The Revenge of the Hot Water Bottle
lowtechmagazine.com
lowtechmagazine.com
I did try to buy one here in Portugal and I was sent to the pharmacy where they had a tiny little one that you might use for pain relief.
Though I guess a microwavable grain bag on a normal footrest would also work.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Hand-warmer-charcoal-includi...
We used to take them to football matches but eventually they became the sort of thing they'd confiscate cos fire and idiots don't mix.
Err, wha? I don't know anyone here without a toaster - or 2...
Now, a sandwich can be made with toasted bread, certainly, but in that role it's normally slathered with mayonnaise, mustard, or something of that nature rather than being buttered.
Exception: grilled cheese sandwiches are often buttered, though with those they typically have the butter on the outside. On the inside is either nothing or (my preference) mayonnaise.
I suspect it depends on the ingredients ... you need a bread that goes well with the oil and have to be very careful on not oversoaking it.
If you can get it, Duke's Mayo is just absolutely bonkers. I also really like the Trader Joe's organic mayo.
Also, since I'm deeply invested in grilled cheeses, more recommendations:
I use a ratio of 1 part gruyere, 1 part sharp or extra-sharp cheddar. I also really like a little parmesan or pecorino, but it tastes less "classic grilled cheese," so might not be for everyone.
Cooking method:
- heat pan to medium
- put mayo on one side of two pieces of bread
- put the first piece of bread into the pan, mayo side down (it should sizzle lightly)
- heap your cheese on top of this piece, and press it down onto the bread a little
- after 2 minutes, take the other piece of bread and put it mayo side up onto the top of the cheese. flip the sandwich (so that the fresh mayo is now down).
- 2 more minutes and you're good to go. serve with tomato soup (naturally) and a little ranch if you're a degenerate like me.
[0] https://www.nordichouse.co.uk/enamel-butter-dish-p-4219.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-...
If there's one food America knows how to do in many variations, all delicious to varying degrees, it's the sandwich.
I grew up with the first kind, but now only use the second kind to reduce clutter on my countertop. I never detected a difference in the two methods, but I'm also not very observant!
If I was also using it to heat up chicken tikka masala or something, then that would probably not be good.
Trying to get those odd/thick shapes after freezing into a slice toaster was challenging, and we already had a toaster oven so I never replaced my slice toaster when it died.
It's been in constant use for at least 60 years (I'm not sure when his parents got it), and is now making perfect toast for a fourth generation.
Like many modern kitchens, I have 20A outlets. Current code says that you either have to have 20A circuits in the kitchen or split 15A circuits. What the electrician chooses to install depends on whether 14/3 or 12/2 wire is cheaper that day.
One of my pet peeves is that I can't buy a 20A 1900W kettle. There has to be enough market demand for one? Put a big picture of a NEMA 5-20 outlet on the front so that fewer people get confused.
We also just bought a couple of hot water bottles...
You probably would if you were used to UK kettles...
My kettle is 1500 watts and I just timed it. Heating a bit over 1L (~36 oz) of water from 68°F (20°C) to 200°F (93°C) took 4:20.
It's one of those things where the first time you use it, you can't imagine ever not having one, assuming you have cause to heat water on a regular basis.
Still don't own a toaster though. A toaster oven does fine with toast and can be used for a lot more besides.
Don't own a rice maker either. That's been an ongoing negotiation with my wife for 25 years now. :-)
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPK-17-PerfecTemp-1-7-Liter...
Technology Connections video on old-style rice cookers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSTNhvDGbYI
We have that exact same kettle, its wonderful.
EDIT: Might also help you tip the balance of the negotiations in your favor ;)
But I got one over the holidays anyway[1] because I wanted something for incubating yogurt that could do more than just be an incubator. I've now made yogurt in it maybe eight times and it's come out perfectly every time. I had lots of failures in the past trying other ways of making yogurt. The steady incubation temperature really seems to make a big difference.
I've also used it for a handful of meals, lots of oatmeal, and it's excellent for hard-boiled eggs that are easy to peel.
But I haven't used it for rice yet. My wife just insists on making it on the stove and the reviews I read indicated the Instant Pot isn't particularly great at making rice.
[1] I got the Pro 10-in-1 6 Qt when Amazon had it on sale for $80. I bribed my wife with a Lodge 6 qt dutch oven. It was a fair trade. :-)
The instant pot is superior -- but it is also very very different. It has a long warm up period, but then it cooks things incredibly quickly. Then, you have a long cool down, depressurization period ("natural release"). In the meantime, you have no visibility on how "done" is the food.
