Does it dip in time with the AC compressor clutch kicking in? On a petrol engine the HEVAC tells the engine ECU that the compressor is about to engage so it can adjust the Idle Air valve to maintain the idle speed. Presumably the diesel has something similar but no idea what. One of our resident diesel experts should be able to tell you.

j_rov wrote:

Richard: Does 300 miles to a take sound normal? I know you run LPG but thinking you must have done the odd full take of unleaded when you are out of LPG?

I think my fuel gauge has only ever got above half full about twice is all the time I've owned the car so have never run on a full tank of petrol. The petrol in the tank is regarded the same as the spare wheel, for use in emergencies only and for as little time as possible. In fact, I've worn out the track on the sender at just below the 1/4 full mark so it either reads below that or above it, when it hits that point it drops off the bottom, the low fuel light comes on and the dash comes up with Fuel Gauge Fault. At that point I bung another 10 litres in just to move the sender (and freshen up the stale petrol).

However, it's a 100 litre petrol tank so that is 22 gallons, 300 miles on 22 gallons works out to 13.6mpg. A bit low but with a twin axle caravan that is going to be higher than the car and being driven with the revs kept down, probably about right. Use Sport mode and give it some revs, travelling slower isn't the most economical as the revs want to be above 2,000 rpm.

Since I changed my gearbox, the new one changes up at higher revs than the old one did and my economy has improved as it is keeping it in the power band more.

I've found the thing that affects fuel consumption more than anything is aerodynamics. Even an empty box trailer will make a hell of a difference, particularly in a headwind, whereas a car transporter loaded with something that is lower than the P38, even though it weighs far more will have much less of an affect. I've also found that using Sport mode and getting the revs up makes quite a difference on hills. The speed can be dropping when the revs are down to around 2k but cause it to drop down a gear and get the revs up to 3k and it will accelerate uphill. If you can keep your speed up to 70mph, the hills don't have much affect at all as the revs are higher. Admittedly that would be illegal in the UK though (sorry officer, it has so much grunt I'd forgotten I was towing).....

Even with a Range Rover Classic on a trailer the other week, my fuel consumption was higher but not ridiculously high.

That is the difference between EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) and SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) and COP (Coefficient of Performance) and SCOP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance). As the efficiency will change with the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature, the seasonal figures take this into account by using a fixed indoor temperature with a varying outdoor temperature and averaging the result. EER and SEER are the differences between energy consumed and energy output, so a unit that draws 1kW to solely convert the energy and outputs 4kW has a EER of 4, whereas COP and SCOP are the output minus the input (the power used to convert the energy but also that used to supply control electronics) so that same unit would have a COP of 3 (4-1).

dave3d wrote:

Ha ha. That would be analogous to having an electric car and towing a diesel generator behind it.

My other half works for Cummins and they have supplied a large number of big diesel generator sets to Australia to power remote EV charging stations......

Aragorn wrote:

The idea of switching to heat pumps for domestic heat isnt to save money, its to stop burning stuff.

Agreed, but you'd need to be a pretty fervent tree hugger to do your bit for the environment but at the same time increasing your costs. If someone can see that a replacement system will be cheaper to run and recoup the initial installation costs over a reasonable period, then they will go for it but if it costs more to install, roughly the same to run and doesn't work as well, then why would anyone go for it?

Electricity is great because it comes from many sources. your heat pump can be powered by gas, or solar, or nuclear, or wind, or hydro, or diesel, or coal. A gas burning machine can only use one source. Your electrical machine gets cleaner over time as the grid installs more renewables, Your gas burning machine doesnt.

However, there are now also electric boilers on the market that can be installed as a virtual straight swap for a gas boiler. Allegedly very efficient but I can't see them being cheap to run.

As for the operating cost, its quite simple. A heat pump operates at a COP between 3 and 4. This means it will move between 3-4kwh of heat for 1kwh electrical input. Thus if we want 15kw output, we need say a 5kw heat pump. But it also means we can easily calculate the cost of 1kwh of heat energy. if the electricity costs 30p/kwh, your 1kwh of heat output costs about 10p at a COP of 3, and ~7.5p if you get nearer 4. The exact operating point depends largely on outdoor temperature and humidity.

Gas currently costs about 7p/kwh. So at first glance gas is cheaper. The gap closes slightly when you consider that the boiler isnt 100% efficient and while manufacturers claim upwards of 95% the reality in a house that needs 70c water might be closer to 80%. the high figures are only achieved if the boiler can condense at maximum efficiency, which only happen when the water temperature is within a tight range. Just like a heat pump, if you retrofit a modern boiler to an old property that requires high flow temps, it wont condense properly and wont be as efficient as it could be.

