Just got the Asus CX34 plus for our eldest (yr9) based on a recommendation from his school.

@willard I use HobbyBrew CO2, was using one SodaStream bottle per brew (£15!! – almost doubling the cost of a brew) whereas the bottle’s about 15 times bigger at a cost of £47 for the fill. Even counting for the £85 deposit on the bottle it’s cheaper than the sodastream equivalent quantity, but £3 of gas per brew is way cheaper.

what is it about the iTap that’s so much better/easier?

In short, counter-pressure.

Longer version is that to use the beer gun you’ll probably have to drop to 5ish psi to avoid huge amounts of foaming, then you fill as you would pour a beer (tilted bottle etc). When full, you end up pushing a load of foam out which gets messy and then you need somewhere sanitary to put the beer gun while you cap the bottle.

In contrast a counter-pressure system pressurises the bottle at whatever your keg pressure is first, then you turn on the tap (nothing happens because of equal pressure) before gradually letting the pressure out of the bottle, meaning you get a faster fill, with little to no foam. Last bottling day we did 20 litres without wasting a drop. I went with the iTap because it was a nice looking, self-contained unit that locks the bottle on and seemed to have the least amount of faff associated with using it, some say you should fill from the bottom of the bottle a-la Nukatap but I’m not sure it’s the big deal that some make out. Go have a look at some YT vids, they’ll probably explain it better than me.

There’s bending the rules to try and get your kid into something and then there’s doctoring official documents – is that technically some kind of forgery or fraud in itself?

If it were me it’d be a polite no now, with any future requests also getting turned down, that kind of parent is just going to be trouble.

Chasing Amy. While Amazon and Apple appear to have it, I haven’t found it free anywhere – might just have to go old-skool and dig out the DVD.

I’ve done that. Comes out okay but it’s reeeeeeeeeeally sharp. It’s less Devon Scrumpy, more Diamond White.

Is is possible to back-sweeten with lactose? or keep an eye on it with the iSpindel and chuck some potassium sorbate in to kill the yeast off before the gravity gets too low? or both?

Or maybe just forget the faff and pop down the supermarket?

beer gun for filling the odd bottle as gifts

I’ve got one, think it could be KegLand, it’s done me a good service but recently moved to counter-pressure filling (iTap) and that’s a game changer on bottling day. For context, I carb in the keg and then bottle as I brew with a mate and we split it.

If you’ve got a kegerator you might be able to get a bottle filler that fits your tap which would make gift filling more simple – check out the Nukatap.

Figured 5 months isn’t too bad in the world of thread ressurection – didn’t even get a ‘holy thread ressurection batman’ gif so does that even mean it happened?

You can make an easy cider using juice from the supermarket and a strong cup of tea (tannins), just make sure it’s the 100% pure not from concentrate stuff. Haven’t done it but might give it a punt in the new year so it’s got a few months in the bottle before cider season starts (heard somewhere to leave a cider 3-6 months).

The airport are certainly doing all they can to use market forces to ‘make the best of it’.

Same weekend in Jan (2025 vs 2024), same entry and exit times, car park 1 has gone from £77 to £98 – that’s a 27% increase – I doubt the prices will drop once CP2’s rebuilt so the cynic in me says the fire will be a nice little earner for them, especially as the rebuild costs will be covered by their insurer along with any loss of earnings.

what are the options for attaching feet to board at the mo?

Most (including me) will use regular bindings because that’s what we’ve always done and they just work, doing their job with no fuss at all. They’re a fair bit cheaper and the lack of tech/moving parts means reliability too.

That said, nowadays you’ve got easy entry offerings from the likes of Nidecker, Flow and Burton.

Personally I’ve just updated my bindings for more of the same, I don’t actually know anyone that rides step-in’s so can’t pass comment on the differences in use other than spending an extra 30 secs at the top of the hill strapping in.

My snowboard needs waxing, do I pay someone to do it or get the kit at a greater expense now but save in the long run by being able to do it myself? Is it that difficult?