The basic disadvantages are as follows: 1) if you're an intuitive cook, you are screwed. There are no windows. You can't see how the food is doing. There is a long depressurization period. You can't take it out. You have to follow a recipe with instant pots. Everything becomes like baking.
2) if you're a recipe based cook, you are screwed. You basically have to throw out all of your existing recipes. It cooks faster for long recipes, but slower for short recipes. The chamber is also entirely enclosed and nothing boils away. None of them works unless you re-adjust the water levels and cooking time.
3) pressurized cookware has a really bad reputation of explosions. You can also very easily burn yourself either on the exposed metal parts or get impatient and accidentally steam yourself. The steam from the instant pot seems a lot hotter than regular steam.
@js2, try it for rice. Just watch a youtube video on it first because the process is very strange if you're used to cooking rice on the stovetop. The ratio of rice:water has to be very precise. You also have to follow the timer clock for the depressurization part.
I re-learned how to make rice just for the instant pot. I read the supplied instructions and then I watch a youtube video. I actually messed it up the first time. I still occasionally use too much water whenever I get careless.
But, I love mine. The rice do come out good. But obviously, it won't be like the way it comes out from a pot. It doesn't burn or form a crust.
The IP has its uses, and for those things, it's a great tool.
Oh, it's also really great for making flan.
There's a gazillion recipes for it online, so I haven't worried too much about that.
On the other hand, I have a finite amount of kitchen space. So a multi-use device was better than a single-use device.
On a different note: my parents went back to cooking rice on the stovetop for a few months after their electric rice cooker broke. They thought they will just save the money and go back to cooking the way they used to when they were kids. They liked the nostalgia --- but they also like having an extra 30 mins everyday. Stirring the pot over the stovetop and watching the water boil away was not how they wanted to spend their time.
I don't understand. When I cook rice on the stove, I leave it alone. Heat until it simmers (takes only a moment, I start with 190F water), put the lid on and turn the heat down to minimum, set timer for 20-30 minutes and walk away.
We even have a rice cooker, too, but it stays in the pantry because it's less convenient to take it down and set it up than just doing a pot on the stove.
Note: If you are wanting to do this yourself, if you get one with any electronics in it (even an led power light), you should modify the capacitive dropper power supply for the electronics to operate on 60hz. For a well designed circuit, forgetting to do so means a resistor/zenier will be running hotter, for a very cheap circuit it can let magic smoke out.
From my experience one of the biggest reasons why people don't have an electric kettle is because they often don't think they have a use for them. Tons of people in the US would really only use it for making coffee, of which drip coffee makers were incredibly popular for a long time. So needing fast hot water is somewhat rare, and usually when its needed in regards to cooking you can just measure your water in a measuring cup and microwave it for a couple of minutes which is just about as fast.
The people I know who actually use electric kettles in the US are:
* Those who brew a lot of tea (far less common in US than globally)
* Those who often do alternative coffee brewing methods (pour over, french press, aeropress, etc)
* Those who make a lot of ramen or other instant noodles and have limited kitchen spaces (college students)
Me, I use the high output burner on the gas range and a traditional kettle.
Note that other European and Asian kitchen gadgets have had no trouble making inroads in the United States. While some people obviously do have electric kettles here, they're far, far from being the ubiquitous thing they are in British kitchens.
Visiting my family, however, I now have to flick the switch on twice - autopilot usually means the water has cooled below the supposed optimal infusion temperature by the time I return to the kitchen.
Electric Kettles are (or were) ubiquitous when I grew up in Canada and the US. They take a little longer to heat up, but you’re talking 3-4 min instead of 1-2.
My friend got me a gift of a hot water dispenser like they use in Asia and I’ve never looked back. On demand hot water? Even waiting a min for a kettle to warm seems like a burden. They use very little electricity since they are well insulated.
Nah, they're also not uncommon in the Netherlands, where I'm from, and Germany, where my partner's from (don't know if I'd call them "common" though).
What I found truly surprising is that they're impossible to find in Sweden, where we live. You'd think that hot water bottles would become more common the further up north you go.
Ha, you're just too modern up there. Come to think of it I've not seen one either down here in Australia for many decades. Maybe they've finally died out altogether.
Ref: Wodehouse... Bertie Wooster.
