Winter watch
'20-'21
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Well, we're not going anywhere this year are we?

The cold begins, yet continues.
I've relented and put the heating on earlier this year. I think with lots of working from home, it'll get more use than normal.
We used our log burner for the first time last Saturday, it's had steady use since.
We haven't put the heating on yet but we have had the electric blanket on pretty consistently over the last week. I don't know how we managed before, it's the best thing ever and heats each side of the bed individually!
For bonus electric blanket awesomeness, connect it to a smart plug so you can turn it on from the sofa.
Grim... wrote:
For bonus electric blanket awesomeness, connect it to a smart plug so you can turn it on from the sofa.


genius
Dr Zoidberg wrote:
I've relented and put the heating on earlier this year. I think with lots of working from home, it'll get more use than normal.


As this house always gets pretty cold, I've been using my heating for a good few weeks already. It's meant that I've also found out that the boiler is knackered - the other day, I realised the heating had stayed on overnight even though I'd turned it off. It also seems to lose pressure randomly too.

On the plus side, I had an email earlier saying the landlord has paid for a new one, so hurrah for that. :)
Grim... wrote:
For bonus electric blanket awesomeness, connect it to a smart plug so you can turn it on from the sofa.


What. Grim... is living in 3020.
I turn my leccy blanket on when I go upstairs, then go brush my teeth etc, and it's warm by the time I'm done.
Jem wrote:
I turn my leccy blanket on when I go upstairs, then go brush my teeth etc, and it's warm by the time I'm done.

That’s because you’re Smart Jem. Dumb Grim… needs a plug to be smart for him
I have to have the radiator on one at most and can only bear a winter duvet when it's actually winter. An electric blanket sounds like torture.
markg wrote:
I have to have the radiator on one at most and can only bear a winter duvet when it's actually winter. An electric blanket sounds like torture.


They have not one, but duvets of making you talk.
I've seen electric blankets with a chiller in them. Sorely tempted.
I like my electric blanket on 2, but Russell likes his on 6, the crazy thing.

I wish I could smart plug ours, but I’m pretty sure it needs switching on via the individual control unit after plugging in.
Cras wrote:
I've seen electric blankets with a chiller in them. Sorely tempted.

I’d like a chiller pillow. Warm pillows are the worst thing about summer.
Mimi wrote:
I like my electric blanket on 2, but Russell likes his on 6, the crazy thing.

I wish I could smart plug ours, but I’m pretty sure it needs switching on via the individual control unit after plugging in.


6!? Mine only goes to 3. 1 barely makes any difference to anything, 2 is the kind of warmth where you're not sure if it's the blanket or if you've wet the bed, and 3 roasts the skin clear off your bum in about 2 minutes.
Mimi wrote:
Cras wrote:
I've seen electric blankets with a chiller in them. Sorely tempted.

I’d like a chiller pillow. Warm pillows are the worst thing about summer.


We just got a pair of these:

https://rem-fit.co.uk/rem-fit-500-pillow

It's an eye-watering price for a pillow, but genuinely worth it. Incredibly comfortable, supportive and will (hopefully) be cool in the hot months when they're back again.
We have bamboo pillows and they were nice and cool in the summer.
I don't know if this is common with electric blankets, but when we've got them turned on (both sides of the bed have separate controls) if I run my fingers across Jem's skin, or vice versa, I can "feel" the electric current running through her, there's like a weird "heartbeat" that pulses up through my fingers.

First time I noticed it I thought I was going mad, but Jem's confirmed it does happen, and it stops as soon as the electric blanket is switched off.
That's the electricity
I feel like winter 2020 is going to be intense. Game of Thrones warned us about it for years and if there was ever a winter to be warmed about, it's bound to be this one. I feel like floods are a bit samey, they're pretty regular in October/November. I feel like a big, country-wide snow is on the cards. That then turns into floods when it melts. So much snow that the country grinds to a halt. So like, an inch or two. And it sticks 'til after dinner.
GazChap wrote:
I don't know if this is common with electric blankets, but when we've got them turned on (both sides of the bed have separate controls) if I run my fingers across Jem's skin, or vice versa, I can "feel" the electric current running through her, there's like a weird "heartbeat" that pulses up through my fingers.

First time I noticed it I thought I was going mad, but Jem's confirmed it does happen, and it stops as soon as the electric blanket is switched off.


You are electrocuting yourselves warm. That is not how my electric blanket works.
Danger, danger! HIGH VOLTAGE!
What's the worst that can happen, right?!
This also happens if you’re holding your plugged in, charging phone and your partner touches your back.
Jem wrote:
What's the worst that can happen, right?!


Gaz wakes up with static hair...
Findus Fop wrote:
Mimi wrote:
Cras wrote:
I've seen electric blankets with a chiller in them. Sorely tempted.

I’d like a chiller pillow. Warm pillows are the worst thing about summer.


We just got a pair of these:

https://rem-fit.co.uk/rem-fit-500-pillow

It's an eye-watering price for a pillow, but genuinely worth it. Incredibly comfortable, supportive and will (hopefully) be cool in the hot months when they're back again.

Russell’s ex pillow was £95, so I’m now steely on the face of ridiculous pillow-ness.
Mr Chonks wrote:
We have bamboo pillows and they were nice and cool in the summer.


What’s the bamboo in them? The shell, the cover or the fill (or a combination of 2 or all)?
It's just a pile of sticks
Trooper wrote:
Jem wrote:
What's the worst that can happen, right?!


Gaz wakes up with static hair...

