What is the tightest thing you do on a regular basis?
Here I am heating my apartment with my gas stovetop, purely because the gas isn't individually metered so is included in our rent. It got me thinking, I wonder what the tightest thing ozbargain users do on a regular basis.
What are your worst tight-arse habits?
+23 votesMy girlfriend… ???
Seriously, you should be careful using your gas stove for heating. Cooking is one thing but using it for an extended period can lead to a build up of poisonous carbon monoxide. You should have the area vented so that you get fresh air, which sort of defeats the purpose of trapping all that heat.
+4 votesmacharmaine on 04/05/2012 - 23:26 ¶good post. ilke taking really really long hot showers at the gym since its already included in your gym membership,with unlimited shower gel too! so even if you don't work out at the gym you still go there for the shower!!! and no need to clean up my hair like i would at home.
Magnate, I was just researching the same issue. I too have a gas stovetop that is unmetered. My research on the web kept pointing to potential hazards regarding CO2 poisoning. Surely, cooking stock or soup or whatever for extended periods would have the same risk as using the stovetop for heating purposes. Maybe keeping the vent on low. Do you just leave the stove on or do you have a pot on there?
Trance N Dance on 05/05/2012 - 00:54 ¶Having something ontop of the fire should make it worse actually… the pot or whatever would limit the amount of oxygen available and cause incomplete combustion which would lead to not only the production of CO2 but the production of CO which is even worse.
- Trance N Dance on 05/05/2012 - 01:14 ¶
For one you get food and heat, and the other you get only heat?
Fundamentally there's nothing different, but if you're cooking and using it for heat you're essentially exposing yourself to twice the levels of CO and CO2 which is bad. Generally when you cook you use the rangehood fan to vent the fumes and odours, also removing some of the heat. Using it for heating on a cold night isn't going to be a couple of burners going for an hour, it will tend to be much longer and you won't be venting the toxic gases. Read these: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/129741_health-risks-of-gas-co... and http://www3.abe.iastate.edu/human_house/aen205.asp. You can buy CO carbon monoxide detectors fairly cheaply now, and are commonly available from hardware stores etc. where you would buy a smoke detector. They are typically only good for a couple of years though.
I only had it on for about half an hour. With all 4 burners going it's about 8000W of heat, which warms up the apartment pretty quickly! Had the door open a crack to get fresh air. As this is an apartment with only 1 exterior wall it doesn't take much to warm it up and it doesn't lose much heat.
There is no difference with either a pot on or off in terms of CO and NO2 production. So I consider that doing this is completely riskless from a pollutant point of view, else people would be dropping dead after cooking all the time. If I had left it on unusually long (hours or overnight) then that might be a different story.
There are flueless gas heaters available these days, which are essentially the same thing. See http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/energysafety/PDF/Publications/... for some guidelines on their use.
However it's not riskless if you're a clutz and going to do something stupid. Be careful, it is naked flame! When I use it I don't go into the kitchen, and if I need to use the kitchen I turn it off. For the love of God if you have kids don't do this!
+1 voteThere are flueless gas heaters available these days, which are essentially the same thing.
After pulling mine apart, there are a few differences.
- a flueless gas heater usually has a fan, which pushes the hot air around the room
- they will automatically turn off if the flame burns out (so the room doesn't fill with gas)
- Many are automatic, so they turn the fan/flame up and down depending on the temperature of the room
- Some have c02 sensors, so if there is too much dangerous gas in the room they will turn off.
+18 votesmadmouse58 on 04/05/2012 - 23:48 ¶walking into a store to buy something, then looking it up on ebay on my mobile phone to see if its cheaper.
chansthename on 16/05/2012 - 17:13 ¶oxymoron, as an ozbargainer the price is all that matters, what you do for it doesn't
eatwell365 on 05/05/2012 - 00:15 ¶Water savings tips - Wear the undies once, then inside out, and then back to front.
lord henry on 06/05/2012 - 23:58 ¶As of April this year I didn't have a full time student card = twice as expensive public transport. I bought a bike too - Found it is actually quicker most of the time anyway (live in inner east sydney)
+2 votesSave on accommodation when travelling.
