49 minutes ago, unofix said:

Other intresting news is that the single largest know Lithium deposit in the world just happens to be in Afganistan !!

 

Should also effect the production of iPad/iPhone/iCr*p products too LOL Every cloud,eh?

59 minutes ago, unofix said:

Other intresting news is that the single largest know Lithium deposit in the world just happens to be in Afganistan !!

Yes, amazing how little attention seems to have been paid to that one! I guess we're still vaguely on topic here as it's (for now) a vital component in plans to decarbonise. I'm sure President Xi will sell us some though - at a price!

1 hour ago, unofix said:

Other intresting news is that the single largest know Lithium deposit in the world just happens to be in Afganistan !!

Then to just put the icing on the cake sort of speak, the Chinese goverment are already in talks with the Taliban over mineral rights, which looks like going ahead.

On the plus side, the US withdrawl from Afganistan may just have set the future of lithium battery powered cars back another twenty years.

Think I will hang on to my diesel for the next decade at least.

might keep my diesel now its finished its running in period. hopefully soon i should get some decent mpg going to work amd back. ever the hopefull. 

17 hours ago, unofix said:

Other intresting news is that the single largest know Lithium deposit in the world just happens to be in Afganistan !!

Then to just put the icing on the cake sort of speak, the Chinese goverment are already in talks with the Taliban over mineral rights, which looks like going ahead.

You can always rely on the Yanks to f**k things up. The Chinese will get in wherever they can to gain advantage over the West and have no concern over human rights. That's why I try to avoid buying anything manufactured in China, difficult though that is.

I seem to recall that, rightly or wrongly, the original aim of the "war on terror" 20 years ago was to deal with the issue of Afghanistan (and elsewhere) supposedly hosting terrorist groups. Then things got sidetracked into promoting western democratic values to people who, in many cases, were not interested, ending up where we are now.

I always think of the old saying "when you're up to you're ar*e in crocodiles, it's difficult to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp". 

The Chinese seem to like a good saying, it'll be interesting to see if they remember that one!

 

12 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I seem to recall that, rightly or wrongly, the original aim of the "war on terror" 20 years ago was to deal with the issue of Afghanistan (and elsewhere) supposedly hosting terrorist groups...

 

It may be hard to swallow, but our democratic philosophy isn't a worldwide panacea for everyone. In this case, we are definitely the bad ones for overstepping our initial objective. If we wanted a regime change, we needed the b*lls to see it through long term. We (the West) are the protagonist in this case...

3 hours ago, StephenFord said:

It may be hard to swallow, but our democratic philosophy isn't a worldwide panacea for everyone. 

Lol, it sounds as if some of us on here are able to swallow it. I often think our politicians should keep a copy of Lady Elizabeth Butler's painting "Remnants of an Army", as below, on their wall, before embarking on interventions.

Vaguely going back to the topic, and remembering Guy Martin demonstrating an EV fire:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gm-recalls-all-chevy-bolts-due-to-fire-risk-says-owners-should-park-outside-and-limit-charging/#app

 

I recall they had similar problems with the batteries on the Dreamliner when it was first introduced. The tests they did in the Guy Martin programme seemed to show that modern versions are pretty resistant to catching fire after damage. In reality it's pretty difficult to foresee all problems that might crop up. It's encouraging to see GM stepping up to do something rather than trying to sweep it under the carpet like Vauxhall did initially with their heater fires and Whirlpool with their deadly washing machines.

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I often think our politicians should keep a copy of Lady Elizabeth Butler's painting "Remnants of an Army", as below, on their wall, before embarking on interventions.

As someone pointed out on Any Questions the reason for the intervention was the Taliban hosting Al Qaeda which had carried out an act of war on US soil. The Yanks invoked article 5 of the Nato treaty which says an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all, so that's why we and other Nato members got involved. The mission was successful in the sense that for the last 20 years no terrorist attacks have been mounted from Afghanistan and women in that country have benefitted from education and other freedoms they were being denied.

The failure of the West to intervene in Syria resulted in a bl00dy civil war where Russia, another regime that doesn't give a f**k for human rights, stepped in to prop up Assad in his savage attacks on his own people, including bombing hospitals (possibly carried out by Russian aircraft).

As someone once said "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance". If the Western democracies don't push back against these nasty regimes they will simply become emboldened, possibly to the point where another really serious war breaks out.

3 hours ago, mjt said:

... heater fires and Whirlpool with their deadly washing machines.

I believe it was their deadly tumble dryers LOL I had one and it underwent their official modification to stop it burning my house down 🤣

Not to forget the plastic backed fridges and flammable cladding used on tower blocks across the country...

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

I believe it was their deadly tumble dryers LOL I had one and it underwent their official modification to stop it burning my house down 🤣

I had one of those, indesit variant. I refused the mod on the 10yr old tumble dryer  and had a brand new one at £280 for £50 instead. 

42 minutes ago, iantt said:

I had one of those, indesit variant. I refused the mod on the 10yr old tumble dryer  and had a brand new one at £280 for £50 instead. 

Hotpoint only offered the potential replacement in 'white' which  would have not matched my grey washing machine,hence the acceptance of the modification LOL

18 hours ago, mjt said:

Whirlpool with their deadly washing machines.

Vaguely on the energy topic. I've mentioned in other threads that I have some older electrical stuff that is still good after 40years plus. Generally find now you're lucky to get 3-5 years so was not too surprised to be contacted about our 3 year old Hotpoint branded washer, with a warning that the door lock could catch fire. We were offered repair or replacement so went for a replacement. The process was very efficiently handled, somewhat to our surprise.

Shortly after we were contacted by G-Tech with a warning that the Lithium-ion battery pack on a handheld vac could also catch fire! A replacement battery pack was supplied, again very efficient.

