Tuesday 31 March 2020

The Heater and the Band

Readers you may recall I mentioned a problem with the gas instant hot water system on the exterior of the house.  The system ignites the gas burner when a hot water tap is turned on.  The problem was it only ignited intermittently.  My interim solution was to remove the heater front shield thereby exposing the system to more air.  This resulted in the heater being more reliable, however I still had the problem of an unshielded unit.

This week I backfilled and compacted the excavation I’d made outside the bathroom window for the new sewer connection.  Then I laid the original pavers.  This enabled me to remove everything stored under the gas heater on top of the newly laid pavers.

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Newly laid pavers

For more than a month I’ve been thinking the water heater problem might be caused by everything temporarily stored below it.  Now these have been relocated I replaced the heater shield and tested the unit.

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It’s back to working correctly.   Look for the simple things first! Smile

In 2016 our youngest son returned from an overseas trip and presented me with a fitness tracker.  It was a FitBit.  The unit tracked how many steps you walked in a day and you could share that information with family and friends who also had a FitBit.  I used it for almost a year before it died.  Subsequently I replaced it with a Xiaomi Mi Band 2.  Xiaomi is a chinese manufacturer and we own a number of their product.  The Band was good.  It not only tracked distance, but also heart rate and had a vibrating alarm function.  The two weaknesses were the strap catch (it broke) and the size of the monochrome display.  My eyesight is slowly degrading and I needed glasses to read the display.  The display on the Band was also starting to dim.  Eventually the second strap broke and I replaced it with a Xiaomi Mi Band 4. 

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Mi Band 2 at the top.

The Mi Band 4 has an OLED colour touch screen and is slightly larger.  It has all the functions of the Mi Band 2.  I’ve had it less than a month but it appears to have the same battery life as the Band 2; about 40 days between recharges.  As you can see in the above photo it’s 09:21 on Tue 31 Mar.  I’ve walked 534 steps and the battery is 40% charged.  I have set the daily distance target to 8000 steps (about 6km).  Two of my circuits are that length and the third is approximately 12000 steps.  The Band vibrates when I’ve achieved the target.  I have also set three vibrating alarms to remind me when it is time to take my daily heart medication.  The Band 4 was slightly more expensive than the Band 2 costing me about A$50.  I like it!

Yesterday I started another project.  I don’t have all the materials which means won’t be able to complete it until the pandemic is over.  I’m making a cabinet for the front room which will contain all the small souvenirs Jan purchased whilst we were living on Waiouru.  There is an ulterior motive.  He ‘nick-nacks’ are occupying valuable cupboard storage space.  Currently I’m working with recycled timber constructing the base.

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Mike when thespians say “Break a Leg” it’s rhetorical.  You’re not supposed to actually go out and break a leg!   Still, if you are going to be laid up for several weeks in isolation now is probably a good time. Smile

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