What Preps are you doing this week? Part 12

[Frnc]

Almost done all my annual AAA charging. The 12 from the BOB charged very quickly, so they hardly lost any charge over 12 months storage. They are EBLs and they came with free plastic cases, perfect for the BOB ditty bag. The cases are only for AAAs, so no space wasted.

[Kiwififer]

Old man rant coming.

I’ve just been to the big Marks food hall to pick up items to replenish my winter drinks supply, I normally go through a jar every two weeks.

I asked the young sales assistant if they had any and he replied ‘What’s Bovril?’…

He goes to football matches. I asked.

The place is going to the dogs…

[grenfell]

Closed (almost closed) plastic sheet gap over unglazed half of cellar window, so just a trickle of air can get in during winter.

I made some screens for a customer for a very similar purpose although they are easily fitted and removed from sash windows but one big difference is that the vented area is covered with stainless steel fly mesh , all year round ventilation but no bugs getting in.. Despite them being locked in place with bolts the screens were made removable because of insurance concerns , basically leaving a window "open" which could allow ner do wells to get in.

[Frnc]

Closed (almost closed) plastic sheet gap over unglazed half of cellar window, so just a trickle of air can get in during winter.

I made some screens for a customer for a very similar purpose although they are easily fitted and removed from sash windows but one big difference is that the vented area is covered with stainless steel fly mesh , all year round ventilation but no bugs getting in.. Despite them being locked in place with bolts the screens were made removable because of insurance concerns , basically leaving a window "open" which could allow ner do wells to get in.

The window was only half glazed when I bought the house. Bu it's a cellar window. The other half has wood slats, which aren't in a great state. Top of the window is about ground level. Outside the window is a light well - a rectangular hole in the ground about 4 feet wide, 2 feet front to back, and 3 feet deep. So you'd have to be fairly small to get down it. It has metal bars across the top. I wasn't sure if they were secure enough, so I added metal bars on the inside, where it's unglazed. I think the glass on the other side is wire reinforced. So all in all, it's pretty safe. Behind or in front of the window is tool boxes piled up, above the bottom of the window, which add to the visual deterrent. Bear in mind most burglars would just force the front door open.

I was more worried about all my new plants in pots in the garden outside it, but none have been pinched so far, touch wood. There's about £200 worth, plus some big teracotta pots.

[grenfell]

Funnily enough the customer I made the screens for have a very similar arrangement . Their flat is part of a large old building and as such they are partly below ground level . The bedrooms take up what is the cellar area and the idea of the mesh screens came about after they had moths getting into the wardrobe and chomping on some clothes. They too have lightwellsabout 6ft deep that are surrounded by railings , awkward but not impossible to get into and largely not overlooked.
Mention of burglars coming through doors and large pots in the garden reminds me of another customer of mine. This time it was a stone garden ornament but could easily be a plant pot but the burglars simply chucked it through the patio door and gained entry that way , not pretty or subtle at all. There concerns about the insurance was probably based more on cynicism of insurance companies trying to find a reason not to pay out more than anything actually in a,policy.

[Frnc]

Ordered a Tapo Smart Plug, 40% off, so £10. Gonna use it to check how much electricity my electric radiator uses over the winter. If it gets to around 5 kWh in a day, it'll probably be cheaper to crank the central heating up. Obviously gas is about 1/4 of the price per kWh, but the CH uses load more kWh than this little radiator. I think it's currently only using about 1.5 kWh in a day. C/H is on auto now, but it's barely come on yet.

[Frnc]

Incidentally, a typical house's electrics are going to be able to deliver at least 12kW depending on main fuse rating (not sure what mine is). But I like to stay well below that. I'm running the mini oven. Later I need to use the kettle and microwave while the oven is still on. But I'll alternate those in the other wall socket, even though sockets are doubles. And if I remember, I'll unplug my electric radiator when I go down. I only ever use 2 appliance in the 4 sockets at the same time.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Incidentally, a typical house's electrics are going to be able to deliver at least 12kW depending on main fuse rating (not sure what mine is). But I like to stay well below that. I'm running the mini oven. Later I need to use the kettle and microwave while the oven is still on. But I'll alternate those in the other wall socket, even though sockets are doubles. And if I remember, I'll unplug my electric radiator when I go down. I only ever use 2 appliance in the 4 sockets at the same time.

What's your ring main fused at ? most are 32a through the circuit 2.5mm2 cable buried in plaster or clipped direct can take between 20 and 27amps depending on the install so each socket can theoretically support a constant load of 40amps (in the case of a ring ) or 16a in a 2.5mm wired spur


If you've a cooker switch with a socket that's a seperate circuit in most cases I use that for big stuff like the welder

[Peter]

Your lady lets you weld in the kitchen?.

I am amazed

[Frnc]

Incidentally, a typical house's electrics are going to be able to deliver at least 12kW depending on main fuse rating (not sure what mine is). But I like to stay well below that. I'm running the mini oven. Later I need to use the kettle and microwave while the oven is still on. But I'll alternate those in the other wall socket, even though sockets are doubles. And if I remember, I'll unplug my electric radiator when I go down. I only ever use 2 appliance in the 4 sockets at the same time.

What's your ring main fused at ? most are 32a through the circuit 2.5mm2 cable buried in plaster or clipped direct can take between 20 and 27amps depending on the install so each socket can theoretically support a constant load of 40amps (in the case of a ring ) or 16a in a 2.5mm wired spur


If you've a cooker switch with a socket that's a seperate circuit in most cases I use that for big stuff like the welder

Yeah that's true, probably 7kW max is available for the power sockets. Cooker is separate, of course. That plus lights adds up to total of around 11kW capacity.

3kW is max for any single socket, but a double socket should only have 3kW total, which can be an appliance up to 3kW, but only in one of the two sockets. I have 2 double sockets in the kitchen, plus the cooker separate and hidden, plus the washing machine in a double, hidden. One double has the microwave. The mini oven, kettle and toaster are all by the other double. I only ever use one of these at a time in that double. So if I want the kettle and mini oven on, I move the kettle to the microwave socket, and only use it when the microwave's not on. So I might use the microwave for 2 minutes, turn the switch off at the socket, turn the other switch on, and boil some water.

Golden rule folks:
For kitchen appliances...Use the socket switches - on a double, only have one on at any time! Unless it's something trivial, but you don't tend to have such things in a kitchen. I do have two extensions in a double in my room, but the total load is trivial. I never use my hair dryer and electric radiator at the same time.