Take a bivvy bag + sleeping bag. Sleep somewhere cheap, dry but safely.
Take a portable rubber shower rose (Bunnings $12)
Connect hose to tap in hotel or similar disabled toilets with floor drain. Preferably with hot water. Shower in thongs. Use newspaper to mop up excess water.
Repeat when necessary to enjoy a supercheap holiday.
Great for guaranteed free hot shower at airport/train/bus stopovers between long flights/trips.
+5 votesSleep in Station Wagon when on a driving holiday - Park at a football oval or behind a church
Take an extension lead to throw over the wall of the public toilet block at night, unplug hand-dryer, charge phone, boil kettle, run laptop etc
Bacon and eggs on the free BBQ next morning
Sneak into Caravan Park after dark or early morning for a free shower
snappy1234 on 05/05/2012 - 10:45 ¶Was on holiday and staying at a cheap apartment for a week…bit of a cold spell for a day or two,so look for heater ah none -just musty blankets no thanks electric fanforced oven worked well with door open :)
(no good if you have youngones tho)
+10 votesrealfamilyman on 06/05/2012 - 00:17 ¶Similar to the original post… Wife & I stayed in a hovel of a caravan park down the NSW south coast. There were gum trees and leaves everywhere like they never get picked up - so the ground was a mossy, soaked, mess. The trees also towered over the cabins - so from 4pm on it was FREEZING. Moisture was running down the glass! Nearly no-one was staying there. So I asked the girl at reception to have mercy - we were shivering - in bed! Can we borrow a fan heater? Nope - in fact, you're not even allowed to use your own in the cabins if you have one. Ok fine - so I turn the electric oven on, and left its door open. We couldn't sleep for fear of the place burning down. But at least we weren't freezing. It must've been on for 6-8 hours at least.
Make our own: Bread, pizza, muesli, crumpets, chicken salt, KFC! (look up "KFC TC34d"), handsoap… Also keep a disposable razor in an old jar with some vegetable oil so the blades last for months (I bought a pack of 20 before our second son was born. I'm still using the same pack - and he's 12). What else… We haven't paid for a movie since Chicken Run came out. Download everything for free.
Want something, ask on Freecycle. Who cares if it's not new. More money in the bank.
Bought a camping wok/gas ring and 9kg gas bottle to make our own chinese takeaway, instead of paying the ridiculous price they charge for a small container of mostly vegetables and liquid.
Local fire station had an open day yesterday with free sausage/bread. Took the kids there and that was lunch. ;-p
- +2 votesrealfamilyman on 08/05/2012 - 17:43 ¶
Hey, my mechanic was telling me a few weeks ago, his father used to cut shoes for him and his brothers out of old car tyres! He reckons it's why he has so many problems with his feet now. (I'm not convinced. If I work out how to make shoes out of car tyres though, give a decade and I'll let you all know.) :-O
- realfamilyman on 08/05/2012 - 17:40 ¶
Yeah, that would probably get rid of the water too. Although, I'm not sure it would last as long, seeing the razor would be kept in a steamy bathroom. (Even though the blades are stainless steel, they would probably still rust?)
+16 votesgreenpossum on 06/05/2012 - 09:53 ¶Take my own lunch to work. Only I wouldn't consider it a bad habit, just sensible, healthy and cheaper.
+3 votesspawnpoint on 09/05/2012 - 21:54 ¶$10 a day for 5 days is $50 a week. 4 Weeks in a month is $200 a month. 12 months in a year is $2400 a year. That's a new tv or a laptop or some other shit you could be buying on ozbargain.
+16 votes$2,400 on OzBargain means a new TV and a new laptop and many other sh!t…
But seriously, when I used to work in the CBD I'm amazed how much people spend on eat out lunch and coffee! $3-$4 a pop, once or twice a day — that adds up to quite a significant amount over 12 months.
- +2 votesspawnpoint on 09/05/2012 - 22:32 ¶
And these same people complain on Whirlpool that a $100K salary isn't enough.
Good one Scotty, in fact that accounts for my tv and laptop and freebies as well [all from OzB]. Thanks again for this wonderful site.
