NEW ARTICLES on Main site

[Andy Hamilton]

We have a whole bunch of new articles on the main site that have gone up in the last month.

From Nev's wealth of Knowledge we have
Making a Chook Brooder
Solar oven recipe - Sour dough Bread
Self sufficiency as a retirement strategy
and making a cotton gin.

In recipes we have one by Dave -Mixed fruit and Yogurt with seeds.

We have also been adding to the Budget living section as promised.
With help from Mrs Flibble there are 3 WW2 recipes

Watch this space for more updates!

[Andy Hamilton]

Ok and just added another one to the budget living section on saving cash in the kitchen (part one) This is just a few simple tips on running the fridge and cooker a little more efficiently.

[pumpy]

Hi Andy, i knew i was doing the right thing by keeping our fridge stocked with tinnies!

[Andy Hamilton]

Ok one more that has been added to budget living -10 ways to reduce your utility bills This is without insulating.

[Millymollymandy]

Andy there's still that embarassing spelling mistake (palette should be PALATE) on the WW2/Mrs Flibble article that I mentioned to you! (Not Andy's mistake - I edited his original mistake and then found I'd made a silly spelling mistake myself!)

[red]

Ok and just added another one to the budget living section on saving cash in the kitchen (part one) This is just a few simple tips on running the fridge and cooker a little more efficiently.

yay new articles!

but is it more efficient to keep your fridge cold? i understood its the reverse.. some fridges struggle at cold temps?

[Cheezy]

Red,

I agree with you certainly about freezers. We were looking to get a chest freezer so I can store more veg from the lottie , and bake bigger batches of bread and freeze. We were looking at an A+ one, then I went on line to check it out, and it was a swizz, as it was only A+ rated at 18- 30 'C, below that it dropped to B rated. For people who keep their freezers in outbuildings you have to make sure what the efficiency rating is based on. Sometimes this info is quite hard to get, but I found John Lewis on their website always included the temperature that it was based on. In this case theirs was 10- 32'C

I believe freezers and fridges work on a heat exchange principal, and this will be a bell curve, so they have a lower minimum and upper maximum efficiency.

[Andy Hamilton]

Well according to Treehugger you should keep your fridge full - "Keeping your refrigerator full also will help it retain the cold and cool more efficiently."

[url=Apparently fridges operate most efficiently when they are quite full.

* That's the way they like it best. So if you are looking in the door of your fridge and there isn't much in there and that is the way it usually looks - I can suggest that you are over capacity in the fridge department and it might be worth considering downsizing!]and this site... [/url]

If you think about the principle of a cool bag, that works by having something cold put into it and it keeps the bag cold, why should a fridge be any different. I thiink what you might mean Red is that turning up your fridge to a colder temperature uses more power perhaps??

Anyway, M3 changed the article so now reads "tastes", easier all round.

[MuddyWitch]

May I chip in my two penn'oth? Our 'fridge won't work in our kitchen if the ambiant temp is lower than 5*C, which it often is! If the room gets too cold the 'fridge just switches itself off. Therefore we have to move our fridge NEARER the rad in the hall on cold days!

MW

[Millymollymandy]

That's a cold kitchen. I've got 2 freezers and a fridge in my cellar which can get as low as 3C but they all work, thank goodness. Though really when it's 3C I might as well switch off the fridge (4-5C inside) and just open the door!

[red]

If you think about the principle of a cool bag, that works by having something cold put into it and it keeps the bag cold, why should a fridge be any different. I thiink what you might mean Red is that turning up your fridge to a colder temperature uses more power perhaps??

.

no i was referrring to your suggestion to keep your fridge in a cold outhouse or something. Fridges and freezers are usually less efficient in a colder room. as for fridge freezers.. you should never keep them in outside shed etc as a lot of them only have one thermostat. they usually work by measuring the temperature of the fridge.. if thats cold then the freezer part goes off

[jamankhan]

We were looking at an A+ one, then I went on line to check it out, and it was a swizz, as it was only A+ rated at 18- 30 'C, below that it dropped to B rated. For people who keep their freezers in outbuildings you have to make sure what the efficiency rating is based on. Sometimes this info is quite hard to get, but I found John Lewis on their website always included the temperature that it was based on. In this case theirs was 10- 32'C