A cold dark winter...

Lavinia

winter is coming...

corner of hells

In a cost saving measure October, November and December are to be turned into one big month called Octember , 90 days long.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119576641#Comment_119576641

Just wait till the bills come in then. 90 days plus another month approx 120 days (for bi monthly billing) thats would double any utility bill.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119576627#Comment_119576627

Yes but its shiny new winter one we haven't had before.

riclad

Buy a phone power bank 20ma, any android phone 130 euro, just to use as a back up phone, charge it, should be OK to use during a power cut, we had high inflation in the 70s, I don't think we had any power cuts . We had a smaller population, maybe there were a few queues at petrol stations,

The problem is we use alot more power now, people have pcs, laptops, 4k Xbox, ps4, ps5, consoles even in the 80s even middle class people had 2 tvs and maybe a super nes comsole get water containers, torches. I think there, ll be power cuts all over the EU when the weather gets cold, November december

uch

Lads how am I going to manage without Cake!

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577202#Comment_119577202

If you need to bake something then provided you have a camping stove of some kind you can get a stove top oven one example is the Omnia https://www.amazon.co.uk/Berger-1301-Omnia-Oven/dp/B000YLJQ5U

Some recipies https://www.amazon.co.uk/Berger-1301-Omnia-Oven/dp/B000YLJQ5U

Haven't used one in years but they really do work.

I know you weren't looking for a serious answer but there you go :-)

Edit> Loads about them on youtube....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7jJFWB0QE0

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577202#Comment_119577202

You'll have to settle for a few own brand buns. 😔

thedart

Get the coitus into routine now for the winter. Exchange the ice cube for a sod of turf.

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119571255#Comment_119571255

+1 ...

Certain media are scaremongering and trying to enact brainwashing ... so much so even governments panic and succumb. It is apparent now that most of this hype over Covid was not necessary ... but the media kept on and on about it. I remember in Feb/Mar 2020 it was all these media outlets predicting how bad things would go ... and then harping on about the government needing to impose lockdowns/stay at home orders. Eventually we all know they succumbed ...

This current energy crisis and scaremongering about power cuts is more of same. First of all power cuts happen all the time. How many ones happen for no reason apparently when the weather is fine? Overload is the reason ... but it comes back on!

What is true though is energy companies are sponsoring charities and sport, paying big salaries to their top mgt, etc. and upping the prices all the time using Covid, Ukraine, situations in the Middle East, etc. to justify it. We are told it is due to scarcity and we are warned about cold winter and it was the same last year ever before Ukraine .. the same old same old scares.

I can trace media scaremongering right back to that first Iraq war back in 1990/1991 .. if Iraq burned them oil wells in Kuwait we'd have a nuclear winter. They talked about that war like it was WW3. Guess what? We had no nuclear winter despite the oil wells being set on fire. They were quenched and life went on!! By the second Iraq war we were lead to believe WMD could be deployed at a minutes notice to destroy any city in the world. Same lies repeated for Iran, North Korea, etc. ... and now Covid and Ukraine.

It is time for all this scaremongering to stop. We do not know what type of winter we will get. This war in Ukraine does need to end but so does this scaremongering ... it is destroying us and creating unnecessary fear. As regards power outages I'd say storms/hurricanes and lightning are more of a threat and are certain to cause cuts to our power. Another certainty is energy companies' prices are out of control and no one is controlling them ... no one is asking them to fund all those charities and sport at our expense. That needs to be remedied. We want to pay for the product not sport charity or anything else ...

Green policies are against fossil fuels and in Ireland turf is frowned on ... coal too. Can we really afford to cut back on these when we have no alternatives in place and blame world events when our green utopia does not work according to plan? Do we need to sacrifice comforts to spend a long cold dark winter in misery? Or can we step back and have a phased approach to effective green policy making sure we have reliable and affordable energy at all times. The latter is the only sensible option ....

freshpopcorn

Can anybody help with this. Can we use butane calor gas drums(Yellow) with this ring/hob? or can anybody recommend another type of hob?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08GSTPRXB/ref%3Dox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3L0BUTPC1HZOP&psc=1

Graces7

We have the best ESB service out here I have ever known.. So few folk and they arrive in a chopper.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577444#Comment_119577444

No not for butane as it stands but you could make it work but you can just as easily buy a double burner designed to work.

