What Preps are you doing this week? Part 9

[Frnc]

Last night, I glanced at the Smart Meter and it was sat showing about 400W being consumed.... But we'd switched most things off for the night, so that troubled me.

So this morning, I did a deep dive analysis of what's just ticking over, using up the 'Leccy.

Note 400W burning constantly costs about 11p an hour or £2.50 per day

It turns out that our daily spend of about £5 - £6 includes around 350 - 400W ( £2 ) of 'Always on' usage.

WHAT The Hell !

I'd thought the expense was Washer/ Drier/ Cooker, and here I was burning half my electricity in my sleep.

So. DEEP Dive! Using the smart meter and turning EVERYTHING OFF and bringing stuff back on, one by one.

Discovered......

One Freezer, running 24/7 burning 75W, costing £0.26 x 24 x 0.075 = 47p per day. Defrosting it now to see if that fixes it, or if it needs a new thermostat.

£5-6 a day just on electric? Sounds a lot. 3 adults in my house, I spend £50 a month on electricity. If you multiply that by 35% to get standard variable it's £2.25 a day.

If you think thats bad...it was 440 per month for a few months at the old rate. Read it and weep.
https://uk-preppers.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... 74#p213074
Incredible waste.
I can check the smartmeter with a plug in wattmeter which I have.

Thanks guys.

Omg. Your electricity use got up to 1800 KWH a month for some months. Mine was just under double that FOR A YEAR, but now is 2200 a year. Thats for 3 adults, was 4 when it was higher.
Why is your useage so much higher in the winter? Don't you have gas heating?

[jansman]

I have put more staging in the greenhouse. My intention is to ( next year) grow small, frequent salads, force potatoes and carrots too. There will be room to grow oriental greens come Autumn. My traditional growing of tomatoes will not happen. I shall just grow two cherry tomatoes plants. It’s just for The Duchess and me.

I’ve finished picking/ storing apples and pears, and tomorrow I shall pickle the last of the beetroot.

[jennyjj01]

Omg. Your electricity use got up to 1800 KWH a month for some months. Mine was just under double that FOR A YEAR, but now is 2200 a year. Thats for 3 adults, was 4 when it was higher.
Why is your useage so much higher in the winter? Don't you have gas heating?

Did you read the post. I was super stupid and left an electric heater on in the garage (to keep the freezers alive) and forgot about it.
It sat there burning electricity at maybe 1500W for three solid months, 24/7. I can't bring myself to redo the math to see what setting it was on. Very embarrassing.
Current usage at about £6 per day is going to get slashed to £4 if it kills me. The current wastage, being a small tower pc (fan is a bit blocked) which has now been turned off, and a freezer that seems to be working overtime plus a few 'bits behind the tv'. Some lights are going to get changed out immediately to save a bit more.

Our modern gas CH, combi Boiler is saving us an absolute fortune compared to the old fashioned Halstead with water tank.

I'm frantically scouring various marketplaces for ways of economically extending our solar setup. It's getting there.

[Arzosah]

I have put more staging in the greenhouse. My intention is to ( next year) grow small, frequent salads, force potatoes and carrots too. There will be room to grow oriental greens come Autumn. My traditional growing of tomatoes will not happen. I shall just grow two cherry tomatoes plants. It’s just for The Duchess and me.

I’ve finished picking/ storing apples and pears, and tomorrow I shall pickle the last of the beetroot.

I'm going to grow things properly next year if it kills me. I got into the back garden today for the first time since the beginning of July I'm going to grow "around" some plants the bees like, that self seeded, but the rest is going to be space for proper food plants - garlic, courgettes, kale, more chives, seeds I've already got, plus nasturtium and marigolds. And I'm going to harvest more: raspberries, mint, sage, *all* the rhubarb. I was cutting back today with that in mind.

[steptoe]

I have put more staging in the greenhouse. My intention is to ( next year) grow small, frequent salads, force potatoes and carrots too. There will be room to grow oriental greens come Autumn. My traditional growing of tomatoes will not happen. I shall just grow two cherry tomatoes plants. It’s just for The Duchess and me.

I’ve finished picking/ storing apples and pears, and tomorrow I shall pickle the last of the beetroot.

I'm going to grow things properly next year if it kills me. I got into the back garden today for the first time since the beginning of July I'm going to grow "around" some plants the bees like, that self seeded, but the rest is going to be space for proper food plants - garlic, courgettes, kale, more chives, seeds I've already got, plus nasturtium and marigolds. And I'm going to harvest more: raspberries, mint, sage, *all* the rhubarb. I was cutting back today with that in mind.

Hi if you want any wild garlic let me know i have a huge bed of that and also it takes over the rockey lol , i love the flowers more than the garlic part the bulbs are small some get bigger but you can use the leaves the lot , i just got yet another indoor hydroponic garden to start all my herbs in i start them in here and then pot on people say you can't i say rubbish been doing it since my first aerogarden some 15 years ago , also you can get a nice crop of the small toms in it just grow a couple of the dwarf bush ones over christmas lol one year was sat plucking tiny toms off while eating dinner as we lived in a small flat and had the aerogarden on the dinner table lol .

