adam2

7 minutes ago, david.elsbury said:

Again, can someone tell me how this is relevant to the ‘Backstage’ purpose of the blue room?

Because a lot of venues use gas for space heating and hot water, and almost all use electricity for lighting and small appliances. About half of UK electricity is produced by burning gas. The electricity price is linked to the gas price.

Any severe shortage of gas will result in power cuts. It is most unlikely that gas to homes and businesses will be cut off as restoration is a slow and complex undertaking.

Electricity by contrast is easy to cut off for typically three hours at a time, after which a different area is cut off and the supply restored to the area first cut off.

The increasing cost of gas and electricity is of concern to entertainment venues, and chance of planned or rota power cuts is also of concern. So very relevant IMO.

Also a LITTLE talk of domestic matters is AFAIK permitted, hence my suggestions that basic precautions should be taken at home.

I again urge venues to reduce energy use, due to the rising price, and also to ensure that emergency lighting is in good working order.

Central battery emergency lighting in particular needs careful inspection so as to ensure that the correct lamps are fitted, clear or pearl lamps of the correct voltage and wattage, and lamps intended for illumination, not decorative lamps or pilot or indicator lamps. 

At one establishment that shall remain nameless, I found that a 110 volt central battery emergency lighting system was fitted with 240 volt lamps "because they last longer"

I think that "hospital" means exactly what it says, despite the fact that they are in some respects businesses. If the intention was to treat hospitals as any other business, then why include the specific exemption for hospitals.

53 minutes ago, Stuart91 said:

And here we are...

National Grid say 3hr power cuts in a "worst case" scenario. 

It's obviously a reasonable possibility if people are opting to take a PR hit now in order to alert people. 

As a long-time reader of Private Eye, it's interesting to see some of their warnings come to pass...

Agree. Time to stock up on candles, batteries and perhaps oil lamps. 

Oil hurricane lamps are affordable to buy and cheap to run, give the light of a half a dozen candles. They are intended to burn paraffin, sometimes called kerosene. In an emergency diesel fuel may be used. NEVER USE PETROL AS A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IS LIKELY.

2 hours ago, sandall said:

Maybe this is an appropriate place to enquire about charging & care of small SLAs. A while ago I bought a 12AH one for 2-horns-&-a-mic-in-a park gigs, but am a bit nervous about using my car-battery charger with its 2A trickle-charge rate.

A car battery charger will be fine PROVIDED THAT it has a fully regulated output that is stated to be suitable for sealed batteries. If your car battery charger is not suitable, then small chargers intended for sealed lead acid batteries are widely available on fleabay.

1 minute ago, Stuart91 said:

The world has gone truly mad if a funfair is allowed to use red diesel but a hospital isn't.

Hospitals CAN use red diesel in generators or for oil burning heating, provided that no electricity is exported into the grid.

The position is undeniably serious. HMG have moved away from saying "it will all be fine" and towards admitting that perhaps things could go orribly wrong.

I consider that planned or rota power cuts are a distinct possibility. Mainland Europe may be in an even worse position than the UK, so it seems unlikely that electricity will be available.

Make certain that you know your load group, write this on the wall near the electricity meter both at home and at  work. Your load group is a single capital letter and is usually found on the bill.

There are 18 load groups each identified by a letter, starting with A. The letters O and I are not used lest they be confused with the numerals 1, and 0.  Your load group will usually be the same as your neighbours, but of course someone has be on the boundary. The load group letter is not related to social status or house price ! and yes I have met people who think otherwise. The load group can not be changed by the customer. There is no advantage in one load group over another.

In the event of a power shortage, load groups will be cut off for about three hours at a time. Depending on the severity of the situation, any consumer might have a couple of three hour cuts a week, up to several a day.

It must be stressed FIRMLY AND OFTEN REPEATED that EVERY customer in the relevant load group will be cut off, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. A lot of people seem to expect exceptions, there will be no exceptions for deserving individuals or for buildings considered important. Palaces, prisons, hospitals, police stations, the rich and the poor will all be cut off.