Around 15 min in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uWIGhNPl0g
This was an eye opening moment. LED's are great but if you really want to make a dent in energy usage of buildings it's heating and ventilation. Why can't we live in a world where everyone wears heated clothes and we just leave the windows open (even in winter)?
Seems like heating a person is much more efficient than heating an entire house, in which we never occupy more than 1% of the available floor space at any one time...
Because even with heated clothes, you can get frostbite on exposed skin. Not to mention frozen water pipes, the effective inability to remove clothes to clean yourself, and technology stops working when it gets too cold.
Even igloos are at or above freezing on the inside.
I think the response was mainly about confusing being “open” and being “wide open”. Nobody said you should let the wind enter your house (that'd be really inconvenient even at warm temperature “Oh! All my paper is gone”) but leaving them open enough to get enough air renewal to get rid of Covid aerosol won't get you wind chill.
After we got married and my wife moved in, we use the heat a lot, lot more since she can't stand the cold (she's fine without the AC - even more so than me). The electric bill during the peak winter months easily balloons to $300-400 now.
If it's not, then most of that bill is likely to be heating.
That bill seems very high - through winter with my reverse cycle ACs I spend less then that to more or less constantly heat my entire house.
1. https://www.sce.com/residential/rates/Standard-Residential-R...
They were constantly miserable, because their hands, nose etc. were cold. You cannot really perform most of your home activities with gloves on.
Plus, the lady suffered from incessant UTIs.
You need good clothing, but also a certain constitution which does not eagerly pull blood from your extremities. A beard probably helps as well.
When it's 15°C outside, heating to 16°C will take ~1/16 the energy that it takes to heat to 16°C when it is 0°C outside.
"Somewhat surprisingly, the researchers found that happiness is maximized at 57 degrees Fahrenheit." http://gymlion.com/what-temperature-makes-you-the-happiest/
I grew up in a big drafty old house that was typically around 62F/16.5C during the day and 55F/13C at night in the winter. We wore wool sweaters and had big down blankets and didn't think much about it. Visiting friends and family who kept their houses much warmer was actually really unpleasant–many nights spent laying awake on top of the covers, too hot to sleep.
These days I live in a NYC apartment with overpowered radiators and a thermostat I don't control where it sometimes creeps up to 78F/25.5C inside until we have to open the windows. Now going back home to visit my parents is COLD! My hands go numb just sitting on the couch reading a book.
Even my wife–who friends and family know as always being too cold–adapted in time to her rented attic room in grad school where it was often cold enough to see your breath in the morning. I'm into the idea of expanding my comfort zone but that was taking it a bit far for my taste!
It's not fair to expect that approach to work for everyone everywhere, but there are plenty that could do this instead of wasting so much energy on creating a homogenous environment year round.
The worse is when the office aircons are set so low that you catch a cold in the middle of the summer heatwave...
btw, the Arduino project is this one: https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/simp-team/how-to-make-a...
I got a little heated desk/writing pad online, and it is amazing.
With it turned to high it becomes almost too warm to touch. The mouse and keyboard heat comfortably. After a couple hours I can reduce the room temp a few degrees and still feel rather comfortable.
Sounds pretty radical, but if you think about it, it sounds interesting. Specially now with the pandemic. In the first months our schools in Germany were forced to leave their windows open, even in the winter. I don't know how long they did this, but it must have been hard for them.
If everybody had such heated clothing, this sounds like an interesting idea, including in the context you're putting it in.
Then again, buildings need to be kept warm so that the humidity doesn't cause mold.
Either your hand-clothing is inhibiting movement and sensation. Or the cold is numbing your hands.
Frozen pipes, and possibly other issues I’m not thinking of.
No need to go to extremes. Turn down the heat during the day and wear a sweater. People have to spend time outside anyway so they should already dress warm.
At night turn off the heat or down significantly more. Have warm comforter. Set the timer to turn the heat on before you wake up.
In a cold house the clothes would take far longer to dry.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-05/the-curio...
It's not uncommon to be sub zero C for half the morning in the workshop where I work.
I'm able to tolerate it by being able to spend about 30% of my day in front of a 2000 watt heater and by wearing a close fitting AEG branded batter electric heated jacket with two polar fleece jumpers over it, as well as one or layers of micro fleece thermal leggings.
Dressing appropriately certainly help!
Orright place to visit if you're in to that sort of thing, wouldn't want to live there, the heat and humidity are unbearable if you work in a workshop environment like I do.
