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No problem on the element Tim we’ll have an answer on price and availabilty in the morning for you courtesy of Dave no doubt before I get into the office.
You’re right, it will be the fan element which is reasonably easy to replace.
K.
No idea, I stopped looking at stuff but I will look into it further if the interest is there.
I found something interesting though, there’s a printer out there that does this and an absolute raft of other things, including POS displays, real fancy graphics work and clothing amongst other things. The only downside is that it’s £8K excl. VAT. 🙁
On the upside we can, I think, do a lot with such a device for ourselves at a very low cost through time. Even just getting vans done has to be a good thing.
K.
Re: DANCE WITH THE DEVIL
First off can I congratulate you guys on one of the most intelligent threads I have read on a web forum or mailing list in years, with quality and intelligence like this shown I really am proud of this site.
I think Trotsky would be rolling around in his grave at our attitude Richard, there is seldom a need for any militancy at all in my opinion. Generally a dialouge and working within the confines of what is reasonable tend to yield a far better and far longer lasting result. The problem with industrial action is that it creates an ill-will with one of the two sides locked in battle and, as is human nature to do, they seek vengence at some point in the future. It does not cure problems, merely staves off the evil day when the true battle is fought.
If you study recent political and social economics there is very rarely a stable situation that arises from such actions and I very much doubt that it would really do us any good in the end. Anyway, we have a very different situation from many an industrial dispute and therefore we have to approach the problem differently I feel.
You touch on free speech, well free speech is what UKW is all about and as you rightly point out I will defend that to the absolutes that I can. Rest assured that that is the case and in fact I have already suffered many losses in pursuit of that aim.
The quote, just for interest, is generally attributed to Voltaire a notable French 18th century philosopher, or at least a paraphrase of it that is often used in politics. And you are quite correct that is the way things should be, I may not agree with all that I see and hear that is no reason at all to ignore or dismiss it or indeed the person’s right to express their own opinion. It is the very philosophy applied to UKW at all times and always shall be.
You assesment of the current state of the industry seems pretty accurate to me and you are very correct in that there are a lot of questions with very few answers. The immediate solution of course, as with many things in life, is to inject resources into the industry but it appears that very few are willing to to so. As I said in another thread, if the manufacturers and insurers are unwilling to invest in the service sector to maintain their goods then really, what do they think will happen?
As for the applecarts, well on occasion we don’t just knock them over. Our preffered tactic involves the liberal use of something akin to C4 for the desired result and it’s always nice to see some carts laying around looking a bit worse for wear.
K.
Re: Whirlpool oven buzzing like billy’o
I’m not familiar with the model so I’m assuming that the top oven is the fan oven and the lower one is static.
If this is the case it’s likely that there is a fault with the fan motor or the mounts for it, far more likley to be the motor though.
Oven thermometers, of the “buy in a DIY or cooking store” variety are inherently innaccurate I’m afraid, they tend to give a “reasonable” indication only just as a lot of fridge thermostats do as well and the results from them can vary wildly. In an oven thermostat there is generally a 10-15{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} margin for error so that the cycled temperature is within 10{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of the set temperature, not great I know but that’s it I’m afraid. So if you set it at say, 180oC, then it could cycle between 160oC and 200oC which would maintain an approximate 180oC, but there’s other factors there as well to consider.
In a forced air oven, or fan oven, the heat is distributed by a fan to the rear encircled by an element, obviously if the fan ain’t working as I suspect then the temperatures for distributed heat will be way off the mark with most of the heat at the rear of the inner cavity.
The grill is typical European fare I’m afraid. In most EU countries people don’t cook with the grill, they heat stuff and keep it warm with it. We are unique in the UK as we do cook with the grill and, apparently, a lot of us don’t own toasters either as we toast bread with it too.
As a general rule the inner is an “infra-red” cooking zone and you will see the element glow. The outer is not, so whilst it is actually on and working it doesn’t glow like the inner as it’s not an infra-red zone. You are correct in that that same element can double as an oven element on multi-function ovens.
If you’re not confident about taking the oven out and stripping it down as that’s usually the only way to get to a fan motor, I’d suggest you get someone in to do it.
Hope that helps and explains it.
