The kit with Now known as Harry Discussion

[Phaeton]

Chris, Not quite sure where the 10kW came from we have 12x 415W panels so should peak at 4.9kW, I think I've seen 4.2 but nothing higher, but as before it depends which inverter I look at & whether either are telling the truth. I think the best day so far is 31.2kWh on a 25/4

Biggest issue I think we face is during peak times when there is no sun, the battery inverter can only produce 3Kw but with oven, hob & kettle all on we exceed that so have to draw from grid which is annoying but it's not a lot we have to buy,

 

[250buggys]

Hi Alan, same for me exactly. My inverter will only give me 90 Percent in all tried and tested conditions, it will never produce what it is rated at.

Probably the same for most engines etc, my ST170 eg, probably one of the Zetecs that cane out of the factory once did come close to that figure + or - a not so fine tolerance...

When I have solar I try and cook for longer and at a lower temp to maximize. Difficult to explain to others in the household.

When you are your own energy provider difficult to buy from grid at 50p per kWh and the thing that upsets me most is the standing charge it is ludicrous and unregulated. What a joke! Spower when I joined them didn't have one...

Does your system let you feed your immersion to give you free hot water and save gas?

I am lucky with E7 so have multiple options depending on weather.

Good fun though!

 

[250buggys]

What a joke that would really anoy me if you have already sent in the evidence and they are asking again.

Last time I scanned all the invoices in and created a huge pdf and copied that and all the build photos onto a CD ROM and popped it in the post.

You say it is all online now or can you send by post still?

Might have to use a USB stick this time as who has a pc/laptop with a cd reader on???

Crazy how things change in less than 4 years.

At least it sounds like progress...

Let us know when you have a date, can't imagine there is a backlog of people wanting to hand over half a bag of sand...

 

[250buggys]

Crikey 6 weeks, good luck for then.

At least you know what to expect

 

[Phaeton]

Yeah tried them all to get a closer appointment, Nottingham, no appointments closed down, Beverley no appointments, he wasn't sure if they had closed it, nothing at all in the Leeds area, tried Chadderton (Oldham) but that's a bit of a nightmare to get to, 2 hours away normally, hate to think what it's like that early in a morning, so it had to be Derby. Hope I don't get the same tester as the lad not far from me, I don't think he was very fair at all.

 

[250buggys]

Crikey what a pain. That sounds like hard work.

 

[250buggys]

Good luck for Tuesday Alan

Can't wait to hear about it. Looking at the IVA manual there has been a new release, I wonder if much has changed?

 

[250buggys]

Looks like you are not too far off the mark Alan.

Won't take much to get it there, is the re test fee still £90 odd?

 

[Phaeton]

Looks like you are not too far off the mark Alan.

Won't take much to get it there, is the re test fee still £90 odd?

Think so, I'll be ringing tomorrow to book the appointment, a pair of new callipers & new pads already ordered, they do appear to be the cars Achilles heel, it was rear brakes on Melvin, I put new on him as well & the handbrake is now appalling only 2 years later

 

[250buggys]

Think so, I'll be ringing tomorrow to book the appointment, a pair of new callipers & new pads already ordered, they do appear to be the cars Achilles heel, it was rear brakes on Melvin, I put new on him as well & the handbrake is now appalling only 2 years later

Crazy, you would have thought that not many people are building kit cars.

Maybe there are just not many slots.

 

[Phaeton]

Sent an email to say I was unhappy with a 6 week wait, they've relented & it's now 4 days earlier on the 4th but it's daft, they allow 4 hours for a test, mine was done in less than 2 hours, they do say I can ring up anytime to see if there is a cancellation, but I can't see there being one.

 

[250buggys]

Looks like they are trying to make it difficult on purpose. What a pain especially if you are trying to flip it. Now is the perfect time with the weather and holidays etc.

At least you won't lose too much tax in August.

Are you going to drive it to the test centre this time? Must get some funny looks with blank number plates

 

[Phaeton]

Are you going to drive it to the test centre this time? Must get some funny looks with blank number plates

Not sure, it's a cost analysis, fuel cost of Shogun, about £45 against a days insurance with the risk of an issue & losing out on the £90 fee, must admit I drove one of the Freestyles to the test without plates & even overtook a Police car on the M1, they never even blinked.

 

[250buggys]

Not sure, it's a cost analysis, fuel cost of Shogun, about £45 against a days insurance with the risk of an issue & losing out on the £90 fee, must admit I drove one of the Freestyles to the test without plates & even overtook a Police car on the M1, they never even blinked.

That's so funny about the police car!

Would be fun though. I know what you mean, the gremlins come out in the first couple of hundred miles but it usually is ok at the test centre.

 

[Phaeton]

That's so funny about the police car!

Would be fun though. I know what you mean, the gremlins come out in the first couple of hundred miles but it usually is ok at the test centre.

Yeah at the test yesterday they were also doing a Cobra although if my tester had been on time they would have managed to do 2 cars on the same lane at the same time I'm not sure.

But he got to the end of the lane & there was only the drive test, the axle weights & noise test to do, but it wouldn't start. The starter wouldn't engage or even turn, so we all tried to push it & it still wouldn't start, but then we noticed the fuel pump wasn't running. The tester must have touched something when he checked the battery, owner had a look in the boot & then we managed to push & get it started.

 

[250buggys]

Worst nightmare not starting.

 

[Phaeton]

New email 12th July, let the good times roll!!!! less than 2 weeks I can deal with that

 

[250buggys]

Perfect, that was worth sending that email. Good work Alan.

 

[Phaeton]

Think I also found the problem last night, I decided to strip the rear brakes down ready for the callipers arriving today only to find that the OS slider was seized, which was very strange as there was no evidence of any copper slip which I use, I'm now wondering if I put the calliper on & then got rained off or something, then never went back to finish it.

 

[250buggys]

Alan I am getting old too!

The 7 builders go round with a paint pen when they tourque up the bolts. I thought what a waste of a fiver! Didn't do it on the Freestyle...

Turns out it is pretty useful as when I revisited some of the suspension (has been on and off a few times for various reasons) some of the fixings were only finger tight.

I built my freestyle on my drive and when it rained the tarp went on and the tools went in the boot of the car. With all the motivation in the world, short sharp showers dont help for consistency in finishing and starting jobs again.

You need a garage or a lock up as when you run out of steam or light you can finish things

Dam that may have been a difference in a pass and a fail, have you fixed the indicators? You spotted that one as well.

Do you know if the cobra failed and what on?