u/RogueStreakAus

Our existing single element resistive HWS is dying (after about 15 years), and as we have solar I'd like to continue to use my existing timer and bypass circuit to mostly heat during solar times, but also have the always-on top element for instances where the teenager uses all of our hot water. Would this "simply" be a case of adding a parallel run from the same RCBO, bypassing the timer/bypass?

Current setup in the switchboard is main RCBO, then next to it is a physical timer, and a wifi-controllable Shelley relay in parallel, so the HWS can be remotely turned on for a period of time if required when a boost is required. Ideally this would continue to operate, running the bottom element of the desired new HWS only during designated periods (the element will be swapped out to a 2.4kW so less draw but over a longer period). To achieve the aim of having the top element permanently powered, can a new parallel wire be added from the main RCBO to that element? I think our switchboard DIN rail is about as full as it can get, so not really any room for a wider RCBO if required for both sets of wires?

Having trouble getting hold of my usual electrician, so just trying to get a prior idea of what's feasible and what I might be up for, before trying to sort out a HWS.

Will be back in Japan for 3 weeks from late Dec, and have booked accomm. for everything except our last night; looking for suggestions that tie in with transit from Kyoto to Narita?

We start out in Tokyo (Ueno area) for a few days, then hit Hakone for two nights so that's out as an option. Up to Morioka, Appi Kogen, down to Osaka, Hiroshima / Miiyajima, Kyoto, then transiting up with one night before flying out ~4pm.

I'd been looking around Shinagawa as it's the first real stop on the express shinkansen, but not having too much luck finding appropriate nearby accomm. with 2 bedrooms, and now that the gundam will be gone one of my thoughts of ducking across to Odaiba is kinda now null and void.
Last time we did a night in Asakusa, which was pretty good but we've done it before, and the train stations were a bit of a pain there with 4x suitcases (carry-on size). Is Chiba worth a quick visit? It will add more time getting there but less time and inner-city changeovers on the way out. I've half considered Atami, but that puts us about 3hrs away from the airport which is probably not where we want to be in case of unexpected transport complications. Is there some outer suburbs location that's a good transport hub that also has some interesting things to see or do, that ties in reasonably well with a trip up from Kyoto?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, I've still got nearly 8 months to sort this one night out, but I do like to have it all sorted well beforehand.

So I've been gradually adding extra areas to our house map, initially keeping all doors closed, then opening on subsequent runs so the mapping will "see" the new area so I can add them as rooms for later exploring. The bathroom, separate toilet, and laundry all have high thresholds (30-40mm) that the robot can't get over, but it could see in enough to provide a bit of map data that I could add these areas as additional rooms, for later fleshing out.

I figured from what I'd read that if I started a "full" clean it would go to enter those rooms, find it couldn't even though it could see into them, maybe try a couple more times and then give up and skip for that session. But I just watched it attempt the three rooms at least 5 times in a row with no indication that it was ever going to give up; should it give up after a certain number of failed attempts, or do I really have to close the doors, and/or have to clean specific rooms only?

My intent was to make some removable ramps that I'd only position at the doors on days that I wanted it to clean those rooms, and if the ramps weren't in place then it would try a few times then continue with the rest of the job, but that doesn't seem to be the case.