Winter blackout contingency planning

MattMattMattUK

EssexHebridean said:

ariarnia said:

EssexHebridean said:

Someone with a kettle which won't simply accept a single cup of water to boil could pour the over-fill into it for use next time they make a drink.
Someone on E7 electric might choose to boil a full kettle first thing before the rate switches and then use the contents of the flask to make their subsequent cups of coffee. 

and this thread is about blackouts. being able to make a hot cup of tea half way through seems like worth a small expense to me. 

As a tea drinker I can confirm that it would have to be a FAR longer power cut than the ones being discussed to convince  me I wanted to make a brew using water from a flask! (I would however cheerfully tip said water into the camping kettle and pop outside and boil it properly on the little gas ring!)

I agree, tea from off boil flask water is likely to be awful. In that situation I would recommend you keep a few beers in the fridge and consume those in the evening instead of badly made tea, or just crack open a bottle of red at ambient temperature. 

StocktonFlyer

MattMattMattUK said:

...or just crack open a bottle of red at ambient temperature. 

I find that good advice in most situations.

Astria

MattMattMattUK said:

EssexHebridean said:

ariarnia said:

EssexHebridean said:

Someone with a kettle which won't simply accept a single cup of water to boil could pour the over-fill into it for use next time they make a drink.
Someone on E7 electric might choose to boil a full kettle first thing before the rate switches and then use the contents of the flask to make their subsequent cups of coffee. 

and this thread is about blackouts. being able to make a hot cup of tea half way through seems like worth a small expense to me. 

As a tea drinker I can confirm that it would have to be a FAR longer power cut than the ones being discussed to convince  me I wanted to make a brew using water from a flask! (I would however cheerfully tip said water into the camping kettle and pop outside and boil it properly on the little gas ring!)

I agree, tea from off boil flask water is likely to be awful. In that situation I would recommend you keep a few beers in the fridge and consume those in the evening instead of badly made tea, or just crack open a bottle of red at ambient temperature. 

Agreed, but pre-made tea from a flask isn't actually that bad. I've gone hiking before and taken tea in a flask and it was quite drinkable - better than plain water at any rate.

poppellerant

wittynamegoeshere said:

Are some people actually addicted to tea?

I like tea, I drink several cups a day.  But if I'm thirsty I'm also happy with beer, fruit squash, water, basically anything wet.

I don't get why anyone needs to take precautions in case they can't use the kettle, it just doesn't seem like an issue.

I think the idea of drinking tea is that it will help to keep you warm.  Being British, tea is the only hot thing we drink... .

Joking aside, I think keeping a flask of boiled water would be ideal to make a hot drink, herbal, caffeinated or otherwise.

StocktonFlyer

As long as it's hot enough to dissolve the Bovril

ariarnia

i dont drink alcohol and do get headaches if i don't drink enough tea. but im also quite happy drinking cold tea (as long as it was originally made with hot water)! and a flask of tea or coffee is perfectly drinkable several hours after it was made. i would never go anywhere on the train otherwise (tiny cups of expensive tea on the carts). but during a blackout we would probably just use the stove top kettle on our woodburner (and heat beans/toast bread for dinner). 

victor2

Nothing wrong with Bovril!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJCJfY7TIko

Eldi_Dos

One bit of contingency planning we could all help with is getting in touch with our MP/MSP/AM and urging them that more funds are available for Midwifery services next year.

elsien

wittynamegoeshere said:

ariarnia said:

i dont drink alcohol and do get headaches if i don't drink enough tea. but im also quite happy drinking cold tea (as long as it was originally made with hot water)! and a flask of tea or coffee is perfectly drinkable several hours after it was made. i would never go anywhere on the train otherwise (tiny cups of expensive tea on the carts). but during a blackout we would probably just use the stove top kettle on our woodburner (and heat beans/toast bread for dinner). 

That does sound like addiction, speaking as a former smoker who once couldn't imagine not smoking.

I'd wean myself off or just stop for a week if I was so dependent on something.

Could just be dehydration.  I pretty much only drink tea and get headaches if I don't drink enough but it's not due to addiction, it's due to just not taking in enough liquid when I'm working and don't make time for it. I know this because I went on holiday for the other week, didn't drink any tea and didn't get any headaches. 

mmmmikey

It's a well established fact that the best thing to do in any crisis is put the kettle on and make a cup of tea - surely everyone knows that

As far as this winter is concerned, my own view is that the common sense thing to do for most people is to make sure they have a torch (and/or candles), a blanket and Thermos flask and if not to buy them now to avoid the last minute rush if the need for rolling blackouts arises.

As far as batteries are concerned, when I did the investiagtion before I bought mine 3 years ago, there were as many naysayers expressing the view that it was a waste of money as there were battery owners and manufacturers saying it was a sure-fire money spinner. The most common sense advice I saw was along the lines of:

"It'll probably just about break even in it's lifetime and with a bit of luck you might even make a bit of a profit. Even if it doesn't make you any money it wll be good for the environment and it's a reasonably inflation proof investment. There are any number of reasons why energy prices could increase  and a battery can help protect you against that risk. The chances are TOU tariff's will come on stream increasing the potential to save money. And, by the way, if you buy the right type of battery you won't lose all power in a powercut. So as long as it won't bankrupt you if it proves unreliable, it looks like a safe bet and good thing to do so go for it". 

That was the advice I followed, and it's turned out very well, thanks The £400 Government payment will cover my electricity bill until about February 2024 as 95% + of my electricty will be bought at 7p per kWh (in addition to the energy from the solar panels).

Based on current savings of £1ish per day, I'll have recouped the £3000ish I paid in about 7 or 8 years.