The grumpy thread

[flat4alfa]

Just been to the Co-op (because I NEEDED to) and the bloody place is full of people all buying madly.

 

Because lifestyle living through Facebook

[clayts450]

Advice we give residents is to pour warm (not boiling hot) water over the condenser pipe outside, but I guess the blockage in your case is somewhere between the outside and inside, which is a royal pain.

[captain_70s]

Because lifestyle living through Facebook

Went to Morrisons for milk today, all gone. No pre-work porridge for me tomorrow.

[RayMK]

My heating is still broken (2 years!!).  Have been recommended another heating fixer/boiler replacer to try.  All of the local ones are busy with nice, straightforward new builds - huge estates going up round here.  In the meantime this was no big deal. Electric heaters, electric blanket and an open fire kept the house tolerably warm - until yesterday.  Bloody wind kept blowing the smoke from smokeless fuel down the chimney and filled the house with smoke.  Have had to let the fire go out until the wind subdues. Can't go sledging 'cos now old and crippled. I hate winter.

[Timewaster]

It took ages, a good couple of hours.

If you're really cold just cut the pipe where it comes out of the bottom of the boiler and route it into a bucket for now, it'll take days to fill it.

I'm currently running this set up as my outlet pipe is 12ft up the wall above a car port so totally inaccessible.

 

*BEWARE* The bucket fills up much quicker than you expect. I just emptied 2 litres out and that is since 10pm last night.

[cobblers]

Blimey, we ran my mum's boiler into a bucket and it took ages, it must depend on combustion temps and humidity etc etc

[BorniteIdentity]

We've had no heating since November - and are unlikely to until this November.  A new boiler can't go where the old one is (regulations innit guv) and we're having building work done anyway later in the year.

 

It's been surprisingly ok.  Until this week.  

 

Sympathies with those of y'all who are cold atm.  Should be better by next week!

[GrumpiusMaximus]

We live in a (rented) converted farm building and have underfloor heating.  We haven't used it since the first billshock last winter and our hot water is on an electric boiler too.  90% of the time, this is not an issue and we just have to shower in the times I've set the timer (early morning, evening).  However this last week has been a bugger and my partner has been holed up in the bedroom with an electric oil heater (from Lidl - it's really excellent!).  Given that I'm, erm, well-insulated I can wander about with impunity.

 

We've bought a house with more conventional fittings but we're waiting for it to be built... I will never complain about heating bills again.  Underfloor is brilliant but only if you can afford to keep it running all the time...

[Parky]

I had underfloor when I lived in NZ. It's great until the first bill arrives. After which an extra jumper seemed to be the answer

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I had underfloor when I lived in NZ. It's great until the first bill arrives. After which an extra jumper seemed to be the answer

Half our place has 15 foot vaulted ceilings.  Looks lovely.  Costs a lot to heat...

[Louise2cv]

I hope the weather improves soon. My eyes can't take much more, such is the frequency of my having to roll them in response to the over reaction. Gawd helps us if ever it actually does snow properly one day!

 

(I understand some places have had a fair amount and that's made things difficult there, but it now seems that if there's snow somewhere there has to be a sympathetic response of behaving like there is snow disruption everywhere. There was a *bit* here on Monday but it had mostly melted by the evening and certainly the roads are clear... everything is still cancelled and being cancelled.).

 

TL:DR British reaction to snow sends me all a bit "Daily Mail".

[dollywobbler]

Where I am, the wind is the biggest problem. Most of the snow has just blown away. A few miles down the road though, in either direction, the roads are blocked by snowdrifts. I don't think it's that ridiculous to lie low during potentially hazardous weather.

 

The flipside being that you get folk stuck in cars overnight, moaning that there's a lack of information. Well, there was plenty of information before you set off advising you to stay at home. Last time I got stuck in the snow (when it took 14 hours to drive the 3 hours from Cardiff to home), it was my own stupid fault. We should have just booked another night in Cardiff and let the bloody cat look after itself, instead of battling tricky conditions and almost dying several times (what do you do when cadence braking fails down a steep, ice-clad hill?) just so poor Pebble didn't go hungry. Lesson learnt right there!

