DS Forums

 
 

What other stupid EU rules on electrical appliances exist?


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 02-12-2016, 10:08
Thine Wonk
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541

Following on from the saga of the limit in vacuum cleaner motors I recently looked into buying a coffee machine, something like this..

http://www.tesco.com/direct/russell-...&source=others

The reason why is for days when I work from home, I thought I could put some coffee on in the morning and then have a cup when it is brewed and then pour extra coffee out from the jug over the next hour or so as and when I fancied.

It turns out the EU regulations enforce that all these machines must cut out dead on 40 minutes, so I can't find one that would keep the little hotplate on for longer (the one that only keeps the cofffee warm). I would drink coffee which as been on the hotplate longer than 40 minutes and seemingly people on Amazon would as there's a load of comments from disappointed consumers finding that since the new rules came into place the new machines all cut out.

Stupid stupid rule making busybodies dictating all sorts of silly little rules about what everything can and can't do. What other silly EU laws exist?
Thine Wonk is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 02-12-2016, 10:31
TerraCanis
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: The Mysterious East
Posts: 5,815
Is coffee that's been kept warm on a hotplate for an hour still fit to drink? I've found that it rapidly becomes oily and bitter, as well as acquiring a rather unpleasant gritty texture.
TerraCanis is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 10:42
Thine Wonk
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541
Most people are complaining about them turning off at 30 minutes so they stay inside of EU rules as the 40 minutes includes brewing time.

I'd definitely drink coffee from a jug that has been hot for 40 minutes, 50 mins, 1 hour but the EU has dictated that we're not allowed.
Thine Wonk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 10:47
grumpyscot
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Edinburgh
Posts: 8,946
Soup makers are the same - they switch off after 30 - 40 minutes.

Yet Lorraine Kelly still prattles on after years on TV..............
grumpyscot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 11:58
hyperstarsponge
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: North East
Posts: 12,253
Brexit is coming soon anyway.
hyperstarsponge is offline Follow this poster on Twitter   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:05
Thine Wonk
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541
Brexit is coming soon anyway.
Good, I'd like to see us import more of the items made in asia which are sold to the US and the rest of the world without these EU restrictions in place.

Hopefully the UK will be able to important and buy decent vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, soup makers etc without these nanny state rules.
Thine Wonk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:09
Evo102
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 5,898
Brexit is coming soon anyway.
But do you really think manufacturers in the EU and elsewhere in the world will manufacture a specific UK spec coffee machine without a safety cut out?
Evo102 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:12
dosanjh1
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 5,793
But do you really think manufacturers in the EU and elsewhere in the world will manufacture a specific UK spec coffee machine without a safety cut out?
Yes they will - if the price is right.
dosanjh1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:18
GusGus
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 619
One good thing was the introduction of fitted plugs
Remember the "joy" of trying to cut the wires to the correct length to fit in the plug
GusGus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:22
SaturnV
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 5,621
Don't new TVs do the same thing?
SaturnV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:26
DadDancer
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 3,606
Good, I'd like to see us import more of the items made in asia which are sold to the US and the rest of the world without these EU restrictions in place.

Hopefully the UK will be able to important and buy decent vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, soup makers etc without these nanny state rules.
and the stupid EU volume limit they put on ipods/ iphones/ mp3 players etc.
No i don't want to destroy my hearing but i do want the flexibility of not having to buy super high sensitive headphones or be able to listen to quieter recordings at a reasonable level.
DadDancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:27
RebelScum
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 12,193
The regulation in question is Commison Regulation (EU) 801/2013. As a Member State the UK was fully involved in the implementiation of the Reg. Immediately post brexit domestic legislation will mirror current EU regulations (as will the import controls). It will be a long, long time before any changes are made, if any.
RebelScum is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:39
chrisjr
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Reading
Posts: 27,894
The regulation in question is Commison Regulation (EU) 801/2013. As a Member State the UK was fully involved in the implementiation of the Reg. Immediately post brexit domestic legislation will mirror current EU regulations (as will the import controls). It will be a long, long time before any changes are made, if any.
And if we "do a Norway" to get a similar trading deal with the EU we will likely have to implement EU rules and regs even though we no longer have a say in how they are made, as Norway currently does.
chrisjr is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:40
Gilbertoo
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 19,046
Why would you want to leave a filter coffee machine idling for longer than 40 minutes anyway?

