How to live without heating - save £000s

QrizB

HertsLad said:

QrizB said:

My outside tap (attached directly to my house) froze this week. No damage apparent.

Good to hear from you again on this thread. My preparations in 2011 included adding a valve inside the house, to isolate the outside tap. Worth considering for anyone, I suggest.

I've got one but didn't isolate and drain before going away for a few days. Mea culpa!

EssexHebridean

When we had the outside tap fitted at the flat we made a point of saying we wanted it to have a separate valve so it could be isolated. Annoyingly the one(s) at the house don't have this. There is a radiator immediately adjacent inside to where the taps are outside though, so we hope that will be sufficient to avoid us having problems. 

jvjack

Checking my tap in garage after reading all above. I've got a sock wrapped around it. Will improve on that now.
Having a think today after reading the thoughts above the tap thing , on intervention etc. that no rough sleepers are enforced to do anything. The offer of help can be there but only an offer can be made. I suppose that age makes a difference. But someone living in a dry house and having free will etc doing what they do for their reasons surely would mean that intervention would have to be well  above a threshold of sleeping outside. Don't know 

Of course though . I'm looking for ways to say don't do it , but on the intervention things and it being a danger for rough sleepers to be in their position, if there is no enforcement to make rough sleepers sleep in some sort of accomodation then can't imagine many circumstances that people who don't have the heating on are made to do anything either..
There's a guy in Worcestershire that moves from wood to wood sleeping in a tent. (Not sure if he as heating in the tent)
Even polar explorers hang up their boots when enough is enough. 

HertsLad

jvjack said:

Checking my tap in garage after reading all above. I've got a sock wrapped around it. Will improve on that now.
Having a think today after reading the thoughts above the tap thing , on intervention etc. that no rough sleepers are enforced to do anything. The offer of help can be there but only an offer can be made. I suppose that age makes a difference. But someone living in a dry house and having free will etc doing what they do for their reasons surely would mean that intervention would have to be well  above a threshold of sleeping outside. Don't know 

Of course though . I'm looking for ways to say don't do it , but on the intervention things and it being a danger for rough sleepers to be in their position, if there is no enforcement to make rough sleepers sleep in some sort of accomodation then can't imagine many circumstances that people who don't have the heating on are made to do anything either..
There's a guy in Worcestershire that moves from wood to wood sleeping in a tent. (Not sure if he as heating in the tent)
Even polar explorers hang up their boots when enough is enough. 

That's an interesting point about rough sleepers. I will remember that, if it ever comes to an argument.  Despite being perfectly happy and warm, living in my house at down to 1C, I have never been able to understand how rough sleepers survive over winter, heavy rain and lots of other hazards. I will be using a good down filled sleeping bag to stay warm at a forecast -2C in my car, tomorrow night. If anyone used a bag like that on the street, how long would it last before it was stolen? Whenever I see bundles of bedding in doorways, it doesn't look very good, so I really don't know how they survive.

jvjack

Me neither. Night. Have nice skiing.

QrizB

HertsLad said:

 I will be using a good down filled sleeping bag to stay warm at a forecast -2C in my car, tomorrow night. If anyone used a bag like that on the street, how long would it last before it was stolen?

For the benefit of anyone who's considering sleeping outdoors in a down-filled sleeping bag (whether "sleeping rough" by necessity or "bivvying" recreationally) down is a terrible material to choose in the UK's damp climate. Wet down loses all insulation properties and takes forever to dry out. Synthetic fibres are much more suitable, even if the bag is somewhat bulkier and heavier.

Down works inside cars, huts and dry tents, bit there's a reason why it's a niche product.

I've been cold and wet while camping often enough that I don't want to do it again, thank you very much.

Yorkshire_Pud

I made a wooden box about five inches square to surround my outside tap with a padlocked hinged lid at the top. The only open part is underneath where a hose is attached. The wood is 20mm thick pine. Made originally to stop some folks who from time to time decided it was for their use/stealing water. Thinking about it should act as a good insulator and wind break? May add some old socks but then there could be a risk of them becoming damp and then possibly freezing around the tap whereas with a little air around it plus the thermal wood cloak and protection from the wind should provide a little oasis of comparative ‘warmth’!?

I probably should detach the hose as it retains water so could freeze along the pipe and into the tap?

And then add a temporary piece of wood to the open bottom then it would all be sealed up.

FreeBear

QrizB said:

HertsLad said:

 I will be using a good down filled sleeping bag to stay warm at a forecast -2C in my car, tomorrow night. If anyone used a bag like that on the street, how long would it last before it was stolen?

For the benefit of anyone who's considering sleeping outdoors in a down-filled sleeping bag (whether "sleeping rough" by necessity or "bivvying" recreationally) down is a terrible material to choose in the UK's damp climate. Wet down loses all insulation properties and takes forever to dry out. Synthetic fibres are much more suitable, even if the bag is somewhat bulkier and heavier.

Down works inside cars, huts and dry tents, bit there's a reason why it's a niche product.

I've been cold and wet while camping often enough that I don't want to do it again, thank you very much.

I disagree. Have camped a fair bit up in the Lake District in all weathers, including snow. Always with a down filled sleeping bag. And my camping consists of a bivvy bag & tarp. Synthetic bags are just too darned heavy to be lugging around !

Swipe

Yorkshire_Pud said:

I made a wooden box about five inches square to surround my outside tap with a padlocked hinged lid at the top. The only open part is underneath where a hose is attached. The wood is 20mm thick pine. Made originally to stop some folks who from time to time decided it was for their use/stealing water. Thinking about it should act as a good insulator and wind break? May add some old socks but then there could be a risk of them becoming damp and then possibly freezing around the tap whereas with a little air around it plus the thermal wood cloak and protection from the wind should provide a little oasis of comparative ‘warmth’!?

I probably should detach the hose as it retains water so could freeze along the pipe and into the tap?

And then add a temporary piece of wood to the open bottom then it would all be sealed up.

Try turning the tap on this morning, I'd hazard a guess that it's frozen. I don't think any amount of makeshift insulation will stop an outside tap from freezing in -7C temps. Nine times out of ten, a mildly frozen outside tap causes no damage at all but always best to add an isolation value just in case.

Lorian

Outside taps. A good wrapping of bubble wrap and some tape is a great makeshift Insulator. If the inside pipe feeding the tap is in a cupboard keep the cupboard door open to help keep the pipe a little warmer.