For those of you that think I moan incessantly, here's proof my luck is appalling.

Ten days ago I bought a cheap garden shredder from B&Q, Chinese made. Should have known better, it blew every fuse I put in it, and refused to run, so back it went.

I then splashed out for a Makita, with two year warranty, from Axminster Tools. It arrived next day, plugged in and away it went, backwards, forwards, fine. It sat inside awaiting finer weather.

Today I took it in the garden, and set it up, but all I got was a flashing red light, "machine has a problem which it cannot recover from, please clear manually".

Opened it up: nothing in it, as I suspected.

So I now have to arrange it's return tomorrow.

How on EARTH can two machines, brand new, BOTH be faulty for me?

 

Stop moaning.

 

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/webim..._620/image.jpg

 

I have just found out my 2 boys have broken all my garden gnomes, by playing football in the (front part) of the garden!!! :-(

life can be cruel sometimes

 

At least the fresh air keeps your boys 'elfy.

 

Exactly @ #4.

Alcy, I'm sorry to hear that.

I knew someone who used to say that black cloud always followed him around everywhere. Anything he touched just shattered into pieces!

 

Dark clouds bring waters, when the bright bring none. - John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress.

 

Ok, but to him


“I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.”
― Langston Hughes

Now I can tell him without the help of Plgrim's Progress that:

“You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.”
― Edwin Louis Cole

...but it doesn't mean he'd listen.

I don't know him any longer. I don't think I ever did; I mean, well enough. I don't think he ever knew himself that well either. That would have been the part of his compulsive 'dark cloud' problem.

 

Update:

It works perfectly when plugged into a socket in the main house.

It won't work when plugged into one in the utility, or garage

I'll be asking Makita for advice tomorrow. Plugging it in inside the house means the cable is no longer long enough, plus it's too cold to have a door or windows open.

It might be something to do with volts drop, but it must be BLOODY sensitive......

 

Or a neutral fault on the garage supply....

Overloads on devices like this are usually half an amp or less. So it is designed to be sensitive. Probably means the supply to the garage isn't big enough

 

rewire the whole house , just to make sure

 

I've checked in the garage, but it's the boilerhouse, utility, and porch too. And those three are on the house ring.

I'll see what Makita recommend.

The Bosch one I have in France doesn't have the same problem, but DOES cost £100 more.

 

That'd be my guess. Try powering it using an extension lead plugged into the house.

 

So a smaller cable, ran the same distance? That will give you MORE volt drop.....


You have proved the machine works. Take two items the machine and something else and plug in to the same outlet at the same time

 

The cable on the extension lead should (he says) be good for 13A without significant volt drop. All I was trying to establish was if the issue lied with the garage wiring or not.

 

Yes good for 13A.

However, the volt drop will be greater on a smaller cable than the garage cable (providing it is adequately sized and should be bigger than the 1.50mm. ...). So not really proving much.

 

That's not bad luck: if it had worked and you'd fallen in it, that would have been bad luck!

 

And still posted whining 😂

 

Just use it in the house - will get the missis moaning too

 

Get yourself a socket and see tester for sockets

 

Jesus christ, just use an extension lead.

 

Wheres the fun (moan factor ) in that

 

The instruction booklet says that any extension lead must be of 2.5mm sq cross sectional area...not many are that.

It also talks about volts drop on over-long extension leads. The one I have is 1.5mm sq only.

This device is 2500W, so on 230V, that's 10.86Amps, should be well within the acceptable range. UNLESS it has a large starting current?

I'll post what Makita say tomorrow. If I'm not satisfied, back it goes and I'll have to find £100 more for the Bosch.

What I can't get my head round is how I'm getting enough volts drop on a 2.5mm sq hard-wired spur, to make it not want to work.

And why the sockets in the outer buildings, boiler-house, porch and utility, ALL on the SAME ring as those in the house, just refuse to work?

Decent MK sockets too.

 

How do you mean? One in each side of a double socket?

What sort of other item, or doesn't it matter?

 

Take another item to the shed or whatever. Plug in next to and operate both at the same time. Will prove there are no neutral faults etc.if you have a neutral fault it will reduce the voltage.

If it is specifying a 2.5 flex then it will have a large starting current and will be sensitive to volt drop etc.

 

Maybe makita should have made the power requirements clearer.

 

lol

 

Get a petrol one

 

Spoken to Makita, they say it's an induction motor, so needs a full voltage to start it.

They suggest either getting someone out to check my volts drop, or buying some device that will do it for me?

Any suggestions?

 

How far is the garage away from your db? You shouldn't be getting that much volt drop. That's what makes me think a possible neutral fault.

Are you out in the middle of nowhere?