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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to go to a hotel tonight as we have no heating

114 replies

buckingfrolicks · 14/02/2016 17:29

DP is responsible for ensuring we have gas for our large, old and fucking freezing house. It is already 2 degrees out there and dropping.

He tells me this morning that we have run out, completely, and gas is coming tomorrow 'sometime'.

We have a coal fire in two rooms - that's it. No electric heaters.

We have 2 older teen DCs one of whose BF's is coming over for them to cook a valentine meal - on what? The fucking coal fire? There is NO GAS so the cooker doesn't work. I can't even get a cup of fucking tea.

AIBU to want to fuck off to the nearest hotel with the DCs and send him the bill?

OP posts:

Liara · 14/02/2016 20:29

I'm in a large old fucking freezing off grid house too.

You really, really need a good log burner which pipes hot air into the bedrooms. We have one in the kitchen, it acts as cooker, oven and heats up a large part of the house by itself.

I don't think I would survive without it. Really. We actually no longer use the gas central heating at all, and just keep warm with the log burner (we do close off the largest icebox rooms off in the winter, though).

listsandbudgets · 14/02/2016 20:42

Wouldn't bother me. We often turn heating off overnight and snuggle down even at this time of year.

That said I didnt ever experience central heating until I went to university then I spent most of the first week trying to wrk out trying to turn the radiator in my room off as I was boiling. We often had ice on the inside of the windows growing up and my sister would get into bed with me just to get warm.

You'll survive one night

steppemum · 14/02/2016 20:43

Ok, solar power can be stored in batteries etc, but if that is true, then you can run a kettle off the batteries.

Our solar power however does not store, and neither do all those ones you see on peoples roofs. They are used now or they feed into the grid, but they do not store.

It is actually very inefficient to store solar or wind power, which is why there are problems with large scale reusable energy.

Liara · 14/02/2016 20:46

If you are off grid you have to store your power, but a kettle will kill the batteries so you simply do not have an electric one. They are incredibly power hungry and such a strong pull will inevitably shorten the life of the batteries.

listsandbudgets · 14/02/2016 20:47

Do you have a trivit OP - sounds like you could do with one to boil kettles.

ouryve · 14/02/2016 20:49

I grew up without central heating.

Do you not have an electric kettle?

ouryve · 14/02/2016 20:50

Doh - question answered!

Chocolateteabag · 14/02/2016 20:54

We lived off grid for 2 years when I was 13 eleventy million years ago in the early 90's after the electrics were deemed unsafe and turned off by Norweb
We survived with a wood burning aga, gas powered lights and lots of books.
I remember mum getting the copper bed warmer out on really cold nights.

After tea, get your water bottles filled up!

Liara · 14/02/2016 20:55

You can get wood burning agas? I thought they only used fossil fuels. I'd love a wood burning one.

bakeoffcake · 14/02/2016 21:00

You definitely need a woodburner, you won't believe the heat they give off. They a re bloody amazing.

As he's got form for this, I would buy and hide a small store of emergency supplies- including a bottle of gas.

He sound too disorganised to be living off grid! I can understand why you're fuming.

honeyroar · 14/02/2016 21:03

We live in the country and have oil. We often run out a day or so before deliveries. It's no big deal. You light the fire, pop on electric blankets etc. No big deal at all.

But if you live in these sort of houses or rural locations you really need some form of backup. In OP's case you need an electric kettle and elec blankets or heaters. What if it snows tomorrow and the truck can't get there.. I've had that happen once.

bakeoffcake · 14/02/2016 21:05

Me too honeyroar. We ran out of gas as it snowed and the lorry couldn't get through. It was two days before Christmas, which was interesting!

HitsAndMrs · 14/02/2016 21:07

Heat up your bed with a hair dryer!

kipperydippery · 14/02/2016 21:35

Close off all rooms not heated by the 2 fires. Teen DC sleep in one room by the fire, you & DH sleep in the other (make sure DH has the coldest bit!).

We only had central heating recently, we relied on a multifuel stove. Tonight when it is really chilly shutting all doors has made a huge difference. -we may have a new boiler but the £250 gas bill for 2 months nearly killed us-

bibbitybobbityyhat · 14/02/2016 21:41

Oh I see, the enormous drip feed after 2 and a half hours puts a different slant on things.

BackforGood · 14/02/2016 23:07

For me the enormous drip feed loses any sympathy I originally had.
In my first reply I was going to say something about a camping stove, or about keeping a kettle you can heat on the coal fire, but checked myself, thinking 'not everyone is a camper / outdoor type'. However, if you live somewhere so remote you have neither electricity (grid) nor mains gas, then any family with an ounce of common sense would have built in back up for times like this, surely.

tangerinesarenottheonlyfruit · 14/02/2016 23:16

bibbitybobbityyhat how rude! Who made you the thread police?

Personally I think the OP's revelation that she lives off-grid has made things more interesting, but doesn't make much difference to her original question.

And anyway if you write huge long OPs no fucker answers them!

tangerinesarenottheonlyfruit · 14/02/2016 23:19

"However, if you live somewhere so remote you have neither electricity (grid) nor mains gas, then any family with an ounce of common sense would have built in back up for times like this, surely."

I think that's the OP's point for her DP isn't it? Hence wanting to bugger off to a hotel.

She should possibly take more of an active interest though.

buckingfrolicks why is it your DP gets to have the final say on whether you put in big gas tanks or not? Does this happen frequently?

landrover · 14/02/2016 23:27

So why don't you take charge of the gas, if you know he is useless?

liinyo · 14/02/2016 23:37

I would have thought if you live off grid then you would have to expect this sort 0f thing occasionally and just rough it for a few days. Even if you live in the centre of a city there are sometimes power cuts or boiler breakdowns and people just have to get by as not many of us could afford an unplanned hotel break.

It is relatively easy to keep warm, duvets, coats, fires etc. I am more interested in how you get by for lighting. Is it candles or kerosene or gas lights?

SpaceDinosaur · 14/02/2016 23:40

OP it sounds like you don't really love the Off Grid of your home (and who the fuck can blame you?!)

Is moving an option? Perhaps it will show your H precisely how beaten you are by the situation and prompt him to sort out or move?

lifesalongsong · 14/02/2016 23:52

How do you get internet access off grid?

manicinsomniac · 15/02/2016 00:40

4G maybe?

toffeeboffin · 15/02/2016 01:35

God there's a hell of a lot of folk living off grid /with gas/ etc. Thought everyone had CH these days!

(Imagining everyone having beautiful old homes in remote control parts of Yorkshire and Scotland)

toffeeboffin · 15/02/2016 01:37

FWIW I'd be snuggling up by now in the local travelodge watching TV and drinking wine.

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