Author Topic: First-World Problems.  (Read 333634 times)

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2600 on: 02 August, 2021, 01:41:02 pm »
Investigating the purchase of a new Brompton. I know about Bromptons, so I know exactly what I want - in Brompton terms, it would be designated S2L. But such a thing appears to be no longer part of the standard range, and the Bike Builder has been disabled because they can't keep up with demand. A few retailers still list S2Ls online, but when you click through... well, you can guess the rest. You can get them on eBay, but they're going for more than new prices, and I don't want one that badly.

I could get an M3L but I don't want an M3L.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2601 on: 02 August, 2021, 10:31:13 pm »
S1L and an assortment of spare parts?  Is it the same hub?

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2602 on: 02 August, 2021, 10:35:52 pm »
I know little about Bromptons, but the fact that you can list the inability to get your desired bike alongside sofa covers, mixed herbs and Amazon deliveries, is both disturbing and reassuring. I'm sure you understand what I mean.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2603 on: 02 August, 2021, 10:38:21 pm »
The only 2-speeds on Brompton’s website are electric. No single speeds at all and everything else has a hub gear (with or without a derailleur).
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2604 on: 02 August, 2021, 11:51:39 pm »
I don’t think single speed Bromptons are a common factory/showroom configuration.

Changing between any of the gear options is fairly straightforward though as you can just buy/sell the appropriate parts. Switching from M to S requires an alternative stem which Brompton don’t sell. So that’s the part you’d want to get right.

(Although a similar effect can be achieved with a low rise non-Brompton bar on an M stem)

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2605 on: 03 August, 2021, 10:47:33 am »
Investigating the purchase of a new Brompton. I know about Bromptons, so I know exactly what I want - in Brompton terms, it would be designated S2L. But such a thing appears to be no longer part of the standard range, and the Bike Builder has been disabled because they can't keep up with demand. A few retailers still list S2Ls online, but when you click through... well, you can guess the rest. You can get them on eBay, but they're going for more than new prices, and I don't want one that badly.

I could get an M3L but I don't want an M3L.

Have you tried Chris Compton in Catford?  He boasts of usually having 40 bikes in stock.

ian

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2606 on: 03 August, 2021, 11:08:42 am »
I got mine from there, they didn't have the one I wanted but seemed happy enough to swap a few parts around to make one (all the gears and a flat bar, please).

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2607 on: 03 August, 2021, 11:11:41 am »
That's exactly what they did with mine.

ian

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2608 on: 03 August, 2021, 11:36:25 am »
Oh woes, I think the dishwasher finally died. It emits plaintive (and quite sad) beeps and frantically flashes some LEDs as though crying out for help. The manual isn't much help. It's been complaining for a while, but usually button-pressing persistence had won through. It now seems to be saying please don't do that, it hurts.

So fix or nix? I always think fix, but then I remember that getting an appliance repair person is probably hard work in itself, then they suck through their teeth, make some mournful comment about parts, and after charging me lots of money, will declare it uneconomical to fix or the part required will be unobtainium as it has to be shipped from a factory from the other side of the planet. Or I could just buy a new one and rename myself Tharg the Planet Destroyer. Sigh.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2609 on: 03 August, 2021, 12:36:14 pm »
If that's an actual error code, it might give you a clue as to what the problem is.

If it's the electronics malfunctioning, it's probably the power supply having droid-rot, which is new circuit board time.

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2610 on: 03 August, 2021, 12:44:05 pm »
Dishwashers are ludicrously simple electrically and likely *all* of the components are on one small board in the box behind the buttons, with wires going off to the handful of bits that actually do stuff.

If you can (find someone to) replace that board it will likely be good as new.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2611 on: 03 August, 2021, 01:11:02 pm »
S1L and an assortment of spare parts?  Is it the same hub?

As LWaB notes, singlespeed options are even rarer than 2-speed options. Not sure whether or not they are the same hub - but I do have a singlespeed Brompton wheel in the garage though, so I suppose I could do a conversion (on my old M3L, I filed the dropouts to fit the axle, which doesn't have flats on the single speed version).

