Frnc wrote: ↑Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:28 am
'Portable' AC used 9.9 kWh yesterday, keeping room at 23.3°. Actual setting is 25°. Outside was 33°. Landing was 27.6. Back bedroom reached 32°.
9.9 is considerably lower than the 17.5 I used when I ran it mostly a deg cooler in June on 34° days.
So, running it a degree cooler saves a lot.
It tends to back off, and run slightly warmer at night, as the air it detects near the window loses a bit of heat. But only a fraction of a degree.
It's expensive, but spread over a year it won't be a big increase on energy bills.
It's funny my darling wife who pitched a fit when the AC unit arrived in the post demanded I put it on last night I was comfortable I'd been outside in the sun most of the day so the house felt cool slowly winning battles one prep at a time
Good! I'm running mine more or less 24h a day in the peak of heatwaves now.
Noticed something this morning to watch out for. I took it down to go to the shop. Set it back up, went to make breakfast, watered plants. Went back up and it was reading 27. I was puzzled for a sec and then realised. Turning the switch off at the plug makes it default to fan mode. Fortunately my room only warmed to 25°, which isn't bad. Without AC I'd expect it to be 28. I think 27 in fan mode must be what it thinks the room is, which is normally warmer than my thermometer, due to the AC sensor being near an E facing window.
itsybitsy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2026 3:49 pm
I'm off to Lidl to buy a load of bottled water to shore up supplies, and a folding water container - they have 20l ones in for £3.99.
Did that last night and grabbed 2x of those 20l soft barrels didn't realise they were I thought they were the 10l type when you showed me them
itsybitsy wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2026 3:49 pm
I'm off to Lidl to buy a load of bottled water to shore up supplies, and a folding water container - they have 20l ones in for £3.99.
Did that last night and grabbed 2x of those 20l soft barrels didn't realise they were I thought they were the 10l type when you showed me them
No 20! Definitely a bargain!
Tried both my local Lidl's - can't find those folding water containers anywhere.
I've more or less finished the spare room downstairs. I had it decorated after the lodger moved out. I kept the wardrobe and drawers in case I ever needed another lodger. I wanted to make it look a bit less abandoned, partly in case a burglar looked through the blinds. Also just for me, of course. I've put a rug down, a plant on the drawers, and today I put a couple of spare pictures up. It still looks like a spare room, but a bit more cared for. I use it for drying laundry in if it's raining. And I'm sorting some old paperwork in there as well. I did have some junk in there, but that's more or less all gone now.
Got fed up of pulling storage boxes out from under the beds to find the food I needed and having a wardrobe full of buckets of lentils so have ordered a load of storage furniture with doors which should look much nicer and hide things better than the open shelving units I had previously. Replaced the truck battery today as it was 7 years old and was a bit iffy on holiday so should be all good for winter. Husband is due to reduce his hours to 4 days a week in September so planning and prepping for reduced income. I've had a "wish list" of things to buy before he retires properly which is gradually reducing and although he is now on the same page as me prepping I am still trying to get him to think about alternatives eg his fuel chainsaw is playing up so he has been using the electric one he (apparently) bought for me which does have an impact on our electric costs. I asked him to get it checked/serviced or replace it if not cost effective and he said he would buy a battery powered one as we already have batteries for his other power tools and my small chainsaw (which he also apparently bought for me! ) I suggested that a replacement fuel one may be better in case of need during power outages. I don't want to have to rely on electric for running or charging up batteries.
Have ordered a new rear rack for my bike. I got a new trunk bag, but it is Topeak MTX 2, and rack was old version. It did slide on, but doesn't lock into place. I have secured it with a small cable and mini padlock which I carry for emergencies (not very secure, obviously), but for £40 I think the proper compatible rack will be worth it in the long run. Fitting it should only take a few minutes. It's just 4 bolts and re-zip tie my mudguard.
When I fitted the old rack, I had eyelets on the frame near my axle, but not on the seat post. To get around that, I got a new seat post clamp that had eyelets.
My preps over the last couple of weeks have been more around sorting out finances and paperwork relating to retirement. But I have a cautionary tale for anyone who handles paperwork by "filing" it in a pile and then sorting it out properly once or twice a year. My car had a service and MOT a month ago. I was pretty frazzled when I went to collect it and failed to notice that I had been given only half the paperwork. It was only when I went to put the paperwork away properly 2 weeks later, that I realised there was no MOT certificate. DVLA showed the MOT as expired so I hightailed it to the garage where I discovered that no MOT had been recorded as done even though it was clearly written in their diary as booked for one. They did sort it all out very quickly.
Moral of the tale. Don't neglect your paperwork and do doublecheck the DVLA status after getting an MOT done.
Other than that, the hose is almost permanently connected (but off) in case of fire. We are urban and the silly **** around here seem to think that the no open flame alert doesn't apply to back garden BBQs.
GillyBee wrote: ↑Sun Aug 16, 2026 8:35 am
My preps over the last couple of weeks have been more around sorting out finances and paperwork relating to retirement. But I have a cautionary tale for anyone who handles paperwork by "filing" it in a pile and then sorting it out properly once or twice a year. My car had a service and MOT a month ago. I was pretty frazzled when I went to collect it and failed to notice that I had been given only half the paperwork. It was only when I went to put the paperwork away properly 2 weeks later, that I realised there was no MOT certificate. DVLA showed the MOT as expired so I hightailed it to the garage where I discovered that no MOT had been recorded as done even though it was clearly written in their diary as booked for one. They did sort it all out very quickly.
Moral of the tale. Don't neglect your paperwork and do doublecheck the DVLA status after getting an MOT done.
Other than that, the hose is almost permanently connected (but off) in case of fire. We are urban and the silly **** around here seem to think that the no open flame alert doesn't apply to back garden BBQs.
Seen that at work recently customer had broken down and her car ended up in our trusting hands ... We do a pre work check sheet fastest way to find any underlying old issues is to check the MOT history chances are you look under the cat after an advisory on the MOT 6 months ago and the advisory leaking shocker is now wetter than a driving instructors handshake the owner has ignored the MOT advisory and there's lots of potential issues to find and the breakdown is probably lack of maintenance related
Anyhow customer had paid a garage out of town a rather large sum of money for MOT and repairs and the car was showing as having no MOT they hadn't done one / not put it on the computer or what ever reason you can think of. She had It moted with us and we sorted the reason it was running like a bag of spanners (coil pack) and she left happy
It happens likewise with car Insurance on the pay monthly make sure the money's goes out religiously as if payments bounce or the bank has a system issue no payment they will cancel your policy
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Car looked as if it had driven through the Sahara - covered in dust and grime. As such, decided to give it a wash down with a bucket of shower water. (What a conscientious citizen I am...) Anyway, mid window clean, the neighbourhood busybody decided he needed a walk, happened to walk past the end of the drive, said good morning then asked "you do know there is a national water shortage.?.."
Asked him if he would like to come and inspect the shower water - pretty sure there were a few pubes floating around. He got a bit huffy....
Did that last night and grabbed 2x of those 20l soft barrels didn't realise they were I thought they were the 10l type when you showed me them
No 20! Definitely a bargain!
Tried both my local Lidl's - can't find those folding water containers anywhere.
They were at the end of one of the middle aisles - with the folding washing up bowls if that's helpful?! I guess they may have had them and sold out but I did have to search a bit for them. I checked online via Lidl's website to check that my local store had them in stock. I think Yorkshire Andy said that B&M may also have some. I am going to go back today to see if I can get another as they're 201 which is a real bargain for 4 quid!
I was comfortable I'd been outside in the sun most of the day so the house felt cool
slowly winning battles one prep at a time
