Things that have withstood the test of time
Comments
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Oh and my late grandfathers machinists tool chest, made by him during WW2 where he worked setting tools in an armnaments factory.0
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More that most of the heat generated goes up the chimney. Some form of stove will almost certainly burn more efficiently (and cleaner).rolf_f said:
I'll take my particulates as they are - 5 days fire use a year works out about equivalent to 5 hours of commuting in heavy traffic. I can live (or die) with that!surrey_commuter said:
get yourself a log burning stove then all the particles are outsiderolf_f said:
No, I have packets of endangered species for that! The recent reporting fails the basic test of considering the rate of usage rather than just the usage itself. I suspect many people who don't rely on their open fire as the sole source of heating use it fairly infrequently. In my case maybe four or five times so far this winter. The recent Lancaster Uni paper talked about the particulate matter equating to that on a heavily trafficked road but referred to the fire being used for half the year.rjsterry said:
Oh, Rolf! Do you use your environmental principles as firelighters? 😁rolf_f said:
That ultimate middle class shame - I have an open fire and a few times a year I burn coalite on it! It is excellent for that as coalite can be hard work to get going.rjsterry said:
While anything with gears and wheels is good, can I ask what you use it for? You obviously don't burn peat.rolf_f said:
Technically it is a peat bellows - not much info on line about them but associated with Westmoreland and Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Would have been made on site for a big house using proprietary castings from a catalogue.pangolin said:
Is that a hand crank bellows?rolf_f said:Most of the stuff in my house would be appropriate for this thread apart from the kitchen appliances and digital cameras. I rarely buy anything new and never replace things unless they break. Here is my 1913 Gibson A4 mandolin and an item that was ancient when the mandolin was new. Both get regular use in the way the makers intended (at least if Gibson intended their mandolins to be played badly....). The only thing in the shot that isn't really old is the only thing that was pretending to be old when it was new - the little drawer unit. The other stuff was bang up to date when it came out.
Mine is rather cool. Most use an 8 or ten inch crank wheel driving a one inch pinion on the turbine shaft. Mine goes 8:1 then 4:1 so a mechanical advantage of 1:32. It's awesome to use; way better than conventional bellows (I suspect they died out just on the grounds of expense to make). It is a Georgian supercharger!
Exposure to PM, and to strongly magnetic airborne PM, can be greater for individuals spending ~5 h/day indoors with a coal-burning open fire for 6 months/year compared to those commuting via heavily-trafficked roads for 1 h/day for 12 months/year.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
How is that powered? I assume some sort of adaptation to modern electrical supplyedward.s said:My 2016 Drummond model B metal lathe. 105 years old and still going strong. Not a tool I use every day but when you need it, you need it.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
I'm always stunned by how little ash I need to take out of my Jotul 602 - even when running full-time and the main source of heat for the house, I guess it produces a small fire-shovel's worth of ash every day or two. Very satisfying to know that nothing combustible is being wasted falling through a grille.rjsterry said:
More that most of the heat generated goes up the chimney. Some form of stove will almost certainly burn more efficiently (and cleaner).0 -
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So they say...rick_chasey said:Isn't domestic wood burning the worst thing for air quality and pollution nowadays?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/16/home-wood-burning-biggest-cause-particle-pollution-fires0 -
I say this partly as I remember one particularly awful commute in London about 4 years ago.ballysmate said:
So they say...rick_chasey said:Isn't domestic wood burning the worst thing for air quality and pollution nowadays?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/16/home-wood-burning-biggest-cause-particle-pollution-fires
It was the middle of December and there were really big warnings about the pollution all over the place and christ, it felt horrible cycling in it.
I went at a real pootle pace so I wasn't breathing it in too deeply but you could feel it on your skin and in your chest how thick and nasty it was.
Apparently it was a combo of the air pressure and a huge spike in wood burning that created it. Was really awful.0 -
Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?1
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As Spartacus nearly said - they can take my log burning stove from my cold dead handballysmate said:Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?
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I'd not use my Jotul 602 in the middle of town, but in the middle of mountains, I think I might be excused. Its first home was in the middle of the countryside, overlooking Dartmoor, and it's now on its third home, 35 years after I bought it. Takes 40x25x15cm logs comfortably. I always hankered after a Jotul 106 that would take 75cm logs and will crank out 14kw, but it would have been too big.