So at 7p gas, 30p electric, you probably just about break even. At some points when the heatpump is running nearer a COP of 4, it'll be ahead, and at other points when its down near 3, and the boilers operating maximally efficient the gas will be slightly ahead. Its disingenuous to simply state the heat pump will cost £1.80 for every hour its on... My Gas boiler can peak at 38kw, so based on 7p gas it consumes £2.66 for every hour its on. But physics doesnt work like that. The heat input is equal to what comes out the other end. Wether its a gas boiler or a heat pump, the heat required to heat the home is the same. Neither system will run at full power continuously, they'll modulate their output to match what the radiators are extracting from the water. Thus the important figure is what it costs to produce that heat.

My AC systems have a COP of between 4.3 and 4.7 depending on the exact unit so we are talking roughly the same. I quote the following to potential customers for running costs based on my own energy tariffs:

Typical running costs for 2.5kW (7,000 Btu) based on electricity at 29p per kWh and 7.3p per kWh for gas
Electric fan heater or oil filled radiator approx 73p per hour
Gas boiler at 70% efficiency (10 years or over boiler) approx 26p per hour, at 90% efficiency (new modern boiler) approx 20p per hour
AC system approx 16p per hour.

Assuming a heat pump system working at a similar COP to an AC system, even initially it looks to be cheaper but all, except maybe the electric fan heater, will modulate the operation as required once the room(s) is up to the desired temperature. A gas boiler switches on and off whereas the heat pump and AC systems will slow down but the duty cycle will still reduce. How much of that is done will depend on the insulation properties of the building. If you are generating heat but then allowing it all to escape, the heat source will need to be on for longer. I installed an AC system in a garden office for a customer in January last year. He left it on 24/7 from the day I installed it until June and it worked out at 3p per hour according to his Smart meter. He was so happy he got me back to install another in his recently extended kitchen!

Digressing slightly but initially I was installing AC systems in garden offices, garage conversions and summer houses being used by people working from home as a result of lockdown restrictions. This is another advantage with them that they can be installed as a stand alone system in a location that can't easily be connected to the rest of the heating system. More recently, perhaps as a knock on from lockdown, many people have been building outdoor entertainment spaces in their garden. A larger summer house type construction but with a bar, TV, sofas, etc, a place for a party without taking over the house.

One advantage going electric is you can use time of use tarriffs, to shift some of that heating load. A friend of mine has a heat pump and an underfloor heating system. The pump runs over night off peak, consuming electricity at 7.5p/kwh and heats the floor slab. The slab then warms the house throughout the day. Clearly not an easy retrofit, but you can do similar with your hot water heating for example, using the heat pump off peak to heat the water tank. Some installations also have a large buffer tank for the heating, so again you can heat the tank cheaply overnight, and then pump the hot water out to the radiators when you need it.

But for how long will that situation exist? With the push towards everyone having a Smart meter, the energy suppliers can see when you are using the bulk of the energy. With more people using the cheaper 'off peak' tariffs to charge their EVs, run their heating, set their dishwasher and washing machine to run at night, etc, how long will it be before the daytime is off peak and the night time rates increase? My problem with Smart meters is that the push for them is that you can save on your costs. You can but only if you consciously do something about it. You can run around the house switching things off to save a few pence or you can say f*** it, I'd rather spend the extra and be comfortable.

The big problem i see currently is massively ripoff pricing. Heat pumps arent cheap, granted. A Gas boiler might cost a grand and a heatpumps more like 4-5 grand. The problem is the installers want to rip you off to the tune of 10 grand for an "easy" job, and or closer to 20grand for a "difficult" job. Clearly nonsense, even when compared to the already rip-off price a gas fitter charges to install a boiler.

Same everywhere though. My prices work out on average to roughly £8-900 per room for an AC system but I've had customers that have had quotes from other installers that are over twice that (and bear in mind I'm still making around £300 a day on a single install) for example, charging the customer full retail price for the units, so much for installation and a further charge for testing, commissioning and certification. They don't pay full retail for the units and the testing and commissioning is simply the final part of the installation as far as I am concerned. I suspect the heat pump suppliers are doing exactly the same.

My personal approach is pragmatic, i have a functioning gas boiler, and an older house thats needing redecorated top to bottom over the next few years. So as i decorate each room, i'll specify a new radiator which will correctly operate at a low flow temp and meet the heat requirements of each room. I'll also adjust any pipework as i go, to remove the microbore sections etc. This has two benefits, one it means i can run the gas boiler at a lower temperature, improving its efficiency, and secondly it means that a few years down the line, the house will be "ready" for a heat pump when the boiler expires.