If the goal is to keep the place warm, shouldn't the windows be closed?
(I'm from a tropical part of the world where there's no such thing as winter)
But the construction industry doesn't want to change because that'll mean less profits... If you buy a cookie cutter home it's probably been funded by a hedge fund, who is going to earn a pretty nice return when you buy it. This isn't just a US thing, in most of the Western World it's the same. Building housing is a very profitable business.
I live in Northern Europe and the building code here requires insulation and air tigheness levels that actually exceed Passive House. All new houses must have a heat demand of less than 15kW/m2/year. That's in a place where it regularly gets to -25C / -10F in winter. Of course all the big construction companies complained about these regulations when they came out, saying how it would make housing so much more expensive - but at the end of the day it has very little impact on the overall price, and you actually save in the long run due to much lower heating costs.
You don't even really need heat though. I spent a couple of months with one of these in 0c to -20c conditions and was never cold https://rab.equipment/uk/expedition-8000-suit
You don't end up doing the laundry etc so often though. I think passive haus stuff has more chance in the market.
* Every household has an electric kettle
* Kettles boil very quickly (due to power differences)
* Most households have radiator-style heating, which takes much, much longer to heat up a room than US-style forced-air heating
The US secretly has 240V power almost everywhere, but we use center-tapped transformers upstream of the service connection that provide two 120V legs (180 degrees out of phase). So lighting and appliances all get 120V (typically 15A), with the exception of high-power items like cooktops, ovens, and these machines we have for drying our laundry indoors.
I'd suggest that over redoing your outlet, though you will have to periodically descale your water boiler, because of sheer utility and portability (you can move and you'll still be able to just plug it into a standard 1-phase 120V outlet.)
Recently we had a bought of dry cold weather. In -10 C and dry I was wearing less insulation and feeling warmer than +5 C with high humidity. Real eye opener to understanding the impact of humidity and how I can adapt to my winter climate better.
A bamboo sleeping mat also works very well in hot weather. Put it on top of a foam mattress. The gaps between the bamboo allow air flow under your body. The bamboo also wicks away perspiration. The mat multiplies the effectiveness of a fan or air conditioner, since it allows the air to reach under your body. When I lived in Taiwan, my bamboo sleeping mat helped me sleep well through the hot and humid summer.
Water beds also work well in hot weather. The water cools down at night. Cover the water bed with a blanket during the day to insulate it from the heat. In the evening, get under the blanket and feel the cool water draw the heat out of your body. It's far more effective than an air conditioner. When I lived in Ghana, my water bed made the hot season almost tolerable.
Perspiration causes two problems: wet clothing and smell. Wear a thin synthetic t-shirt and thin synthetic underpants to prevent wet clothing. Upgrade to thin merino wool to also prevent smell.
This is the UK, so "extreme" is probably laughable, also not so humid so evaporation still works :)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30024127
We now use "Wheat Bags" ... cloth bags, usually cylindrical, filled with wheat. Heat in a microwave and use where one would use a hot-water bottle, but without the danger of a leak.
I still prefer them over hot water containers. We have some that are floppy and flexible, ideal for wrapping around the back of the neck and over the shoulders.
But most importantly, hot water bottles are really hot and much better at keeping me warm.
We've used both and settled on the wheat bag, but I recognise that other people will make other choices, and that's fine.
You can pop a clove or two in as well to mask the rice scent.
I find that between the bottle itself and the surrounding sheets and mattress, a lot of heat is absorbed in that first hour. Pre-heating everything should keep the hot water bottle warm until morning. I find this to be an unreasonably effective life hack.
Even with the very best dry microwavable pillows, there will be at least a 20x difference in heat capacity.
And your premise doesn't make sense. A hot water bottle under the blankets will also be at body temperature after (many) hours. There's no reason for it to get colder than the wheat pillows. And the fabric covering feels just as warm.
With a woolen cover or padded cotton, the heat release is much slower and more uniform, so the HWB is more comfortable, last a lot longer, and because you only touch (relatively insulating / insulated) fabric it never feels really cold.
However, the more usual situation was to put the HWB in a knitted woollen jacket. That kept the heat in and it didn't burn one and was still warm in the morning.
That's why wrapping the rubber container in a woolen or padded cotton cover mitigates the effect a lot, it will slow down the heat release, and once the water has cooled down it'll limit the heat transfer back into the container, and thus won't feel cold.
