Aunty e Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 We have no central heating at the moment! My gran and grandad built this house in 1975 (grandad was a builders merchant so paid only for labour ) they didn't get gas installed, so we have electric cooker and oil central heating. The central heating oil costs a fortune and the boiler is old. Last yr 500litres of kerosine and delivery/VAT was £276, and it lasted 5 weeks 2 days! This yr the price of oil has increased of course, so we have no oil. With being in band G for council tax, there's no way we can afford oil on top of this. My maternity leave is/was 8 weeks full pay then the rest on 1/2 pay - so we're going to struggle, especially with a new baby on the way. I was forced to take early mat leave as I am a nurse but SPD meant I couldn't stay upright on the wards for long enough - so it's half pay time next payday. Have lovd the warmer weather the last few days but it's chilly this morning. Time to jumper up and boil the kettle for a hot water bottle. We have a real coal fire in the back lounge and double glaing in here too (the only bit of DIY we have managed to afford - new windows in one room!) and are thinking radically about keeping the family warm. We're actually planning on taking all the furniture out except the telly, and putting out mattresses in here on the floor for a month after Xmas if it is as cold as last yr. One-room-living as it were. It's embarrassing... but with a 3 yr old and newborn that's just how it's going to have to be. I keep putting the lottery on, one day I might win. I keep hoping anyways! Any chance you could qualify for a Warm Front grant to install heating? We lived in a house with no heating in Shetland when I was tiny and we had those big calor gas heaters that looked like this: http://www.gasproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Portable_Radiant_4.2kW_Calor_Gas_Cabinet_Heater.html We had two, one for upstairs and one for downstairs and moved them round the house with us. If you collect and drop off the bottles yourself, they're quite cheap. We ran ours for an hour before bed and then someone would leap out in the morning to turn it back on before we all had to get up! Lots of thick curtains on windows as well, I've had extra sets hung on curtain wires behind the curtain poles before now. Took off the nets and hung another layer of curtains instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 You know I had never even considered calor gas heating, what a sensible idea. Last yr I bought a couple of electric heaters for the month we went without heating and they ran the bills up terribly... at least with gas, it's like the oil - you cant go over what you cant afford! I'll see what OH thinks later, I can't see him not wanting to try that either!! As for warm front, sadly thanks to my nurse wages and hubby on about 12k, we dont get any help at all. doesnt matter that all that money is tied up in debt - officially we are on a good wage. One day, when the debt has gone, we'll be able to go on hols and do home improvements! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Never mind your heating Go and have a baby - (not until Wednesday morning though ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 do you think if i phone the coal delivery man he might deliver my baby too as well as two sacks of wood coal and one of anthracite?? actually... he is quite handsome... bad callychook... i have been sat doing nothing all morning after being so active for the last week with no avail, and see what happens? I start perving over workmen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fur 'n' Feathers Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 You know I had never even considered calor gas heating, Just a warning here. We were on Calor Gas when we first moved into our house in 2002. However, the cost of running the central heating at £57 a fortnight was prohibitive so we had gas installed (4 bed house with insulated walls). This had been laid down our lane a short while before we moved in. Much cheaper, but we realise not all have gas available. We certainly wouln't consider calor as a first option if there was no gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 unfortunately for us, when we asked british gas about converting to mains gas when we first moved in, for a cheap boiler etc they quoted £2795 or thereabouts. we have £3 a week "spare" money... so defo can't do it. But a bottle of calor and a £69 heater doesnt sound too bad - could put it on for 30 mins in the little one's room before bed, then in ours for the same to air it through. We'll see - even if we do go for it, it'll be the end of november's wages so a long way off yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Just be careful about ventilation when using those heaters - they belt out a lot of heat and use up a lot of oxygen... then there's the carbon monoxide that they produce to consider. I use the same heaters regularly at another location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I remember when I was student in Leeds back in the 1980s living in big Victorian houses. There was no heating except for plug in electric heaters. It was so cold. I used to get dressed to go to bed! I wanted one of those Calor Gas heaters but they were always prohibited by tenancy agreements. We just congregated with baggy jumpers and fingerless gloves around the Baby Bellings in the kitchen. Ahhh back in the day ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 We just put ours on for an hour here and there to heat the space up a bit. OH has one for his office/garage. He has it on for ten minutes, and the whole room is heated for an hour or two (I did insulate the loft to death though). Bit pongy if you keep them going though, especially the huge ones! OH has a little dinky one and the refill is £30. Lasts FOREVER, although he doesn't use it much of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 think we're going to buy a dinky one, really it just needs to heat the kids room through enough to go to bed, and then in the morning to warm us up again before we get dressed. Be a while before we can afford it though, unless we dont get any coal next week. But I want coal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Ours is