What Preps are you doing this week? Part 11

[Yorkshire Andy]

Slipped some neat -20°c screen wash in both cars to boost the concentration up as the cold sets in
Lunch at work I'm going to top up my tyre pressures now it's gone cold before the idiot light comes on due to lowering pressure.,.. car got a coat of synthetic spray on wash off wax to help shrug off water / snow too

Grabbed some more deicer on Sunday I've got plenty but you soon go through it if the cold really sets in that bat winter 2010/11 most shops sold out

Dressed all door rubbers with silicone oil to prevent them freezing shut ..

Had whip round the garden and had a tidy up

Next job that keeps getting put off is tidy the car boot

[ForgeCorvus]

I got the telephone pole so my preps this week is 20 foot of chainsawing
I didnt steal it the very nice man from the telephone company gave me it . Jaffa cakes and tea did the trick

See it's an epic currency especially in the cold

Just watch out for any cable cleat/ clip pins

If you've got any of the 'steps', they're worth about three quid each on Ebay.
This for example

[GeeGee]

Thank you have them all ..go towards the cost ... didn't think that people would buy them !
At present getting them all out and stacking them
Also got 3 enormous pallets which will cut up for kindling

[Yorkshire Andy]

Thank you have them all ..go towards the cost ... didn't think that people would buy them !
At present getting them all out and stacking them
Also got 3 enormous pallets which will cut up for kindling

Supprised your not bolting then to the chimney stack to get a good view of the neighborhood

[Arzosah]

Well done GeeGee, that's great news

I'm not actively prepping right now - I have a couple of deliveries to sort, but my priority has to be upcoming tax return, I don't seem physically capable of starting it before the January that it's due

[preppermike]

A few more real-life practical preps this week.

On the financial side, I've upped my pension contribution by .5%. I've also looked at my savings, we want to convert the conservatory into more of a permanent extension, we probably only have around half of what we expect it to cost, so we've plotted out a savings target / forecast for the next 12 months.

As we're trying to save, we're burning through quite a lot of our stored tinned food (lentils, baked beans, kidney beans etc), so will look to replace some of that if we see any offers during our usual weekly shop.

I've also bought 2 x 400w EcoFlow solar panels, which were on offer on Amazon. They're a lot larger than I anticipated! I'll get them test fitted at some point today, so I can see how much energy I get throughout the winter. I do have a 110w foldable panel but that's on it's last legs and that doesn't really get any wattage at all during the winter, so I'm interested in seeing if I get anything at all with an 800w array.

EDIT: Got one of the panels on the conservatory, it's currently pulling between 20 and 50w, which I think is a big WIN considering there is no sun and the sky is full of clouds! Still need to fix it down properly, but at almost 15kg i don't think it'll go anywhere.

The idea is to charge up my Delta 2 and Delta 2 max power stations and use those to power some of my home devices, kettle, air fryer, phone charging etc. It's not a complete off grid solution but perfect for a power cut and to hopefully, save a bit of cash in the long term.

Although I do have the Ecoflow back ups I did still sort through my conventional power cut preps. I checked I have enough lighters, matches, candles torches and batteries etc. Need to order some more tealights.

Also, when out hiking with my dog or just out and about in general, I take an emergency kit with me. It's a kit pouch with a bunch of 'EDC' style items. I had a sort through and found some expired stuff (medical mostly), so will need to replace those.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Grabbed another stove as the one on the allotment the seals have perished it's done well it came from Netto and that's been shut since about 2006 so its done well

[jansman]

Going to pick up another 15 kg gas bottle . Just in case we have another electrical power cut. It means we have no worries about keeping warm. We don’t miss the multifuel stoves that we had for 25+ years. What’s more,our electric heating costs no more than coal - in fact it’s less!

[Yorkshire Andy]

Going to pick up another 15 kg gas bottle . Just in case we have another electrical power cut. It means we have no worries about keeping warm. We don’t miss the multifuel stoves that we had for 25+ years. What’s more,our electric heating costs no more than coal - in fact it’s less!

Scout the local Facebook pages saves paying the large deposit on calor / Flo gas initial rental/ deposits though im guessing your brother might be able to assist on that front


Think before next winter I'm going to replace my portable gas heater it's getting a bit tatty now looking at the catalytic version for about £120 on calors website camping Gaz also do one seems to have a decent run time our rental agreement forbids calor heaters fortunately mines currently a dehlongi brand and i use ennergas (hull based gas supplier) ive taken the wording literally as it's there in black and white it's kept in the shed but there if needed.... I got another 15kg butane bottle a few weeks ago was offered it for nothing still full the chap has listened to me about the refillable bottles for his caravan and horse box told him id use it on thr bbq

Have you looked into economy 7 electric rates? Boost the heat up overnight when the leccy is cheaper sort of thing

[Yorkshire Andy]

Oh and one drawback with the Gaz bistro 3 stove I've found is the pan holder is fixed so washing it will be a pita