Barry

I wonder if it is possible to connect the filter inlet and outlet pipes together then trying the taps. No more air spurting identifies the filter as the problem

Agreed Carbon monoxide alarms are an essential

Ah Not my field

The Fountain is a grand pub indeed. Had my first ever pint of Titanic Plum Porter in there at the back end of summer. That beer rapidly became my lady's favourite

Ken

Not really A barb has a forward facing point and a second point on the side facing backwards

Oooh they would work And be fun to have if you like shiny little tools

Or my favourite gland unpacking tool when I were a lad in't merchant navy.... A welding rod with one end ground to a point then the last 3/8in nipped in a vice and tapped round to make a sharp right angle

One of the things I like about banters is the different ways people travel to get there. Some by car, some by train, and some will travel for days to come by boat. Its all rather grand really

Yes. It increases the saleability not the value

Gland packing is generally either 1/4in or 5/16 square. It is important that you buy the correct one. Measure the diameter of the shaft and the outside diameter of the gland follower and subtract one from the other to find the correct size. You need to dig the old packing out before you re-pack with new packing. Last one I did I used an electric screwdriver and kept picking at it till I could feel hard metal at the bottom of the stuffing box all the way round the circumference of the shaft. If the packing is a little tight to push in give it a little tap with a hammer to thin it out a bit in one plane so it pushes in nicely

Yep. first ones Doen't matter what you paid for it. It's what someone else would pay for it now that matters

My brother in law is called Daz. Grand chap. I am also a believer

Both of those are things of beauty!

I can reduce the amount of kindling used by making my own firelighters I use a cheap milk pan to melt old wax stubs or even new tea lights (£1.75/100 from IKEA) and then chuck in handfulls of sawdust till all the wax has soaked in. Then while still hot spoon the mixture into an egg carton and press it down. The wax in the mixture sticks the sawdust into the egg carton and acts as a wick to light it. I either cut them into individual firelighters with scissors or tear them apart. I've timed a burn with one (not six) on a cooling tray in the garden at about 15 - 20 minutes. Using one to light the squirrel I only need half a dozen pieces of kindling with a few coal briquettes on top and away the fire goes. It might be worth experimenting to see if two or three of these will burn long enough to light coal briquettes without any kindling at all