We do have a cylindrical one but the two biggest are shaped like mini pillows, more rectangular patterned.
Combine them with a lap blanket, hot tea, brand new thick winter socks, insulated slippers, a hoodie, 50 push-ups before work and a 400W zone heater, and you will be able to survive my office in the winter :D
Edit: and indeed, don't forget the winter socks! I prefer them in wool. Also a baggy fleece sweater/vest made of polar fleece (which I can't find anywhere anymore) with the thickest and highest collar possible.
Very interesting. Did you find any noticeable difference between the longevity of its heating as compared with water? The reason I ask is that the specific heat of water is higher than that of wheat so water should retain the heat longer.
BTW, I'm familiar with hot water bottles, they were all the rage when I was a kid before electric blankets became commonplace.
P.S.: I can't say I ever had one leak but I reckon I'd have come close. After some use, they'd start to perish around the filling point/screw stopper. The idea was to always keep an eye on it and once one noticed the first signs of perishing then not to gamble too long before replacing it.
It's all about transferring energy/heat from one place to another.
Thanks for that.
On inspection we found the rubber had perished, probably as the bottle was around five years old. The replacement cost less than £10, including fluffy cover. We'll be sure to inspect this one more frequently when filling.
Not only does the bottle provide her warmth, to helps ease the pain in her arthritic feet.
Before sleeping I pull it out and give it to the dog who knows to curl around it.
I’ve been given bottles made from other plastics but I’ve always been dubious about them.
I have cracked the lids, but that takes a lot of work and an aged lid. The lids are made of a different, softer material which is more compliant to make a good seal. I do replace the lids every few years.
Speaking of getting your gear soaked (not): a good habit in the snow is to put a nalgene of water upside down into the leg of each boot overnight to keep them from freezing. I guess you’d be concerned about that too.
Can leave it in the bag all night, it'll still be warm in the morning.
Inside a snow cave he’s OK.
And I don't mean to keep promoting this brand but I've got their heated ski gloves too and they're amazing. I was night skiing and saw that one of the ski patrol ladies had a lit LED on her gloves. I asked her what that was and he told me it was this: https://fieldsheer.com/collections/womens/products/storm-glo... (wait, I wear women's gloves?) They're fantastic, I wore them skiing in 10ºF Vermont weather from 9am to 3pm on low heat. The batteries died around 3ish but I had hand warmers after that.
They're thick padded cotton, and once the vest has warmed up (which doesn't take too much time) it's really warm and comfy, if a tad bulky.
Not a factor when (again) not exposed to the elements.
> I suspect the reputation of this type of jacket is more cultural than anything.
It really is not. I suggested it from experience because I have one in my closet.
"Low-tech Magazine questions the blind belief in technological progress, and talks about the potential of past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society."
"update your garments when new firmware becomes available."
Now there's a sentence that I suspect we wouldn't have imagined 10 years ago...
It's been a number of years since I've done this research, so your options should be even more broad now, because heated clothing that isn't motorcycle/snowmobile-specific is a relatively new thing (thanks, lithium batteries!).
Anyway, the stuff is out there, you'll just have to go look for it.
Now if only she would gift me one in return...
Personally I find that either I'm doing low intensity physical activity and I can just put on my Sorel Glacier XT boots and Hestra Army Leather mitts and stay warm, or I'm doing something more high intensity and my feet and hands only need normal boots and gloves.
In both cases I wear a thick merino base layer, fleece midlayer with varying thickness according to temperature and activity level, and GoreTex Pro outer layer that has zippers under arms and along thighs such that you can adapt ventilation seamlessly to variations in activity level. This works nicely from +5 C all the way down to -30 or -40 C (depending on wind chill and humidity, you might not last very long at -40 C though).
I use it for a motorcycle jacket.
I use them occasionally if I get cold hands.
My husband got me this heated blanket from LL Bean and it is my absolute favorite gift he's given me in 15 years together! This thing is amazing! I want to wfh just to curl my feet in the blanket. https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/124706
I want to get one for every family member now.
I had to chuckle at that! Low Tech Magazine is such a cool site! So many really interesting things to read about there, low tech hacking at it's finest.
Was going to add a warning not to drink the water from plastic bottles though due to plasticisers.
Unlined Ti metal bottles should be fine though.
If you buy something like a Sigg aluminium bottle or no-name copy it will be lined with some kind of plastic.
