Billhook

Lets hear it! I have a whole lot more until someone tells me for God's sake we've heard enough!

Found an old 78 record from father’s collection which I dedicated to you on “songs I am listening to” in case you missed it! Sung by tenor John McHugh

I went on an installer's course in Wales about ten years ago which enabled me to buy about 30 solar tubes at a discounted rate The firm was Navitron, The course was ok and the installation pretty obvious. The result was excellent and we still use them for heating just the hot water in the Summer months but even at other times it warms the cold water so that the immersion heater or the gas boiler do not have to work so hard. I have a separate cylinder for the solar and a mixer valve to the other gas/wood/immersion cylinder.so filling a bath on a dull day with tepid water and topping up with very hot water is a big saving on energy. The evacuated tubes are really efficient and if the pump is not working they will boil the water in the manifold on a hot day. I took a tube out and left it in the sun and measured the temperature on the copper prong which slides into the manifold with my infrared gun at 150 degrees celsius,! There is a massive difference between these evacuated tubes and some earlier forms of solar heating which basically relied on black panels/pipework I also put up some solar panels for electricity at about £1000 each but that was the cost of the panels in the early days when we had a 42 pence/unit payment. Now the panels cost less but the tariff has also been reduced and there has not been as much to crow about as the savings that we make with the tubes. A lot of this alternative energy is the capital cost versus the benefit. If you can buy a system for reasonable money and install it yourself there is a big difference when you pay a firm to do it for you. Navitron - The Small Solar Company WWW.SMALLSOLAR.CO.UK Solar Hot Water, Equipment and Systems for Installers and Homeowners. Navitron provides renewable technology...

Just been through my old 78rpm collection from before the war This one is for Difflock and should bring a tear to the eye

Yes I know it is the Daily Mail, but I have never thought of Humphry’s opinions as being unfair JOHN HUMPHRYS: My heat pump has me left in the cold... but I'm hot and bothered about the PM | Daily Mail Online WWW.GOOGLE.COM JOHN HUMPHRYS: I was helping save the planet and saving myself the cost of buying oil. The perfect...

I bought two techno gas cookers years ago from Curry’s for £325 a piece Each one has four hobs and two ovens On Amazon there are equivalent ones for just over £2000 a piece so with I assume special saucepans and other equipment it would mean another £5,000 on the bill Smeg Symphony 90cm Electric Range Cooker with Induction Hob - Stainless Steel : Amazon.co.uk: Large Appliances WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK Buy Smeg Symphony 90cm Electric Range Cooker with Induction Hob - Stainless Steel at Amazon UK –...

Do as I say, not as I do! NONE of the 30 ministers who attend Cabinet have had £10,000 heat pumps installed at their homes | Daily Mail Online WWW.GOOGLE.COM The Telegraph approached each Cabinet minister either directly or via their press aides over the last 48...

Definitely seeing more negativity around heat pumps on the web, but I remain open minded as these things are in their infancy and like cars, you may have had a bad experience with a 1960 Mini but a 2021 version is a bit different! One other factor I might have to contend with is not just the cost of replacing my gas boiler for a heat pump or a hydrogen powered boiler, but also my cookers and maybe upgrading all the pipelines to be compatible with hydrogen or buying a new electric cooker. And I love cooking with gas!

I think that our wood heat here may be slightly different to many as we have an Aarrow Stratford 30kw boiler stove and the main floors downstairs are underfloor with insulation which gives a lower temperature background heat and because heat rises and most people like the warm feet cool head idea, it works well. Certainly lovely to come into the kitchen with bare feet on warm tiles on a cold day! So I can see heat pumps working well in a new build with insulated floors and maybe a borehole type ground source if limited by small garden. Not suitable in many towns I suspect. The other good thing about underfloor heating is that it acts like a large heat sink and the effect lasts for sometime. The Stratford has a large glass window so the additional visual benefit when sitting in the same room.

Full moon and clear skies here but outside temp on my window gauge is 6.7 degrees so some way to go yet!

Water in the underground mine workings of the former Caerau colliery has been naturally heated by the earth, and as a geothermal source of energy, Bridgend County Borough Council is investigating how it could be extracted, using heat pump technology and a network of pipes, to warm around 150 nearby homes.19 Jan 2018 EU boost for £9.4m project will use Caerau's mine-water to ... https://gov.wales › eu-boost-ps94m-project-will-use-caera...