That said I’ve also stumbled upon SNOcoat and am now wondering if any of you lot have experience of such a thing? Easier to apply than wax and longer lasting, albeit more expensive.

Just kegged a Kolsch, first attempt at one and all gone ok so far, it was lovely and clear and tasted good so bodes well for the final beer. Just moved up to Hobbybrew gas from Sodastream so at least I won’t run out of gas this time!

Next up on the brew plan is something more wintery – a Doppelbock.

Was defo getting it but the stickers sealed the deal :D

If I have the willpower when it arrive it’ll be my Christmas present from Mrs M.    If ……… ;)

@Creg which knee is it? I always find that if anything is going to ache after an indoor visit it’s either the knee or hip of my leading foot because of all the twisting you have to do on the drag lift as a snowboarder. I guess I’m just saying that if it hurts, try and note what made it hurt.

Oh and have fun!

Just sorted Tignes out for the mates trip in Jan because it was the cheapest option.

Have also booked Tignes again at Easter for a surprise trip with our eldest as he’s learning at the mo and is desperate to go to an actual mountain, it’s high up and a mate’s going with his family at the same time so hopefully there’ll still be snow, but there’ll definitely be someone to go to the pub with.

Re company cars – I get a flat rate of 7p per mile from work, which is utter pants if you do any kinda of decent length journeys and need to use a rapid charger. I think on a 400 mile round trip assuming my car does 300 miles I’ll probably be out of pocket by a few £ because the company won’t cover it.

I recommend you look into it further, but I believe you can claim the difference back on your tax return.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/vehicles-you-use-for-work

Surely they’re missing the point with charging them for cycling offenses? Half the problem is people are seeing these things as pedal bikes rather than electric motor bikes.

As it’s been modified they should be reclassified as mopeds, at which point they’re charging them with no registration, no insurance, speeding offenses and potentially no license too.

AFAIK the e-Corsa uses the same platform as the ICE one, so you still get a transmission tunnel.

I think my next car will still have some form of ICE.

I thought that until I dug a bit deeper and came to the conclusion that hybrid was the worst of both worlds. I’m not saying that route isn’t best for you, but I am saying that you should look into it properly – people drive like Miss Daisy in all types of car, you’re assuming it was the car that was the catalyst for the slower speed, rather than the driver.

As for holiday let charging, I think you’re right in thinking it’ll become more of a thing, although at present anyone could turn up to a let with a 3pin charger and draw 3kWh all day long. I’d say guests would be happy to pay a fee for a 7kWh supply as long as it’s at a rate that’s comparable with the rest of the market.

@stumpy01 DNO = Distribution Network Operator. So whoever owns the cable running to your house.

Have a check of your house fuse, general rule seems to be you need 100amp as a charger will draw 32 and the smaller 60ish amp fuses are therefore more likely to blow. Only the DNO can change your house fuse and I would think that if you’re already on 100amps then the cable running to the house should be equally rated.

That said, I’d defer to the spark as it’s their area of expertise but you can always contact the DNO if you’re not sure.

Seems that used EVs just can’t be sold in the UK. Chap was saying that he had hundreds just gathering dust as no one bids on them in [trade] auctions.

Probably a wild exaggeration of if I were him I’d be concerned at my financing costs as that’s be millions of £££ tied up. Tesla has it’s own unique set of problems right now too, the main one being the Elon Effect but the fact that the rest of the manufacturers have joined the party probably means they’ve got a lot of cars that are coming off lease that are being replaced by a more mainstream marque. Personally I don’t like the styling.

The EV market (new and used) is a young one so everyone’s still figuring it out, speaking from my own experience I’ve always bought ex-demo’s or the like, but due to they way interest rates are at the moment, a 0% deal on a new car works out the same monthly cost as financing a used car. The used one might be £10k cheaper, but it’d cost me £9k in interest over 3 years and if I buy new I get £1k of charger free, a £200 credit on my energy bill and I get to decide on the specs. Added bonus being the new version’s been updated so is generally better in all areas too.

