Hot water bottle failure

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#3268821 6-Aug-2024 17:54

mattwnz: Cost and uses less energy. Especially as electricity in NZ has become so expensive

There's probably little to no difference since the hot water uses roughly a hundred times the power of the electric blanket, just over a shorter time period. So boiling a jug or running a ton of cold water till it gets warm and possibly triggering a HWC reheat is about the same as running an electric blanket for a couple of hours.

In any case you're paying something like 0.2 cents to pre-heat your bed for an hour with an electric blanket.

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mattwnz

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#3268824 6-Aug-2024 18:22

neb:

mattwnz: Cost and uses less energy. Especially as electricity in NZ has become so expensive

There's probably little to no difference since the hot water uses roughly a hundred times the power of the electric blanket, just over a shorter time period. So boiling a jug or running a ton of cold water till it gets warm and possibly triggering a HWC reheat is about the same as running an electric blanket for a couple of hours.

In any case you're paying something like 0.2 cents to pre-heat your bed for an hour with an electric blanket.

I don't use either myself these days, but an electric blanket can be pricey to buy compared to a hot water bottle ($5-$8), and electric blankets have to be checked regularly and don't last that long, and are more risky in terms of fires and shock if damaged. With hot water people usually already have a tank full of hot water, and probably don't think of the cost to replace 500ml of hot water in the tank.

gzt

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#3268825 6-Aug-2024 18:40

HWB I used to wrap in a towel or two to regulate the heat output and make it last the night. It always worked well.

Electric blanket I've never found one I liked. Preheating doesn't last the night. Lowest setting always too hot to leave on while sleeping.

mattwnz

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#3268828 6-Aug-2024 19:14

gzt: HWB I used to wrap in a towel or two to regulate the heat output and make it last the night. It always worked well.

Electric blanket I've never found one I liked. Preheating doesn't last the night. Lowest setting always too hot to leave on while sleeping.

I disliked EBs because I can feel the wires underneath.

Handle9

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#3268831 6-Aug-2024 19:33

neb:
A peripheral question, but why are people still using something only one step removed from medieval coal-heated bedpans? We've had this thing called electricity for over a century now that evenly heats your entire bed from head to foot, foot being a very useful part to have heated, rather than an excessively hot sloshy thing that becomes a cold sloshy thing over time. Given the choice between absolutely nothing and a hot water bottle I'd take the hot water bottle, but it'd be a last resort.

They don't keep their houses warm so are below what is a comfortable temperature.

mattwnz

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#3268840 6-Aug-2024 19:54

Handle9:
neb:

A peripheral question, but why are people still using something only one step removed from medieval coal-heated bedpans? We've had this thing called electricity for over a century now that evenly heats your entire bed from head to foot, foot being a very useful part to have heated, rather than an excessively hot sloshy thing that becomes a cold sloshy thing over time. Given the choice between absolutely nothing and a hot water bottle I'd take the hot water bottle, but it'd be a last resort.

They don't keep their houses warm so are below what is a comfortable temperature.

Low insulation standards even on new builds, as heat is quickly lost. However the recent changes to the NZBC with increasing the minimum insulation standards should have helped a lot with that, as usually developers will build to the minimum specs required. But they are now looking at reducing the minimum standards again as some builders claim costs are too high with the new standards and houses are overheating.

Bung

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#3268842 6-Aug-2024 20:18

neb: In any case you're paying something like 0.2 cents to pre-heat your bed for an hour with an electric blanket.

What blanket wattage and power price are you using to come up with that low a running cost?

tweake

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#3268846 6-Aug-2024 20:34

Handle9:
neb:

A peripheral question, but why are people still using something only one step removed from medieval coal-heated bedpans? We've had this thing called electricity for over a century now that evenly heats your entire bed from head to foot, foot being a very useful part to have heated, rather than an excessively hot sloshy thing that becomes a cold sloshy thing over time. Given the choice between absolutely nothing and a hot water bottle I'd take the hot water bottle, but it'd be a last resort.

They don't keep their houses warm so are below what is a comfortable temperature.

KEEP houses warm is exactly right and somewhat overlooked. kiwis tend to heat cold houses up, often never properly heating a home. properly heated homes means everything is warm, including the bed. no cold beds, couches, tables, floor, wall etc.

also given the choice between absolutely nothing and a hot water bottle, i take absolutely nothing. good bedding works really well.

Rikkitic

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#3268851 6-Aug-2024 20:49

Handle9:

They don't keep their houses warm so are below what is a comfortable temperature.

What makes you think everyone has a choice?

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tweake

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#3268855 6-Aug-2024 21:11

Rikkitic:

Handle9:

They don't keep their houses warm so are below what is a comfortable temperature.

What makes you think everyone has a choice?

sadly thats so true. what i find even worse is that choice is often taken away from people, often under the pretense of "helping". eg lowering insulation standards so it costs more for people to heat homes, or can't heat homes due to the cost. just so some company can make more money on a build.

neb

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#3268909 6-Aug-2024 22:11

Bung:
neb: In any case you're paying something like 0.2 cents to pre-heat your bed for an hour with an electric blanket.

What blanket wattage and power price are you using to come up with that low a running cost?

15W, 25 cents/kWh.

Bung

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#3268910 6-Aug-2024 22:24

When I search for typical electric blanket wattage the most common answer is 100 - 150W per side. I'm not sure you'd even notice 15W.

Handle9

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#3268911 6-Aug-2024 22:28

Rikkitic:
Handle9:

They don't keep their houses warm so are below what is a comfortable temperature.

What makes you think everyone has a choice?

Where did I mention whether or not that was a choice people had?

gzt

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#3268912 6-Aug-2024 22:31

Most have a three step control. Each side if it's a double. 15W does sound low.

johno1234

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#3268917 6-Aug-2024 23:04

Bung: When I search for typical electric blanket wattage the most common answer is 100 - 150W per side. I'm not sure you'd even notice 15W.

The first one I looked up from Briscoes was 45W single and that’s a roasting full power. Actual usage would be half.

https://www.briscoes.co.nz/product/1012792/zip-elegance-single-electric-blanket/

An electric kettle is 2kw.

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