Having trouble with untidy cables? Having an old ringbound manual taking up space. Dump the paper in the wastepaper recycle bin and put the ringbinder around the cables. Voila!
Electrical
01 January 2012
21 December 2010
Women enabling women
Women working together - the Women's Charter & how to work together
Social Development - rights, justice, legal help, social welfare, health, HIV-AIDS, marriage & divorce, violence & women, homosexuality, death & dying, children & youth, education & training
Economic development & job creation - consumer issues, work & women, making own money, agriculture
Physical infrastructure - land & housing, water & sanitation (toilets), electricity, road & transport, telephones
Who makes the rules? - the Constitution, the Commission on Gender Equality, different parts of the government
Development and how it happens - what development is, how development happens
All this and more forms part of a UKZN Centre for Adult Education & Midlands Women's Group publication, first published 1999 - 2nd edition 2004.
09 August 2010
Oh, No! The hot water tap is cold
Visions of a hot bath or shower after a hard day's work …
… vanishes as the water flowing, with the mixer set to the usual hot water side (or form the usual hot water tap), remains cold.
Unfortunately hot-water geyser-elements and thermostats only have a certain lifespan, which get drastically shortened if the water-supply in the area is interrupted for some or other reason and the elements of the geyser get exposed due to water usage/drainage. The geyser's thermostat regulates the element, by switching it on when the water-temperature drops below a certain level and switches off when the water reaches a certain temperature. As water is drained from the geyser, the geyser fills up and both the element and thermostat remains emerged in water. If for some reason the water do not fill up, it is best to switch the geyser off to protect the element, until the geyser has filled up again.
It is not necessary to replace the geyser if either the element of thermostat (or both) no longer works.
Switch the geyser off first.
Thereafter empty the geyser, by linking a pipe to the valve and then opening the valve to let the water run out to an appropriate place, for example the garden.
Undo the wiring to the element and mark which side goes where.
A special geyser spanner and substantial leverage is usually necessary to loosen the element.
Remove the element and buy a replacement element of the correct kind.
Replace the element and tighten it with the special geyser spanner.
Fill the geyser, while reconnecting the wiring and once filled, switch it back on. If the thermostat is still working, the geyser should now produce hot water again.
Replacing the thermostat is less of an hassle.
The geyser need not be emptied, but first switch the geyser off. Uncouple the wiring and pull the thermostat out of its tube-socket.
Push the new thermostat in, reconnect the wiring and switch it back on.
10 October 2009
Electrical plugs
I was wondering what to start with. Browsing for images, I found a page where Janice Anderssen, DIY diva, explains most elequently how to rewire a plug.
DIY divas, in association with Builders Warehouse, offer a range of courses below a slogan: Forget about that unreliable handyman, or overpriced contractor, we show you how to tackle your own home repairs and minor emergencies. Among others, a basic electrical course.
It is important to differentiate between the appliance plug and the outlet socket, often refered to as (wall) plug. There are a multitude of plugs in use and compatability can present a problem. Like if you took along on holiday your powerful hairdryer with its diffuser, but forgot to take the relevant adaptor.
The standard three point South Africa plug
(the M-type) differs from other, for example the D-type, with the bottom two pins wider appart, and the G-type, with flat pins. Rather than replacing the latter if it is on an adapter, one can obtain an 'travel adapter'.