The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[CAMRAMan]

Oi, Nationwide; start accepting digital versions of cheques, so I don't have to travel into town to bank one. And tell your staff not to use the feeble excuse that you're a building society not a bank, as you've been offering such services for years.

[andytheflyer]

You can bank a cheque at the Post Office for many banks.

[T42]

The horizontal bar in the least-significant minutes digit of our Samsung microwave has ceased to function, less than 5 years after we bought it. 8:20 is now 0:20, etc.  3rd µwave we've had in 30 years, the others being Moulinex & Whirlpool.  The Moulinex was best.

[Feanor]

The display on the built-in microwave at the flat did the same.

The actual display is a proprietary custom thing, and so I had to replace the entire front panel PCB assembly which was more expensive than I'd have liked.

[Kim]

Probably a zebra strip issue.  Sort of thing that's easy to make a lot worse in a misguided attempt to fix it.

Grandma's Microwave (a proper 80s one that I got custody off as a PSO) had several dead buttons after a similarly optimistic attempt to bodge the dying membrane keypad.  We kept using it, simply avoiding certain digits and the defrost mode we never used anyway.  To this day we tend to set cooking times times like 1:11 rather than 1:00.

[T42]

It wouldn't surprise me if a replacement display cost more than a new µwave.  Back in the 90s a tiny part in my Philips beard trimmer broke, and the repair quote was within a few francs of the original cost.

[Basil]

FFS.  The lawn needs cutting.  Again!  Hope I get it done during the next few dry days.
C'mon winter.   

[arabella]

Based on the above comments I'll stick to microwaves with twiddly dials and not pads.  At least if the dial goes you can put sticky tape round the wotsit at the back so it still grips
(see also: washing machine, where I did just that)
ymmv, pad probably works better with eg frozen fingers

[essexian]

Approximately 40 years ago, I purchased a Black and Decker drill for the princely summer of £35. Two years ago, after many years of faithful service and with the chuck now so stiff it was hard to use, I purchased a new drill as a replacement spending considerably more than I had previously! I know, I was shocked too!

The new drill came with a “keyless chuck” which appeared to be a great idea as I was always losing the key. However…. Is it just me that thinks all keyless chucks are a pile of steaming rubbish? Take this morning, I had 20, 75mm deep holes to drill into concrete so I can anchor down the base of my new car port…. I have managed to do 4 such holes in 3 hours as the no matter how hard you tighten the chuck, it comes undone leaving the drill bit wedged in the hole. Irritating is not the word I was using….sorry neighbours.

Thus, I may be looking for a new drill this afternoon…. One with a chuck operated with a key.

Keyless chucks, rubbish.

[Feanor]

I have a keyless chuck on my Makita cordless drill, and it's Not Rubbish.
It Just Works.

I can transmit enough torque through it to unscrew my arm, and it doesn't come loose.

Perhaps some are better than others.

[nuttycyclist]

The keyless chuck on the drill I have had for over 20 years has never let me down and the drill gets regular abuse.  Last used yesterday to power the pulpmaster to extract a gallon of apple juice from the apples picked.

[Polar Bear]

I had problems with a keyless chuck on a Hitachi branded drill but others that I have used are fine.  I simply replaced the crappy chuck with one bought from Screwfix (brand escapes me) and that works perfectly.  I even upgraded to half inch from 3/8ths in the process.

I also have a really cheap SDS drill purchased from Lidl for a specific sacrificial task a few years ago but the blighter refuses to die as I expected it to.  I guess that it would eat up your carport anchor holes with relish.  If you are close to Rugby you are welcome to see if you can destroy it for me.  😀

[T42]

Approximately 40 years ago, I purchased a Black and Decker drill for the princely summer of £35. Two years ago, after many years of faithful service and with the chuck now so stiff it was hard to use, I purchased a new drill as a replacement spending considerably more than I had previously! I know, I was shocked too!

You could just have replaced the chuck. I did on both my old B&D drills, one from 1969 & the other from 1979.

[Kim]

Based on the above comments I'll stick to microwaves with twiddly dials and not pads.  At least if the dial goes you can put sticky tape round the wotsit at the back so it still grips
(see also: washing machine, where I did just that)
ymmv, pad probably works better with eg frozen fingers

Yeah, those are okay if you have a twiddly wrist with which to operate them...

To be fair, I reckon 25 years is a good innings for a membrane keypad. The magnetron packed in a few years later.

[Basil]

Probably the last warm sunny spell of the year, so a nice quiet contemplation in the garden.
Except not.  Near neighbours are having work done and so I unwillingly have to listen to Radio Builder.

[Basil]

Sod it. I'll cut the grass then.

[Jurek]

Rohm keyless chucks are the way forward.

[Jasmine]

My neighbour is mowing his grass again. Not in itself irritating; it's irritating because he does it twice a week for 4 hours at a time. His garden is moderately large, but not 4 hours on a sit-on mower size. Bafflingly, he has also mowed a section of the field at the front of his house twice this week. A field that has horses in it. 

[Gattopardo]

Trying to buy an SFR sim card, on line, in France.  But can't as I don't have a mobile number to open the account.

Contacting them on twitter to ask what to do, does not answer the question that I ask.  Trying to figure out if I am in contact with a real person or AI.

[T42]

The Inlaw Paw, being an ex-RN medic, always interpreted SFR as Syphillis, First Record.  Next time around they called it the SFR and bar.

[Gattopardo]

Fancied all you can eat mussels today from Flunch chain and the offer finished on the 12th September.

No idea what I am going to eat now.

Looks like another all you can eat asian place.

[Tim Hall]

Probably the last warm sunny spell of the year, so a nice quiet contemplation in the garden.
Except not.  Near neighbours are having work done and so I unwillingly have to listen to Radio Builder.

Radio Builder is really A Thing, except it’s called Fix Radio, set up by Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers fame.

We're for builders, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers, painters, decorators, plasterers scaffolders - in fact, anyone who makes their living on the tools.

[Basil]

Probably the last warm sunny spell of the year, so a nice quiet contemplation in the garden.
Except not.  Near neighbours are having work done and so I unwillingly have to listen to Radio Builder.

Radio Builder is really A Thing, except it’s called Fix Radio, set up by Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers fame.

We're for builders, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers, painters, decorators, plasterers scaffolders - in fact, anyone who makes their living on the tools.

Gosh.  But it wasn't that today.  I was astonished when I realised that it was Steve Wright in the Afternoon.   That still exists!

[Gattopardo]

Probably the last warm sunny spell of the year, so a nice quiet contemplation in the garden.
Except not.  Near neighbours are having work done and so I unwillingly have to listen to Radio Builder.

Radio Builder is really A Thing, except it’s called Fix Radio, set up by Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers fame.

We're for builders, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers, painters, decorators, plasterers scaffolders - in fact, anyone who makes their living on the tools.

Things I now know and wish I didn't.

I also know that I will remember this and not some important information.

[T42]

Fancied all you can eat mussels today from Flunch chain and the offer finished on the 12th September.

Gawd - they were virtually our office canteen 40 years ago.  OK if you didn't mind having to re-heat your main course in the microwave provided.  Do they still do that?