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Have honestly never understood the appeal.surrey_commuter said:
As Spartacus nearly said - they can take my log burning stove from my cold dead handballysmate said:Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?
All I want in life is a house that is permanently the same temperature with absolutely no hassle or excessive cost. The less obvious the better. In an ideal world I would have underfloor heating everywhere and maximise space.
what is the appeal here?0 -
That article refers to the Lancaster study which I was questioning on the previous page. They assume you are using the open fire for half the year.ballysmate said:
So they say...rick_chasey said:Isn't domestic wood burning the worst thing for air quality and pollution nowadays?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/16/home-wood-burning-biggest-cause-particle-pollution-fires
You don't get it at all! It's not about it being an efficient form of heating but something you lie infront of getting burned on one side whilst still being cold on the other and get to repeatedly poke at with your fire irons and blast with your 18th Century peat bellows. Efficiency has nothing to do with it. There's no fun in wood burners.rjsterry said:
More that most of the heat generated goes up the chimney. Some form of stove will almost certainly burn more efficiently (and cleaner).rolf_f said:
I'll take my particulates as they are - 5 days fire use a year works out about equivalent to 5 hours of commuting in heavy traffic. I can live (or die) with that!surrey_commuter said:
get yourself a log burning stove then all the particles are outsiderolf_f said:
No, I have packets of endangered species for that! The recent reporting fails the basic test of considering the rate of usage rather than just the usage itself. I suspect many people who don't rely on their open fire as the sole source of heating use it fairly infrequently. In my case maybe four or five times so far this winter. The recent Lancaster Uni paper talked about the particulate matter equating to that on a heavily trafficked road but referred to the fire being used for half the year.rjsterry said:
Oh, Rolf! Do you use your environmental principles as firelighters? 😁rolf_f said:
That ultimate middle class shame - I have an open fire and a few times a year I burn coalite on it! It is excellent for that as coalite can be hard work to get going.rjsterry said:
While anything with gears and wheels is good, can I ask what you use it for? You obviously don't burn peat.rolf_f said:
Technically it is a peat bellows - not much info on line about them but associated with Westmoreland and Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Would have been made on site for a big house using proprietary castings from a catalogue.pangolin said:
Is that a hand crank bellows?rolf_f said:Most of the stuff in my house would be appropriate for this thread apart from the kitchen appliances and digital cameras. I rarely buy anything new and never replace things unless they break. Here is my 1913 Gibson A4 mandolin and an item that was ancient when the mandolin was new. Both get regular use in the way the makers intended (at least if Gibson intended their mandolins to be played badly....). The only thing in the shot that isn't really old is the only thing that was pretending to be old when it was new - the little drawer unit. The other stuff was bang up to date when it came out.
Mine is rather cool. Most use an 8 or ten inch crank wheel driving a one inch pinion on the turbine shaft. Mine goes 8:1 then 4:1 so a mechanical advantage of 1:32. It's awesome to use; way better than conventional bellows (I suspect they died out just on the grounds of expense to make). It is a Georgian supercharger!
Exposure to PM, and to strongly magnetic airborne PM, can be greater for individuals spending ~5 h/day indoors with a coal-burning open fire for 6 months/year compared to those commuting via heavily-trafficked roads for 1 h/day for 12 months/year.
Faster than a tent.......0 -
rolf_f said:
There's no fun in wood burners.
Oh yes there is!
It's in the challenge of lighting it with a single match at the beginning of the winter and not letting it go out until the spring. Sometimes you misjudge and have to rescue the one tiny ember that you find in the morning when the wind's picked up overnight and giving it CPR, or when a fire-resistant log tries to go out when you've closed the vent a bit too much.0 -
The same appeal as vintage bikes, candles, old houses, climbing a mountain - it's the opposite of utilitarian; the vague concept of "character" is of course very, very subjective. Three out of four of my examples appeal to me hugely but I have no interest in vintage bikes, I would rather have modern and efficient.rick_chasey said:
Have honestly never understood the appeal.surrey_commuter said:
As Spartacus nearly said - they can take my log burning stove from my cold dead handballysmate said:Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?
