Three-phase meter

We finally have a date for the three-phase meter to be installed - Thursday 25 November - so hopefully we'll be up and running the week after that.

Update - meters and oil

We're still waiting to get our 3-phase meter installed and until that happens nothing much else is going to, although the trenches for the pipework connecting the boreholes to the house are supposed to be dug next week and, for reasons best known to themselves, Ecoliving kept trying to deliver our heat-pump this week.
As mentioned previously, we had an issue with our oil running out and the in-laws turning up. Eventually I phoned Bilslands the oil people, who said that their smallest conventional delivery was 500 litres, although they could deliver less but would have to charge more per litre. However, they also said that they could remove our old oil tank when we no longer need it and any oil they can recover from it, we will be reimbursed for. On this basis and with the threat of cold in-laws hanging over us, we succumbed and bought 500 litres. The other factor of course is that, while I would much rather not be spending it, in the grand scheme of things, an extra £250 isn't really going to make a huge amount of difference.
And it's quite fun having a warm house.

The fourth hole

When we left our heroes, they were just finishing off the third hole and about to put the pipe down it. We thought we were almost done with the drilling.
But, what happened next was that as the drillers were feeding the pipe in, at about 90 metres, they hit an obstruction. They started pulling the pipe back out again with the intention of re-boring the hole with the drill but when they started pulling the pipe out it caught on another obstruction. They tried everything to get the pipe back out again including tying it to the drilling rig and pulling it out that way but eventually it just snapped. I assumed that they might be able to clear out the pipe with the drill but apparently the plastic is so robust that the drill would just have bounced off it.

Feeding the pipe down the hole

trying to pull the pipe out again with the rig

The only option was to drill hole number four. We had a long debate about where to put this and eventually agreed that putting it on the lawn was the best option. Or maybe the least worst option.

Thankfully the fourth hole went very quickly and smoothly (although it also required a significant amount of casing - in this case around 35 metres) and they were finished it in a day and half.
We were pretty nervous about having the rig on the lawn not so much because of the mess it would make while drilling but because it might churn up they lawn while they were driving it on and off, and also having to have trenching across the middle of the lawn.

Moving the rig off the lawn once the drilling was finished

Knowing how nervous (precious?) were were about the lawn, the guys were very careful when driving the rig off. The mess left at the hole and over the lawn was absolutely minimal.

So, the drilling that was supposed to take four to five days has actually taken two weeks which was a bit of a pain but no more than that. We felt sorrier for the drillers who were completely gutted by what happened with the third hole, given they were so close to getting it completed.
It's also worth mentioning that the guys operating the rig were really good to get on with and very focussed on getting the job done. They also didn't mind us prancing around taking photos of them all the time and asking daft questions about what different bits of kit did.
I'm expecting we'll now have a short hiatus while we sort out getting a 3-phase meter put on the house. We already have a 3-phase supply so it should be a straightforward operation but requires Scottish and Southern to come out and do it so we're not holding our breath. Once that's done, we can get the trenching and groundwork done to get the pipes into the house, and then get the heat pump itself installed.
In the mean time, the in-laws and lack of oil are getting closer and closer. There's a sense of inevitability about the two coinciding.

Second and err... third holes

The following are various photos from the drilling of the second and third boreholes.

The observant amongst you will have spotted that we were only supposed to be having two holes drilled, but part way through drilling the top part of the second hole, the casing cracked. The drillers tried to continue with it and spent half a day trying to force more casing down despite the crack, but eventually they gave up on that hole completely, moved the rig a couple of metres and started a third hole.

This third hole has now been fully drilled and just needs the pipes and pressure testing done on it, so all the drilling gear should be gone tomorrow. The estimate was originally that they'd be here for four days which looks like it's going to be more like seven and a half.

In other news, the electrician was in today checking that we really do have 3-phase electricity to the house (we do) and the plumber was also checking a few bits and pieces. We need to get Scottish Hydro out to put in a 3-phase meter which the electrician can then wire up to where the heat pump itself will be.
Before all that happens, there needs to be some trenching dug so that the boreholes can connect to the heat pump once it's in place.
I was hoping not to have to buy any more oil but I know we're getting low and with the in-laws turning up in a few weeks I might have to find out what the smallest delivery is we can get.

Finishing the first hole

The following are photos from when they finished the first hole on Thursday and put the pipe down it that will be used for extracting the heat for the heat pump.

We never quite saw the little blue piece of kit in action so we're not entirely sure what it did but the best guess is feeding the pipe down into the hole but we might be quite wrong with that.

Drilling for real

In the past couple of days they've started drilling for real although it has been considerably slower than expected. I think this is partly because they've had a staff shortage due to the October week holiday, and partly because they had to go down 29 metres before hitting solid rock. This means that every three or four metres they have to stop and weld in another piece of pipe casing which goes down with the drill, slowing the whole process down significantly. Now that they have hit solid rock they're expecting it to be much faster.
The drill causes a bit of vibration and is a bit distracting while trying to work - not dissimilar to having a pneumatic drill nearby.
These are photos taken from the past couple of days.

The drill bit

This is some of the casing being pushed down into the hole with the drill

The first day of drilling

The title on this is a little misleading because in fact no drilling took place because one of the drillers had gone on holiday and the other one couldn't do any more than bring all the kit in and discuss where they are going to drill when the actually do get round to drilling. Anyway, here are some pictures of big yellow drilling things -