I don’t think single speed Bromptons are a common factory/showroom configuration.

They used to be, but they've really narrowed the standard range lately - demand is so high, they don't need to worry about catering for people who want anything other than the most mainstream options. And they've completely shut down the Bike Builder option.

I really don't want to faff about changing an M stem for an S stem - the cost of parts being the main thing that puts me off. And a straight bar on an M stem would be too low.

Have you tried Chris Compton in Catford?  He boasts of usually having 40 bikes in stock.

I haven't. I shall investigate. Ta!

Although I'm actually leaning towards thinking I can't really justify the cost of a Brompton right now anyway. Might have to make do with a Tern or something. Ugh! (That really is a FWP.)
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

ian

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2612 on: 03 August, 2021, 02:11:42 pm »
Dishwashers are ludicrously simple electrically and likely *all* of the components are on one small board in the box behind the buttons, with wires going off to the handful of bits that actually do stuff.

If you can (find someone to) replace that board it will likely be good as new.

I suspect it is the electronics. The error code isn't documented, it's not one of the ones mentioned in the manual, I think it's the circuit board's idea of running around shouting WAWAWAWA. When it works, it works, so all the mechanical gubbins seem to work and it's not obviously blocked.

It's just the hassle of finding someone without depleting my sanity in the process and not being charged 1.5x the cost of a new dishwasher in the process.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
First-World Problems.
« Reply #2613 on: 03 August, 2021, 03:00:40 pm »
When our dishwasher died (not so long ago), we thought it was an electrical fault. And it was… kind of.

Got a local man in (reliable, not the teeth-sucking type) and he explained that the base had cracked, so the inner workings were getting flooded and shorting out. Apparently it was a common fault with this model because the base was made of plastic. Looked up the part online. £400.

Binned it and bought a new dishwasher.

The chap we got in was from a local firm who absolutely everyone recommends. We bought the new machine from them as well. It’s great when you find a firm like that, who you are genuinely happy to use. We used to get our car serviced by the car equivalent until he retired. This is always the danger with independents.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

ian

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2614 on: 03 August, 2021, 03:22:50 pm »
That's the thing, we can buy a new dishwasher and have it arrive and be fitted tomorrow.

But then I'd be Tharg the Planet Destroyer. God, I hate middle-class, first-world guilt. How much packaging-free basmati do I need to buy to absolve myself?

Now I have to argue with my wife about who does the finding. I'm already quite sure I'm really busy for the foreseeable future doing, erm, super important stuff. And all those websites that insert your location into a generic page to make it look like a local service.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2615 on: 03 August, 2021, 03:28:57 pm »
But then I'd be Tharg the Planet Destroyer.

Remember, using a dishwasher is far more energy-efficient than washing dishes by hand (if you do it properly). I'm not even going to argue about this, it just is. End of.

And using so much less water, you're less likely to be contributing to discharging waste where I swim. So you're saving my life too.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

ian

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2616 on: 03 August, 2021, 03:50:30 pm »
I'm totally sold on the concept of the dishwasher, it was one of the first things we bought when we got a house, though for no greater reason than I'm really fundamentally lazy*. It's just chucking out the existing appliance when it may only need a small fix. That said, it's about seven years old and has done a lot of washing up, and it is Italian (though probably made in the same factories as all the others).

I'll ring a few people, absolution is that way. I can wash up by hand for a few days, though it'll take a toll. Modern kitchen sinks don't seem big enough to wash up in, when I was a child I used to be bathed in one. That said, I was a bit smaller back then.

*as students, to avoid the toil of washing-up, we went through a stage of cheap paper plates, so cheap you had to eat your beans really quickly before the plate dissolved and you were eating them off the table.

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2617 on: 03 August, 2021, 04:09:16 pm »
Essential for hiding of dirty pots.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2618 on: 03 August, 2021, 04:14:04 pm »
The lovely steam whistle has gone :-(  The Dean Forest Railway are using a different locomotive this year & this one has an annoying leftpondian two tone noise maker.  Bring back the proper phheeeep!

