All within building regs
- the borehole is 100m deep. We sit on clay so the tanks are about 75m from the borehole.Preparing for troubled times ahead - Advice on what is needed.....
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All within building regs
- the borehole is 100m deep. We sit on clay so the tanks are about 75m from the borehole.
All good then, 70m for clay. Just wanted to check. I work in the water industry, and have seen some shocking private water sourcesAll within building regs
Has anyone looked into making and using a haybox?
I've made one using an old Coleman cool box.
I've put cardboard on the bottom so a hot pot won't melt it, and then used an old woolen blanket to make a nest for the pot, and a small cushion on top, then the lid.
Tried it out today, bringing the pot to the boil on a camp stove, before putting it into the box. It took 3 and a bit hours to cook a nice veg stew, while I went out for the afternoon.
I think I will be using this method for soups and stews from now on. It's very easy, and just takes a bit of forethought and planning.
The original slow cooker.
I've made one using an old Coleman cool box.
I've put cardboard on the bottom so a hot pot won't melt it, and then used an old woolen blanket to make a nest for the pot, and a small cushion on top, then the lid.
Tried it out today, bringing the pot to the boil on a camp stove, before putting it into the box. It took 3 and a bit hours to cook a nice veg stew, while I went out for the afternoon.
I think I will be using this method for soups and stews from now on. It's very easy, and just takes a bit of forethought and planning.
The original slow cooker.
And if you tend to get hay fever blown vermiculite works as well.
They were very popular during the war. Plenty of you tube vids on making and using one.
A cardboard box, lined with newspapers, and filled with hay, or old towels or blankets works too if you don't have a Coleman.
Best results with a pot that will hold heat, like a cast iron pot, le cruset or petromax for instance, but any stew pot will do. Just make sure it's well insulated.
I've also made a lightweight version for a friend using a polystyrene meat delivery box, lined with some plywood on the bottom to stop the pot melting it.
Origionaly hay was used to insulate a wooden box, hence hay box.
Tip for city dwellers , pet shops sell large bags of hay for rabbits etc, but old towels and wool blankets work well too.
A box needs to be roughly big enough to hold a lidded cooking pot, preferably without a long handle, and several inches of insulation all round.
If the box doesn't have a lid, a plump pillow, or cushion will suffice.
I used my electric slow cooker pot in mine, which worked , but I'm going to try with my Dutch oven next time, as I can then start the stew in the same pot as I cook it in, and save washing up too!
Ohhh, so basically heating a pot with all ya stew and stuff in, then sticking it in such a box as to keep it hot/still cooking/stewing merrily away! Very interesting!!
Yep, just get your meal up to boiling and then stick it in the box.
Soup, stew, chilli, rice and pasta are all possible. Time to experiment now before it becomes a necessity.
Remember, every time you open it up to check, you loose heat, so cooking time gets extended, that's why a bit of practice now will help with cooking times.
I'm making a note of the time each recipe takes for future ref, and whether it was checked and when in the cooking time I did that.
I think going out so I wasn't tempted to keep checking worked well.
Could be something you set up in the morning to come home to after work.
Yes, I have experimented with insulated cooking, both at home and in the field where it is a good fuel saving technique to use a foam jacket around a pot. A friend suggested you could really push the boat out by using a pressure cooker to begin with, then setting it in an insulated box.
There was a company making "hay" bags in South Africa using the foam from recycled air craft interiors as stuffing for a sewn cloth bag with lid.
There was a company making "hay" bags in South Africa using the foam from recycled air craft interiors as stuffing for a sewn cloth bag with lid.
My best friend has just landed me with the news she is going to new Zealand to stay with her daughter and family for six months. October to March
That is a brilliant idea on coping with the coming British winter.
Anyone in new Zealand want to be my family for six months?
That is a brilliant idea on coping with the coming British winter.
Anyone in new Zealand want to be my family for six months?
Someone more knowledgeable than me will correct me but I believe the 'hay' needs to be damp to create heat. Like a compost heap its the actual breakdown of the plant matter by micro organisms that generates heat - hence why a farmers 'haystack' needs to be absolutely dry to avoid it bursting into fire.
Dry Hay just keeps the existing slowly declining heat in, damp hay will act like a slow cooker. At least thats what we did when I was a kid.
Dry Hay just keeps the existing slowly declining heat in, damp hay will act like a slow cooker. At least thats what we did when I was a kid.
Yes damp hay can get pretty hot, I can remember my dad having to check the barn a couple of nights after harvest and on one occasion we had to pull the stack apart to let the heat out and stop it from spontaneously combusting!!
In the haybox described earlier you don't need the hay to be damp; you're just using it as insulation and you're using the heat in the food to continue its cooking process. To generate heat, you would need quite a depth of hay.
Sorry to disagree but 2" of damp hay will get hot. If you just want to keep the heat in something already hot a towel or blanket laid over it will do the job fine (like you finish off a turkey at christmas) but if you are looking to cook something from scratch you need wet hay (cooking for free).
The point I'm making is a dry hay box will not generate its own heat. Put something cold in it and It wont be cooked 5/6hrs later. Try it if you doubt me.
But a wet hay box will.!! Exactly the same as a compost heat. 2" of wet compressed organic matter gets hot! Again try it if you doubt me. A good compost heap steams when you turn it over. All gardeners know this!!
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