"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Managed to drag myself out this morning, give the dog a proper walk, set the DW off (we have sun at last!) and then go to the petrol station for carrots, onions, broccoli and stamps. So will be able to post my letters later today/tomorrow and cook some veg to add to the lamb/barley stuff I made at the weekend as it needs more veg. And the dog has carrots...

Need to shove a wool wash on, and work out how to get the smell of woodsmoke out of the clothes I was wearing yesterday, as the open fire at my neighbour's house seems to have been very smoky. I'm not used to smelling of smoke now I have a stove! 

I'm hoping tomorrow will be reasonable weather too, so I can open the windows and air the house properly.

Just need to have a quick look at work and then decide whether I have enough energy for a shower. Cats are hungry and campaigning for early lunch. Stinky is obviously providing support for this campaign... 

KajiKita

Well done for getting out this morning. 😊🌞

Makes me smile that the furries are hanging up on you 😉❤️

KK

greenbee

Slow start to the day, and sadly the sky is more overcast than predicted. Stinky is unimpressed with this morning's very short walk and keeps bringing me toys and balls as a hint that we should do something else!

Garage electrics had tripped when I went out there (not sure when I last checked them) so have reset the trip switch and will have to chase the drain man and/or electrician again.

Today will mostly be about getting more logs under cover - which will also involve putting the last of the garden furniture away and possibly moving the leaves that have blown into the garage as they'll be more useful in the leaf composter. If I'm feeling really energetic I could move some wood chip, but I think I should probably reserve any energy for taking the dog for a decent walk... the next one needs to be past the post box. Tomorrow I have to go to my mum's (and bring logs in for her, plus fill up my car with seasoned dry logs from her log store) as she has an afternoon hospital appointment and they weren't clear whether she'd be OK to drive after it. 

Other things that need doing include getting the dog towels dry (airer has been brought downstairs so they can dry in the utility room), stripping my bed and remaking it, sorting more loads of laundry for when the sun does actually shine, and running the DW on a cleaning cycle as soon as the battery is full (which may take some time at this rate and not actually get done, so I may be washing up by hand for a bit while I wait for a good opportunity). Oh, and making some soup with all yesterday's veg. 

ETA - and I need to decide whether to top up the oil tank (400l left, minimum order 500l), as I have just over a month's worth of oil left (depending on the weather) as there's an offer on. Or hope it lasts until I've made a decision, booked the heat pump install, and know how long I have to survive without heating! 500l comes in at about £300 - and thinking about it, 400 l probably won't quite last me till end-Feb, so maybe I should order and then be a bit more generous with the heating and stop the solar diversion to the hot water for the rest of winter!

greenbee

It's hard to work out annual usage with oil, as obviously you order in bulk and then gradually use it up. 

I don't have data from 2023 as I only moved here in the later summer (and didn't set up an account and CBA to look up the details). However:

2024
Jan 24th delivery - 500l
March 18th delivery - 600l
October 8th delivery - 500l
Total - 1600l (assume 500 carried into 2024, 300 carried into 2025 = 1800l)

2025 
Jan 14th delivery 700l
March 3rd delivery 650l
Nov 24th delivery 500l
Total 1850l (assume 300l carried into 2024, 500 carried into 2026 = 2050l)

I used less over the summer as solar was heating the hot water (and is still topping it up) plus there's been some electric heat. But I have also increased the size of some radiators, and been keeping the house warmer. And I've done some experimentation with lowering flow temps and continuous running of the UFH - both of which make the boiler less efficient.

So on balance, I think I'll order some more oil, keep the house warm, use lots of hot water, and play around with flow temps/balancing the radiators so I can identify anything that needs addressing as part of the heat pump work. 

greenbee

Dog walked (again), postbox visited. Bumped into plumber (for some reason sitting in his van outside an empty/being renovated house a couple of doors up from his own with the engine running) who mentioned he hadn't booked my boiler service (didn't mention he hasn't billed me for the last lot of work, which I'm pretty sure he hasn't) - so I told him that I don't think there's much point as I'm definitely going to take it out this year - but he will come and do the filter/inhibitor 'sometime next week' (this is one of the reasons for getting rid of the boiler, his planning is a nightmare).