Let me be of assistance

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264244417221

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2619 on: 03 August, 2021, 06:00:53 pm »
I'm totally sold on the concept of the dishwasher, it was one of the first things we bought when we got a house, though for no greater reason than I'm really fundamentally lazy*. It's just chucking out the existing appliance when it may only need a small fix. That said, it's about seven years old and has done a lot of washing up, and it is Italian (though probably made in the same factories as all the others).

I'll ring a few people, absolution is that way. I can wash up by hand for a few days, though it'll take a toll. Modern kitchen sinks don't seem big enough to wash up in, when I was a child I used to be bathed in one. That said, I was a bit smaller back then.

*as students, to avoid the toil of washing-up, we went through a stage of cheap paper plates, so cheap you had to eat your beans really quickly before the plate dissolved and you were eating them off the table.

Zanussi, John Lewis own brand washing machines, Electrolux vacuum cleaners and Flymo mowers (amongst other stuff) all come from the same factory near Luton.

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2620 on: 03 August, 2021, 06:09:54 pm »
Does the dishwasher stop mid program, or constantly drain or what?
Most dishwasher problems I've encountered are from little leaks floating the anti flood device underneath, to check just tip it on its back onto some old towels [1] and just see if it then works again [2] if so then new jubilee (ish) clips might suffice, could be a cracked plastic part that a soldering iron might weld.
In one ski apartment I cleaned/looked after I just tipped the machine on it's back monthly to keep it running as the owner was a tight git and wouldn't pay for a new one, and I couldn't get spares to fix it properly. The trick worked for dozens of machines over many seasons. Blocked spray bars was by far the most common problem, rinse that rice folks.

[1] having bailed it as best you can to minimise flood, use rubber gloves in case you have some broken clear glass in the little sump.
[2] you can see the under-tray and the anti-flood float once it's on its back, usually a new lifeform is growing in the float sump if it's a slow leak, no evidence of leak probably means GAMO but try it upright again [3].
[3] if tipping works but no leak apparent my moneys on a cocktail stick choking the pump, and yes they do sometimes get through the filters.

ian

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2621 on: 03 August, 2021, 09:56:53 pm »
Sometimes it works fine, sometimes the start button conspicuously doesn't start, other times it will start and then stop, leaving the bottom to be baled. Now it seems to be flashing random lights, like it's trying to tell us something, but nothing that the Rosetta Stone in the manual will translate (that said, I've not tried too hard, but it's all stuff like if LED 3 lights, LED 5 flashes, but if LED 1 light and LED 4 flashes while LED2 flashes slowly, then the proximal jolliometer valve is frangible and should be immediately replaced by a qualified astronaut). It's possible it's receiving messages from Proxima Centauri. If so, they've picked the wrong way to initiate communications with the residents of planet Earth.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2622 on: 03 August, 2021, 10:02:28 pm »
Sounds like the sort of thing that might respond to poking about with an ESR meter and replacing dubious capacitors.  But the first rule of appliance repair is that the amount of damage you will do gaining access to the circuit board is inversely proportional to the simplicity of the electrical fix.

ian

Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2623 on: 04 August, 2021, 12:03:30 pm »
Is an ESR meter one of those things Scientologists have? I suppose I could drive down to their HQ and borrow one. It's possible that my dishwasher is the physical embodiment of an immortal Thetan.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: First-World Problems.
« Reply #2624 on: 04 August, 2021, 12:31:18 pm »
Is an ESR meter one of those things Scientologists have? I suppose I could drive down to their HQ and borrow one. It's possible that my dishwasher is the physical embodiment of an immortal Thetan.

Not entirely dissimilar, actually.  It's designed to measure small resistances rather than large ones, uses AC rather than DC, and is calibrated in actual ohms.  Because the effective series resistance of a capacitor is a useful indication of its b0rkedness, and the effective series resistance of human skin isn't a particularly useful indication of anything (apart from Thetan entanglement, obviously).