An easy to make compost bin
Installing a quadrant shower enclosure
A tip to make your 3 port heating valve last longer
A modification to make the batteries in your AEI 5850 alarm system magnetic sensor last longer and details of a repair
On making a simple compost bin
The volume of a pyramid is one third that of a column of the same height. So a bin to store your compost takes up less garden space than a tapering heap. This note details how to make a simple compost bin using readily available and cheap items. It has the advantage over bins with solid sides that it can be assembled in stages, increased in height as you put more on it and finally removed for reuse on the next pile leaving a pile of compost which will stand up on its own.
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On installing a quadrant shower enclosure
Now that goods are so international in origin manufacturers are reluctant to provide instructions in every language. Purely pictorial instructions solve this problem but can be much less than clear. The Provex series 2 shower enclosure is a perfectly good enclosure let down by this style of fitting instructions. This page supplies some text to explain the entirely pictorial instructions which do not make clear some essential requirements.
Probably applies to other showers. Even if you are having the shower installed by someone else it might help you understand any problems with waterproofing or alignment.
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On the durability of the 3 port valve used on heating systems
The 3 port valve used to switch central heating between hot water, heating or both is a curious thing to find in use today as it is entirely electromechanical. Due to this the motor often remains fully energised when the system is off and this can shorten the motor life.
Description, links and a simple way to improve durability by choice of programming.
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On the AEI 5850 alarm system magnetic sensor
The AEI solarguard alarm system that I have had since 2003 has been reliable, not suffering any false alarms. It is linked together by wireless and all the sensors are battery powered. One of my sensors started to exhaust its batteries much more quickly than the 8 month life specified. This page details the fault, which may be common, its repair and also an easy modification to make the battery last up to 3 years.
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