Bet that a wood burning boiler gives better heat in cold conditions! Plus being quiet and pleasant to look at I forecast a hard Winter!

I think that we need to know what the comparative heating costs for say a well insulated three bedroom detached house are with electric and gas and oil and heat pumps and then work it out from there

Just wondering what price will electricity need to be per unit to make heat pumps not viable

Interesting and slightly more positive angle on the future of firewood. I do not know if N, Snell is @ certainlywood is here on Arbtalk, but it would be interesting to hear if his opinion has altered to become even more positive about the future of firewood in the last few months with the vast increases in gas and electricity and the negativity around heating with heat pumps. The Firewood Market – What’s happening? WWW.CERTAINLYWOOD.CO.UK We're seeing improved supply chains, better quality fuel and increased efficiency, but pricing is a difficult one to predict as... By the way, what are the mathematics now on the costs of air source heat pumps with the increased price of electricity?

Some time ago, in the days when I had more hair on top, I was clearing some brash amongst some tall nettles with a Manitou which had an open cab. I was concentrating on the grab and felt some light pricking (no comments here!) on the top of my jeans and thought to myself that these nettles are rather sharp. Looked down to see about twenty wasps on each leg giving it their best shot but only able just to touch my skin and not sting. I leapt off the cab leaving the engine going and did 0--60 quicker than a Tesla across the field followed by a swarm. I felt them as lumps under my hair and did my best to shake them out with my bare hands. I arrived at the far end of the field with not one sting and still cannot understand why! The Manitou was left with the engine going for at least half an hour!

Couple more from Bernard Miles, “Over the Gate”

Other classic quotes are "I took my son up here to the highest point where you could see the whole farm and told him that one day all this will be his I haven't seen him since!" Farmer won the Lottery and was asked what he was going to do with all the money "Think I'll just keep farming till it all runs out!"

Could ask local council if you could plant a few around a playground or perhaps a Churchyard or another public space What about making a bench with a plaque on it alongside a footpath in an appropriate place? All these ideas are easier in a country village than a town. You might even have a word with a local farmer. If you are paying it might even be “Get on my Land!”

I do not know how you can cultivate a villainous voice like that as an actor, without actually being a villain in real life! Better version of part 1

Just found this old 78 record in the attic, worth a listen! Wish my chainsaw was as sharp¬

I suppose if people were hungry due to lack of nitrogen we could always increase beans and peas for the nitrogen and not inefficiently process the beans through cattle Then there are the oceans to harvest seaweed kelp etc but best not go there as we have managed to fcuk them up enough already

No not really fair. There were some farmers making headlines by tearing up hedges and trees and making huge fields with continuous cereals but here in Lincolnshire with better soils we had good rotations with potatoes and sugar beet and oilseeds as healthy break crops and this farm and many around here have seen sustainably high yields and much more informed and intelligent use of chemicals and fertilisers which had to be reduced by regulation and sheer costs. Our soils have not been denuded and we have not changed fertiliser and chemical use much in the last forty years, The yields seem to improve gradually which has a lot to do with improved plant breeding We are proud to have kept our woods and hedges with little loss of profit i have been at the sharp end of chemicals for many decades, my father more so and I have never heard of anyone being made ill around here by their use People all the time give us grief about chemicals but think nothing of taking headache pills, sleeping pills, vitamin supplements and any pill recommended by a doctor which are all chemicals and undiluted as well. We could easily feed you all but several things need to change Firstly there is so much waste caused by supermarket obsession with the visual impact of a few blemishes Then there is the size grading Then there are the sell by dates All of these causing perfectly healthy food to be chucked out Then there is the fact that food is too cheap and people will just cut the breast off a chicken for instance or not eat liver and kidney Then there is the obesity epidemic and the fact that people eat too much Then there is the trend for importing exotic foods at great cost to the environment Then there is the current trend for rewilding and greening taking land out of production as well as land sold for planning

In 1984, there was enough food produced in Britain to feed the nation for 306 days of the year. Today, that figure is 233 days, making 21 August 2020 the day that the country would run out of food if we were relying solely on British produce. But what does this actually mean and could we be producing more?