56 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Vaguely on the energy topic. I've mentioned in other threads that I have some older electrical stuff that is still good after 40years plus. Generally find now you're lucky to get 3-5 years so was not too surprised to be contacted about our 3 year old Hotpoint branded washer, with a warning that the door lock could catch fire. We were offered repair or replacement so went for a replacement. The process was very efficiently handled, somewhat to our surprise.

Shortly after we were contacted by G-Tech with a warning that the Lithium-ion battery pack on a handheld vac could also catch fire! A replacement battery pack was supplied, again very efficient.

My Hotpoint Washer Dryer developed a fault on the door lock around 18 months old.  Hotpoint couldn't find the right one...sent me 3 incorrect ones and then stated they couldn't help any further.  Now I'm wondering if it was part of a dodgy batch that was superseded.  

Still have it now, need to make sure I'm around when the cycle finishes.  Have to give the machine casing a 'nudge' if it doesn't unlock within a couple of minutes.  Sometimes the lock gets stuck and the machine starts a constant drain cycle with nothing to drain.  Worried it'll burn out the waterpump if left.  Keep looking at replacements for when it finally fails, but every appliance seems to have negative reviews nowadays.  Would rather avoid Whirlpool if possible...current contender is LG.

I bought a Karcher window vac recently (yes it's a gimmick, no it doesn't do a better job!  ) which got me thinking about all the batteries in here...phones, laptops, toothbrush, shaver, drill, impact wrench...  I wonder how much each increases the chance of a house fire... 

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

 

Keep looking at replacements for when it finally fails, but every appliance seems to have negative reviews nowadays. 

I got really distressed last time I was selecting a washing machine, as I could not find one with a hot water feed, unlike the older one I was replacing. This means that even if you have a household tank of boiling hot water, all washing machines just take in a cold feed,and boil it up - some climate emergency LOL

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

I got really distressed last time I was selecting a washing machine, as I could not find one with a hot water feed, unlike the older one I was replacing. This means that even if you have a household tank of boiling hot water, all washing machines just take in a cold feed,and boil it up - some climate emergency LOL

Blimey, was that 1995!?

It takes less energy to heat the small amount of water in the machine than to re-heat the same amount taken from a hot water tank and replaced with cold as far as I understand.  🤔

 

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

I got really distressed last time I was selecting a washing machine, as I could not find one with a hot water feed, unlike the older one I was replacing. This means that even if you have a household tank of boiling hot water, all washing machines just take in a cold feed,and boil it up - some climate emergency LOL

If your tank is full of boiling water, it way too hot, and where does the steam go ?

You should only have the hot water at a temp your hands can cope with and never need to add cold water to the hot, it saves energy and water.  😁

11 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Blimey, was that 1995!?

It takes less energy to heat the small amount of water in the machine than to re-heat the same amount taken from a hot water tank and replaced with cold as far as I understand.  🤔

 

Yes, I thought that was a bit weird. However, when you draw water from the hot tap, unless you've just used some, it usually needs to run for a while before it comes out hot, whether you still have a hot tank (we do) or have to run it through an "instantaneous" combi boiler, which seems to take even longer!

 Added to which, a lot of machines now have cycles where the water temperature is not actually that hot, probably cooler than what is in the hot tank (if you have one).

18 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Blimey, was that 1995!?

It takes less energy to heat the small amount of water in the machine than to re-heat the same amount taken from a hot water tank and replaced with cold as far as I understand.  🤔

 

That sounds right, as the added cold water will cool all the water in the tank, thus having to reheat the entire tank full back up.

4 minutes ago, Mark-UK said:

You should only have the hot water at a temp your hands can cope with and never need to add cold water to the hot, it saves energy and water.

Thats not actually correct. Water stored should be 65C or above, at tempratures below that you can get all sorts of bateria growing in the tank. Any plumbers or gas fitters on here will confirm that domestic hot water Tank stats have to be set at 65C. For hospitals, hotels, schools and factories the water temprature is even higher (85C but I might be wrong) and they have point of use mixer valves located near the sink which adds in cold to reduce the temprature to about 34C.

11 minutes ago, unofix said:

Thats not actually correct. Water stored should be 65C or above, at tempratures below that you can get all sorts of bateria growing in the tank. Any plumbers or gas fitters on here will confirm that domestic hot water Tank stats have to be set at 65C. For hospitals, hotels, schools and factories the water temprature is even higher (85C but I might be wrong) and they have point of use mixer valves located near the sink which adds in cold to reduce the temprature to about 34C.

Yes your correct for stored water, I was think more about combi boilers to be honest, as I've not had a tank for over a decade

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Blimey, was that 1995!?

 

Nope, 2015, just checked receipt LOL (Oh, the machine it replaced was bought in 1987!)

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

It takes less energy to heat the small amount of water in the machine than to re-heat the same amount taken from a hot water tank and replaced with cold as far as I understand.

That may be technically correct but the energy used to heat the washing machine is more expensive than that used to heat the tank. Like Stephen I tried to get a replacement machine (for our 18-year-old Siemens) with hot and cold fill and found they weren't available any more. Anyway, replaced with another Siemens so it'll be interesting to see how long this one lasts.

It's amusing to see the way the thread has veered onto this topic just because I mentioned "Whirlpool's deady machines".

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

It takes less energy to heat the small amount of water in the machine than to re-heat the same amount taken from a hot water tank and replaced with cold as far as I understand.  🤔

 

Now, I'd be interested in the science behind that, of using an existing 15 liters of already heated water, against (maybe if needed)) reheating a 200 liter tank back up (which very often isn't needed as you don't always have to have a full tank of hot water)