XSeries-forum

We failed on the last change where sockets have to be 40 cm from the floor and 50 cm from any radiator (or was that 40 as well, I stopped listening then). Most of our sockets are too close to radiators or too low.

Second issue was regarding cable clips, they cannot be a pin with plastic - they have to be solid metal staples now. That would mean that all ceilings have to be opened (or floorboards) to staple all the cables to the beams instead of the current pins. No thanks

They surely can’t require a house to be retrofitted to fit 18/19th Edition of the regs can they? That’s just ridiculous, and seriously expensive too. If they play that game here then I’ll also self install. If you’re adding a spur then surely only that spur has to comply with the current regs. My parents had work done after the 18th Ed was published and no mention was made of faffing about with sockets and clips etc.

From memory an EICR looks in detail at the fuse box/circuit breaker board and 10% of sockets/light switches/lights to check their electrical safety not whether they are 0.5mm out of position in a wall/ceiling. They can’t check hidden wiring anyway - nor are you expected to pull up floors and partitions. Your sparky sounds like someone ‘value adding’ work.

British Gas Engineers kept telling us our boiler exhaust was ‘too close’ to our back door (not that they ever condemned it or failed the annual service/fitness inspection), but when the boiler was replaced 5 years ago the Vaillant Engineer told us that was ‘bollox’.

Reading this, still a lot to be said for fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.

sapphireblack wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 5:50 pm Reading this, still a lot to be said for fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.

Yes that's true the current 2030 date for the end of production of the ice is pure fantasy at present and extremely unlikely to be met

2030 bogey date is not likely to affect me. If still alive I'll be 80yoa and not buying a new vehicle, electric or otherwise.

I'm not blasé about global warming but my personal impact is negligible. I will press on as I always have.

Albeit I have another vehicle in another country, I calculated only last evening my X6 has covered just 7000 miles in my four years of ownership.

sapphireblack wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 6:06 pm
I'm not blasé about global warming but my personal impact is negligible. I will press on as I always have. .

and so you should , bit on the news the night we have 3 years to act or well who knows Yes we are in a warming cycle not much doubt about that but I'm not sure how much we can do about it if anything ,if there is a fix it will likely be science based breakthough rather that you increasing your recycling by 2.46% and turning of a few lights You can be sure though whats coming is a reason for the government to tax tax tax so drive it while they still let us

Configurator images for new build…. no build date yes (months away) and the colour is Brooklyn Gey (it’s a metallic and looks better in real life) with Tacora Red as the interior (again looks better in real life colour). Annoyingly BMW UK only have a LHD version of the config. Given the size of their UK market it would show a little more customer orientation if the had a RHD version.
Our last lease - a 2018 2-series Gran Tourer (F46) - went back yesterday and its used book value after settling the BMW PCP had increased by £4K since last Summer. The used market has gone mad. They no longer make a 7-seater in that series and the 5-seater boot is too small. Audi & Merc pulled out of that market sector so BMW did too.

The issues with PCP leasing from Tesla are that their used value is much lower because there are so many on the road now. Also insurance is much higher because the car’s safety assessment is lower and repair costs are much higher than other EVs in that market segment.

I like the look of that

Have gone for a Hypervolt Home 2.0 smart charging point. All new 32A feed from the meter tails going in next week. Power cable includes a Cat5 Ethernet loom within the armoured construct. That allows the charge point to have a current transformer fitted (to prevent EV charging overloading the main fuse as it will reduce the charge rate automatically. From the start of April, new EV charge point installs recommend a Type A RCBO (circuit breaker that detects DC because the usually standard fitted Type B house RCBO can’t) and require an anti-surge circuit breaker to be fitted.

Ye gods, this is the future! Much easier driving along, stopping at a fuel station, pumping a quality of fossil fuel, blah blah blah.

Its not often i am pleased to be old but on this subject i really am. I know it's inevitable but that's just a bit involved isn't it?

I agree. Hydrogen is the long term answer and the next X5 (allegedly due later this year) will have hydrogen power as an option (2 x 6-litre tanks at 200bar operating pressure!!). At present there just isn’t enough production capacity to make it a reality, and there won’t be for a while.

I’m looking at solar power as well, but not just yet. That’s another £10k for a £500/year (usually much less) return rate. Some electricity suppliers only pay homeowners 1.5p per kW/h. That’s pathetic and doesn’t encourage anyone to invest. If you want a battery system for the home to be charged by the solar cells then the costs just go on climbing. I doubt I’ll live long enough to see fusion power becoming a reality - and if I am still around I won’t be driving!

Things are getting silly now. The latest word is that BMW Munich has ‘ceased production’ of most models due to the Ukraine situation and ongoing chip issues caused mainly by the situation around Shanghai. Not confirmed, but delays of 6, possibly 12 months are in the cards. I can see some car manufacturers going bust unless they change sub-assembly suppliers or move to other electronics options.

I hope your recent infrastructure costs are not money spent in vain

Me too. May be it’s time to go Kia…..

Had I not exported my old Touareg to Greece. I was looking into buying a Dacia Duster, now a fully owned Renault subsidiary. Cheap, though not so cheap in Greece, cheerful and regarded quite highly here.

Never though I'd become my father, who was always a petrol head, but I'm tired of being ripped off courtesy of BMW/VW ownership. Less is more, simpler is often better too.