The only exceptions are for limited numbers of facilities that are judged to be of national importance AND  that have a dedicated high voltage grid connection.  There can no exceptions for premises served at low voltage nor at up to 66 kv.

At work make certain that emergency lighting is in good working order.

At home, ensure that you have several torches and lanterns with fresh batteries, consider a couple of self contained emergency lights.

9 hours ago, callumb said:

Seems that Apple do all the messages etc for you: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426

Dial 911, if it can't connect via any network it will offer you the ability to send an SMS to 911 via satellite with all your needed info on where you are etc. Looks to be more for out in the wilderness than a town or city with no service because of storms etc.

Thanks for the link and other info.

Looks like this service is not due to be available in the UK, though I consider it likely to be available in the future. Worth keeping an eye on, but of no near term help.

I would send the emergency text message to whatever number is recommended by the supplier of the cellphone for such purposes.

" HELP! SERIOUS ILLNES AT WURZLESHIRE VILLAGE HALL POST CODE XXXX YYY. SEND AMBULANCE" would suffice.

" HELP!  FIRE AT WURZLESHIRE VILLAGE HALL POST CODE XXXX YYY. SEND FIRE BRIGADE"

48 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Sort of.

Under 'normal' use it could easily take many minutes to send that single 120-character text message.

It's intended for use in wilderness areas where you're the only one trying to send a text within ten miles, and a half hour delay is better than no message at all.

Yes, can be slow but as above a lot better than nothing. Thinking here of a remote rural pub, village hall, or other small venue, and fire or sudden illness occurs. A slow text message by satellite is probably quicker than driving to seek help.

A large urban venue should firstly have an Inmarsat phone, and secondly should plan on sending runners to the nearest fire station or police station.

1 hour ago, Stuart91 said:

I do wonder how this service would work if every smartphone user is trying to use it at the same time (as they might be in an emergency situation in an urban area)

If the service is constrained to calls to emergency services that might help keep the demand manageable. 

No voice calls are allowed. Text messages only. I would expect that the emergency services would receive most of the text messages, and that even in the absence of much detail, that the volume of texts would make it clear that something serious was wrong.

One of the latest smartphones has limited satellite connectivity, limited to text messages. The purpose of this facility is said to be for calling the emergency services from remote locations without cellphone service.  Presumably it would also work in an urban area where cellphone service was unavailable due to a power failure.

This facility is free of charge for the first two years, after which it may be chargeable.

If this new feature works reliably, and becomes more widely available, then it could be most useful for emergencies.

An Inmarsat satellite telephone is better as it permits of full two way voice communication, expensive though. The high cost of satellite calls is of little importance for hopefully rare emergencies, but the up-front cost is significant. AFAIK, one satellite telephone is powered by disposable lithium AA cells with a 20 year shelf life, thereby avoiding all concerns regarding the status of seldom used rechargeable batteries. 

The hurricane Ian disaster in the USA is rather off topic here, but it may be observed in passing that satellite phones have proved most useful in the large areas without cellphone or wired telephone service.

36 minutes ago, Ynot said:

I've sometimes wondered whether plugging in a couple of PAR 64s and directing them in appropriate ways might be more efficient than a 2-bar electric heater...
🙂

The efficiency will be the same, but the PAR lamps MIGHT be more effective at directing more of the heat to exactly the desired place.

This would be good time to remind ourselves that ALL electric heaters are virtually 100% efficient.

Some designs might be more effective than others at directing the heat to the desired place, but the actual heat is the same.

A few years ago when I was the maintenance engineer for an office building, I was asked at lunchtime on Friday to "provide tea and coffee and drinking water for a few contractors working in the building"  The next day. That seemed a reasonable request and sounded like a days overtime for easy work.