All I want in life is a house that is permanently the same temperature with absolutely no hassle or excessive cost. The less obvious the better. In an ideal world I would have underfloor heating everywhere and maximise space.
what is the appeal here?0 -
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Man Make Fire.rick_chasey said:
Have honestly never understood the appeal.surrey_commuter said:
As Spartacus nearly said - they can take my log burning stove from my cold dead handballysmate said:Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?
All I want in life is a house that is permanently the same temperature with absolutely no hassle or excessive cost. The less obvious the better. In an ideal world I would have underfloor heating everywhere and maximise space.
what is the appeal here?
More seriously, there are wood burners and wood burners. Some burn a lot hotter and therefore cleaner than others. They are also highly dependent on the quality of fuel. Well seasoned hardwood good. Wet rubbish from the garage bad.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Sure but do these houses not have central heating?rjsterry said:
Man Make Fire.rick_chasey said:
Have honestly never understood the appeal.surrey_commuter said:
As Spartacus nearly said - they can take my log burning stove from my cold dead handballysmate said:Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?
All I want in life is a house that is permanently the same temperature with absolutely no hassle or excessive cost. The less obvious the better. In an ideal world I would have underfloor heating everywhere and maximise space.
what is the appeal here?
More seriously, there are wood burners and wood burners. Some burn a lot hotter and therefore cleaner than others. They are also highly dependent on the quality of fuel. Well seasoned hardwood good. Wet rubbish from the garage bad.
Anyway, people obviously like it. Enjoy making the air quality worse or something.0 -
When you put it like that, it sounds even more of a PITA 😁rolf_f said:
That article refers to the Lancaster study which I was questioning on the previous page. They assume you are using the open fire for half the year.ballysmate said:
So they say...rick_chasey said:Isn't domestic wood burning the worst thing for air quality and pollution nowadays?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/16/home-wood-burning-biggest-cause-particle-pollution-fires
You don't get it at all! It's not about it being an efficient form of heating but something you lie infront of getting burned on one side whilst still being cold on the other and get to repeatedly poke at with your fire irons and blast with your 18th Century peat bellows. Efficiency has nothing to do with it. There's no fun in wood burners.rjsterry said:
More that most of the heat generated goes up the chimney. Some form of stove will almost certainly burn more efficiently (and cleaner).rolf_f said:
I'll take my particulates as they are - 5 days fire use a year works out about equivalent to 5 hours of commuting in heavy traffic. I can live (or die) with that!surrey_commuter said:
get yourself a log burning stove then all the particles are outsiderolf_f said:
No, I have packets of endangered species for that! The recent reporting fails the basic test of considering the rate of usage rather than just the usage itself. I suspect many people who don't rely on their open fire as the sole source of heating use it fairly infrequently. In my case maybe four or five times so far this winter. The recent Lancaster Uni paper talked about the particulate matter equating to that on a heavily trafficked road but referred to the fire being used for half the year.rjsterry said:
Oh, Rolf! Do you use your environmental principles as firelighters? 😁rolf_f said:
That ultimate middle class shame - I have an open fire and a few times a year I burn coalite on it! It is excellent for that as coalite can be hard work to get going.rjsterry said:
While anything with gears and wheels is good, can I ask what you use it for? You obviously don't burn peat.rolf_f said:
Technically it is a peat bellows - not much info on line about them but associated with Westmoreland and Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Would have been made on site for a big house using proprietary castings from a catalogue.pangolin said:
Is that a hand crank bellows?rolf_f said:Most of the stuff in my house would be appropriate for this thread apart from the kitchen appliances and digital cameras. I rarely buy anything new and never replace things unless they break. Here is my 1913 Gibson A4 mandolin and an item that was ancient when the mandolin was new. Both get regular use in the way the makers intended (at least if Gibson intended their mandolins to be played badly....). The only thing in the shot that isn't really old is the only thing that was pretending to be old when it was new - the little drawer unit. The other stuff was bang up to date when it came out.
Mine is rather cool. Most use an 8 or ten inch crank wheel driving a one inch pinion on the turbine shaft. Mine goes 8:1 then 4:1 so a mechanical advantage of 1:32. It's awesome to use; way better than conventional bellows (I suspect they died out just on the grounds of expense to make). It is a Georgian supercharger!
