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Category Archives: Technical & Discussion
How to increase seating capacity on trains
One of the advantages of travelling by train is that it gives you time out to read, chat, stare out the window or think. And it occurred to me on my daily train commute that the seating layout on Irish trains could be … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged carriage, dmu, increase capacity, ireland, Irish rail, seating, Train, trains
1 Comment
Make your own steam engine
With the school holidays upon us many kids are probably wondering what to do with their free time. Well why not help them to build a simple steam engine. I had a go myself some time ago, I made a … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged make your own, putt putt engine, steam engine, things to do, toy
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Ireland should buy an aircraft carrier with its aid budget
The recent theft of €4 million from the overseas aid given to Uganda, by Ireland, should lead to a rethinking of the Irish foreign aid programme. Despite Ireland’s serious economic woes, it has still managed to fund an aid programme … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged aircraft carriers, boat, foreign aid budget, infrastructure, ireland, Irish, ship, Uganda
6 Comments
Hand sketches: The buildings of the Phoenix Park
Hand sketching remains a very important part of the engineers skill set. Its a quick and easy way to communicate complex building details and concepts. Now that we can scan and e-mail sketches it means that little of the detail … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged artist, buildings, dublin, hand drawings, sheelagh duff, sketches, The Phoenix Park
1 Comment
The right tools: Cutting wood
In a previous post we discussed the importance of only burning dry seasoned firewood. I mentioned that I bought my own firewood, already cut, seasoned and dried for our wood burning stove, click here. However, a few months ago I … Continue reading
How do heat recovery systems work? Thermal Wheels
Heat recovery systems are a great way to save energy, and therefore money, for building owners. They reduce energy bills by using the expelled air to heat (or cool) the incoming air, depending on the season. Most designs use a … Continue reading
French motorways: 7 ideas we should copy
During my recent trip to France I did a lot of driving on their excellent motorway system. There are a lot of differences between their roads and ours, and not just that they drive on the right. But some of … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged France, French roads, Irish roads, Motorways, rest areas, service station, variable speed limits
4 Comments
The tallest building in Europe, for the moment: The Shard
London’s tallest building, The Shard, officially opened today to great fanfare. It is currently the tallest building in Europe at 310m high (1016 feet). It will retain the tallest in Europe title until the end of the year when The … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged Australia, Britain, buildings, floor height, London, tallest building in Europe, tallest buildings, The Shard
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Slate. A fragile wall cladding
Using slates as cladding for walls must have seemed like a great solution……at first. Slates are an inexpensive material, self cleaning, easy to source and the skills to install them are readily available i.e. roofers. But unfortunately they fail the … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged buildings, Slates, unsuitable cladding, wall cladding
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Bleeding a Firebird Popular 90 oil boiler
I received a query from a reader today asking how to bleed air from a Firebird popular oil boiler. This stems from a previous article on servicing oil boilers, see here. I thought I might as well share the answer with … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged bleed, firebird popular boiler, Oil Boiler, oil furnace, remove air, restart
27 Comments
