05-12-2020, 07:56 PM
(05-12-2020, 03:46 PM)Mike Costigan Wrote: We lived opposite a steep hill comprising of three arable fields; this was the first (and only) year that we could sledge from top to bottom without navigating narrow gaps in the hedges - we just went straight over the topsI was working for a firm of heating engineers as the electrical and controls expert. My 1932 RP boiled each morning a few hundred yards down the road (I kept it outside), so I would stop and add more antifreeze on successive days until the boiling problem had stopped. We were called at work by many people who had no water because the underground mains had frozen despite being at a proper depth. The boss said 'couldn't we do something with a welding transformer?' so I was sent out with a pair of fitters to see what we could do. Generally we connected the primary to the main fuse of the incoming electrical supply, usually beefing up the fuse first; the secondary was connected by the stopcock in one house at one end and the other end to a similar position next door. The resulting short circuit routed from one house to the road, along the road and back to the second house, with a useful heating effect in the pipes giving a flow of water at both kitchen taps which had been opened. In most cases the water was full of scale and rust for some seconds followed by a clear flow and two satisfied customers. When we had done this twice I returned to the warm office and left the lads to it!