If you use a light weight drinking bladder that will be plastic too. I've read that risk is much higher if you apply heat to a plastic container. This is why you should avoid microwaving in plastic containers.
So that leaves you either only using a cold liquids in plastic and accepting some risk or buying expensive (and relatively heavy) titanium drinking bottles.
Klean Kanteen?
Maybe a bit heavy for me when hiking but really nice for day to day stuff.
I like the Vargo stuff. Also the new Keego flexible bottles look really interesting.
I think you could do the same with wax for the hot version. Hot wax would last longer than hot water because of the phase change. I assume this is not commercially available because of the dangers of heating wax which should be done in a hot water bath. Some people would inevitably ignore the instructions and burn down their house.
Edit after a bit of research: Maybe the lesser heat capacity of wax offsets the benefits of the phase change.
Instead of staying at an ideal temperature, water will gradually cool down.
[0] https://www.amazon.com/Chillz-Cooling-Dogs-Large-Size/dp/B00...
I wonder if there's a semi-low-tech way of taking advantage of a phase change for extra capacity in something like a hot water bottle.
(protip: you can reuse them by soaking them in distilled water for a while after they dry up0
Pretty much the only thing better would be ammonia, and it's not necessarily as good for water bottles: it has a higher mass heat capacity, but a lower volume heat capacity.
And of course you're dealing with a large volume of ammonia, which is not exactly innocuous.
> I wonder if there's a semi-low-tech way of taking advantage of a phase change for extra capacity in something like a hot water bottle.
There are reusable handwarmers which do that, you heat them to liquid, then phase-change them to solid. The advantage is mostly that you can trigger the release though, their heat capacity is not amazing.
It had damping inside so it didn't slosh around all that much.
They were very heavy. I had to get rid of mine when the downstairs neighbor could no longer open her door due to warping of the doorframe in a very old house.
I'm not sure, but I think that most (if not all) of them had heaters because water can pull an awful lot of heat from your body over the course of 8 hours even if it's quite warm (if it's under 95F or so, you can cool off quite fast by sleeping on a bare waterbed mattress; a bare waterbed mattress under 80F can put you at risk of hypothermia).
That being said, the mattresses had insulating covers so it's possible there were some where heaters were not needed.
Hot Nalgenes are indeed still all the rage for keeping warm in your sleeping bag at night.
Where I live winters are usually somewhat cold, but houses are more or less well insulated and heating is widely available. However, summers have become quite warm nowadays and there are very strict rules around installing AC.
Thus, I was thinking if a water bottle can keep me warm, perhaps it could also cool me down?
So what I do is put a handful of ice cubes into water and then fill that into my water bottle. Although last summer was not the best for a test it worked quite well. I got through a full workday (~30°) with 2 bottles.
I'm aware that using my fridge does contribute to some degree to the heat in the apartment. But given the little amount of ice needed I'm pretty sure its negligible and certainly more efficient than AC. I also want to note that it is way more comfortable (at least to me) than having these humidified ventilators that are quite popular nowadays.
Ha I never thought of it this way.
In modern times it is more than possible to build well-insulated buildings that can be heated affordably to reasonable indoor temperatures everywhere in the living space.
Almost nobody does this.
A fourth and possibly much cheaper alternative --- a regular plastic bag, or multiple layers of them if they're too thin. They are polyethylene, which is flexible without plasticisers, and many people already have some non-holed ones lying around.
They're not designed for rugged use or hot contents, and will fail far more often than a hot water bottle or Nalgene bottle would.
At best, you'll find yourself, clothing, carpets, and/or bedding soaked. At worst, badly scalded.
Don't do this.
It's the most comfortable thing I've ever experienced and I've converted 10s of people to my religion. Electric blankets in every bed!
Lisbon's average January low: 47F = 8.3C
Boston's average January low: 23F = -5C
And there are people that go around in shorts in the winter there too. What's the point of this?
"Because I don’t have the time nor the budget to send hot water bottles to everyone, I have written this article. It’s largely based on my personal experience – I have been using hot water bottles for many years and they are the only heat source in my apartment."
But then, "Low-tech Magazine is written by Kris De Decker (Barcelona, Spain)."
Barcelona's average low in February is 47F, too.
It's currently 32F (0C) here in lovely northern Alabama.
I’d love me a <36v blanket but 110v or even 220v gives me the willies.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterproof-Electric-Temperature-Adj...
