well it finally happened I got a visit from the council

falling-out-with-my-car · 30 Apr 2010, 02:22

I have been processing waste veg oil now since october 2009 and running my citroen xantia with it.
I reckon it costs me about 35p a litre to put it through all the filtering that is heating it up in 205 litre drums taking into account the cost of filters electricity and evrything else associated with cleanning and purchaseing the waste oil.

I bought a new silent diesel generator about a month ago it is 20 db quieter than my old generator and 30 db quiter than my smaller petrol generator but some wally decided to complain after a month of using it to power my 3 kw heaters for 2 hours twice a week, that it is to noisey and the exhaust smells with so many houses on our estate I just havent got a clue
who.

fortunately I got the thumbs up from the inspection they did and that includes the generator
(actually there is no law against running a generator anyway), I have decided to build an activated charcoal filter for the exhaust and if that doesnt take the whiff of burnning veg away from the exhaust I'll go to one of those hippy shops that sell josticks and insense and buy some the strong scented oil that can be heated by a candle for air freshner and pour it into the filter canister.

as for noise I shall install an industrial sized fan to extract the heat created by the generator in an enclosed workshop instead of having the windows open to let the heat out, so it should improove things.

at least I dont have to worry about attracting unwanted attention anymore running the car on veg oil even if it is legal.

davetherave · Unread post by **davetherave** » 30 Apr 2010, 06:03

Ive always wanted to run a house from a generator running on WVO.
At least my cold method soesnt use electricity! Its just more difficult in winter.

Unread post by **myglaren** » 30 Apr 2010, 06:53

How about some baffles, maybe in polystyrene, to reduce the sound level of the genny?

Xaccers · Unread post by **Xaccers** » 30 Apr 2010, 07:54

Nigel, I've had a visit from the environmental health officers before (thankfully I was out) due to a petty neighbour.
I'd lent her one of my cars after the gearbox on her scenic blew up.
She did nothing but moan about it, I think because she'd talked about buying it and wanted to talk the price down.
In the end I took it off her and when the tax ran out, moved it to my parents.
I suspect she feels hard done by, thinking that I've sold it to someone else.

There's ivy growing up between our houses, and it was making it's way through her window frames.
I had several car parts (wing, bumper, bonnet) in the front garden, and she called the EHD making them come out.
They couldn't tell me who'd made the complaint, but said they couldn't see anything from a EH viewpoint which was a problem so they'd be telling the complainant that.
Next thing I know, she's phoned up screaming at my letting agency saying they don't do proper inspections, demanding to know when the next one was and demanding to be in on it, to which the letting agency told her to go jump.
They sent out a contractor to investigate the ivy which she was demanding the landlord pay to have removed.
Best thing was, the ivy came from her side of the garden so she had to pay!
Ok, she's only cleared her side, and since then has backed off other than the off snide remark, but I'm waiting for her to kick off again, at which point I'll mention the letting agency want her to pay for her ivy to be removed from their property

Julz · Unread post by **Julz** » 30 Apr 2010, 08:55

myglaren wrote:How about some baffles, maybe in polystyrene, to reduce the sound level of the genny?

I used to belong to a caving club that had their generator housed in a small "kennel" type enclosure outside that was soundproofed, could hardly hear it.

XantiaDaveEire · Unread post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 30 Apr 2010, 11:32

neighbours eh

I live in a cul-de-sac where as you would imagine space is tight for everyone,so theres a horrible little man who lives next door to me (lucky me) who thinks he owns the space in the cul-de-sac and particularly outside my house to park half way across my driveway blocking me in ,he has a big long fancy chrysler family carrier,so it takes up a lot of space and if he doesnt park that there he rents a van twice the size of that for his "business" many scratches have mysteriously appeared on my car,the guards have said nothing to him because surely an older man than myself couldnt be harrasing a younger man and its even come to the point where his son in law came in and physicaly attacked me and drew blood ...but yet again..nothing ever became of the statement i made because and i quote"hes gone back to Scotland and he wont be back to Ireland for a good while so we cant do anything"...all in all people always get whats coming to them ,just like these ignorant stuck up bastards will

HDI · Unread post by **HDI** » 30 Apr 2010, 12:26

davetherave wrote:Ive always wanted to run a house from a generator running on WVO.
At least my cold method soesnt use electricity! Its just more difficult in winter.

