griffdsp

it would make for a good experiment to see which method works best, takes me back to my school days:)

Just been thinking about your idea. Radiators are quite bulky and hold large volumes of water but only a cirtan amount of the water will come into contact with the sun warmed metal.

With this in mind, this would be my solution.

I would have thought that using a similar system (Glass box with none reflective backing to hold the heat) but instead of using a rad, use a length of micro bore gas pipe, say 8mm dia, coiled, but spread out. this would improve the surface area of the water in contact with hot metal and as copper conducts heat better rather than an aluminum rad, this would improve the effectiveness of the system!

With this system you would need to fluctuate the pump on and off giving the pipe time to reheat the cold water say 30 seconds on, 240 seconds off bursts. Your local electric parts supplier should be able to help you out with a suitable device to do this.

Just a thought!

The question is how much would it cost to run 10 x 100 watt bulbs for a year and does the cost of the turbine offset its self? i suppose it would over time but i wonder how long it would take!

lol,

I was on a job for a friend last month fitting a full Bathroom, This included fitting a full suite and tiling a floor and walls. I have tiled many walls and floors in the past with varying success getting better every time I did work, but this job proved to be very different to anything I have ever tackled before. The suite went in no problems within the day as it happened and the following day we started to tackle the walls with the tiles. I managed to do three quarters of the walls in one day and they where left to set over night. The next day we came to hang the chrome towel radiator. Man! I have never seen anything like it. I thought we came equipped with every tool we would need but I was so wrong. We marked out the holes needed and proceeded to crank up the drill with a standard masonry bit. It didn't even make a mark on the tile. we tried a metal bit, special tile spade bit from B&Q, even a quite expensive (£45) stone tungsten tiped core bit but all we managed to do was make about a 3mm wide, 0.5mm deep scratch on the tile. Baffled was the word! after 3 days of messing around we eventually contacted the tile manufacturers for advice and where told only a diamond bit would get through them... The cheapest we could find one for was around £100. We had been to every tool shop in town trying to fid a cheap alternative then I had the bright idea of checking out the tile shop round the corner to me and they sold me a diamond core bit and gave me the following advice

1: Keep the bit wet at all times

2: Drill slowly, slowest possible speed (remember the tortoise and the hare)

3: Each bit will last for 1-2 holes

Low and behold it worked. 5 days after we started drilling, we managed to drill 3, 6mm holes to hang a towel radiator.

The moral of this story is, if normal drill bits wont work then forget the likes of B&Q and machine mart, stick to the bits available from your tile suppliers as they know what tool is best for the job, sounds common sense but its not as obvious as it seems as this story proves!

If your used to using the cheap pack of screwdrivers from the pound shop but sick of the edges of the tips breaking off, then this is something you should consider. They don't come cheap but to be honest I couldn't work without them now! They are extremely strong and the last pack I bought was 3 years ago.

I must have been through a good 30,000 screws using a 24v electric driver without clutch support and not one of my tips have ever failed. I have lost a few down cracks in floor boards and other inaccessible places but not one of these diamond coated tips have ever snapped, sheared or blunted in any way. If your looking for recommendations for the best screwdrivers then you need to be looking for any that are coated in the diamond coating.

I was going to say I would be interested to hear off anyone who has bought a pack and experienced any problems with them, but all I could expect would be tumble weeds to blow through this tread, lol so I will ask anyone who knows a particular brand to shine for value for money or build quality to post your stories here.

Remember! when looking for a screwdriver or screwdriver bit, in my opinion look for diamond coated!

My name is Mark. Been involved in DIY for at least 6 years since I bought my run down house. Due to lack of money I had to learn the hard way and I taught myself most trades. there isn't much I don't know about the building trade so if you need any advice or help just ask me and I will endeavour to help!