The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

Nargleblast

Further to above, I read an excellent Kindle book, How to Survive, by John Hudson. He taught survival techniques to the armed forces. The principles he taught apply almost anywhere - those who get through tough times are those who focus on the things they can control. He talked about those principles in a short work he brought out in 2020 about Covid 19. Interesting reading, focussing on the practical.

mumf

Thriftygifty said:

Is now the time for us to be getting a log burner installed? 

If you have the means and the will,then do it. I did it twenty years ago ,after’thinking about it’ for five. It made a huge difference to us.Ours are ( I ended up opening a second chimney) our primary heating; they are not ornamental! I gather my own wood,sweep my own chimney ( it’s what my late dad did for a living) and yes,it takes work. It’s pleasant work though - to me.I burn coal too,and I pick that up 4 bags per week as I drive by from work. Like other forum members here ,I feel better when I have a good supply of wood and coal. We had a power cut two days ago.The house blacked out,but all of downstairs was very warm,and there was no dependence on the National Grid.

Guineapigsqueaks

Life is of course full of risk, I just think the effect of wood burning stoves on air quality inside the home is greater than some are aware of, and I would want to know this to properly weigh up the decision. It's certainly not all going up the chimney and even if it is, you are breathing the air outside too.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/01/avoid-using-wood-burning-stoves-if-possible-warn-health-experts
I shall leave the thread now, I suspect I may be in the minority on this one .
Guineapigsqueaks x

pineapple

Being of a certain generation, I survived being brought up in a home where the only form of heating was an open coal fire. Ditto my neighbours - a lot of whom are in their 80s. As for stoves, I keep hearing about wood/log burners but most local people have multifuel stoves as we find them cheaper to run. In this area, it's either that or oil (no gas). We tend to use smokeless ovoids - which give out less emissions than wood or coal. The flue pipe is at the rear of the stove, so I have space on top to boil a kettle or cook. It helps even out winter/summer energy costs.

pineapple

Nargleblast said:

Happy_Sloth said:

morning ladies and gents... felling a little lost this morning.   I sort of feel like we are the kids in the playground watching the bully's beat up the little guys. Sure we asked nicely for them to not do it and we've told them we won't be friends anymore but sometimes bully's need to be made to back the $^%£ up.  

I know the situation is complex and its isn't as simple as all that... i get it, but my heart is breaking,  i'm desperately wracking my brain to work out what a mid 40's woman can do to help  

Not to mention my anxiety is though the roof! what do i have, what don't i have... do i have enough ... kinda having a meltdown this morning    

I guess we all are worried about the ramifications of these current events, but there is no point in us worrying about what might happen. That is a waste of our time and energy. Instead, if we think about possible consequences to us personally, e.g. fuel, food, energy price rises or shortages, and plan and prep for those events, we will have a better chance of getting through the days ahead physically and mentally intact.

But I think one of the points happy sloth was making was the horror of watching these events happening to ordinary people - not just personal ramifications. These days the news is in your face - transmitted across the world instantly And not just the official news but ordinary people recording their experiences. It's heartbreaking. They are asking us to make it stop and we can't. Sanctions are a longer term measure. Meanwhile it's like a turkey shoot out there. David v Goliath - though I think the Russians are paying a higher price than they expected.

Nargleblast

One thing we can do is try to find the balance. We should keep ourselves informed of what is going on out there, but at the same time we should resist the temptation to trawl through all the stuff in the newspapers, on the Internet, on social media and in endless news programmes.

From a practical perspective, I think looking at how we and our households use gas and electricity, how we use petrol or diesel, and how we buy, store and eat food, is a good starting point. I am getting my cavity wall insulation renewed and loft insulation topped up next week, free of charge under the government scheme. It will hopefully help me cut fuel use. 

Greenglockenspiel

I agree with you Guineapigs, I know they are popular with preppers but I personally would not use a log burner or fire in my home unless I had no other choice, due to the particles. I read a really interesting article a couple of years ago about how most people vastly underestimate the risk from the particles from fires/stoves in the home because we have such an ancient association with fire meaning comfort and safety - but they are doing serious damage to our health now. I’ll see if I can find it again.

Greenglockenspiel

Here’s the article: https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-fireplace-delusion
The other thing to factor in when considering getting a wood burner is whether you live in an urban or rural area - quite a lot of urban areas already have clean air zones where they aren’t allowed. I can see them being fully banned in urban and suburban areas in the future so might not be a good investment unless you live rurally.

ariarnia

and tomatos, red wine, meat, mobile phones etc etc etc cause cancer. but life would be horrible and gray without some things that are bad for us sometimes. 

i like my stove. i like that if theres a power cut or my boiler breaks and i can't afford the plumber to fix it until payday I've still got heat and can cook and make tea. i like making my sprogs hot chocolate on it at christmas and having lit when were opening our gifts. i also like a bbq in the summer and sometimes we even have the neighbours over! 

yes they're not great for the environment (but neither is gas central heating) but i dont go on holidays so save my environmental credentials there. you don't want one then don't get one. simples. 

Si_Clist

Greenglockenspiel said:

Here’s the article: https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-fireplace-delusion

OK, I had never heard of Sam Harris, so I looked him up. 

Hmmm.  I can't think of any reason why I might take any notice of what Sam Harris thinks