fitter could come and look at the kitchen PVC door as it was difficult to push up the handle after closing it. We had it installed years ago and not by them.He came at 1.30pm today..right on time,spent 15 minutes adjusting it and wasn't able to make it as easy as before the problem but much better and much less strain on the hand. I asked him how much and he said they wouldn't charge so I gave him £20. He could easily have said it was beyond adjustment and we'd have accepted that and bought a new one from them at about £500-600. We will,however, go back to them when we do need it replacing. The company had been recommended by friends .
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We had exactly almost the same thing except it was the people who installed it came the next day and didn’t charge us
 
JohnC6 said:
We bought a new front door from a local company a couple of years ago so we contacted them to ask if a fitter could come and look at the kitchen PVC door as it was difficult to push up the handle after closing it. We had it installed years ago and not by them.He came at 1.30pm today..right on time,spent 15 minutes adjusting it and wasn't able to make it as easy as before the problem but much better and much less strain on the hand. I asked him how much and he said they wouldn't charge so I gave him £20. He could easily have said it was beyond adjustment and we'd have accepted that and bought a new one from them at about £500-600. We will,however, go back to them when we do need it replacing. The company had been recommended by friends .
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My sister has just had a new front door and bay window and the cost.... My Gosh! We had a jamming handle a while back but I took it apart, cleaned and lubricated it myself and it's been fine ever since.
 
woof woof said:
My sister has just had a new front door and bay window and the cost.... My Gosh! We had a jamming handle a while back but I took it apart, cleaned and lubricated it myself and it's been fine ever since.
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I think quite a few things like that can be sorted with a little bit of effort and imaginatioin without getting in the pros. It's also a very satisfying feeling when you succeed. I recall sorting out that same door some years ago and bought a new metal strip for it .The one that sits over the latches.My wife couldn't believe I'd done it :D I'm not too good at things like that and will enthusiastically take things apart then can't put them back together.:rolleyes:
 
We struggled for years with an old Magnet brand aluminium sliding patio door that wouldn't slide, making a horrible graunching sound as brute force was needed to open & close it. Late in 2019 I eventually tracked down some replacement rollers online. I reckoned it was a 2 man job to remove the door & repair it but the pandemic struck, preventing me from effecting a repair. After the lockdown was lifted earlier this year my son & I managed to swap the rollers and now the door glides open & closed with fingertip pressure, it brings a smile to my face everytime I open or close it now.
 
WCMUT was going shopping with her indoors, doing one shop and coming home straight away. After hibernating for almost two years, the "busy" shops were just too much for both of us!
 
This could easily be in the WBMT

"The Kettle with a mind of its own"

We have a Russell Hobbs one of the type that is cordless and sits on its 360degree base. It has been AOK for some few years(?) and was OK yesterday evening but this morning would not work, with no sign of anything 'blowing'.

I checked the fuse and it was AOK..................we got 'old faithful' out of the cupboard to do its duty and enjoyed our morning cuppa's.

So to my further checks...I got my my multi-meter out and:-

  1. checked that power was still actually reaching the base ~ yup :)
  2. checked the continuity of the kettle terminal/element & the switch ~ yup it was OK :)
  3. what next :thinking: as surely based on all tests it should be working!
Put some water in and put it on the base and the darned thing worked.....................so just what could have gone wrong, that corrected itself with no obvious intervention (other than checks) by me???
 
Box Brownie said:
This could easily be in the WBMT

"The Kettle with a mind of its own"

We have a Russell Hobbs one of the type that is cordless and sits on its 360degree base. It has been AOK for some few years(?) and was OK yesterday evening but this morning would not work, with no sign of anything 'blowing'.

I checked the fuse and it was AOK..................we got 'old faithful' out of the cupboard to do its duty and enjoyed our morning cuppa's.

So to my further checks...I got my my multi-meter out and:-

  1. checked that power was still actually reaching the base ~ yup :)
  2. checked the continuity of the kettle terminal/element & the switch ~ yup it was OK :)
  3. what next :thinking: as surely based on all tests it should be working!
Put some water in and put it on the base and the darned thing worked.....................so just what could have gone wrong, that corrected itself with no obvious intervention (other than checks) by me???
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Overheated and activated the cut out?
 
While driving home today I saw a young guy walk to a pedestrian crossing, pick up a cup and straw plus something else which had been dropped there, and then turn and walk towards the shops presumably to bin them on the way.

