Also have you thought about building a wood gas generator and hooking that up to a generator and heating your water with electricity?
help! boiler failure in a big way
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Getting rather complicated now isn't it?
In the older days with Y plan and S plan systems we could simply click on the immersion heater, I suspect that the OP does not have a cylinder?
One of the costs of the Combi Craze unfortunately.
im gonna use the gym showers in work but its harder for the missus and baby ash. it took 14 pan fulls to make it just deep enough for the little fella to have a splash. next time he's goin in kitken sink!!
if i can get my hands on a trough big enuff to sit in, i will build a fire under it and bath outside! the most simple idea yet! now how will i convince SWMBO?? hehehe she'll be smugglin peanuts!
if i can get my hands on a trough big enuff to sit in, i will build a fire under it and bath outside! the most simple idea yet! now how will i convince SWMBO?? hehehe she'll be smugglin peanuts!
Seriously mate there is nowt wrong with bathing the babe in the sink. We were on an enforced holiday with our new un and she was bathed in the kicthen sink and I am sure we all have been at some lol. You have a couple of leccy heaters so you can heat a couple of rooms - remember that bairns whilst not wanting to freeze do not like hot rooms = the great thing about electric heaters are that they provide instant heat so warm a room very quickly so you could heat a room as you go. Living room and bedroom for you and the baby i guess. What about a £50 ebay 20ltr Tea Urn or something for copious amounts of hot water for washing, bathing etc etc? You have my sympathy as our little 'un was born at the end of December and our income halved with the missus going onto SMP - similar situation in that the guy who had the house before use has done a p*ss poor job of everything but mainly the boiler = forked out £900 to replace the radiators and fix other things but kept the 5 yr old cheap boiler and it is so dam flakey that we ended up boiling kettles and pans of water and running electric heaters too.
So is this heated water for bathing and washing up only?
Did they have central heating and hot water cylinders a hundred years ago?
Jug and bowl was usually the case and a strip wash for mum and dad and a flannel wash with same warm water for the wee ones.
When doing big campouts with 20 people needing hot water for washing up etc we used to have a three gallon galvanized bucket and pop it on the grid over the fire pit.
If you have a gas hob it can go on there just as easily, see if you can get one with a lid to keep the steam in.
It's not ideal, but it is going to be better than cold water for everything.
Can you go and hire a "baby burco" from Speedy hire or Brandons?
We use them on building sites.
For a shower you could just use one of those solar shower bags, fill it in the morning and leave out in the sun all day, or fill it with warm water from the kettle and top up with cold.
Hope that helps.
Wings
Did they have central heating and hot water cylinders a hundred years ago?
Jug and bowl was usually the case and a strip wash for mum and dad and a flannel wash with same warm water for the wee ones.
When doing big campouts with 20 people needing hot water for washing up etc we used to have a three gallon galvanized bucket and pop it on the grid over the fire pit.
If you have a gas hob it can go on there just as easily, see if you can get one with a lid to keep the steam in.
It's not ideal, but it is going to be better than cold water for everything.
Can you go and hire a "baby burco" from Speedy hire or Brandons?
We use them on building sites.
For a shower you could just use one of those solar shower bags, fill it in the morning and leave out in the sun all day, or fill it with warm water from the kettle and top up with cold.
Hope that helps.
Wings
The idea of a modern heating system is to allow a plentiful supply of hot water to hand - instantly, as and when required.
Spending all day stoking a wooden fire in this day and age is rather silly.
Hence why we no longer use said practice.
Spending all day stoking a wooden fire in this day and age is rather silly.
Hence why we no longer use said practice.
It is, and that is why something minor like a boiler breakdown results in a major disruption to someones normal daily life. It is now a case of improvise, adapt and overcome for Leaf man and his family until such time he can get a replacement installed, in the mean time a bit of "period" living seems to be in order, it is after all just a few weeks/months until "normal service" is resumed.
Wings
Living off grid, if any hot water was needed it was boiled.
I could have a complete strip wash with a bowl of water and a flannel (obviously, soap too!).
Whilst I would have preferred a hot shower, the strip wash was as effective, and along with collecting all the water I ever used, it encouraged good water management.
