[JoeSoap]

@retrotecchie

That’s a shame, but some things have to take priority.

[retrotecchie]

@JoeSoap

I know...

Q. What have HMRC and a pelican got in common?
A. They can both stick their bills up their ****

[JoeSoap]

@retrotecchie

Speaking of bills….

I once shouted to my dad, ‘There’s a man at the door with a bill’. He replied, ‘ Don’t be daft, it’s probably a duck with a hat on’.

[JoeSoap]

@meldrewreborn

Review of McGuigan Black Label Red…

I’ve been drinking a lot of Malbec, my favourite red, recently so my first sip of the subject wine at the kitchen worktop pre-dinner met with a slight grimace. Flo Soap liked it but as a stand-alone wine it was on the sweet side for me. However…

I read the label and it purported to be good with spicy Asian dishes. Well, we were having Thai Red Curry so instead of a bottle of beer with dinner I had the wine. I only had 3/4 of the bottle as it’s only Wednesday but it did go down well.

I will save the next bottle until the next curry but will probably stick with my beloved Malbec in future.

As an afterthought, I might try the next bottle slightly chilled.

[retrotecchie]

@JoeSoap

I find that. Some wines work better with food than without. I had a couple of bottles of 'catering' rosé left in the rack which were part of my haul from previous pub quizzes. Rather nondescript and not really a 'quaffing' wine, and I'd kind of left them be. In desperation yesterday, and paired with a few home pickled-onions and a chunk of extra mature cheddar, it tasted much better, although it may have been the desperation rather than the ploughman's come to think of it

One last bottle remaining...but I do have to go in to town tomorrow, so I'll see what Tesco have.

[retrotecchie]

On the subject of rosé wine...


The Nuns were having breakfast in the convent. The Mother Superior called for attention and started reading out the day's notices.

"And finally, Sisters", she concluded, "I regret to inform you that we have just found a case of syphilis in the infirmary!"

One Nun leaned over to her neighbour and whispered "Oh, thank heavens! I was getting rather fed up with the Zinfandel..."

[Han_EONNext]

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

There is a video on YouTube on a channel called Technology Connections which is really about why Americans rarely use electric kettles. It actually goes a long way to explaining just why using an electric kettle, even a maximum 1500W 120v one is faster and more effective than heating water on a gas hob.

Bottom line is because the element is directly in contact with the water so the energy transfer is far more efficient. Sure, my post was aimed more at your all-electric folks like me. Of course, the 'leccy is 3 and a bit times more expensive per kWh than gas, which is why saving all you can is helpful.

Two houses ago, we had a double width dual fuel range. Electric oven and bottled gas hob. We made a 47kg propane bottle last about 14 months, which worked out at about £50 a year. I kind of miss it, but we also had oil fired heating. The logistics of living off the gas grid are far more complicated - the ten mile round trip to the garage to change a (heavy) propane bottle, and the same round trip to the garage to fill a couple of 25 litre drums of kerosene when you ran out of oil and your tanker delivery isn't due for a week.

The new place is a former pub. Originally a single storey two room building, it had a small lean-to kitchen tacked on the back at the turn of last century (1902) and an upstairs added in the 1950s. Completely refurbished in 2021 as we were moving in, and the coke burner with back boiler and a gravity fed water tank was replaced with a modern oil-fired combi and modern radiators throughout. Unfortunately, because of the size of the kitchen, the boiler located in the garden and the issues of two-foot thick solid stone walls downstairs, bottled gas for cooking was ruled out due to complexity and timescale.

Pence per kWh, it's the leccy that really makes the eyes water.

Yes, it's a different way of life off the gas grid (and sewage and mobile phone networks), but the views make up for the inconveniences.

I've just ordered 500 litres of heating oil. 84p a litre. At about 10.4kWh per litre, a unit of heat works out at 8.07p per kWh, so a bit cheaper than gas right now. Sure, payment up front for a delivery is a shocker, but that 500 litres lasts 8 months between Feb and Sept, and four months in winter.

Where oil really blows gas out of the water...no daily standing charges. They are the killer. No amount of energy saving frugality can cut down on that cost.

Too right about the Americans and the kettle!!
When I was at University I met 2 of (my now best) friends - fast forward to last year and I took a trip to visit them in L.A. Safe to say I was concerned when they tried to make my coffee in the microwave! 🤣

That video sounds great - do you mind sharing it with us all?
I made a handy little step by step here to help you along - but of course shout up if you need help!

[retrotecchie]

@Han_EONNext

No worries. The video is here

In a previous life, I was married to an American. When she came over to the UK, she just couldn't get her head round just how quick and easy it was to make a cuppa this side of the pond. When I visited the US on several occasions, I got wise to the fact that you needed to put the kettle on the gas hob about ten minutes ahead of time.

[JoeSoap]

Now we're sort of back on energy saving again, I've just had a look at how I've done in the four months since I started making cuts to our household usage. For the period of July to October inclusive we've used 38% less gas and 23% less electricity than the same period last year. A lot of it was low hanging fruit, so easy pickings. Any further savings will be much more difficult to find but even if we just keep on as we are then I'll be happy.

In monetary terms, using my current tariff rates (they were lower in July and higher in Aug/Sep), I've saved around £325 in total, so over £80/month. Hopefully we can keep it up over winter when the bills get higher and reach my loose target of £100/month savings compared with last year.

I know I've said it before, and it can be argued that you don't need an IHD to cut down usage, but when my electric was 52.11p/kWh and my gas was 12.87p/kWh and the IHD was showing double figure £££s on a regular late summer day, it focused the minds of family members and became a daily talking point.

Did I mention I love my IHD? 🤩

[retrotecchie]

@JoeSoap

No smart meter here, so it's a mandraulic process for me, but the excel spreadsheet is showing some progress...

I use a lot of power in summer thanks to power tools and work out in the homestead, but my cumulative consumption average is coming down. My target is 15kWh a day (all electric, no gas here) and I will get there!






The y axis is either kWh or £, depending on which line you are looking at. The price per day is total, including standing charge. The increase in usage between 18 and 24 October is the result of a few days batch-cooking for the freezer.