Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Those who quote the Bard must take the consequences!!!! although I'm not at all sure that comparing thee to this summers day would be complementary, and you've just been out in it old duck haven't you??? Please get dry before you're rude back as I wouldn't like you to have water damage on the keyboard..... Oh and put the tea down first!!! xxx

GreyQueen

Bob, would it be possible to pose that question to a solar panel supply company, or even several, to see what the range of output is?

We have considerable variety of length of day and strength of sunshine at different times of the year, so that has to be a factor, against which the draw of the appliance is liable to be fairly consistant.

Also, if your priority as the householder with panels was to keep the freezer and say a combi boiler's electrical supply up, is there a way of prioritising them via your systems, so that they had 'first dibs' on the panel's supply?

I am going to make bread rolls today and will be looking at using the oven fully by having both oven sheets used, and then will be squeezing some of the extra rolls into the freezer.

I was trained as a young lass learning to bake with Mum that you thought about the order in which you baked, so that the oven temp was starting lower, then going up for things which needed higher heat, and not flicking up and down. I also cook FB pies in batches because they're the only blessed thing I've ever encountered which needs cooking at Gas 8.

It's getting nearly dark indoors; going to go from merely raining to p*ssing it down. This is a meterological term, of course, although not permissable on the more reputable broadcasts.

Now, where did I leave those gopher-wood planks......?

ETA: And it's heeerrrrreeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! England in summertime, aah, nothing like it! And this is nothing like it. Should get a bumper potato crop if the slugs don't beat me to it. 'Sposed to be a bad year for leatherjackets, too. There's always something when you grow food, have no idea why it's considered a restful hobby..........!

[Deleted User]

'S alright GQ cos MAR is already knitting us a very BIG ark, though I don't suppose she's using gopher wood, mind you it is Mar so you never really know do you??? I've had a cooking morning, importing supplies to DD2 and Zebra tomorrow so started off with a chocolate victoria sponge then on to a quiche lorraine and a raspberry crumble and now at its hottest for a puff pastry sausagemeat plait and our lunch which is a philly cheese and sundried tomato tart with basil to use up the leftover puff pastry. I'm warm, the house is warm and the kitchen smell 'licious. All I have left to make now is bolognese sauce to take for lunch tomorrow and that will add a note of savoury to the smells , Mmmmmmm Yummy!!!

GreyQueen

craigywv

hi all, you lot can cover a wide spectrum of subjects in a small time! hello again 2t glad to see your back and well, gq hope your gran recovers well, my dad had triple bypass 8 yrs ago ended up not waking up for months suffered 3 strokes while asleep and now he wheelchair bound and you would think nothing had happened to hi m at all first glance he perfectly fine only thing is no power in legs. he always out and about with my mum they quite regularly go missing , only to be found in m and s coffe shop/mall/out with friends so with family and friends about everything is possible. we all adapt and accept he never going to get up and run a marathon but at least he with us and thanks to the nurses coming everyday he has a lovely normal happy life xxx....................well I have gave up the ghost with growing lettuces this year, 2nd set I sowed have also failed to come up.think as someone mentioned the soil was too heavy for them to break through, everything else is growing brilliantly.one variety of spuds has the ball type tomatoes growing on them also mentioned by someone on here so shall google it what it means as have forgotten. I know there are toxic or something. well lovely bright dry day here off to hang washing out have a lovely day all xxx

[Deleted User]

Hello CRAIGY we've had very patchy and poor germination this year too particularly lettuce and the tomatoes have been very small, slow growing and looked very sad. He Who Knows thinks we had a duff batch of compost and has re-sown lettuces and potted the tomatoes on in growbags in the greenhouse and they're finally beginning to grow on. I wonder if the compost is poor because we've had several very cold and wet summers and the amount of rain might have washed the nutrients out of the soil at the beginning and then the plants that the compost is actually made from might have had very little goodness in them as a result of that??? Just a theory but might explain why things are failing this year? Lyn xxx.

Frugalsod

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I've mentioned previously, about a nearby house, which has half a dozen large (maybe 4' x 3') solar panels on its roof.

This has got me wonder, could these solar panels keep a fridge freezer running, in a long term power cut?

I think the crucial factor is who paid for them? Apparently those that are funded by the energy companies via a loan need a mains connection to operate. This is so that users cannot go off grid at their expense. So if the power goes down so do those solar panels. Stupid I know. :mad:

RAS

Most systems cut out when the main power goes off, I believe. If you get them installed yourself you could have a switch installed that enables you to use the supply in-house but I suspect nuatha know more about this (a lot more).

jk0

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I've mentioned previously, about a nearby house, which has half a dozen large (maybe 4' x 3') solar panels on its roof.

This has got me wonder, could these solar panels keep a fridge freezer running, in a long term power cut?

Yeah, but you'd have to wire them to an inverter to provide the 240 volts ac.

maryb

Interesting chats today. I sincerely hope that we never get to the stage where we can't get sewing machine needles. I have two old machines, a hand crank and a treadle - love them and I look out for old attachments - the old fashioned ruffler is an awe inspiring bit of design.

I rather think that we will go back to the coal driven technology that served us quite well. We may have lost knowledge and skills but with the examples from the past to point the way, I personally believe we could reinvent the technology to turn out sturdy household items that would make life bearable. I have an old mangle in the back garden. It's a really solid piece of machinery but it could be reproduced if needed.

But I agree that clothes will get more expensive and will have to last. Just a thought - it might be worth investing in a Barbour type jacket if you currently rely on nylon waterproofs and fleeces. They sell lookalikes quite cheaply in the school outfitters near us and they are not specific to any one school so chances are you could get one wherever you are for not too much. You can rewax them and they are wind and waterproof.

I have a 20 year old real Barbour that has been returned to the factory for mending a couple of times. They put a leatherette binding on the sleeve edge which stops it wearing away - don't know why they don't do that to start with.

The other thing people used to wear in times gone by was a mac from very closely woven gabardine, which had the wearing qualities of iron. Useful in the in-between months as it kept your good winter coat from getting too much wear on merely cool days. If you look at old black and white films most people in street scenes have a mac folded over their arm on anything but the hottest days.

I would love to get a proper Loden coat from boiled wool - navy rather than green. I have one of sorts and it is very warm and windproof but it's not the genuine article, which would keep you warm in truly Alpine conditions.

A wardrobe of coats like that would see me out.