K.
Superb, thanks John it is much appreciated.
Given that home cinema is a pastime of mine setting it up shouldn’t be a hassle at all. 😉
K.
Re: Cut Vinyl Graphics
Kindly sent in by Phil, makes interesting reading even if it is short. This was from a business targetted email sent out by Volkswagen who, I have to admit know a fair old bit about marketing and branding. 😉
Use your fleet as a marketing tool.
The vans in your fleet could be seen by thousands of people an hour – meaning they represent a significant marketing opportunity for your business.
Putting well-thought-out signs on your vans allows you to promote your firm and build brand awareness.
“You need to state your company name and what you do,” says Justin Pearce, national accounts manager at sign-making company Signs Express. “You should also give an easy-to-remember phone number – such as an 0800 number – and a website address if you have one.”
Other useful tips include:
Put graphics on the back of the van as well as on its side – people in traffic behind you will have plenty of time to take your message in.
Keep signage in good condition – tatty graphics aren’t a good advertisement.
If you don’t have an eye for design, take professional advice.
Ensure colours and logos tie in with your corporate branding.Ask to see a final draft of the sign before it is printed on your vans. Check for grammatical and spelling errors.
If you make repeat purchases of vehicles it’s a good idea to use the same sign company for continuity.
Interesting stuff really.
K.
Okay we need to get this show on the road and get a date set as I have to organise some guests that want to come to the next meeting and it looks as if it’s going to be more packed out with presentations this time around. So, if anyone has a projector & screen that would be good. If not we’ll need to look towards hiring one I guess. 😕
I am going to release more information on who’s attending with presentations in time but we need to get a date set for this ASAP.
K.
Re: working together
Alex wrote:He made such an issue out of people being honest, and he was above reproach & holier than thou etc. I was suspicious.
And all the while he’s been trying to blag postcodes off someone else. 😕
Hmm, very honourable of him…. and I don’t think.
K.
And I haven’t named anyone!
If it was in innocence, which I think it was in fairness, of the consequences then fair enough let’s just learn from it and move on I say. There’s absolutely no point in carrying a grudge over it, it’s done, it was sorted, end of story.
What we learn is far more important so that the mistakes are not repeated IMO.
K.
If you hunt back in the General Forum I put up a big screed of stuff last year on what it’s all about.
K.
Re: DANCE WITH THE DEVIL
The problem is Richard that a lot of the time we are working to a profit margin on a job that wouldn’t buy a Happy Meal at McDonalds and that is the reality of the situation. Yet for that amount of money we are expected to jump through hoops and have staff on hand to deal with not only the repair but the administration at the back end as well.
In actual fact, in many ways, we do have the manufacturers et all by the short and curlies if we so chose to use that power. Personally I’d rather not have to, I prefer a more amicable route in finding solutions wherever possible as, in effect, that is industrial action which is a thing I have very rarely seen any point in and the success rate of such action is, on the whole, pretty low really. So therefore closer links and trying to explain the situation and the realities of our industry to the manufacturers is a preferable route to take. There is however one small snag there, they don’t seem too willing to talk to us either on here or in private. It could be argued that a short, sharp shock is required to elicit a response but there is more than one way to skin a cat as they say.
There are far, far fewer of us around that meet the criteria for such work and, probably, there will be even less in the not too distant future. Already it has reached a stage where many manufacturers struggle to get nationwide cover.
Spares is a contentious issue at best and some of the mark ups being used currently are, IMO, bordering on the insane with in some cases the retail value of spares worth £100,000 actually costing the manufacturer less that £3,000. Is it right that they should enjoy such margins whilst we work damned hard to get that Happy Meal?
I tnd to agree with your sentiments on the wion/lose thing after all, we’re not insurers we do not work to take risks but to earn a living and, like most other trades, I feel we should be charging accordingly for our time and skills. That does not neccesarily mean using a fixed rate for repairs but there are ways to reach a compromise.
You are perfectly correct in your conclusion though, without some unity in the trade and a little bit of support for each other things will never change or improve all that much. Sure, we’ll win the odd battle along the ways but ultimately we’ll lose the war and, if and when that happens, this trade will die.
K.