Exposure to PM, and to strongly magnetic airborne PM, can be greater for individuals spending ~5 h/day indoors with a coal-burning open fire for 6 months/year compared to those commuting via heavily-trafficked roads for 1 h/day for 12 months/year.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
(spot the person who lives in a victorian house where the fire and chimney etc have been taken out)0
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Rick's a bit beige. I expect all his walls are off white. He doesn't belong in this thread. He'd maximise his space but have nothing in it.bompington said:
The same appeal as vintage bikes, candles, old houses, climbing a mountain - it's the opposite of utilitarian; the vague concept of "character" is of course very, very subjective. Three out of four of my examples appeal to me hugely but I have no interest in vintage bikes, I would rather have modern and efficient.rick_chasey said:
Have honestly never understood the appeal.surrey_commuter said:
As Spartacus nearly said - they can take my log burning stove from my cold dead handballysmate said:Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?
All I want in life is a house that is permanently the same temperature with absolutely no hassle or excessive cost. The less obvious the better. In an ideal world I would have underfloor heating everywhere and maximise space.
what is the appeal here?
Point taken and understood re keeping wood burner alive. I did once enjoy having damped my fire the night before with it's ashes I returned to it the following afternoon and it had enough heat and charcoal remaining to fire up again straight away without much prompting; I wonder if still air and high pressure discouraged it from burning out sooner. Doesn't happen with the smokeless stuff though.Faster than a tent.......0 -
Beer?0
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Now, speaking of ways to heat things - I am very snobby about any hob that isn't gas, but I now see gas is being phased out long term, which is a shame.
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Fireworks.0
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Ah, yes. still struggling with 2020/2021 confusion myself... I've edited the original post, I am a fool!rolf_f said:
2121 already?! Time really does fly in a pandemic!edward.s said:My 2016 Drummond model B metal lathe. 105 years old and still going strong. Not a tool I use every day but when you need it, you need it.
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Yep, its a v-belt countershaft machine with 4 pulley speeds and back gear giving 8 speeds total. The countershaft is powered by a fairly ancient Westinghouse 1hp 240v single phase motor via another v-belt and a tensioner. It cluncks along fine for what I need.rjsterry said:
How is that powered? I assume some sort of adaptation to modern electrical supplyedward.s said:My 2016 Drummond model B metal lathe. 105 years old and still going strong. Not a tool I use every day but when you need it, you need it.
One day I would like to add a bigger machine like a Harrison M series and a decent vertical mill to the workshop, but its all a bit of a pipe dream at present.1 -
A wood burner is not a form of heating , its an indoor hobby. Great when you are stuck at home in lockdown.rick_chasey said:
Have honestly never understood the appeal.surrey_commuter said:
As Spartacus nearly said - they can take my log burning stove from my cold dead handballysmate said:Middle classes eh, hybrid car and a wood burner?
All I want in life is a house that is permanently the same temperature with absolutely no hassle or excessive cost. The less obvious the better. In an ideal world I would have underfloor heating everywhere and maximise space.
what is the appeal here?0 -
Not even long term. 10 years, maybe. Soon they'll be the equivalent of driving a diesel.rick_chasey said:Now, speaking of ways to heat things - I am very snobby about any hob that isn't gas, but I now see gas is being phased out long term, which is a shame.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
I found a website. It looks beautiful.😍edward.s said:
Yep, its a v-belt countershaft machine with 4 pulley speeds and back gear giving 8 speeds total. The countershaft is powered by a fairly ancient Westinghouse 1hp 240v single phase motor via another v-belt and a tensioner. It cluncks along fine for what I need.rjsterry said:
How is that powered? I assume some sort of adaptation to modern electrical supplyedward.s said:My 2016 Drummond model B metal lathe. 105 years old and still going strong. Not a tool I use every day but when you need it, you need it.
One day I would like to add a bigger machine like a Harrison M series and a decent vertical mill to the workshop, but its all a bit of a pipe dream at present.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Just replaced gas hob with induction. Anything where you want to lift the pan a bit is a bit irritating (but only in a "somebody moved my cheese" sense) but otherwise it is a big improvement over the gas and a lot cleaner. Vaguely surprised that, given Rick's antipathy towards stone age methods of house heating, he is still in the stone age with food heating!rjsterry said:
Not even long term. 10 years, maybe. Soon they'll be the equivalent of driving a diesel.rick_chasey said:Now, speaking of ways to heat things - I am very snobby about any hob that isn't gas, but I now see gas is being phased out long term, which is a shame.
Faster than a tent.......0
