Home energy saving tips /ideas...

[Kim]

This also gets me wondering if oven chips are really more cost efficient than heating oil on the hob and frying fresh potatoes.

Probably depends on how long you keep the oil kicking around to go minging.

They're a massive safety win, of course.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Safety of the arteries too, or at least so we're told.

[Kim]

Our new/second hand cooker has two ovens. One is small and perfectly decent for meals for two (but not pizza).

Got to be more efficient heating a small oven than a large one.

Our cooker has two ovens.  The smaller one doesn't have a fan, and takes ages to get up to temperature, so I'm not sure where the break-even point is.  Might try doing SCIENCE...

ETA: Looks like the main oven is 2400W and the small oven is 1300W.  Not that that makes a difference when it's under thermostatic control.  But an oven that takes ages to heat up is at greater risk of being left on for longer.

[Kim]

Safety of the arteries too, or at least so we're told.

Works for me.  But then my Stupid Digestive System has a low tolerance for chips, so I'm disinclined to eat chips that aren't nice.  Don't think I've had an oven chip since the early noughties.

Presumably the rise in takeaway delivery correlates with a reduction in chip pan fires.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Or at least a reduction in reported chip pan fires, because those that do occur will be dealt with the chef throwing the kitchen boy's soaking apron over the fire, and the fire brigade Will Not Be Called because that might result in closure.
/c

[L CC]

I shower at the pool and my hot meal of the day is in the office. Mr Smith is warmed by his banks of servers. In the evenings I'm planning to keep warm on zwift.
(our 80s detached house has 4 bedrooms and being rented, will not get any more insulation than it currently has).
I'm considering a push to get work to fit a charging point for my bike.

[Kim]

Or at least a reduction in reported chip pan fires, because those that do occur will be dealt with the chef throwing the kitchen boy's soaking apron over the fire, and the fire brigade Will Not Be Called because that might result in closure.
/c

Fair, but if the chef and kitchen boy are in the same room and sober enough to successfully fight the fire, it greatly increases the chances of a successful apron exthinguishment, which is a Good Thing.


I recall my mum having a chip pan fire at around the time my brother got old enough to use a cooker without adult supervision.  I'm sure it was entirely coincidental that there was a bucket of teatowels soaking in the sink...

[Cudzoziemiec]

TBF if (commercial) deep fat frying was that dangerous, the average British high street would be a constant conflagration.

[Kim]

Commercial stuff regulates the oil temperature properly, which surely helps.  Same as using a dedicated firer(TBAGO) rather than a chip pan on a (possibly gas, for added source of ignition) hob.

It's still mildly impressive that the likes of KFC have minimum wage oiks deep-frying chicken under pressure without the occasional BLEVE.

[rogerzilla]

If someone has an accident, they just chop them up for nuggets.  As Stalin said: no man, no problem. And everything famously tastes like chicken.

[Pingu]

Human flesh is porky meat, hee hee heeeeeeee, thobut.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yep, "long pig" notoriously.

[citoyen]

Main danger with deep-frying is the oil boiling over. So just make sure you use a tall-sided pan and don't overfill it. And use an induction hob rather than gas. Also helps to make sure the potatoes are properly dry before you chuck them in.

You can tell if the oil is getting too hot because the chips start burning on the outside before they're cooked in the middle. But I take the guesswork out of it by using my thermapen to keep an eye on the temperature.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

Search YouTube for deep fried turkey.  Mericans are wont to deep fry whole turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Fill the container with too much oil then when you lower said turkey in... an overflow of flaming boiling oil.

This video takes it one step further with frozen birds...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gn895y4wkc

[Mrs Pingu]

I was just cooking baked taters last night and thinking it was prolly a lot of energy for 3 taters.

[rogerzilla]

Wrap them in foil and throw them in the wood burner.

[FifeingEejit]

Commercial stuff regulates the oil temperature properly, which surely helps.  Same as using a dedicated firer(TBAGO) rather than a chip pan on a (possibly gas, for added source of ignition) hob.

It's still mildly impressive that the likes of KFC have minimum wage oiks deep-frying chicken under pressure without the occasional BLEVE.

There's also less chance of the oil from the commercial fryer visiting the source of heat.
A mistake I made while shallow frying a burger in too much oil at Oban SYHA once...

[citoyen]

Search YouTube for deep fried turkey.

Oh god, yes - seen that before. Mad bastards.

[ian]

It's also quite a normal US thing, not an outlying pastime.

[rogerzilla]

Battered, deep-fried pizza is big in Glasgow.  Mind you, they've probably tried battered, deep-fried everything.  Even battered, deep-fried batter.

[The Family Cyclist]

I went to get new insulation rope for my log burner today. There was a queue out the shop (OK it's more of a small unit). I suspect people are going back/to log burners as an alternative to central heating

[road-runner]

I suspect people are going back/to log burners as an alternative to central heating

From 2022 new log burners must meet strict emission controls. See here for example.

[orraloon]

Is that a real entity?

Quote:  "Join us in our mission to accelerate the switch to a greener Briton."  Incredible.

[rogerzilla]

Most people don't use log burners properly, and create unnecessary smoke.  Apart from using suitable wood, they need to be run on secondary air (no primary air) once they're going.  If the wood is reluctant to burn without primary air, it needs further chopping or drying.

An appalling practice is to bulk up the fire, turn the air right down, and let it smoulder overnight.  This turns it into a smoke/soot/CO machine.  Unfortunately it's also SOP in many homes.

[The Family Cyclist]

Most people don't use log burners properly, and create unnecessary smoke.  Apart from using suitable wood, they need to be run on secondary air (no primary air) once they're going.  If the wood is reluctant to burn without primary air, it needs further chopping or drying.

An appalling practice is to bulk up the fire, turn the air right down, and let it smoulder overnight.  This turns it into a smoke/soot/CO machine.  Unfortunately it's also SOP in many homes.

The guy who installed ours then gave a two hour monologue on using it would have your guts for using the wrong air vent or burning anything other than properly dried wood

It was informative but hebhad no sense of humour or even how to not just talk at you