+1 voteYep, especially when i try tell my mates not to head down the 7eleven after work and get a pack of gum/ coke/ kit kat bar. Adds up to $10 a day. Ridiculous really. $50 a week for 52 weeks = $2500 +
You could buy a new Lenovo i3 laptop ($400) Panasonic Neo Plasma 42" for $500, a new One X for $550. And that's only really $1500 there.
He thinks he's an OzBargainer but i could never justify spending $3 on a chocolate bar and $2 for a pack of gum, and get this, $4 for a 600ml coke.
- greenpossum on 11/05/2012 - 09:32 ¶
That reminds of the other thing I do, take my own canned drinks which cost 40-50c each when I go out instead of paying $2 or more retail. I have a foam holder to keep it cool between the fridge and drinking. That also stops the condensation from forming.
+1 votesupabrudda on 28/06/2012 - 14:01 ¶When on hols, we goto the supermarket & place the cheap 1.25lt bottle in the freezer section, come back an hour later & tada - cold drink for the family for under $1!
+2 votesScrooge McDuck on 28/05/2013 - 12:04 ¶Come back 2 hours later & tada - sticky mess in the freezer!
- Postulative on 28/06/2012 - 11:44 ¶
I do that and have done it for the past 20+ years. That's a LOT of money saved. And a lot of ham and cheese sandwiches, with either a jam or peanut butter sandwich for dessert.
- +1 vote
ALWAYS have Selleys Urethane bond glue on hand to re-glue shoe soles. Clamp for 24 hours - good as new.
In fact urethane bond is better than the original glues used in shoes. The original glues are designed to fail after a certain time. Urethane bond keeps on keeping on.
Never throw shoes out until the soles are completely worn through.
Replace soles where possible.
Soak shoes overnight in White King and laundry powder regularly.
Buy black or dark colour sneakers - never white or light easily marked colours - as they are just part of the corporate marketing scam designed to make people think that they need new sneakers because their existing ones look a bit dirty and old. So they just keep on unnecessarily buying more.
huntress_love on 18/05/2012 - 11:28 ¶where do you get this glue from, coles, bunnings? i've been looking for glue that work with shoes?
- realfamilyman on 18/05/2012 - 11:45 ¶
As he said, Selleys (or any type of) urethane bond.
I worked in shoe repair/key cutting booth for a short time. They use a glue you paint onto both surfaces, then put both halves under a heater, to "activate" the glue. Then press the two halves together. It's obviously the best to use, but I never did see a name on the tin.
So maybe try doing the same with the Selleys - with a fan heater. Before you glue though, clean the surfaces of dirt, etc. and completely dry. Any greasy/sticky stuff you can probably remove with eucalyptus oil, then remove the eucalyptus oil residue with isopropyl alcohol. (You can buy small bottles of that at BigW, near the metho & turps.)
- Scrooge McDuck on 28/05/2013 - 12:06 ¶
You can wash your white sneakers to make them white again.
Either wipe down/scrub with soapy water or remove the inner sole and submerge them.
+3 votes- Pack breakfast cereals such as Cheerio, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, etc and different combinations of nuts in zip lock bags and bring along as snack when we go out, especially to movies. Mostly Kids Flix at Village, or at ACMI.
- When kids go swimming, we always shower at the pool before coming home. Saves our own water and electricity. :)
- Attend free talks and cooking demonstrations at local libraries.
- Mostly only buy from Coles or Woolworths items that are 30- 50% off. Stock up until next time.
- Come to Ozbargain everyday.
Ps. I'm getting some great tips from this thread!
+3 votesbrentsbits on 03/06/2012 - 18:00 ¶It's stealing because they put it there for individual usage for individual visits to the bathroom. Him taking whole rolls is actually stealing. That's the difference.
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blitz on 06/05/2012 - 19:23
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endotherm on 04/05/2012 - 23:24+23 My girlfriend…
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voteoften on 16/05/2012 - 14:50
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marcusv on 10/05/2012 - 17:27
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madmouse58 on 04/05/2012 - 23:48
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lol…