I wear a pair of those thin disposable hotel slippers (did I mention I’m northern) to help diffuse the heat a bit, because on the highest setting it’s just a bit too warm with just socks on, but it probably wouldn’t cut through regular slippers.
It’s also great to stick at the foot of the bed an hour before you turn in - much prefer just my feet being warm rather than the whole bed as you’d find with a full electric blanket.
Highly recommended.
That article is a little silly because it's talking about heated clothes only making sense indoors (from an energy saving perspective), since it can allow you to use less energy heating your home. If you are sitting around in your house, electric heating pads or blankets probably make more sense than plugging your clothing into the wall, especially since plug-in clothes don't really exist, but heating pads / blankets do.
In reality you’d need pretty low heating needs for that to work, the bigger rigs would have a hard time reaching 1kW, which is not even a portable heater.
If you use it to have something warm in your bed, if you leave it below the blanket it will still be warm in the morning. But putting it with boiling water in the bed means that you just can't touch it because it's really hot. You may put your feet on it for 10 to 20 seconds or put it on your stomach for the same amount of time, to heat up quick, but then you need to place it somewhere where it has no direct contact with you.
I just love mine, which is one made of flexible rubber (or pvc). When I get up I start making my coffee and in parallel I heat up a kettle of water until it boils, then i use that one under the desktop for my feet. Sometimes I put it on my lap or hug it for a while. It's worth it, but only during the winter.
With bad isolation: uncomfortably hot for 30 mins, ok for 30 mins and ice cold in the morning!
Oddly I also like a really cold bedroom, I have the window open a bit mostly all year round.
There are even different thicknesses of cover, depending whether you want lots of heat (thin cover so you don't get that rubber feel) or more of a lower temp and slow release (thicker padded cover).
Mine is a little longer...
It's filled now with hot water after 7 years.
A good creative writing piece, but somewhat out of touch.
Good thing we never have electric supply issues.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/No-more-gas-stoves...
> A draft code update released Thursday by the California Energy Commission would require new single-family homes to be equipped with circuits and panels that would allow them to be powered by all-electric appliances for heating, cooking and drying clothes.
> The new code would not prohibit natural gas infrastructure, a step many environmentalists would like the state to take. But if the draft is ultimately authorized by the commission this year, it would require new homes to be “electric ready,” meaning they’re prepared to be transitioned away from gas appliances if any are used initially.
The low tech version is to paint them black and put them in the focus of a roughly parabolic reflector.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zh29DJI_wE&list=PLEZ2hvCDKU...
Whereas you can boil a kettle in under a minute, decant the water, and you can stay warm for hours.
When Covid made outdoor socializing necessary, we used out hot water bottles at restaurants and at fire pits.
Blankets and gloves aren't as good at keeping nether regions warm on cold surfaces, and anything that needs to be plugged in is a no go. A minor point too but I wouldn't want batteries/electrics around fire.
Our hot water bottles kept us toasty for hours and you could also tell easily when it was running out of power, so to speak.
We've also taken them to winter cabins when you don't know how convenient electrical outlets will be. You can have several of them for when you're on the sofa, to pre-warm the bed, make the dog cozy.
Next week we will have a story about how suffering through summer heat with a wet towel and sleeping all day are “making a comeback”.
It's an option with some cultural history behind it, and might be just the right solution for some use cases.
> regressive
That depends on your definition of regressive. If you designate it as regressive, you create a circular argument: it must be worse, somehow.
IMHO, there's nothing inherently better about tech that is newer - why do I care if it's newer? - and many see complexity as the enemy of good engineering. Technology is tools and the only question is, how well do they deliver on the needs and specifications (which include efficiency and cost)?
> Why enjoy whole home climate control ...
Whole home climate control has more whole world climate impact, so it doesn't deliver well on many people's specifications.
Because it is more expensive and more energy intensive than a direct application of heat to the occupant's skin?
Some people care about their resource usage, or how much money they spend on climate control. You also have situations where multiple people live in the same climate control zone, and have different preferences for temperature. If I like it at 67 and my wife likes it at 74, and we're both uncomfortable at 70, how can whole home climate control solve this issue?
Here's an example, the open source community has spent thousands of man hours developing various note-taking apps. And they're pretty good, usually. I could use something like Foam to manage my notes, learn to use the keyboard shortcuts, figure out how to sync it between my devices, learn every other little thing about it...
Or I could just use pen and paper. Which requires no electricity, no computer, is durable and does not have a learning curve to use.