[xtriple]

Hellfire and Kitten socks, I CANNOT beleive it! There is proper arctic type weather outside, as in drifts of about 2 foot and the roads are terrible. Cars are covered in snow, which is fine, but it rained s well which has frozen and they are covered in sheet ice, the roof on the Mazda is absolutely solid, like a proper tintop! There is no way anone is getting into their cars round here without mucho work or damage, or both.

 

I took Chester out this moring (Phoebe stayed home, wise girl) and he loved it even though his poor little cock was tracing a line of every step he took and he bounded into a big bank and vanished! It did make me laugh He is now sat on the duvet with a heat pack on his todger

 

I have never seen the roads so quiet, it's lovely, not a car being driven anywhere. Torbay is not used to this at all. When the rest of the country is under feet of snow, we are usually basking in mild sunshine or rain. I'm not bothered at all, if the car wasn't a solid ice block, I'd take one out and have a play, because I am a big kid!

[DodgeRover]

I had underfloor when I lived in NZ. It's great until the first bill arrives. After which an extra jumper seemed to be the answer

We have a wet underfloor system, works fantastic and is switched on, on a timer, for. 6 months a year gas bill doesn't seem high, sadly our next house doesn't have gas so it's not possible there.

[Parky]

Clearing up a bit locally, roads seem ok but just wet. Pavements are proper slippery but that's to be expected.

 

It looks like the South is due for another load of snow this afternoon but after that the temperatures start creeping up. I feel for the poor buggers stuck on roads and trains though

[richardmorris]

Half our place has 15 foot vaulted ceilings.  Looks lovely.  Costs a lot to heat...

 

You should see my neighbour's bills for their barn conversions - about 30ft from floor to roof beams in their living rooms. I have underfloor downstairs which works ok now it's got a new pump.

[AMC Rebel]

FOR SALEIS BILL

1983 VW T25 CAMPER VAN,

1.9L DIESEL NON TURBO,

NUMBER PLATE READS AS VW BITZY 

(VWB 127Y)

 

No it fucking doesn't, you tool.

[flat4alfa]

I've just driven from Bedfordshire to Hertfordshire 20 miles in record time.

 

Yet the schools closed again.  Any excuse for a long weekend.

[Des]

[tooSavvy]

Bear >> "Oi m8, got any KFC gravy?"

 

TS

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Bear >> "Oi m8, got any KFC gravy?"

 

TS

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 I don't think it's that ridiculous to lie low during potentially hazardous weather.

 

 

 

 

It's common sense*. If there's heating, and food in the fridge, why the hell would you go outside? Just ride it out and let the other daft buggers do crashes and stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*oh shit. A flaw/plan interface. Public are involved.

[SiC]

It'll be mostly gone by the end of the weekend. 

 

We have it here bad, but so does the rest of Europe. A lot of Europe that usually doesn't get a lot of snow has been plunged into chaos too. 

[dollywobbler]

Aye. A metre of snow in Bulgaria apparently...

[sierraman]

I hope my polytunnel isn't fucked from the snow.

[Talbot]

Talbot - the hdi 90 isn’t unheard of to pop its hg . I’ve done 3 in the last 18 months or so . One only one Ducato . None are nice jobs to do . Infact the last Berlingo I did I took the engine and box out to do it

Thanks.. That confirmes pretty much what I expected.. it's just a cow to do the OMGHGF with the engine in place, so it's coming out. And probably just getting an engine swap.

 

If I swap engines (same year, same engine, same car) does the ECU need to know it's talking to different injectors? I know I can't swap ECU's without having a major lexia/similar recoding session, but I'm hoping injectors are just plug-and-pray.

[Bren]

Whoever thought it was a good idea to install the battery at the back of the engine compartment, in the scuttle, on a passat, wants fucking.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Half our place has 15 foot vaulted ceilings.  Looks lovely.  Costs a lot to heat...

 

Ex-church?

[SierraMikeHotel]

My downstairs neighbour has moved out, which would usually be grin-worthy as she was a total pain in the arse. However, with the flat below empty, my floor is freezing. The heating normally just runs for 20 minutes or so to get the flat up to temperature but it's going for a couple of hours at a time now.

 

Mucked about with a fridge thermometer because I'm sad. One sensor on the floor, the other on the kitchen worksurface.

 

[dollywobbler]

Heatwave! It's 12.2 degrees in my office...