Over the following hours, the request expanded to "a few hot snacks" To this I objected on the grounds that I had no significant catering equipment. And that a basement workshop and store was not suitable. "Well do what you can, we know that you have a cooker and a fridge"

I arrived just before 08-00 on Saturday, that being the usual starting time and no other time being specified. Was greeted by an angry crowd demanding to know "why is the canteen not open, it was promised from 06-30"

I did what I could which was limited. Facilities comprised electric kettle, microwave, baby belling cooker, and a hotel mini-bar type fridge. Crockery for TWO persons. No sink for hand washing or for washing utensils. The crowd of about two dozen also expected seating and tables, smoking and non smoking. I had one office chair and two folding chairs. No table, use the work bench.

Fortunately I able to bribe the office cleaner to assist, mainly in fetching supplies of food and drinks, buying a second kettle and a hotplate and loaning an extension lead. I had materials to make extension leads, but no time.

Total fiasco. The "few contractors" turned out to be a small film crew who had been promised "catering" 

Apparently I should have prepared better ! without notice, or budget, or knowledge of what was required. And my expenses claim was rejected on the grounds the kettle and hot plate were capital expenses, and to claim was dishonest as they knew that I already had these. Food and drink claim also rejected on the grounds that "we dont provide food on duty"

Another manager stated that I should have charged for the food ! No advance warning of this, no cash register, no float of change, no receipt book. 

Very poor IMHO.

A minimum offering in my view should consist of for breakfast, Fruit juice. Choice of breakfast cereal with fresh milk. Toast with butter., and marmalade or marmite. A choice of hot breakfast foods such as fried eggs, bacon, fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes.

For main meals, lunch or evening meal. A choice of hot main dishes including at least one meat dish and one vegetarian choice, with chips and vegetables. A choice of at least three hot snacks such as hot sausage rolls, burger in a bun, soup with buttered crusty bread, bacon in a bun, hot pies. Note no need to provide ALL of the above hot snacks, but at least three choices. In hot weather add a salad option.

Tea, coffee and drinking water to be available at any time.

LPG cooking equipment or if electric confirm sufficiency and reliability of electricity supply.

I agree, LED is the future for almost any regularly used lighting, but the economics are very different for short term use from mains electricity.

In the case of battery or generator supply, then LED lighting is often worthwhile even for short term use. It might mean hiring a smaller generator or using a smaller battery.

As an extreme example I was involved in a small am-dram production in a field. Fairly well lit on about 100 watts. Mainly LED vehicle bulbs. The follow spot was a modified 35 watt HID vehicle headlight.

I suspect that electricity consumption will be taken more seriously than in the past. 60 pence a unit or more is now the going rate and it may go higher still.

And I can remember the good old days of "a penny a unit and the more you want the better" and that was an OLD penny a unit. Gas was cheaper, and when I was but a nipper, there were still coin meters for gas that took pennies.

LED lamps sold as dimmable should dim on a theatre lighting dimmer, at least to an extent, but do not expect "nice" dimming. You may need to add a tungsten load lamp if the dimmer is to work properly. 60 watts is generally enough. Use of a 500 watt lantern sounds very wasteful of electricity and lamp life.

A three phase dimmer can be used from a single phase d0m3stic supply for low power tests.

And the oral rehydration salts that I suggested are not even a drug, by any common sense standards. 

3 hours ago, sunray said:

Tht's an interesting statement. Having just done my FAAW 3 year update we were reminded that first aid kits must not contain anything at all designed for oral consumption/prescription., 

Indeed, that is why I referred to first aid SUPPLIES and not to first aid KITS. A slight change in the wording is important. The KIT should contain everything required and nothing else. One might however keep other SUPPLIES, for ones own use, and in an emergency one might give the oral rehydration mixture to someone else, preferably under the telephone advice of NHS direct, or other authority.

Fan noise is largely related to speed.

