{"id":1059,"date":"2022-04-10T08:30:13","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T08:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bungalowbill.xyz\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2022-08-20T21:37:16","modified_gmt":"2022-08-20T21:37:16","slug":"april-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bungalowbill.xyz\/?p=1059","title":{"rendered":"April 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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April 10th<\/span><\/p>\n

Blue Badge, Strimmer and a Smart Meter<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I recently received a nice letter from Wiltshire Council reminding me that my Blue Badge (disabled parking) was due for renewal. I looked at the Carmarthen CC website which informed me that I could renew on-line or via a paper form. I opted for the latter – all 28 pages! Having plucked up the courage to read it through, I found various items I needed to acquire to complete the process. I contacted my old limb centre in Dorset and received a comprehensive letter covering my physical condition. I then filled in the form and together with a mugshot. Based on previous experience, I opted to hand deliver the letter to the return address for the form. If anybody has visited Carmarthen recently, you will be aware of centralised parking and the one-way system. After parking outside the postal return address, it turns out that it is a cashiers department for the council – no blue badge section. \u201cSorry, you need to go to Debenhams\u201d – perhaps they now sell the badges in the stationary or accessories section?<\/p>\n

So 16 mins later after following the satnav through the one-way system, I park up, \u00a31, at Debenhams carpark, eventually finding the Council Hwb (sic) in the main shop. A nice but useless young lady, female, person of neutral gender, asks me if I have an appointment to see someone in the blue badge section. No I say whereupon she opens the diary and asks when I would like one. Now I say – not the right answer. I then ask if she can put the envelope into the internal mail. No, not without an appointment!!! Jobsworth 101. So I hobble out, navigate back to the original cashiers office, speak to the nice young man I saw earlier who says, no problem, I\u2019ll put it in the internal mail. Now I wait in hope it got where it should and is not sitting in the ‘waiting face to face meeting’ pile. <\/span><\/p>\n

My 3-year old SGS strimmer\/brush cutter started giving me intermittent operation the other week with what I (wrecker of certain automotive mechanical bits), diagnosed as petrol starvation. So on a dry day, I stripped down the 2-stroke fuel tank and carb, noticed the fuel filter was falling apart, cleaned and re-assembled without having anything mechanical left over – bonus point. It actually ran worse! Prior to ordering a new filter\/pipe assembly – \u00a325 and 5 days to delivery (Royal Mail 48hr), I contacted the supplier to enquire if the new E10 petrol has any detrimental effects on the engine. All I got back from the tech support was ‘drain the tank over winter’. I diligently fitted new bits and kept pulling on starter till I developed a 1cm blister on my finger, whereupon I took the strimmer to the local mower\/chainsaw repair centre. \u201cSorry, we don\u2019t handle that brand coz we can’t get the spares and if we looked at it, it\u2019s a minimum of \u00a345 and we\u2019ve got 5 weeks backlog. You might want to try replacing the carb. It should be less than \u00a340\u201d. So I ordered a new carb at \u00a318 inc vat and delivery. Seven days later, the carburettor finally arrived. It took 10 mins to replace the old one and the strimmer started on the 4th pull. Later that day, I commenced the bramble clearing in the woods, which has opened up the area for the bluebells, anemones and other ground loving plants. It\u2019s also allowed me to see the assortment of young trees previously buried in the undergrowth.<\/p>\n

After many emails to Eon regarding our smart meter, I finally got a reply offering me an installation of a new one. Having been in the house for almost two years with a not so smart meter, I felt I was missing something. It\u2019s not that I want to watch an electricity provider syphoning our hard earned savings away, more that I can look at what equipment\/appliances are actually doing the damage. I don\u2019t want to be a \u201cthat cuppa just cost us \u00a325.57\u201d or whatever, but if the wireless controls or TV on standby is drawing too much, then that can be addressed by replacing them with lower current versions of turning off when not in use. A new meter was installed within 45 mins and together with the remote monitor, will help monitor our usage, which to be honest seems a lot lower than discussed in the media.<\/p>\n

I have been considering for a while the use of a solar panel left over from an old project. It seemed too good to throw away before the move, so I brought it with me. I recon it will fit perfectly on the shed roof (south facing) and will get the sun most of the day – when it’s not raining!. This, with the aid of a controller, inverter and some old car batteries can supply a few hundred watts for garage lighting, low power tools etc. When solar cell and battery technology has improved in cost and efficiency, I will look at the option for the bungalow, but until then a 25 year signup to feed electricity back into the grid is way outside my 10 year plan and budget.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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