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Christian

The Weather Thread #9

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Only accidentally spotted teeny ice balls on the back of OH's car this morning, not visible elsewhere!  No slippers this evening!  But the floor is cold in the kitchen so they get slipped on to go out there.  Had about 30 seconds of teeny snowballs that the ducks tried to catch this evening but nothing else.  Wind dropped too.  Perhaps that's why it feels warmer.  Lovely sunny day, but cold wind.

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That doesn't surprise me Blackrocksrock, because when heating systems are planned out for radiators and boiler they base the calculations on an outside temperature of 1C and the boiler working at maximum temperature. If they used the rare extremes both the boiler and all the radiators would be over twice the size.

No snow down here but plenty in the North and on the mountains South of us. Cold start at 2C but the sun is shining, no clouds, no wind and it should reach 15C this afternoon. But then it turns chilly, so the heating will be on for at least another week.

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Our boiler is connected to an external thermometer - it is currently reading -3 (up a notch from -4) and adjusts accordingly.  It is more economical as it keeps the heating at an even temperature without needing a drastic boost so uses less gas to do so.  The house has been very comfortable all year round - we do turn it off in the summer - as when we first moved in, the house was freezing all winter long.  The industrial boiler (why??????????!!!!) was replaced in time for the previous winter and served us well.  I gather a lot of care homes have a similar system.

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9 hours ago, Beantree said:

That doesn't surprise me Blackrocksrock, because when heating systems are planned out for radiators and boiler they base the calculations on an outside temperature of 1C and the boiler working at maximum temperature. If they used the rare extremes both the boiler and all the radiators would be over twice the size.

No snow down here but plenty in the North and on the mountains South of us. Cold start at 2C but the sun is shining, no clouds, no wind and it should reach 15C this afternoon. But then it turns chilly, so the heating will be on for at least another week.

Plenty radiators here its just cause we have big windows and its really really cold and snowy.   The heating is usually not on at night but last night and tonight it will be - we have oil and a one year old economical boiler so its nice and cosy.   Born and brought up with no central heating and in a colder place - always lovely frosted single glazed windows every winter - you got used to it and the mopping up of window ledges each day!  Coal fire and oil filled radiators if really cold.  We really have it soft nowadays!

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10 hours ago, Patricia W said:

I lived in Canada for a couple of years and was NEVER cold inside.   Then you went to a warm car. Came back to the UK’s damp cold and draughty houses.    I think it’s to do with basements and good insulation! 

I have my window open all night and the thermostat set to 16 degrees and it stays that too. Even when it was -8 last night. The only window with frost on it, is the one that is actually open. But I do live in a relative newish build from the 90's.

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Ground source heat pumps have issues with ground movement which can shear the pipework. I know someone who had one installed in an old house and said it was a complete waste of money. Best spent money is on insulation Patricia W. You could go for an air source pump, but in the damp UK climate it will ice up quickly (after 20 minutes) and go into reverse, taking heat from the house to de-ice itself. Then you end up with a big area of ice underneath it. Beware of salesman claims; divide by 10. 

We get condensation here, particularly on two single glazed South windows Blackrocksrock. Bought a Karcher window cleaner to suck it off the glass. Of course it wouldn't work if the water is frozen.

Another rainy day here, but at least I managed to dig out some little bushes from a field yesterday. They were actually little oak trees that had been repeatedly tractor-mown flat and also eaten by deer; the roots were over two feet deep. Due to turn quite cold over the weekend, but nowhere near as cold as the Northeast.

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We have had so much rain here in the last week that towns and villages have flooded. Many houses have had to be pumped out by the pompiers. Hopefully we are now in for some dry weather for the next week or so.

We decided to take the top of off the well to see how high the water was and it is the highest we have ever seen it, the well is 9 meters deep and the water level is over 7 meters however that wasn't the only surprise.........

This was hibernating in the side wall inside.

 

image.jpeg

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2 hours ago, Girly said:

Ooh! Lovely creature! Do you know what type it is? And is it poisonous?  

It is a couleuvre also know as a whip snake it is in the grass snake family, not poisonous but will bite if under pressure and apparently feels like a wasp sting. We have several in the garden and although I wasn’t keen when we first moved here. 

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9 hours ago, Cat tails said:

I have my window open all night and the thermostat set to 16 degrees and it stays that too. Even when it was -8 last night. The only window with frost on it, is the one that is actually open. But I do live in a relative newish build from the 90's.

I like my window open all night too - but not managed this last couple nights - hate to sleep in the warmth but the house stat is set at 23 as my husband feels the cold badly.   Our house we built in the 90's and had new UPVC windows put in later but there is still some condensation but probably from using water in kitchen and the dryer on and off.   Last night it got to the giddy heights of -7 so today its -1 but with a wind and feels much colder than the other day at -15.  It is not a well insulated house but it is also the only house in the area with a full roof of snow left on - due to being tiles instead of slate roof.  Keeps the house warmer!

 

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We live in a 1950s dormer bungalow. It has double glazing and a new gas boiler but the I think all the radiators and piping need replacing and apart from the masses of insulation I put in the small area of roof above the little space in the apex of the roof, it is poorly insulated, and because it’s dormer I’m not really sure where to go with it.

This week the thermostat has been set at 16.5 by night, which it just about manages (radiator off in the bedroom where the window which is usually open has been shut and has been 13 degrees by morning), then because at least one of us is working here all day sat at a desk we put the thermostat up to 25, but that’s pointless because even being on all day it can’t get the temperature above 17.5. So as well as the central heating on we’ve got the gas fire on in the front room.

Expensive, mostly cold and not very environmentally friendly ☹️

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On 2/11/2021 at 2:36 PM, Patricia W said:

We’re wondering about a ground pump heating system.  Anyone got one?  

Nooo, but I did buy myself a Hot Bin composting bin.

We give it all the veg peelings and empty toilet rolls and the chicken bedding. (and grass in the summer)

I checked on it the other day, and although freezing outside - just 1 deg - the bin was at 35 deg 😮

It's hotter now than it ever got to in the summer.

@Ursula123 I like the photo of the snake but I still don't really them. I would have squealed the biggest ever squeal if I found that.

Also love your photo @Cat tails it does look extremely cold but refreshing at the same time.

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I'm hoping someone can answer my question. We have an Eglu and love it but we are having unusual weather for where we live. It's supposed to get down to -8 degrees for the next few nights. I plan to move all 13 of my chickens into the eglu for those nights. Will it be warm enough? I know it's supposed to hold up well in all weather but that is really cold.

Thanks for any answers or advice.

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