In some circumstances it can be worth use of a large mains voltage desk fan, but run from a 110 volt transformer.  Make certain to use a real transformer as used on a building site, and not any form of electronic converter.

Many suppliers offer 12 volt and 24 volt DC fans intended for use in vehicles. These move a lot of air but tend to be noisy. They are nearly silent on a much reduced voltage and still give a useful air flow.

A fan will not reduce the actual temperature, but will make conditions more comfortable by promoting evaporation of sweat. Remember that this evaporated water needs to be replaced, drink plenty of water. (some medical experts have suggested that use of a powerful fan may "fool" the bodies natural response to heat, and result in dehydration  before feeling thirsty, if you do not urinate at least four times in 24 hours, drink more water)

In hot dry conditions fans are very helpful, less so in hot and humid conditions but still better than nothing. 

Do of course dress sensibly. Light and 100% cotton clothing is best. Avoid poly-anything. White is best if exposed to sunlight or other radiant heat. Colour is irrelevant indoors unless near radiant heat sources.

Home or workplace first aid supplies should include "oral rehydration salts" these are powders or effervescent tablets that when dissolved in water and then consumed help to treat dehydration.

If you go to sleep with a fan running, beware "Korean fan death" google it for details.

Natural gas prices have been at over 100 pence a therm for about a year now. Often well over 100 pence pence a therm. about 350 pence a therm today.

And a few days ago, wholesale electricity prices reached an astonishing almost £10,000 a megawatt hour. This is about £10 a unit paid to keep the lights on. 

As regards small generators with a floating output and RCDs, my view is that some LIMITED protection IS given by an RCD.

Consider the following possibilities.

1) That the generator output is, and remains truly floating. Under these circumstances either pole of the generator output may be touched with impunity, there is no earth path via the users body and no shock can be received. The RCD will not trip, but it does not "need" to as the person touching one pole of the supply is in no danger.

2) That one pole of the generator output  is accidently earthed, due perhaps to a fault in another appliance or due to a damaged cable. Under these circumstances, touching the now live pole of the intended to be floating supply would be very dangerous. An RCD WILL OPERATE under these conditions. The RCD measures any imbalance between the currents in the two supply wires and WILL TRIP if this exceeds the trip rating of the device.

Current in one wire=2 amps, current in other wire= 1.9 amps, current body of user =0.1 amp. potentially fatal;.

An RCD will detect this 0.1 amp imbalance and trip. Note that the RCD will NOT detect the fault and trip in advance, it relies on the operator getting a brief and hopefully survivable shock and THEN tripping.

Also note that the RCD has to be close to each appliance. An RCD on the generator output will NOT trip in the situation described. An RCD at the supply end of an extension lead will NOT detect and earth fault on the extension lead [tent peg through flex etc.] This FIRST earth fault is not in fact directly dangerous, but if someone then contacts the now live side of the supply, it could kill.

In summary RCDs can give some protection when small generators are used, but you need one per appliance, near each appliance.

Agree, no point in adding an MCB to protect against overload as the 13 amp fuse in the plug will do this.

As regards RCDs to protect against earth leakage, I see little point on a standard mains supply. Many outlets will already have RCD protection, and if you find an outlet without RCD protection, then power amplifiers are very low risk appliances.

High risk appliances are in my view anything involving water and electricity, clothes washer, dishwasher, draught beer cooler, electric kettle, portable water pump, aquarium equipment, ice maker etc.

Or anything normally carried or held whilst in use, power tools, cleaning equipment, hair dryers dryers etc.

Amplifiers are low risk.

A supply from a large generator under competent control should be very similar to a mains supply and similar arguments apply.

In the case of a supply from a small portable generator, then an RCD might be more worthwhile.

Gas prices remain very high, throughout Europe at a time of year when prices usually fall due to reduced demand.

The government in Germany have taken the next towards rationing of natural gas supplies. This is the second step out of three, with the final step being actual rationing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61908998