Preparing for winter II

sb44

kittie wrote: »

try the free one first. Both give the forcast for just about 2-3 hours ahead and yes it has been very accurate

I thought the free one only showed rain, is that until you subscribe then you get the snow forecast?

sb44

amani wrote: »

Hi everyone, have'nt posted on here before, but I read everyday, love all the hints and tips.

We have snow this morning in South Yorkshire.

sb44 that seems an awful lot for 4 hours heating. I can have the heating on low all day and hot water all day (not night) for £2.00.

We have a smart meter from British Gas that shows how much energy you have used/are using and the cost. We had the central heating on for a couple of hours in the morning as usual yesterday but on for a few hours later in the afternoon and it cost just over £3. I can fully understand how people can't afford to heat their homes when it would cost perhaps twice as much as that per day if you had it on most of the day (ie pensioners, sick etc).

I think I may have just realised why it seems a lot.

Our central heating boiler is about 14 years old (according to the engineer), we bought the house 7 years ago so I'm not sure exactly when it was installed.

Anyway, it is the type were you HAVE to have both the heating and hot water on at the same time, you can't have one without the other so I suppose that raises the cost.

We can't afford the cost of a new boiler so it's something we have to put up with until it goes altogether then we may be able to get money towards a new one because of child and working tax credits.

Confuzzled

sb44 wrote: »

Don't forget if you have a radio on your mobile phone you can just switch it to speakerphone (once you have connected the headphones of course) and use it as a normal radio.

Of course you would still have to charge it up unless you have one of those wind up mobile phone chargers.

hmmm i might well have a radio on the phone, i def don't have the headphones. my mobile is a glorified alarm clock that i very occasionally get/make calls on... and it's nice to have in the bedroom at night just in case of a burglery or fire but that's pretty much it...

i'll have to play with it and see what i can find out, i replaced my old one i'd had for 5 years with this one about 8 months ago as i'd accidentally knocked my old phone off the arm of the sofa into my tea

i think i even know where the intruction booklet is! thanks for the idea i most def never would have thought of that myself as i just don't use that kind of feature

[Deleted User]

sb44 wrote: »

I thought the free one only showed rain, is that until you subscribe then you get the snow forecast?

the free one shows precipitation but doesn`t say what type. The premium one shows rain, hail, snow etc

Confuzzled

sb44 wrote: »

I think I may have just realised why it seems a lot.


Anyway, it is the type were you HAVE to have both the heating and hot water on at the same time, you can't have one without the other so I suppose that raises the cost.

ooh you have my greatest sympathy! the last flat i lived in had this. i couldn't for the life of me figure out why my bill was 55 quid a month during the summer months when i had all the radiators turned down to 0! a plumber came out to check on some problem i had and i asked him about it. he took one look at the boiler, sucked in air sharply and explained that the council used that kind of boiler extensively in the past (this was ex council stock) and that they are very antiquated and expensive.

if we'd stayed there during the winter i can only imagine how expensive it would have been to heat the place as well and none of the radiators heated up all the way most only at the top... not a good situation. i hope you can replace it soon!

Fruball

Confuzzled wrote: »

something that is very commonly done in the states to keep pipes from freezing is to keep the water running through them like a slow trickle... i believe the point is that the water is warmer than the cold air in and around the pipes even if it's cold water (running hot water would cost a fortune!)

if i'm going to be away for a few days and the weather is going to be very cold i always leave a steady low stream in my bathtub (and make sure i clean the drain first!) i've never had my pipes freeze, but then it could be an old wives tale...

Fab idea but the pipes only lead to a washing machine so i can't, unfortunately.

[Deleted User]

my boots came today and I could get them on easily and they FIT and I`m jumping for joy because they are the first good warm pair I have been able to find for years and years. They are a simple boot and the leather is lovely and I`m hoping that the quality is good enough to get them re soled in time, when they wear out. They look as though they could last years and years. They are dr martens jenny

Charis

Confuzzled wrote: »

something that is very commonly done in the states to keep pipes from freezing is to keep the water running through them like a slow trickle... i believe the point is that the water is warmer than the cold air in and around the pipes even if it's cold water (running hot water would cost a fortune!)

if i'm going to be away for a few days and the weather is going to be very cold i always leave a steady low stream in my bathtub (and make sure i clean the drain first!) i've never had my pipes freeze, but then it could be an old wives tale...

For anyone on a water meter it would be cheaper to insulate all the exposed pipes.

If it's exceptionally cold and the outside waste pipe does freeze up you could come home to a very wet bathroom. Hopefully it's not upstairs?

Incidentally running water does freeze, the natural water outlets in the Malvern Hills look quite spectacular during a deep freeze.

bluebag

i insulated loads of my pipes with those sheets of polystyrene type wrap you get in packages and any scrappy bits of bubble wrap.

I did all the cold water ones in the cellar, this keeps the water a touch warmer meaning the boiler and the shower has to work less hard, and the outside drain pipe for the washing machine, the boiler and the sink.

I just keep adding to it whenever I get a parcel or find some and secure it with gaffer tape from the pound shop.

Somewhat Heath Robinson, but very cheap and it does work. There's layers and layers on the pipes now.

OH truly thinks I'm a nut job now though, I'm like a bag lady scavenging plastic wrapping materials all year!:)

Confuzzled

Charis wrote: »

For anyone on a water meter it would be cheaper to insulate all the exposed pipes.

If it's exceptionally cold and the outside waste pipe does freeze up you could come home to a very wet bathroom. Hopefully it's not upstairs?

Incidentally running water does freeze, the natural water outlets in the Malvern Hills look quite spectacular during a deep freeze.

yes it would be and she has but she wanted temporary measures because of the deeper cold, and it's an outside toilet so it's really going to be quite exposed!

i searched for some info about the water in the pipes method and found a few sites with some other suggestions as well

http://www.essortment.com/home/howkeepyourpi_sica.htm

this one suggests newspaper and foil as insulators as well as heating tape which sounds like it could be just the ticket for the outdoor toilet as it's plugged in and used when needed.

http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Frozen-Water-Pipes

this one gives several suggestions as well and it turns out i've been doing the running water thing incorrectly you do need both hot and cold but only a tiny hot and slightly more cold, nothing that would cost a small fortune as an emergency method over a few days, and certainly cheaper than a plumber replacing pipes and replacing all your water damaged goods!

i also read some comments on another page from a woman that has lived all her life in alaska, she was giving tips to somone about how to deal with pipes in weather of -20 to -40F and most of her suggestions are mentioned in the two links above so i suspect those too will be of use