What a nice change from seeing people discard stuff like they don't give a damn. Well Done Him :D
 
sphexx said:
Overheated and activated the cut out?
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I concur, I've / mine has done that in the past.
When someone forgot to put the minimum amount of water in it.
 
sphexx said:
Overheated and activated the cut out?
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Cobra said:
I concur, I've / mine has done that in the past.
When someone forgot to put the minimum amount of water in it.
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A good point, though not in this case................we, as normal, put water in and it simply(?) would not work :thinking:
 
Box Brownie said:
A good point, though not in this case................we, as normal, put water in and it simply(?) would not work :thinking:
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Because it had already cut from last time! I don’t know how your kettle/counter top is but it’s very easy to knock the switch with some other appliance/dish or whatever which can obscure the light and if you leave the kitchen immediately or are distracted it’ll heat up & cut out — if it’s empty at the time there’ll be no ‘boiling noise’.
 
sphexx said:
Because it had already cut from last time! I don’t know how your kettle/counter top is but it’s very easy to knock the switch with some other appliance/dish or whatever which can obscure the light and if you leave the kitchen immediately or are distracted it’ll heat up & cut out — if it’s empty at the time there’ll be no ‘boiling noise’.
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On the surmise that such a cutout is based on a bimetallic strip or similar, its cooling period is never hugely long.

FWIW
The kettle does not have anything against/near to trigger the switch and prior to this morning it had last been used the previous evening.

Lastly, as far as I recall as per my OH she normally turns the kettle off at the wall socket.....so even if the switch was triggered it would not run.

PS as for 'no boiling noise', this kettle even if you upend always has a smidge of water in it......and on the odd occasion when i have Inadvertently switched on, thinking I had filled, it will roar & hiss triggering prompt action! ;)
 
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Box Brownie said:
On the surmise that such a cutout is based on a bimetallic strip or similar, its cooling period is never hugely long.
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Well in that case just put it down to poltergeist activity and move on.
I'm sure they have now they have had their coffee :D
 
Those 360° base kettles have a physical trip inside the central connector that stops the switch engaging. If that got stuck, or is damaged, the kettle will not work (reliably?).
 
Box Brownie said:
On the surmise that such a cutout is based on a bimetallic strip or similar, its cooling period is never hugely long.

FWIW
The kettle does not have anything against/near to trigger the switch and prior to this morning it had last been used the previous evening.

Lastly, as far as I recall as per my OH she normally turns the kettle off at the wall socket.....so even if the switch was triggered it would not run.

PS as for 'no boiling noise', this kettle even if you upend always has a smidge of water in it......and on the odd occasion when i have Inadvertently switched on, thinking I had filled, it will roar & hiss triggering prompt action! ;)
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You are probably right and I don’t want to bang on about it but it happened to that I found my current kettle unresponsive and empty after a long time (I only mean hours) I’d disuse, got the ‘gas’ kettle out and used it and started looking for a replacement but found it had come to life again like yours. Cunning Chinese technology, probably was reporting back to its masters for instructions ;)
 
sphexx said:
You are probably right and I don’t want to bang on about it but it happened to that I found my current kettle unresponsive and empty after a long time (I only mean hours) I’d disuse, got the ‘gas’ kettle out and used it and started looking for a replacement but found it had come to life again like yours. Cunning Chinese technology, probably was reporting back to its masters for instructions ;)
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We have a Samsung TV in our bedroom and quite often it makes a loud click and then a light flashes underneath and the screen flickers and a few times it's turned itself on whilst doing this. It's always in the early ours, 1am, 2am or so. I assume it's receiving updates from planet Samsung but none of our other Samsung TV's have done this.
 
Following on from yesterdays rant in WAMT I found my old S4 mini and bluetoothed the MP3 musifiola download to my A10 so have my ringtone back.

:banana: :banana: :banana:
 
Tori_T said:
Those 360° base kettles have a physical trip inside the central connector that stops the switch engaging. If that got stuck, or is damaged, the kettle will not work (reliably?).
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Now that is interesting.

It's normal behaviour is that it freely lifts off of the base.....but this morning it behaved oddly. It was 'snatching' i.e. lifting the base up though loosely.

Using my multi meter I was sticking the probes, carefully, into the base terminal, so just possible I physically reset something in the socket and indeed the kettle lifts off freely again!
 
Box Brownie said:
Tori_T said:
Those 360° base kettles have a physical trip inside the central connector that stops the switch engaging. If that got stuck, or is damaged, the kettle will not work (reliably?).
Click to expand...
Now that is interesting.

It's normal behaviour is that it freely lifts off of the base.....but this morning it behaved oddly. It was 'snatching' i.e. lifting the base up though loosely.