If Gaz woke up with hair I'd be seriously inpressed.
GazChap wrote:
I don't know if this is common with electric blankets, but when we've got them turned on (both sides of the bed have separate controls) if I run my fingers across Jem's skin, or vice versa, I can "feel" the electric current running through her, there's like a weird "heartbeat" that pulses up through my fingers.

First time I noticed it I thought I was going mad, but Jem's confirmed it does happen, and it stops as soon as the electric blanket is switched off.


:hat: Oy, none of that before the watershed. Dirty boy.
Mimi wrote:
Mr Chonks wrote:
We have bamboo pillows and they were nice and cool in the summer.


What’s the bamboo in them? The shell, the cover or the fill (or a combination of 2 or all)?

Fill. It’s these.

https://mypandalife.com/product/bamboo- ... am-pillow/
That says the cover is bamboo and the fill is memory foam.
From Myp and a life!
Trooper wrote:
Jem wrote:
What's the worst that can happen, right?!


Gaz wakes up with static hair...

Image
There was snow on the road on the way to work this morning, Mr. flis went through about 40mins before me and said it was coming down then. There wasn't very much, and it was confined to probably a mile or less of road but it as still enough to make a car go through a fence.
Then it's time for this!

Don't do it when there's a foot of snow, do it now!

Grim... wrote:
  • Check your antifreeze. Testers can be purchased from Amazon
  • Check your battery. Again, you can buy testers, or go to a garage if that's an option. If your battery is going to fail, it's likely to fail in the winter
  • Check all the other fluids in the car while you're under the bonnet (brake fluid, oil, transmission fluid if you have an auto, water levels)
  • Check the tread on your tyres. If they're getting close to the limit, get them replaced
  • Go to Homebase and pick up a bag or two of rock salt, and put them in your garage. They're around £5, and you won't be able to buy them for love or money once the snow hits
  • If you live in Scotland or Northern England and always get lots of snow, it might be worth getting a set of snow chains or snow socks, and now is the time to buy them. You only need two for a two-wheel drive car, or four for a 4x4
  • Make sure you know where your towing eye is, and if it needs something screwed into it to make it work make sure that is in your car. Give it a try straight away so you know it works and you know how to work it - you don't want to be doing it in a foot of snow for the first time
  • Make sure you have all of the following in your car:
    • A blanket for each person in the car
    • A can of de-icer
    • A car charger for your mobile
    • Some chocolate bars
    • Spare windscreen washer
    • Bottles of water
    • A fold-up spade (here's a cheap one)
    • A gallon of whatever fuel your car needs
    • A book for while you're waiting (and maybe some toys if you have kiddies)
  • You really should have a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, set of jump leads and a florescent jacket/vest in your car all your round.

Get a can of WD-40 and wipe it around your door seals - this will stop it freezing shut.

If you have a 4x4 you can add a tow rope to that list, for dragging lesser cars around and feeling butch ;) The type you can get from petrol stations will do, but if you get a good kinetic strap you'll be able to recover lorries buses, too.
You might also want to consider joining your local 4x4 Response team. In bad weather they'll ask you to help out with all sorts of things, from delivering water to acting as an emergency ambulance.
However: VERY IMPORTANT: Your 4x4 can go forward in the snow more effectively than other cars, but that doesn't mean it's any better at stopping or going around corners, so be careful.

The following information was written when we weren't approaching a viral apocalypse, so the sharing cars bit may be out of date:
Grim... wrote:
If you do get stranded in the snow, get all your stuff out of the boot and have a look around for other people who are also stranded. Share cars with each other, running the engine for five minutes with the heaters on full every half hour or so (or however long it takes the car to get cold).

Finally, be a member of the AA. It costs £60 for a year or £6 a month, which is a proper no-brainer. It's even worth considering if you don't have a car, but are regularly a passenger in one.
First Xmas card has arrived! From my MP!

Log consumption for the log burner is running at about a builders bag every 7 weeks. Second builder's bag of logs has now been ordered.

Yesterday was mad chilly, i had two jumpers on for most of it!
MaliA wrote:
Log consumption for the log burner is running at about a builders bag every 7 weeks. Second builder's bag of logs has now been ordered.

We can't get to ours, there's an extractor fan in front of it. ?:|
Ours is blocked by a bookshelf at the moment. Good job we’ve just had a radiator installed then!
Heh, we need to get one in the room that Joans works in. We do have a radiator in the living room, but it's the Toy Story blanket that's doing the most work at the moment. :P
I have had a new boiler installed. The house is so warm.

I just need to reconnect the hive system. It looks simple, but I think I will get a sparky in.
(What the hell, I hit reply here and somehow it ended up in bits and bobs?)

Your boiler man disconnected it from the old boiler then didn't reconnect it to the new one? Whut?
Yup, he is not a sparky, and i needed to buy a new unit.. as the receiver is for tank and boiler, and of course won't work on a combi :)

I fitted a nest this Morning.
Err, you shouldn’t really need an electrician to fit those. My heating engineer installed the Hive system when the new boiler went in. Even plugged the hub into the router and tested it all worked.
Mr Chonks wrote:
Err, you shouldn’t really need an electrician to fit those. My heating engineer installed the Hive system when the new boiler went in. Even plugged the hub into the router and tested it all worked.


I know, but he said he did not fit them, I can't make him. :)
Our heating is working a hell of a lot better since the garage conversion guy removed the miles & miles of unnecessary piping from the old garage. :DD
Jem wrote:
Our heating is working a hell of a lot better since the garage conversion guy removed the miles & miles of unnecessary piping from the old garage. :DD


That was mental, how much was in there...
Did you see the photo on twitter? It was bloody ridiculous

https://twitter.com/jemjabella/status/1 ... 9990238211


No, Jem, that was the cooling system. Now your house is going to overheat and thermally throttle
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