Thinking Ahead To Winter

[jansman]

I am already stacking wood for 2012/13!.It is big concern,and I guess it will not get easier.

[LuqmanNaq]

Hey man.

According to scientist Piers Corbyn who successfully predicted that the 2010/2011 winter would be one of the worst on record, we are going to experience winters as bad and worse for the next 50 years.


So I have the same concern. I've recently purchased 2 5 season sleeping bags from an army surplus store on ebay because my bedroom get's extremely cold in the winter and we can't afford to keep the heating on. (it gets so bad we wake up due to the cold sometimes)

[diamond lil]

The easiest and best way is to buy an electric blanket. Anybody can stand a quick sprint into bed and out of it int he morning - but to get a good sleep you need a warm bed. I dont think heating is essential in a bedroom as long as you've got a warm livingroom. I mean if you were toiling with bills etc, that room can be left unheated to save money (as long as its not damp).

[itsybitsy]

The easiest and best way is to buy an electric blanket. Anybody can stand a quick sprint into bed and out of it int he morning.

NOT ME! I cannot bear being cold - brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

[Bladerunner]

No one seems to have answered your original question about vegetable oil in paraffin lamps.

I am not 100% sure but I think it is too thick to work. I have seen youtube videos of olive oil lamps but I think thye are more for light than heat. (although a few of them will give off heat)

If anyone knows of a way of thinning cooking oil to work in paraffin lamps I would definately like to know. I have a few paraffin lamps and paraffin is about £6 for 2 litres.

I don't know if there are other posts regarding this but if you have an open fire you could always consider Paper logs. You can buy the presses for less than £20 and now would be the time to make them as they can take a while to dry out. I don't think they gove off as much heat as wood but they are free to make which is a bonus. You could try and mix sawdust with them which should make them burn hotter. I would imagine the council or local carpenter could help with that.

I read an article where a guy was making his own using a length of drainpipe. I am thinking of trying this as it is all about getting as much water out of them as possible. I saw one webpage where a guy was using a compressed air pump to get virtually all the water out so they were almost dry as they came out.

There is a good youtube video of a guy making a dehydrater out of beer cans. This would be perfect for drying out paper logs. On a sunny day with 20 degrees he was getting a temp of 47 degrees out of his device.

You could also try looking round for free pallets from local businesses. You would need a crowbar to break them up but again it is free wood.

5 season sleeping bags are not cheap so I was thinking, why not buy two cheap sleeping bags. One would be a mummy style and one a normal style. That way the mummy could fit inside the wider one. At the end of the day it is about layers so you would have a decent amount of insulation.

Tealights are pretty cheap if you get them from ASDA. I think they are £3 for 100 (or two packs for a fiver). You would be surprised how much heat a dozen of these can give off. Try lighting a few in your bathroom and see how much they effect the cold. See what amount you can get away with.

Like a previous poster said, drafts are what you need to get rid of. Go round the house with a candle and see where the worst places are. Something as simple as duct tape can get rid of a draft.

Good luck for the winter

Be lucky (and warm)

[diamond lil]

And remember that a cold house won't kill you. But a cold + damp one definitely will.

[pietka]

in our house we have a L shaped living area lounge diner with a study tucked under an arch! we grab pallets as we see them from mainly wholesalers we use! a pallet chopped up will typically last us an evening! hence we grasb them and chop them up as we go! I prefur to use a recipricating saw with a long blade! It enables me to cut down both sides of the pallet at once!

Paper logs are being trialled! all our cardboard and paper waste is shredded and soaked to a pulp and then pressed between a large vice! I'm drying them in the greenhouse at the moment!

[bic1]

R.D
If you are buying paraffin lamps consider Tilley or Bialaddin pressure lamps, kick out a lot of heat as well as light, heater and lamp all in one.

[nickdutch]

Hey man.

According to scientist Piers Corbyn who successfully predicted that the 2010/2011 winter would be one of the worst on record, we are going to experience winters as bad and worse for the next 50 years.


So I have the same concern. I've recently purchased 2 5 season sleeping bags from an army surplus store on ebay because my bedroom get's extremely cold in the winter and we can't afford to keep the heating on. (it gets so bad we wake up due to the cold sometimes)

To be honest, this guy may be right, or he may be wrong, but this news source that you have taken this from is not the most trustworthy out there and as such the report in question could have been doctored to suit the normal demographic of the target audience and not the facts.

Always take into account that there is NO such thing as news, just punditry of varying qualities.

[silverrider]

No one seems to have answered your original question about vegetable oil in paraffin lamps.

I am not 100% sure but I think it is too thick to work. I have seen youtube videos of olive oil lamps but I think thye are more for light than heat. (although a few of them will give off heat)

If anyone knows of a way of thinning cooking oil to work in paraffin lamps I would definately like to know. I have a few paraffin lamps and paraffin is about £6 for 2 litres.

I don't know if there are other posts regarding this but if you have an open fire you could always consider Paper logs. You can buy the presses for less than £20 and now would be the time to make them as they can take a while to dry out. I don't think they gove off as much heat as wood but they are free to make which is a bonus. You could try and mix sawdust with them which should make them burn hotter. I would imagine the council or local carpenter could help with that.

I read an article where a guy was making his own using a length of drainpipe. I am thinking of trying this as it is all about getting as much water out of them as possible. I saw one webpage where a guy was using a compressed air pump to get virtually all the water out so they were almost dry as they came out.

There is a good youtube video of a guy making a dehydrater out of beer cans. This would be perfect for drying out paper logs. On a sunny day with 20 degrees he was getting a temp of 47 degrees out of his device.

You could also try looking round for free pallets from local businesses. You would need a crowbar to break them up but again it is free wood.

5 season sleeping bags are not cheap so I was thinking, why not buy two cheap sleeping bags. One would be a mummy style and one a normal style. That way the mummy could fit inside the wider one. At the end of the day it is about layers so you would have a decent amount of insulation.

Tealights are pretty cheap if you get them from ASDA. I think they are £3 for 100 (or two packs for a fiver). You would be surprised how much heat a dozen of these can give off. Try lighting a few in your bathroom and see how much they effect the cold. See what amount you can get away with.

Like a previous poster said, drafts are what you need to get rid of. Go round the house with a candle and see where the worst places are. Something as simple as duct tape can get rid of a draft.

Good luck for the winter

Be lucky (and warm)

Would there be anything wrong with mixing say parrafin and olive oil together? It would thin the oil, and burn hotter/qiucker/better?? I would just draw the line at petrol (bit too volatile) unless you had a lamp designed to burn it.
Bought 4 (1 each) oil lamps for my preps, although the oil is expensive ( about £2.75 per Litre ) and 10 mtrs of spare wick. These can be used indoors and the oil burns clean, but so does olive oil apparently. Good fuel, but not cheap either. But, is any fuel?
BTW the beer can dehydrator, are you talking about Rickvanman? Clever piece of kit.