Using my multi meter I was sticking the probes, carefully, into the base terminal, so just possible I physically reset something in the socket and indeed the kettle lifts off freely again!
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I see I wasn't clear with my previous statement; the physical trip on 360° base kettles is located in the plug assembly on the underside of the kettle, not in the base itself. Sorry about that. :sorry:
 
Tori_T said:
I see I wasn't clear with my previous statement; the physical trip on 360° base kettles is located in the plug assembly on the underside of the kettle, not in the base itself. Sorry about that. :sorry:
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Ah! yes there is a 'detente' switch in the base of the kettle that latches the "on switch".

PS so far so good, in that the kettle continues to work as normal :)
 
Cobra said:
Exorcism by proxy.
The power of talk photography (y)

:D
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Don't point and laugh but I actually believe the following, at least to some extent.

I've always thought that I have almost an affinity with things and I do think that perhaps some people do and perhaps some don't. If this is the case why it is the case could be complex and have more than one root and cause but some people seem to be able to break just about anything whilst others have the same stuff for years. For example when I used to fix stuff I was amazed at the problems that other fixers had that I didn't. AFAIK the native Americans or at least some of them believe that everything has a spirit, a Manitou, which you have to be in agreement with so that's another possibility. Another one is a bit odder, people like my dad who couldn't wear rings or watches as the rings would snap and the watches would stop working. Electrical fields maybe? On the whole and for whatever reason I do think that some people are more sympathetic to things and some just seem to be like wrecking balls and nothing lasts in their hands.
 
woof woof said:
and some just seem to be like wrecking balls and nothing lasts in their hands.
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My 2 year old granddaughter fits in to that category I now have to hide / remove from view most things when she is coming for a visit :D
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Nod
woof woof said:
Don't point and laugh but I actually believe the following, at least to some extent.

I've always thought that I have almost an affinity with things and I do think that perhaps some people do and perhaps some don't. If this is the case why it is the case could be complex and have more than one root and cause but some people seem to be able to break just about anything whilst others have the same stuff for years. For example when I used to fix stuff I was amazed at the problems that other fixers had that I didn't. AFAIK the native Americans or at least some of them believe that everything has a spirit, a Manitou, which you have to be in agreement with so that's another possibility. Another one is a bit odder, people like my dad who couldn't wear rings or watches as the rings would snap and the watches would stop working. Electrical fields maybe? On the whole and for whatever reason I do think that some people are more sympathetic to things and some just seem to be like wrecking balls and nothing lasts in their hands.
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An interesting point.

Though possibly/equally to do with the individuals attitude to said 'object'.......what was it used to be described as the workman's favourite spanner......oh yes, his "club hammer" ~ that'll fix anything ;)

When I find something that has failed I take an analytical approach but I wonder how many other folk will resort to more extreme physical manhandling of the object resulting in a worse problem! Sort of chicken and egg situation :lol: :thinking:

Also, I have decent spatial awareness to 'see' inside things which often inaccessible :)
 
Box Brownie said:
Also, I have decent spatial awareness to 'see' inside things which often inaccessible :)
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I wouldn't describe myself as being completely normal. I'm pretty sure I could be diagnosed with something if I bothered. For example I see patterns, count things, socially awkward, bothered by light and sounds, dislike changes, have difficulty recognising people until they speak, the list goes on plus I spent decades fixing computers and wider electronics etc, supposed to have a very high IQ but maybe that's down to the pattern recognition etc. I'm sure that there are different types of intelligence and even different levels of awareness in humans with some traits and abilities being suited to some things in life and some being a hinderance to some things in life. One thing I've always been good at is visualising or even seeing how things are constructed and understanding how things work. This of course helped when fixing stuff. It could be that all that and traits like those help with things whilst some other people are just ham fisted and / or careless. That could be all it is. But maybe there's more to it...
 
woof woof said:
A cardboard box.

After a delivery we have a lovely cardboard box which I suppose I'll cut down and put into the blue recycling bin but looking at it reminded me of the days when as a little boy I'd be overjoyed to get a cardboard box and I'd draw on every inch of it. Happy days. Poor but happy :D

If no one would see me I think I'd grab a pen and have a go at it, just for the memories :D
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I would got for it. Maybe the new Banksy.
A Woofy original. :D
 
woof woof said:
Don't point and laugh but I actually believe the following, at least to some extent.