It seems like a waste of electricity.
Gilbertoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:41
Harvey_Specter
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: London
Posts: 598
Why would you want to leave a filter coffee machine idling for longer than 40 minutes anyway?

It seems like a waste of electricity.
They wouldn't.

But they will defend their right to do so, to the death!!!!!!
Harvey_Specter is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:50
DadDancer
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 3,606
Why would you want to leave a filter coffee machine idling for longer than 40 minutes anyway?

It seems like a waste of electricity.
Is it not a bigger waste to have to throw it away and brew up another batch of coffee?
DadDancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:52
Sid Law
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: East Perthshire
Posts: 1,591
Yes they will - if the price is right.
No they won't because to manufacture a different variant for one small market (which in global terms the UK is) costs therefore making it more expensive.
Sid Law is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:52
DadDancer
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 3,606
And if we "do a Norway" to get a similar trading deal with the EU we will likely have to implement EU rules and regs even though we no longer have a say in how they are made, as Norway currently does.
We are not going to do a Norway though. That was not what people voted for and was never an option on the ballot paper.
DadDancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:55
walterwhite
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 21,724
Brexit is coming soon anyway.
But all the laws won't automatically change. A law on cut off on coffee machines is probably quite far down the list in order of importance.
walterwhite is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 12:57
Gilbertoo
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 19,046
Is it not a bigger waste to have to throw it away and brew up another batch of coffee?
It depends how you look at it. From a utilities point of view, no it probably wouldn't be a bigger waste.
Gilbertoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 13:09
SaturnV
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 5,621
Have a look at the lid of your wheelie bin and it will tell you how noisy it is in dB.

EU stand*ard EN 840–1:2004 applies.
SaturnV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 13:14
malpasc
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 6,348
We are not going to do a Norway though. That was not what people voted for and was never an option on the ballot paper.
There were no options on the ballot paper apart from remain or leave. So nobody really had a clue exactly what they were voting for.
malpasc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 13:21
noodkleopatra
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Ashtray City
Posts: 4,721
Pretty sure my coffee hotplate switched off after a certain amount of time in Australia. Then again, I was never mithered about drinking coffee that was less than 'hot', so I can never remember getting annoyed about it. I'd just 'nuke' it in the microwave anyhow if it was a problem.

I do like a stewed coffee. Bitter bastard with bitter tastes!
noodkleopatra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 13:39
Paul_DNAP
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 3,884
Is it not a bigger waste to have to throw it away and brew up another batch of coffee?
In theory, if you're having a set number of cups of coffee then that relates to fixed amount of water you've had to heat up which will equal a fixed amount of energy.

The differences lie in where there is waste energy coming into play.

Keeping a jug warm all day, there will be radiant heat into the kitchen which will need topping up from the hotplate, which is waste energy.

It's this waste energy that they are doing away with by making them switch off, but then as has been said you'd need to drink all the coffee in the time it is warm or else the wasted coffee is more wasteful than the energy side.

Absolutely, your suggestion of throwing away the cold and making more is very wasteful, as you completely loose all the energy you've put into the first pot.

Reheating the cooled pot back to temperature should be reasonably similar to the keeping it warm, that is you're only making up the ambient losses in both cases.

Letting it cool down and pouring a cold cup and then giving it a quick microwave spin is better than chucking it all out or reheating it all every time.

The best way would be to brew a single cup full at a time then switch it all off again. Bit of a faff and would use a lot of filter papers.

If you're worrying about energy alone than the pod machine type is the most efficient as not only does it only heat up the exact amount of water it needs, the heating elements are some of the most energy efficient there are as there is little heat wasted. The downside of those are the price and the filling up landfill with the little spent pods. (Although the efficiency of the elements more than makes up for the carbon footprint of the pod, in pure CO2 terms.)
Paul_DNAP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2016, 13:57
BanglaRoad
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Stirling/Windsor/Overseas
Posts: 14,334
We are not going to do a Norway though. That was not what people voted for and was never an option on the ballot paper.
David Davies was hinting at doing a Norway yesterday.
Do you have better information than the Minister responsible for Brexit?
BanglaRoad is online now   Reply With Quote
 
Reply



Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 13:55.