If you want marigold seed i can send you loads we save all ours as i grow them in my polytunnel in with the toms they keep aphides and ants away i also have the everlasting seetpea seed and lots of poppy seed if you want anything , not sure how it works here re sending stuff to each other if it is allowed your welcome

[steptoe]

Here is a little of what we have been working on over the weekend well sorting and rotating and moving and rebuilding racks and as i say this is a glimpse in to the world of the steptoes lol , we do not want to be found wanting if SHTF this winter .

I am also now working on solar and other battery banks with some advice from Yorkshire Andy who i am very grateful to for pointers he has given .

Hope it is ok to put this many pics on if not i am sure the mods will tell me just want people to see it can be fun

The other is the hydro grow where i am starting herbs and will also use for other things but i can make herbal meds fro mthe stock i can grow just got to find a way to power it in a power down world

[Frnc]

Omg. Your electricity use got up to 1800 KWH a month for some months. Mine was just under double that FOR A YEAR, but now is 2200 a year. Thats for 3 adults, was 4 when it was higher.
Why is your useage so much higher in the winter? Don't you have gas heating?

Did you read the post. I was super stupid and left an electric heater on in the garage (to keep the freezers alive) and forgot about it.
It sat there burning electricity at maybe 1500W for three solid months, 24/7. I can't bring myself to redo the math to see what setting it was on. Very embarrassing.
Current usage at about £6 per day is going to get slashed to £4 if it kills me. The current wastage, being a small tower pc (fan is a bit blocked) which has now been turned off, and a freezer that seems to be working overtime plus a few 'bits behind the tv'. Some lights are going to get changed out immediately to save a bit more.

Our modern gas CH, combi Boiler is saving us an absolute fortune compared to the old fashioned Halstead with water tank.

I'm frantically scouring various marketplaces for ways of economically extending our solar setup. It's getting there.

Ah, think I remember you mentioning the heater before, now you mention it. Fire risk! My mum was doing the same, nearly freaked us kids out. I do actually use an electric fan heater in my room if I'm the only one in, but I set it so it only runs for a minute or so every 10-15 minutes or so.

Oiled filled radiators are also useful. I have a 700 watt one, so if you set the dial half way it would use 0.35 KW/hr.

[Arzosah]

Hi if you want any wild garlic let me know i have a huge bed of that and also it takes over the rockey lol , i love the flowers more than the garlic part the bulbs are small some get bigger but you can use the leaves the lot , i just got yet another indoor hydroponic garden to start all my herbs in i start them in here and then pot on people say you can't i say rubbish been doing it since my first aerogarden some 15 years ago , also you can get a nice crop of the small toms in it just grow a couple of the dwarf bush ones over christmas lol one year was sat plucking tiny toms off while eating dinner as we lived in a small flat and had the aerogarden on the dinner table lol .

If you want marigold seed i can send you loads we save all ours as i grow them in my polytunnel in with the toms they keep aphides and ants away i also have the everlasting seetpea seed and lots of poppy seed if you want anything , not sure how it works here re sending stuff to each other if it is allowed your welcome

Thanks steptoe, thats really kind! Swapping and sending is certainly allowed on here - I've done it myself, with a a few mods and with others, its fine when no one's trying to profit, just being kind like you are.

The reason I let fly about my plans for what to grow next *already*, though, is that I have the seeds! I bought them in January of this year - I just never got clear ground in my garden to plant them, I just couldn't make it happen. I *did* succeed with Chinese chives, which are still alive but in pots in the house, to be planted out next year. Courgettes grew too, but I went away on holiday and then got ill immediately after I came back, so it all went really pear shaped.

I'll check what seeds I've got, and set out a calendar. Incidentally, I have a poppy breed too, called bread poppy, something like that. From Real Seeds - it has no holes in the seed head, so the seeds stay where they can be collected. Clever breeding! Didn't plant it, though, its still waiting for me.

Thanks again.

[Medusa]

Here is a little of what we have been working on over the weekend well sorting and rotating and moving and rebuilding racks and as i say this is a glimpse in to the world of the steptoes lol , we do not want to be found wanting if SHTF this winter .

I am also now working on solar and other battery banks with some advice from Yorkshire Andy who i am very grateful to for pointers he has given .

Hope it is ok to put this many pics on if not i am sure the mods will tell me just want people to see it can be fun

The other is the hydro grow where i am starting herbs and will also use for other things but i can make herbal meds fro mthe stock i can grow just got to find a way to power it in a power down world
DSCF2517.JPG
DSCF2521.JPG
DSCF2520.JPG
DSCF2519.JPG
DSCF2518.JPG
they have all gone to bed.JPG

I am so impressed by your set up, everything is beautifully organised!! Sadly mine has become very disorganised over the last few months and I really need to spend some time sorting everything out.

[Medusa]

We have spent a fair chunk of the weekend installing a new oil tank. Our old one was 20 years old and fitted when we moved into the house. It cost us £250. It was not bunded and so has been replaced before we had a leak, losing oil and causing catastrophic environmental issues in the garden. 20 years down the line a smaller bunded one has just cost us £1200. We pumped out and pumped back into the new one about 300L of kerosene, just need to order another delivery now although we will continue to be frugal on our use.