Friday 29 December 2017

All Mod Cons

Logotha asked about cooking and  keeping things cool on the boat.
We have all mod cons on the boat, but some of them are on the small side.


The oven has four gas rings but it isn't big enough to hold four large pans. My pans are small apart from my cast iron casserole dish.


The oven is small, yes and dirty after Christmas, it's on my to do list. It only had one shelf but we managed to buy a second one. I bought two small oven trays as mine were too big.
My freezer, I haven't had this long, the one that was on the boat when we bought it didn't work. This is 240v electric. Because it is so efficient it runs off our solar panels on sunny days.
The fridge, it's very full because of Christmas, I don't usually keep this much h in it.
The cool box, this will also run on solar, it holds beer and soft drinks.






My tiny washing machine it takes a 3 kilo load, I have to move the steps to use it.


No tumble dryer but this hangs over the log burner.
The there is also a pole to hang things over. In the summer I have an airer that sits in the prow.




The log burner, I keep the kettle on it so it cuts down on boiling time, I use it as a slow cooker by standing my casserole dish on it.


When it's sunny, even in the winter the solar panels will run the fridge freezer, cool box, charge the phones, tablets. I can also run my sewing machine on the solar.


I don't have a hair dryer or hair straighteners, they use heat and won't run on the solar.

8 comments:

Living Alone in Your 60's said...

Solar power is coming along in leaps and bounds. More things come into the market every year.

Rambler said...

Does the log-burner emit enough heat to actually cook a meal properly? Does it simmer? I'm surprised at that.
You have certainly come to terms with living in a small space and adjusting the way you live. Will you be able to enjoy the waterways when the better weather comes? I hope so - you deserve some relaxing time.

Sue said...

Very efficient. You are doing exactly what we do but on smaller and much cuter scale.

We have 45 solar panels on our garage roof that gather energy during the day and power the house, all excess is stored in a large battery back up system which then runs things after the daylight goes. The only thing outside of the solar is the Aga at night, which takes such a big surge of power every few hours it was draining the batteries and would have shortened their overall life.

I too have a spare kettle stood on our Aga to warm up water that gets used twice a day for washing pots, and yet another spare that stands on our log burner that w use to add to our bath water.

Happy New Year to you and your family.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Fascinating tour Hester - it all looks efficient and I am sure you quickly get used to working in such a small space.

Hard up Hester said...

We've been very pleased with our panels Tania.
Rambler I bring whatever I'm cooking to the boil first and then move it to the log burner.
45! Wow, we have three but it's enough for us.
Thanks Weaver, I like to think I'm adaptable.

Chris said...

Interesting to hear how you use every little bit of space! No solar panels but I think they are the way we must go in the future.

Hard up Hester said...

We have three and are saving up for a fourth.

herbert said...

Thank you so much for the answers Hester.
I guess you are using lead acid type batteries for energy storage.
I would have solar here on the roof if it was just my choice, it seems like money well spent given that the power is them free

It's been rough.

We've had a few difficult days. The weather has been nice and sunny though not particularly warm. I'm not sure what triggered Steve ...