I've always thought that I have almost an affinity with things and I do think that perhaps some people do and perhaps some don't. If this is the case why it is the case could be complex and have more than one root and cause but some people seem to be able to break just about anything whilst others have the same stuff for years. For example when I used to fix stuff I was amazed at the problems that other fixers had that I didn't. AFAIK the native Americans or at least some of them believe that everything has a spirit, a Manitou, which you have to be in agreement with so that's another possibility. Another one is a bit odder, people like my dad who couldn't wear rings or watches as the rings would snap and the watches would stop working. Electrical fields maybe? On the whole and for whatever reason I do think that some people are more sympathetic to things and some just seem to be like wrecking balls and nothing lasts in their hands.
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On a similar note. Close proximity or holding a magnet makes me feel really nauseous. My wife always thought it was my imagination and one day " planted " a magent in one of those Anorak hidden zip pockets. I felt crap all day and eventually she owned up to slipping it in there as a test, and then completely forgot about it.
 
woof woof said:
We have a Samsung TV in our bedroom and quite often it makes a loud click and then a light flashes underneath and the screen flickers and a few times it's turned itself on whilst doing this. It's always in the early ours, 1am, 2am or so. I assume it's receiving updates from planet Samsung but none of our other Samsung TV's have done this.
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So. Big screen tv in the bedroom, impromptu light shows, copious quantities of ice cream. There's a picture building here. :ROFLMAO:
 
Cockney said:
On a similar note. Close proximity or holding a magnet makes me feel really nauseous.
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Curiously, a few years ago, now disbanded, I was part of a large paranormal investigation team.
99.9% were proven "otherwise"
There was a pub not too far from me, where the staff were very uncomfortable going into the cellar, it was cold ( as you would expect)
People would get bad headaches and a general feeling of being unwell, and uneasiness, if they were in there for more than a couple of minutes.

It was all explained away by EMF. There were very large power cables running, not that deep, under the floor,
that even the owner was unaware of.

The slight movement of occasional metallic objects were also attributed to the magnetic field being generated ...

As the Carlsberg. advert says ..... well it was a pub .... ;)
 
woof woof said:
It could be that all that and traits like those help with things whilst some other people are just ham fisted and / or careless.
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The human brain is immensely complex and from what I can tell, there's very little concensus on how it works at a conceptual level. One thing that does seem to be clear is that there are any number of events that can influence both its development and its health. In my opinion, the wide variation of aptitudes in humans is unsurprising. On the contrary, it would be surprising if such a wide variation did not occur.
 
Cobra said:
Curiously, a few years ago, now disbanded, I was part of a large paranormal investigation team.
99.9% were proven "otherwise"
There was a pub not too far from me, where the staff were very uncomfortable going into the cellar, it was cold ( as you would expect)
People would get bad headaches and a general feeling of being unwell, and uneasiness, if they were in there for more than a couple of minutes.

It was all explained away by EMF. There were very large power cables running, not that deep, under the floor,
that even the owner was unaware of.

The slight movement of occasional metallic objects were also attributed to the magnetic field being generated ...

As the Carlsberg. advert says ..... well it was a pub .... ;)
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Did anyone check the cellar for high CO2 levels? Not an unknown phenomenon in pub cellars.
 
Cobra said:
It was all explained away by EMF. There were very large power cables running, not that deep, under the floor,
that even the owner was unaware of.
Click to expand...

I think anything with a motor in it could cause issues too as they can in some circumstances cause the fluid in your eyes to be disturbed and you then "see" things out of the corner of your eye.

I have experienced a cold spot in a place with... nothing, no tech, no electricity, nothing. You could step in and out of it and I did. Dunno what could cause that but I suppose there's an answer there to be found. Waaaay back my parents lived in a "haunted" house and there are many stories of the things that went on, all will have an answer but what those answers are are beyond us at the mo.
 
Nod said:
Did anyone check the cellar for high CO2 levels? Not an unknown phenomenon in pub cellars.
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It was a full scientific investigation, the "lead" guy was doing it for a PhD,
So yes every angle was covered, and as I said EMF was found to be the reason.
 
Marc said:
Took mum out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. They say that you can tell if a Chinese restaurant is good if it has Chinese customers. It was full and I'd say 90% of the customers were Chinese.

It was very good! (y)
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This reminds me of when I kook Mrs WW to a Thai restaurant. When they spoke to her in Thai she just froze and "forgot" how to speak Thai :D
 
One of our favourite tavernas in Crete has a very poor review on TripAdvisor - basically they were complaining that the place was full of Greek people... As above, that's always a GOOD sign when the customers are locals (in our case) or those from the same country as the cuisine.
 
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