[Steph Hen]

A friend told me her heating oil bill had doubled from the last time she ordered.

[Fleecewife]

Oil's gone up, firewood's gone up (it used to be £40 a trailer load 25 years ago, now it's £200 last week here, up from £140 the previous load), I don't know about coal, but I do know gas and electricity are going up, even more so now with the Ukraine/Russia war.
I get really cold these days because I can't move around much.  My usual remedy for feeling cold (going for a brisk walk or a bicycle ride) is no longer possible.  All that's left is more jumpers - today when it really isn't very cold, I have 3 vests and 3 jumpers on indoors and add coats etc when I go out - I can hardly move they seem so heavy and stiff 
It does seem that there's a whole lot more to consider than just what is best for the planet and yet when we get it wrong we all head for disaster.

[doganjo]

We might not need to worry about it soon - the Russians have captured a Nuclear plant!

[Fleecewife]

We might not need to worry about it soon - the Russians have captured a Nuclear plant!

Thanks Doganjo - that scares me  less

[chrismahon]

Said on the news here that nuclear plant is the biggest in Europe with 6 reactors producing 20% of Ukraine's electricity. The reactor shelters were built to be bomb proof- made of steel and reinforced concrete because of the threat of war with Russia. They are running flat out at the moment and therefore carry the major risk of overheating and meltdown if the cooling system is interrupted. So it was incredibly stupid of the Russians to launch a missile strike on it. Fortunately the resulting fire was extinguished after several hours and no radiation leaks have been detected.


It's pretty cold in the house at the moment (15C). In the meantime our oil order has been confirmed for delivery 9th -15th. Can't give us a price until the day before, at which time we say yes or no. Being realistic, with just 500 litres left (result of a very cold November) we can't really say no, because March can be cold as well and we've still to heat water. On average we burn about 1000 litres a year. According to the French statistics a 130m2 house in France burns on average 2600 litres a year, so our usage is pretty small and whilst cost increases are painful they won't be as bad as most. Vehicles have full tanks which usually lasts us 4 months. We have gas for the hob and petrol for the mowers, which don't see much use now since we bought a self-propelled mower/ strimmer- we just let the grass grow because that machine will take down up to half a metre in one cut and doesn't use any more fuel doing it. A neatly cut lawn is a luxury we don't need.

[Anke]

since we bought a self-propelled mower/ strimmer- we just let the grass grow because that machine will take down up to half a metre in one cut and doesn't use any more fuel doing it. A neatly cut lawn is a luxury we don't need.

Whar make is yours? Looking for something that can take longer grass to be fed fresh to the goats over summer... (I have a strimmer, but it is very hard on my shoulders and runs on electric(not battery) - so I need to be within 60m of a socket, the old petrol one is just too heavy full stop)

[chrismahon]

I had never seen one of these in the UK @Anke, possibly because of 'health and safety' rules, but they are common in France for cutting areas that the local farmer can't get to. Probably 10x faster than a strimmer- perhaps even quicker? Sold as a Tondeuse- Débroussailleuse (mower- brushcutter).


Ours is a Kiva Odyssee V2 with a Honda 200 engine, variable speed transmission, variable height cut and wheel differentials. Anything less isn't worth having because it will be a real handful to manoeuvre. Runs on three wheels, the front being a swivel and the rear are 45cm with solid rubber tyres. Basically a very beefed-up self propelled mower, but side eject. To cut brush (max 15mm thick) the front of the deck is removed so that the material isn't knocked over by the skirt. You can fit a deflector to the eject side so that the material is left in a neat row for gathering. There is another French make and Husqvarna used to make them. Extreme care is needed to avoid slicing your toes off- it has a 10mm thick hardened steel blade, so safety boots probably won't save them.

[Anke]

I had never seen one of these in the UK @Anke, possibly because of 'health and safety' rules, but they are common in France for cutting areas that the local farmer can't get to. Probably 10x faster than a strimmer- perhaps even quicker? Sold as a Tondeuse- Débroussailleuse (mower- brushcutter).


Ours is a Kiva Odyssee V2 with a Honda 200 engine, variable speed transmission, variable height cut and wheel differentials. Anything less isn't worth having because it will be a real handful to manoeuvre. Runs on three wheels, the front being a swivel and the rear are 45cm with solid rubber tyres. Basically a very beefed-up self propelled mower, but side eject. To cut brush (max 15mm thick) the front of the deck is removed so that the material isn't knocked over by the skirt. You can fit a deflector to the eject side so that the material is left in a neat row for gathering. There is another French make and Husqvarna used to make them. Extreme care is needed to avoid slicing your toes off- it has a 10mm thick hardened steel blade, so safety boots probably won't save them.

OK, will do some further checking... Many thanks.

[Fleecewife]

www.cheapmowers.com/acatalog/Efco-DR-52-VBR6-Wheeled-Brush-Cutter-Mower--EFDR52VBR6.html

[chrismahon]

That's along similar lines @Fleecewife , but it may be a bit under-powered, heavy and difficult to manouvre without the front jockey wheel (I'm not as fit as I was). The rear wheels on our machine are very slim and we have no slipping issues. Ours was €1450, so at current exchange rate about £1200. It weighs 62Kg, so about double a standard self-propelled lawnmower. Perhaps there is something else in the Efco range?

[Fleecewife]

That's along similar lines @Fleecewife , but it may be a bit under-powered, heavy and difficult to manouvre without the front jockey wheel (I'm not as fit as I was). The rear wheels on our machine are very slim and we have no slipping issues. Ours was €1450, so at current exchange rate about £1200. It weighs 62Kg, so about double a standard self-propelled lawnmower. Perhaps there is something else in the Efco range?

That was one picked at random from those on offer, to show something similar is available here. Plenty more around
We bought an Allan scythe thingy for cutting around our trees but Mr F can barely use it as it doesn't manoeuvre at all, straight lines only