I'm in the process of doing just that with a Lister CS Start-O-Matic gen set !

falling-out-with-my-car · 30 Apr 2010, 12:47

myglaren wrote:How about some baffles, maybe in polystyrene, to reduce the sound level of the genny?

I have decided to make a charcoal filter for the exhaust pipe loosely packed and extend the height of the exhaust stack to 10ft from 5 ft.

at least I can say I have bothered to make an effort to offer a solution instead of just doing nothing at all.

My Housing manager called today and she is happy with the fact that the enviroment agency passed my filter system and generator as being well within the regulations.

when I am not burnning fossil fuels, not selling the fuel for profit and just abiding by the rules, saving thousands of litres of oil from polluting the enviroment which could otherwise be poured down the drains to pollute our water supplies and rivers.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 30 Apr 2010, 12:48

I'm lucky with my neighbours. We all share a "live and let live" ethos and get along fine although I'm sure some people would find living in my close pretty intolerable.

We have a neighbour who has a big uber-long wheelbase Sprinter that takes up a load of room and wakes us all up at silly o'clock when he leaves for work. Then there's the bloke who's always mucking about with Xantias

And so on and so forth.. What I'm trying to say is that all of us could niggle seven bells out of each other but we don't because we're tolerant and accept it as part of life's rich tapestry. I reckon we need only one new person to live in the close who does not share that view and things might well change.

In this (often needlessly) stressful world we inhabit, I can see how some things would send people off the edge and make them do irrrational things. For instance, these past few days have been perfect for enjoying the great outdoors and our gardens.

Except that as soon as you are out of doors you are practically deafened by the racket made by hundreds of lawnmowers, strimmers, DIY work involving masonary drills and other awssorted power tools all running amok. As if that were not bad enough, most people seem to feel the need to sacrifice and then cremate some poor unfortunate chicken or cow upon a bed of charcoal whenever the weather is fine. Is this some pagen ritual to the sun-god or something to ensure continuing fine weather?

I believe the activity is known as a "barbie". I hate it with avengence, the smell make me feel ill. If I were of a sort of person, I'd really get the 'ump about it and raise complaints but hey, live and let live. I'm sure my activities annoy some just as much.

If only more took the attitude, there would be a lot more neighbourly harmony....

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 30 Apr 2010, 12:56

Nigel,

You've got the OK to do what you do with the veg. but now do your bit and do what you can to reduce the niggle your genny and brewing activities cause and if this involves a Kennel and a few panels to deaden the sound then so be it.

And if you run the genny on veg then you'll need to do something about the pong. Not everyone enjoys the stench of combusted veg as much as we do!

falling-out-with-my-car · 30 Apr 2010, 13:02

Jim,

I with you ther on barbies mate I hate them to, I remember inb the 70's and 80's people use to have the decency to knock your front door and say I'm gonna light a bonfire do you want to get your washing in?

today we come home to clothes stinking of bonfire and barbies.

the other thing that annoys me about the barby is the fact that the often drunk pilot seems to deem it safe to prop it up against a sun baked dry fence panel which has your home on the other side of it, a very dangerous practice indeed, when we used to have fireworks I always had two buckets of sand one in use the other cooling down and a bucket of water handy.

how many barby users even think of a bucket of water standing by just in case the fence goes up?

too worried about filling their bellys with carsonagenic cancer triggering burnt charcoal foods and Beer.

as for the smell of the lighter fluid it absolutely stinks and makes me feel sick in the stomach the combusting veggie oil on the other hand makes me feel a tad hungry. there is definately a case for making a lighter fluid from WVO, then all barbies would smell like frying chips except for Kens.

falling-out-with-my-car · 30 Apr 2010, 13:18

If they had bothered to approach me and ask me if I could tone down the generator noise with a please on the end of the sentance, I m would have moved heaven and earth to help them out.

falling-out-with-my-car · 30 Apr 2010, 13:21

falling-out-with-my-car wrote:
CitroJim wrote:
And if you run the genny on veg then you'll need to do something about the pong. Not everyone enjoys the stench of combusted veg as much as we do!

you really didnt read the whole thread did you Jim

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 30 Apr 2010, 14:53

falling-out-with-my-car wrote: you really didnt read the whole thread did you Jim.

I did

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 30 Apr 2010, 23:55

You all need a holiday in Australia!

Thanks for reminding me (again!) just how good I have got it here.

^∞