Now the prices of EVs are comparable to the same ICE models then that’s one barrier removed, I think previously they were priced out of the running when people were making the decision based on the finances.

With sills like that I was thinking it was amphibious!

Thanks for pointing that out, classic user error! Turns out there’s nothing that’d be particularly handy to me on my regular jaunts but that might change, so it may still come in handy.

Check out PedalOn, they seem to have some deals on at the mo.

Oh, so I don’t actually have to do anything? Tesla help was unhelpfully vague.

Just so I know I’m not going mad(er than usual), does this mean as a non-Tesla driver I could use the super chargers at Exeter Services? It’s showing in my app that I can and if that’s the case it’d be the most useful of the lot for me.

In other news, have signed up for electroverse with a card on the way. Think that pretty much sorts my charging app ‘starter for 10’ set.

Thanks for the help all.

Thought I’d have a look at the Tesla App. I’ve registered and put a payment card in, thne on the home screen there’s the ‘Charge your EV’ pic, so I tap the three lines (top right) and then I can select my profile of there’s a charging menu and if I hit that then all I’ve got is manage payment, history and membership. Can’t find the ‘other EV’ section, am I going nuts?

Next up is Electroverse, something tells me it’ll be easier than Tesla.

Ah. You’re one of those people. Noted.

Just pandering to the stereotype. I don’t get why people complain about things being standard or not, it’s like buying organic carrots and then asking why regular ones aren’t organic too, even though they’re cheaper.

Has anyone with an EV ever said “Do you know what I’d like? Less range” ?

You know what, give people the option and let them choose, why make all the people that want 200 mile range pay for 400? That must be £7-£10k of vehicle RRP right there.

I think everyone is finally coming to the conclusion that they don’t do 500 miles in one hit any more and the charging infrastructure is catching up so when you stop for a comfort break at the services you also top the car up at the same time. The mild change of routine 1% of the time is worth it for a cheaper, lighter, more efficient vehicle the other 99% of the time.

A very quick google states that the average car journey in the UK is 8.4 miles, a 10% reduction in your 250+mile range for non-heat pump vehicles still means that most people can go about their business and not even notice it.

While we’re at it, if a heat pump adds £1k cost to a vehicle (standard or option) then at 2p per mile that’s 50,000 miles of range before it’s paid for itself. Google says an average car does 7500 miles per year, let’s say half are cold and need heating (generous estimate) so even at a 15% reduction in range that costs you 563 miles in range per year so it’d take over 88 years for your pump to pay for itself.

But aha! you say, because I was out I had to top up all those lost miles at a superfast charger on the motorway and if costs 79p/kWh, well in that case, those lost 563 mile a year would cost you £127, so that’s still an almost 8 year pay back at 3.5 miles/kWh.

End of the day it’s all down to choice, have a heat pump or don’t, but it’s worth digging a bit deeper to really decide if it’s a deal breaker or not. Also, thanks for the conversation, I think all this has actually helped make my mind up that I’d probably be alright with a jumper, it’s not that cold down south.

I suppose you could say the same about indicators on a BMW ?

Nothing is ‘standard’ it’s just been factored in to the price already. You could argue that BMW are limiting customer choice.

Mini Motorways

If you look at the UK August YTD volumes, there’s been 80k new diesel’s registered versus 674k Petrol, 214k BEV, 100k PHEV and 170k HEV. The total with some kind of battery propulsion is 484k.

Year-on-year that’s -13% diesel, +1% petrol, +11% BEV, +25% PHEV and +18% HEV. Not found any data on hydrogen vehicles but I presume that’s pretty tiny in comparison.

ZapMap has come up a lot in my investigations. Seems to also tell you the cost, payment methods of the charger and also if it’s available or not. Haven’t used it in anger yet but have been ‘using’ it on the odd journey to get familiar with it for when we get the EV.

GridServe seem to be the provider for a lot of service stations, so that’s probably a good one to have.