now ticking away on the lowest boiler setting - just above the 0 - and on the timer so that it comes on in the morning for a couple of hours and again in the evening. If we let the house become really cold then it takes two days for the floors to heat up so I prefer it this way. We're keeping a close eye on the amount of LPG we're using and also light the woodburner if the temperature drops. I've got a raging sore throat and aches and pains - I just wanted some background heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 t.....But I want coal! Can you get hold of any free wood Cally? I have about 2 winter's worth on my wood pike at the moment and not a penny paid. It would really help you out with heating the house and keep OH warm/occupied sawing it all up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 we've got quite a bit stocked up, but it's all slim pieces that burn in about 15 mins and then we're left cold again, so wont last long. There's delamere forest on my doorstep, but I dont want to get into trouble for nicking from there as it is illegal to remove wood and there's signs everywhere reminding folks of that fact! My mum and dad have a few trees needing felling but OH says after labouring all day at the builders yard he isnt going chopping trees down on his one day off each week, and until I recover from childbirth then there's no hard work for me either. My dad keeps any wood he chops for himself, greedy little thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 See if you can scrounge any pallets or wood from skips - construction timber burns nicely... I just rescued a couple of hefty joists from a neighbour's skip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 we're so rural, I havent seen a skip in about 3 years!! But will see if hubby can persuade work to donate or sell very cheaply any pallets they no longer have a use for. Surely a builders merchants gets twisted wood or bits and bobs that they need to chuck out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I'm sure that they must have loads, or know of people/clients who do. Freecycle/Freegle is good too. I often see stuff when I'm out and about - if it's just dumped then I lob it in the back of the van! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I pinch wood every time I go to the tip We got our shedload of wood (about 4 cubic metres) for £120 last winter. We've burnt around a quarter of it since then I think, I tend to go through half a basket a night if it's cold. It's a mix of softwood and hardwood and it was seasoned - it was cheap because it was just dumped on our drive by a tipper truck and we had to move it round back in Ikea bags - took three of us a couple of hours. If you have an open fire, it will burn quicker, but it's been lovely and cheap for us, and we supplement it with 'rescued' wood and kindling. We are allowed to remove wood from our local park, but tend not to bother actually as it's damp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 It was really cold here this morning, so I might put the heating to come on for an hour tomorrow morning. I am quite chilly at the moment, but will have my lunch then do some ironing and some cooking, so I'll soon warm up. We light the woodburner before tea last night and it just gave us a nice comfort level downstairs, although ED cam down for her tea with freezing hands from doing her homework. She has to have a fan heater in her room in the winter, because it is on the east of the house with 2 outside walls and it is last on the radiator run. She also has Raynauld's in her feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 Mine came on today - bliss! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 I've got four bags of wood coal coming Monday (economy coal briquettes... made of compressed coal dust and wood dust, and last quite well although they dont have the heat output of proper coal - 5kW/h/kg vs 9 for anthracite) I cant wait - it'll be warm... and my dad is paying for most of it as a baby related gift to keep us warm!! i love dad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 I was very proud of myself as I had not put the heating on yet. OH is away all week, while I was out yesterday he decided to put it on so I would be warm when I got home from setting up an archery field which, was very cold. Now the house is too hot. I might turn it off again when he goes to work Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Last night was very cold outside at 8pm it was 2.8 c, inside it was 18c but it felt colder. had to put the heating on for an hour before bed. It just felt so cold. I dread to think what it was out in the sticks. Even going to Church first thing in the sunshine the garden thermometer said 4.8.......it hasn't been warm all day , i really do think i will have to put the heating on low very soon. (Itry not to until Nov) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Somewhere close to us had the most sun in the UK on Friday and it was glorious, but last night even here it was just 3 degrees. We've not had the heating on much at all - just the odd hour here and there. I'm wearing a bodywarmer most days and its OK. However, I have caught a cold - not sure if this is because I probably am getting cold or something else. Either way; as of today I am keeping the house warmer now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Licken Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 I have now discovered that 2 out of 5 of my radiators are not worksing (the upstairs ones in the main and spare bedroom), so upstairs is baltic. I lit the Rayburn this morning so there will be alittle bit of benefir from the chimney from that tonight and have just flicked on the central heating. Currently 17C in the living room, which is probably just a little bit too chilly to sit in comfortably. A nice warming bowl of soup for supper for me tonight and tomorrow I had better try and get the gas engineer booked to get it all working again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Probably a stupid question, but have you bled the two non-working radiators, and all the others, with the system turned off? Our attic radiators didn't work when we got here, but only because they were full of air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