And that is the way to do it. Adding insulation is another option that will reduce your costs in the long run. The differences in construction over the years mean some properties already have it but others will benefit greatly. I think I've found most of the different types while putting a 65mm hole in a wall for the pipework. Everything from solid walls without even an air gap, through to new builds with plasterboard, a 20mm air gap, 100mm thermalite blocks, 50mm of fibreglass and finally external brickwork (and even that is hollow). The worst I encountered was cavity wall insulation using polystyrene beads. Drill though one layer and end up with an avalanche of little white beads that go everywhere!

I'd go for Allmakes but, as you say, there's probably not a lot to choose. However, with poly bushes known to be worn out in a matter of months, they are definitely going to be better than them.

What makes you say they are NLA? https://www.lrdirect.com/anr3285-bush-rear-radius-chassis-end-ne, https://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/anr3285-bush-rear-radius-arm-rr-95-02.html, etc

Admittedly not OE but still vastly superior to poly bushes.
,

Sloth did it on his see https://rangerovers.pub/topic/534-v8-electric-fan-conversion

There were reports a few years ago of the rivets holding the trailing arm to the end piece that bolts to the axle failing. The cure for that was to grind the heads off to get them out and replace them with stainless bolts. Never actually seen any that have been like it though. The other possibility is the bushes where the trailing arms bolt to the chassis.

You lot have made me paranoid now. I'm setting off to drive the 1,600 miles home tomorrow and I've just been outside to examine my fan. No sign of any cracks fortunately. Not sure what I would have done if I'd found any though, try to find a 36mm fan spanner, take it off and hope I didn't encounter any traffic I assume.

By the way, I'm not up at stupid o'clock, I'm 2 hours ahead of the UK at the moment.

A sat nav will usually get its time data from the satellites the same as it gets its location. Some, or at least my Garmin does (and the marine versions do too), have a backup battery so it remembers where it was when last switched off in the assumption it will be in the same place when switched back on to make the startup quicker. So maybe it does, who knows?

The problem you are going to have is that V8 Discos are almost in the hens teeth category, nearly all of them were TD5s. All listings on eBay are in the US although JLR show it as in stock, but not at that price https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/nnn100460-electronic-control-unit-engine.html

According to LRCat, NNN100460 is Disco2 while the P38 ECU is NNN100660 so it definitely looks like what is in the box isn't what was originally in it or it is a P38 one that has been seriously frigged about with so it will run a Disco2 (or it did until it caught fire). I think you've found the cause of your misfire though.

Yes, my headlight flash works but that is only while the stalk is pulled, you can't change to main beam. If the headlight switch is on, they stay on just the same as if DRL wasn't enabled, sorry.

I've also discovered something I wasn't aware of. East and North of Poland it is a legal requirement to have lights on all the time and not just when it is dark. From past experience that means I either forget to switch them off when getting out of the car or switch them on when I start driving. I remembered there is a Daylight Running Light option in the BeCM so whipped out the Nanocom at one of my many fuel stops and went into it. Option are Disabled, Sidelights only or Sidelights and Dipped headlights so I went for the latter. Sure enough the headlights come on as soon as the engine is running and go off as soon as it is switched off. But it is only the headlights, no dash lights (so no green tell-tale on the dash), fog lights won't come on if you poke the button and other than flashing the lights, the dipswitch doesn't do anything so you can't put main beam on. Damn clever this BeCM thing.....

Shellac would be the top choice except the wood on an H&H is a natural wood, matt finish, not gloss like that on ordinary cars so isn't appropriate. I would suggest either teak or, preferably, linseed oil, that's what is used on gun stocks and it is the same wood in an H&H.

Opened the bonnet and checked the coolant and oil levels (neither of which had moved). However, that was today but prior to that it all started on Sunday afternoon. Hitched up a fully loaded Erde 122 trailer, Dina and two dogs and headed for Dover. Across on the ferry to Calais then drove to a place called Lelystad in the north of the Netherlands to pick up Dina's daughter. After an hour then set off in an easterly direction arriving at our hotel in Warsaw around teatime. So that was Sunday and Monday. Tuesday morning we left Warsaw and travelled north to Dina's parents on the coast in Latvia arriving here about 9 last night. So, that's around 1,600 miles and the trip computer is showing an average speed of 60mph even though I'd only been cruising at 70-75 all the way, although did stop to fill up with LPG 8 times......

When I fitted mine, I didn't modify the shroud at all. The original radiator had the two flat bits for the shroud to be clipped to and I just clipped the new one to the bits welded to the Direnza. Only difference is that the original radiator had grooves for the shroud to fit against whereas the alloy doesn't so the shroud slipped down a couple of mm.

My replacement gearbox from Dave came complete with the Torque converter.....

If the original engine is going to get a full rebuild, top hats, ground crank, new big ends and mains, etc, then no matter what the cause of the low oil pressure problem it is going to be sorted anyway. As long as it is done properly, and everything is carefully checked, then I don't see it being a risk at all.