One more barrow-load of sticks is in the garage log store drying out, and bags are by the car to take to my mum's tomorrow so I can bring logs back from hers to use while the sticks dry out. 

Heat meter has been put together so I can measure the boiler flow temperature and balance the radiators. Now I just need to look up all the information I need to make sure I get it set up properly... I want to set the oil boiler up as if it was a heatpump and see what happens. 

greenbee

Both heat meters are now up and running - the one without clamps is being used to measure the floor temperature to get the UFH set properly. I've actually turned it up (flow temp was 30 and floor temp was 22 so I'm aiming to get the floor temp up a bit).

It looks like with just the UFH and downstairs rads on as they are, the flow temp doesn't drop enough at the moment - the radiators are all set pretty low on the TRVs because they are (almost) all oversized now. So I really need lots of people to come round so I can work out what order the radiators come on in. Then I'll work out what the lockshield valves need to be set at, and get the boiler temp sorted out so that the radiators aren't all on 1.5...

greenbee

Lots of fiddling with the heating has been going on - I'm treating the whole ground floor as one zone which helps. But I'm also finding that in order to get a decent drop in temperature between the flow and return on the boiler I have to have the house hotter than I'm comfortable with (20C down, 18C up, so not necessarily a problem for most people!). However, the cold spots are now warm. So next job is to work out how I can get the flow temperature on the boiler down further (there are no markings on the dial, just narrow to broad) and get the house to a comfortable temperature. And to send of info to the heat pump plumber (and possibly talk to a couple of others). I've also been putting off talking to the builders, but really do need to get on with that, and looking at the paperwork I'll need for building control so I can get the plans together. 

Filthy weather today, and a short powercut - so I relented and took the dog for a long walk as I was bored of sitting in the dark (boiler was running on the emergency circuit, but there wasn't much sun and the battery won't last for ever) and he's now zipped in a bag. I'm about to have a shower ready for work. 

Local landscaper is currently putting up a couple more bits of trellis to add to the bits he did before Christmas, and we've discussed putting some posts and wire round the patio and removing the obelisks, which I will rehome elsewhere. It can't be much fun in this weather, but I guess it's an occupational hazard.

Hopefully the handyman/gardener will be back from holidays soon - there are a few inside bits to do (blind to go up, tie back hooks and hooks to sort out) and LOTS outside. 

Work is busy, which is good, but still a bit chaotic following several internal reorgs. 

EssexHebridean

Balancing of radiators is one of those things I've never been able to get my head around so kudos to you for tackling that!  The one thing that having the bits of electric underfloor heating around the place has shown us though is that we're not wonderfully keen on that as a heat source which is probably a useful thing to know for the future. Somehow the same temperature from underfloor heating always feels far warmer to me - and not in a good way! 

Brilliant that you are still making great steps forward with the house and garden stuff too - and juggling work/animals etc! 

greenbee

UFH here is wet, so I'm tweaking the flow temperature on that too - I don't like the floor hot underfoot, but warm is nice (particularly compared to the cold, clammy feel of the kitchen floor!). I had electric UFH in bathrooms and the kitchen in the last house, and I did like it there as it took the chill off the tiles, particularly in the 'shoulder' months where you don't want the heating on, but don't want a freezing bathroom either! If I was redoing the bathrooms I'd probably put it in, even if I rarely used it (and I'd also convert the remaining electric towel rails to dual fuel as well). 

There are 11 radiators upstairs, so if I could have 11 volunteers to come over at the weekend and stand next to radiators so we can work out what order they come on in, that would be great . I'd like to get to the point where TRVs are fully open and the house is a sensible temperature, so I know what design temp would work for the heatpump. 

EssexHebridean

Ha if I were closer greenbee I would be happy to be one of your volunteers!