Warco verses Chester lathes

Hi All many thanks for all your help and suggestions the wood burner would be the answer but as I have a listed thatch cottage its a no no as my insurance would go up more than double ( could buy 4 lathes for the extra to pay ) the night storage looks to be the best option there is a 30 amp cable running to the workshop but part is split to a 30x15 greenhouse but the workshop supply could power a storage heater overnight that looks the way to go as both the Harrison and Mitchell lathes are a joy to use season greeting to you all

.

It's 1.5. It mat be 'rated' to 27 amps but actually do that over 25 mts and you would get a horrible case of VD.!

Nick

. Run that along a strainer wire above head height. Must be cheaper than underground and certainly cheaper than a new lathe!

Maybe not when you include the installation & certification costs, as supplies to outbuildings are Notifiable Work under Part P Building Regs and, depending on the cable length & load, the "27A" cable may not be adequate.

Nigel B

Woodburners might be ok in the open country but they are increasingly choking up our villages, towns and cities. The clean burn type approved for smokeless zones might be ok but homebrew things are generally filthy. Maybe you don't care, but you should.

The B&Q '27 amp outdooor armoured cable' at 1.5mm2 will do about half that (14.5 A) or around 3.5kW at 25m with under 5% voltage drop.

Why does everyone and his dog seem so averse to lots of insulation and reducing heating requirements to the absolute minimum (or nothing) ?

Storage heaters force you into a regime where your daytime electricity costs for everything else are significantly higher, for the dubious 'reward' of lower cost heating you may not even require the following day. Even with 100% occupancy they are evil antiquated things, always have been, always will be.

With a suitable south facing wall a solar air heater can be knocked together by a complete amateur in a couple of weeks.

Have both a solar heater and significant levels of insulation and you'll never need a gas, electric, wood or coal fired heater, leaving more money for workshop machines

A few links on solar air heaters:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_air_heat

http://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/PopCanVsScreen/PopCanVsScreen.htm

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/build-an-inexpensive-solar-heating-system-zmaz77ndzgoe

Back to the original question. I haven't bought a lathe or machine off either of them. However I did visit Chester and didn't like the attitude of the sales person I met. I mentioned several problem that can be found on Chinese lathes. He did know about them but the fact seemed to amuse him. Basically I am 100% sure if some one went in and bought there would be no mention of them.

Being fair though this sort of thing isn't unusual from sales people in any area. None of the these are great, i have one myself that can crop up in other areas though. Sellers do get complaints about all sorts of things that are sold. Fact. It unusual to find a sales person that will point some to another area for this reason. Maybe for another though.

John

-

Hi I like the idea of solar heating but living in a conservation area and a listed property this is a no no as for insulation there is 2 ins on the wall and 21/2 on the roof but being 20 ft x15 still gets very cold a friend has installed a heat pump but that again is expensive, so my options are a storage heater or a £900-00 lathe from as per the original question Warco or Chester to be used in winter on small items

I think I've heard you recount this experience elsewhere on the forum and, to be honest, off the back of your warning I have always avoided using them because of it.

The warco machines might be just problematic at times, more to do with the maker rather than the seller, but I certainly don't get the same chilly reception from warco, that chester seem to give with their lower prices.

The machines had things I needed to check out (plastic low gears in the machine broke over time) but there hasn't been any glaringly horrid problems, like spindle alignment.

My sympathies to boiler bri, that Boxford sure looked the business, and I like you would've thought the chester to be a good like for like match. On a lighter note for him, the size of that steam engine you're building! boy it looks ambitious.

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 20/12/2016 14:17:25

I'm unfamiliar with the regs but does it have to be armoured if overhead? Certainly would need to be weather/frost proof. I used to run 60/70 metres of arctic cable to my greenhouses before the full underground systems were put in and it was fine when in use. there is a legacy overhead cable to a barn here.. again attached to wire.. and not armoured. Yes, good circuit breakers. But I doubt that armoured cable would survive much better if someone drove under with a tall enough farm implement.........

You could go with a totally free standing solar heater if you are permitted a few large diameter (say 3 inch) holes in the structure.

The levels of insulation quoted, depending on the type, and the levels of comfort experienced may point to something possibly acceptable at some point in the 1960's. Things have moved on a lot since then.

Twenty eight sheets of 8ft x 4ft x 2 inch PIR insulation is just over 500 quid inc vat delivered. That covers all walls of a 20ftx15ft single level building with a flat roof / internal ceiling. A storage heater at the 2.5kW level is around 250 quid (inc vat) wholesale plus the installation and ongoing running costs.

A heat pump only brings the costs of daytime electric heating down to gas prices. 

But whatever, without the insulation you are simply throwing money through the roof (and walls and floor)

Edited By Martin 100 on 20/12/2016 15:26:23

At one time it didn't need to be armoured. Just a catenary wire was fine. Given a typical garage height that aspect wasn't a problem either. I'm thinking of a sloped roof prefabricated garages.

I'd be surprised if the cable didn't need to be armoured now, resistant to UV and temperature etc.

John

-

Edited By Ajohnw on 20/12/2016 15:54:20

I have had a Warco WMT300 for 12 years. Much more capable than I am. Prefer Warco as they are nearer and I like green...

As for heating - I have an unheated workshop & get condensation. Need, and plan on a brick forge at some point.

Heat an old granary with pallets using a Clarke pot bellied stove, got the biggest size so the pallet blocks will drop in whole. Every few weeks I dig out a couple of stone of burnt nails along with the ash.

Regards

Richard.