Preparedness for when

greenbee

elona wrote: »

BB

What is wrong with a combie boiler? When we need to replace our boiler DH fancies a combie while I think it would be a mistake but don't know why.

No cold water tank so no stored water. No hot water tank, which can help keep the house warm if the heating packs up. Combis are cheap to put in, as you don't need the space or plumbing for the two tanks (and they are handy if you want hot water when it has all been used up) but there are disadvantages!

[Deleted User]

There's nothing inherently wrong with them (they're very efficient), but there's no usable stored water with them.

If the water supply fails, the system is completely redundant, whereas with a back boiler, there's a hot water and header tank full of (albeit non-potable) water.

jk0

I agree that the lack of stored water is a problem with combis. In view of this, I have a number of water butts.

However, one advantage of not having a hot water tank is in hot weather. My old flat was very well insulated, but had Economy 7 heating. Thus you had to put up with a red hot airing cupboard all day if you wanted to do the dishes in the evening.

In this year's hot weather with the combi, I was never uncomfortably hot.

pineapple

elona wrote: »

BB

What is wrong with a combie boiler? When we need to replace our boiler DH fancies a combie while I think it would be a mistake but don't know why.

I had a combi boiler in the previous house and now in this. For me, the advantage of having hot water 'on tap' is outweighed by the fact that the water can take a while to heat up - while you are standing there like a lemon with the tap running. A plumber told me it depends on the proximity of the boiler to the tap but the previous house was small and this one is tiny .
Imo it can actually discourage toilet hygiene - unless you are prepared to stand and wait till the hot water gets through.
It can also take longer to run a bath (if one allows oneself that luxury )

If I had a water meter and had to pay for every ounce of water used, it would be a no brainer. Plus I much prefer the 'old fashioned' system of heating up a tank - with a back up immersion heater. The traditional 'airing cupbard' could be useful too. One just needs a little organisation/discipline - such old fashioned concepts these days

alfsmum

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Have an image in my mind now of assorted people wandering round with one trouser leg up or skirt tucked in. Could we use this like a Mason's handshake in case we need to recognise each other in SHTF situations?

More on the news this morning about contaminated water from the Fukushima reactor leaking from the supposedly secure storage tanks into the Pacific. I was naturally alarmed, DH just said 'there'll be a few bigger fish in that part of the ocean' and carried on with his day.

I'm now adding a 5L bottle of water to any supermarket shopping I have delivered. Comes in a handy bottle with a carry handle so easy to move about when sorting storage. The thought of being without water really hit home during the heat wave so want to make sure we have enough for the four of us plus pets for several days. We WERE without a supply of fresh water for over a week during the 2007 floods and it took TPTB several days to organise bowsers and distribution of bottled water so it was a very worrying time. I am also trying to add a few extra things to each weekly shop so that I can guide up stocks without hitting my purse too hard. I thought a packet of porridge a week would be good, obviously tinned beans and toms as and when on decent offer, pasta, chocolate (for emergency use you understand) and then other items once a month eg peanut butter. Trying to think calorie-dense, easy to prepare etc. stores of juice are being depleted as DD has awful cold and is drinking gallons of the stuff so that's something else for the list. What else would you add bit by bit? I have the nice dilemma of being able to do a thirty pounds shop for about three or four pounds this week if I combine points and vouchers for Sainsbobs. I don't shop there very often so will have to have a look online to see what would be good value/on offer this week and go armed with a list rather then wander round aimlessly. have to use or lose the vouchers by the weekend. Wonder if they have any value candles? I was horrified when I try to buy a standard box of household candles this week. Mr T and Lidly don't have them, only fancy dinng table candles or tea lights, and the girl in Mr T looked at me as if I had come from another era when I tried to explain what I was looking for. I'm not THAT old but I guess that candles now or for decoration and masking unpleasant odours, not for lighting your house!

alfsmum

Forgot to say that we always fill the kettle at night too for that early cuppa

FairyPrincessk

Alfsmum, we also do rice and pasta, lentilss, spices, flour-plain,sr and bread, sugar, oil/butter/fats, stock cubes and cleaning supplies when we stock up.

[Deleted User]

Just keep your eyes peeled in the £ shops alfsmum.

Not long ago, £land was selling boxes of 8x8" household candles, and they'll no doubt be selling something similar again.

However, have you considered Hurricane Lamps instead?

Brighter than candles, safer (concealed flame and self extinguishing if overturned), and gives off quite a bit of heat too.

An oil lamp producing 37 lumens (roughly 3 times as much as a candle) will burn for about 40 hours, on 1 litre of paraffin.

If you shop around, you can get paraffin for around £1-25 per litre.

That's a running cost of around 3p per hour.

[Deleted User]

Trouble with paraffin is it is oil derived and in a real emergency supplies would dry up entirely. I'd opt for solar lamps any day as the solar cells charge up in daylight on a window sill, don't even need direct sunlight and unless we had a massive ash cloud from a big volcano which took out the natural daylight for weeks we'd still have daylight.

ALFSMUM don't forget that as a member of the batties club we'd all be wearing our pinnies, our little bat badges and carrying sharpened toothbrushes as well, and if that isn't a mental image to terrify the world, then I don't know what is!!!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.

[Deleted User]

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Trouble with paraffin is it is oil derived and in a real emergency supplies would dry up entirely.

Likewise with candles.

I wasn't proffering paraffin lamps as the perfect answer to power cuts (although they're a pretty good option for short term ones), but rather as a better option than candles.