Here are two that will do the job but you will need to buy a length of hose and a Jumbo regulator which you'll get in any builders merchants/hardware store in Ireland.

Jumbo regulator expensive from Woodies should be about €15-20

Hose again rip of price from Woodies but shows what I'm on about then you need a couple of suitable sized jubilee pipe clamps.

Stoves - Typical no name band https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camplux-JK-8620-Portable-Foldable-Windshield/dp/B087LTZPGD/ or a named brand Camping Gaz stove https://www.amazon.co.uk/Campingaz-Camping-Folding-Portable-Compact/dp/B00UALXY6Q/ . There are others on Amazon but I picked out a couple that have a suitcase type design so can be packed away easily.

New Home

By the way, while it won't work with a power cut, a dehumidifier is an excellent way of keeping warm. Reducing the dampness in a room makes it feel less cold, while operating it will warm up the air by a degree or two - it makes a big difference and it's cheaper to run than an electric fan heater. Plus, you get water for your plants (or your steam iron).

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119566138#Comment_119566138

Mine have arrived , a bit smaller than I expected ( about 6" high ) but charging now so I'll see what they're like. Definitely safer looking than a hurricane lamp.

The Continental Op

I've got all sorts of options for lighting, candles, gas, paraffin, petrol, and of course battery. The first 4 are easy to pack away and store until needed because the fuel doesn't go off and you can keep it forever.

The problem with battery stuff is firstly with non rechargeables that they have a use by date and stock needs rotating although its nice to have alkaline batteries nowadays with expiry dates 5 years hence. Then with rechargeables and I include, power banks here, you can't recharge them when the power is off.

My answer to that is a recurring diary entry (I use Outlook) that just says "Check and charge batteries". So once a month I check any backups are charged and I check if I need any more dry batteries.

Graces7

and please do not forget matches if you are not used to using gas etc, as the auto-ignition on gas stoves will not work in a power cut.. Yes experiential learning taught me that..

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119584672#Comment_119584672

Or you could go all Bear Gyrills over it and get a fire steel - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gerber-Grylls-Starter-Black-Medium/dp/B004DT6TEK/ :-)

Completely overpriced btw you can get a perfectly good one for under a fiver.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119581249#Comment_119581249

Much more economical way of drying clothes than a tumble dryer, and much less harsh on the clothes too.

Graces7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119584739#Comment_119584739

Ah I use matches for lighting the fire and candles..

JohnnyChimpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119584672#Comment_119584672

depends on the stove, some stoves are piezoelectric ignition, i.e. apply pressure to button with finger to create spark from crystal. Suggest people familiarise themselves with their appliances ahead of time

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119584672#Comment_119584672

Also long reach lighters.

Graces7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119584897#Comment_119584897

Oh absolutely ( your last sentence) When I came here i knew as the electricity was off ( empty years) I would need a way to light the new gas cooker. In fact it took five months and a solicitor to sort it. All winter.

Graces7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119584739#Comment_119584739

Yes I always have the cheaper lighter. Just ordered one.

Ubbquittious

the important thing is to fill your freezer with Brennans bread long before any power cut actually arrives because that's the first thing that will vanish from the shelves if the going gets tough.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119587531#Comment_119587531

Don't forget the toilet roll in the freezer.

AMKC

It's OK people. There is no need to panic. It's going to be a nice mild winter just like last years winter. It's just Europe and out Government trying to scare us. We'll it's not going to work.

Jim_Hodge

It'll be grand. Eamon Ryan says we're getting another credit. Maybe the OAPs who still have the last one unused will turn their heating on and use their ovens.

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058261702/a-cold-dark-winter

Candles is this year hysterical toilet roll episode.

Man Vs ManUre

A good hot mug of Bovril will solve any problems coming this winter.