People have a longer history of living without domestic water heaters than they do of living with them. Not seeing the loss of a water heater as a major occurrence, and simply adopting alternative means of heating water should really not be beyond a persons scope...
I could have a complete strip wash with a bowl of water and a flannel (obviously, soap too!).
Whilst I would have preferred a hot shower, the strip wash was as effective, and along with collecting all the water I ever used, it encouraged good water management.
People have a longer history of living without domestic water heaters than they do of living with them. Not seeing the loss of a water heater as a major occurrence, and simply adopting alternative means of heating water should really not be beyond a persons scope...
It all seems overwhelming. The same happened to me, but ours was nearly 30 years old and the year after I replaced the immersion, the boiler was £1900 fitted. Then the car blew up.
Over £5000 in total. Four years later we have nearly paid it off (we have less than a grand left).
Credit card pain is better than earache from uncomfortable family members. I hope you get sorted.
Over £5000 in total. Four years later we have nearly paid it off (we have less than a grand left).
Credit card pain is better than earache from uncomfortable family members. I hope you get sorted.
GUYS, THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS AND IDEAS, SOME GOOD ONES THERE TOO.
PERIOD LIVING IT IS FOR NOW. ME, I DONT MIND A BIRD BATH, ITS THE MISSUS WHO MOANS. IT COULD HAVE GONE IN THE DEPTH OF ALL THAT SNOW WE HAD, SO WE THANK THE gODS FOR THE TIMING.
WE ARE KEEPING OUR EYES PEELED FOR BIG POTS AT CAR BOOTS, BUT IT'LL COST A BOMB IN THE LONG RUN TO BOIL UP A FEW A TIME FOR A BATH. GONNA BE AGES FOR IT GET DONE, BUT ITS ALL CHARACTER BUILDING.
GOOD PARCTICE ME THINKS FOR WHEN WE MAY HAVE NO CHOICE TO BECOME OFF GRID
THANKS ALL, WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED!
PERIOD LIVING IT IS FOR NOW. ME, I DONT MIND A BIRD BATH, ITS THE MISSUS WHO MOANS. IT COULD HAVE GONE IN THE DEPTH OF ALL THAT SNOW WE HAD, SO WE THANK THE gODS FOR THE TIMING.
WE ARE KEEPING OUR EYES PEELED FOR BIG POTS AT CAR BOOTS, BUT IT'LL COST A BOMB IN THE LONG RUN TO BOIL UP A FEW A TIME FOR A BATH. GONNA BE AGES FOR IT GET DONE, BUT ITS ALL CHARACTER BUILDING.
GOOD PARCTICE ME THINKS FOR WHEN WE MAY HAVE NO CHOICE TO BECOME OFF GRID
THANKS ALL, WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED!
One of the Coal House dvd's, ie the re-creation of coal miners living in wales they did on C4 involved a 'bath' night. Took two familys using coal fired stoves best part of the day to heat up 1 bathfull. I had to seriously wonder at their sense after that.
What about one of those 'Solar Showers' ie bags you hang up in daytime to let warm up and then get a shower at end of it. Not tried one and presume it might be luke warm but still might help out.
What about one of those 'Solar Showers' ie bags you hang up in daytime to let warm up and then get a shower at end of it. Not tried one and presume it might be luke warm but still might help out.
hmm heres an idea for a homemade immersion boiler (sort off) get a large non-conductive container, a bunch of old kettles (ask around im sure loads of people have old ones they'll let you have) and build a wood burning generator. take the kettles apart and wire up all the heating units together, stick them in the container and connect to the generator. if you can find a way to get the wood for the generator for free you then have a free to run boiler. keep the generator outside and the boiler indoors with the two connected by a long cable. if you know anything about plumbing you might even be able to hook your new boiler up to your old system, but i know nothing about plumbing so i wouldnt know how.
probably not a practical idea and there may be a few things wrong with the theory, but i did just think it up whilst reading this post. sounds like a fun thing to try though ey
seriously i hope you get something sorted out soon,
ATB
TJ
probably not a practical idea and there may be a few things wrong with the theory, but i did just think it up whilst reading this post. sounds like a fun thing to try though ey
seriously i hope you get something sorted out soon,
ATB
TJ
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