@johndoe The difference between 2.8miles/kWh and 3.5 is about 0.5p/mile (at 7p/kWh), or £50 over 10,000 miles. Definitely don’t worry about it :D

@Rio unfortunately the meter’s next to our consumer unit, in the under-stairs cupboard which is accessed via the kitchen. It used to be on the outside wall until the extension went up sometime in the 90’s but the cable route is the same whether it goes straight into the meter or via the consumer unit.

I’ve an idea on the route they’ll take but we’ll see what happens when the installation quote comes through (just waiting on the link to kick all that off).

The extension was already done when we got here, judging by everything else we’ve done after the last 8 years it was done on the cheap (the floor’s 10mm higher than the kitchen FFS!), I’d have done it differently if it were me, but unfortunately it wasn’t – floor itself is a poured concrete slab with wooden flooring over the top.

There’s an old style fuse box in the garage but it’s not on it’s own spur so no self-respecting sparky’s going to touch that to wire in an EV point, hence it’ll be going back to the new consumer unit (well about 6 years old). In an ideal world you’d go under the floor but it’s only 2m around a corner of the dining room that no-one will notice and that’ll be a far cheaper option. Could I whip the skirting off and get them to run it behind that?

If they’re talking trunking is that just beautification for inside the house? or are they going to want to run it all the way through the garage etc too?

At least the house is already on a 100amp fuse.

Non-standard spacing and font which means it’s illegal and the police will do absolutely nothing about it.

Guess that as it used to be a black one whose MOT runs out that one was PX’d for the blue one and the DVLA’s not caught up because the transfer’s in the post.

Quick question about home charger installation … our fuse box is in the middle of the house so we’ll have to have Ohme’s non-standard installation which is fine, but what are the internal cables like? it’ll need to go a short distance around some of the dining room before making its way down the inside of the garage before popping out the wall into the back of the charger.

Are we talking cabling the size of your finger like we put in out to the shed or the stuff that the cooker’s wired up to? they also mention trunking which I presume is going to be the box stuff?

So, you start with a table of the four parameters for all the clients, then you run your new macro with a For-Next loop.

You’ll need to set up parameters like where the file is going to be saved, but you can reference that to another cell, you’ll also need some kind of naming routine as I presume all 200 files will need to be different.

You’ll need to Dim your workbooks as a String and then populate it with the filename so that you can reference them in your macro and shift between files, for the likes of the new files that also means you can use the macro to update the filename. (eg Dim wbfile as String and then in the macro wbfile = ActiveWorkbook.Name)

So first off you’d do a count of the amount of rows in your data, then you’d use that as the final number in your loop. (For rows = 1 To rowcount)

Best way to do it is to break it down into chunks and have lots of little macro’s, then your main one for the whole thing just calls the subs as required. eg Call macro1

VBA’s really powerful though, I had a report that’d take ages to send different bits to different people, spent some time on a macro and had it copying out the data, saving it as a new file and then creating an email to each recipient, attaching the file and writing a standard blurb. Stopped short of it hitting send so I could add a bit of personalisation to it.

debug.print is your friend, as is writing Option Explicit at the top, but mainly just Google how to do the code – that’s mainly what I do.

Interesting. More research required I think!

Talking of research, I think I might need to speak to Mrs M again about the Cupra Born as they’ve a huge deposit contribution on new, which along with 0% finance and a free charger is becoming hard to ignore as financially there’s not much in it when compared to what’s available used.

That’s kind of what I was thinking. In winter if the car’s plugged in, do a pre-heat and it’ll draw from the mains rather than the battery and also remove the need for window scraping. Maintaining cabin temp will use less energy anyway.

More generic question for the STW hive …. energy efficient heat pump on your EV, good idea? just a nice to have? a must have when speccing a new one?

@kryton57 a wall box will be 7kw and about 40amps so will want to draw straight from your fuse box via a fat cable (not the technical term, you can probably guess I’m no sparky). You’ll be able to do 3-pin charging but it’ll be slow (around 2kw).