Things that used to be common place in people’s homes

[pitdiver]

As a matter of interest can you still get " Power Cut Phones"?

 

[takno]

Does anyone actually need a power cut phone now? In the days of mobiles with almost universal coverage, surely a power cat phone is something that used to be commonplace but isn't now.

Half of Edinburgh and the Lothians lost power the other day for 45 minutes. The mobile networks lasted for about the first 5 minutes before falling over. I was more focused on warming up the freezing cold flat than on the phone though tbh

 

[najaB]

As a matter of interest can you still get " Power Cut Phones"?

What, wired PSTN phones? Yup, available in all the finest discount stores.

 

[Westcountryman]

Half of Edinburgh and the Lothians lost power the other day for 45 minutes. The mobile networks lasted for about the first 5 minutes before falling over. I was more focused on warming up the freezing cold flat than on the phone though tbh

As a matter of interest, where is the power which operates the landline applied to the system? If that is local does this mean that landlines go down as well?

 

[SHD]

PSTN lines carry a 48V power supply which is generated at telephone exchanges (and backed up with battery systems/emergency generators/etc).

 

[birchesgreen]

Are old style convector gas fires (not the ones with "flames") common anymore? I'm looking to replace mine but it was hard to find one, or a gas fire without flames anyway.

 

[takno]

Are old style convector gas fires (not the ones with "flames") common anymore? I'm looking to replace mine but it was hard to find one, or a gas fire without flames anyway.

Are we talking about completely enclosed convector heaters, or the old Baxis, with the open flame at the front, but directed to heating some ceramic blocks rather than a "real flame" effect?

I'd have thought that the need for a flue, the carbon monoxide risk, and the leak risks from having gas running to multiple rooms made both of them pretty uncommon now. The additional cost of construction and regular inspections probably means that it's cheaper to just buy and run a 15 quid electric convector heater instead anyway.

 

[najaB]

PSTN lines carry a 48V power supply which is generated at telephone exchanges (and backed up with battery systems/emergency generators/etc).

I thought it was 96V? But in any case, you're 100% correct that it's injected onto the lines at the exchange. This is an issue with the move to fibre connections as it means that there needs to be local power supplies for any active components, including a battery backup unit (BBU) in the customer's premises. I recently had to remind my dad to get their UPS fixed as the local telco (not in the UK) doesn't supply a BBU by default.

Edit: Just checked on Wikipedia about the 96V thing, it says that higher voltages were used in some rural locations (particularly in the US) to make up for losses in the very long local loops. I wouldn't be surprised if it was also done in some locations in the north of Scotland.

 

[eoff]

Does anyone actually need a power cut phone now? In the days of mobiles with almost universal coverage, surely a power cat phone is something that used to be commonplace but isn't now.

There is another reason that these are a good idea.
When there is a fault with your phone line and your provider scares you with the possibility of having to pay £100 for a callout it is in your interest to plug a old fashioned phone directly into the master socket to see if the fault is still present.

 

[birchesgreen]

Are we talking about completely enclosed convector heaters, or the old Baxis, with the open flame at the front, but directed to heating some ceramic blocks rather than a "real flame" effect?

I'd have thought that the need for a flue, the carbon monoxide risk, and the leak risks from having gas running to multiple rooms made both of them pretty uncommon now. The additional cost of construction and regular inspections probably means that it's cheaper to just buy and run a 15 quid electric convector heater instead anyway.

Yes the ones with the blocks, are they called baxis? When I did find one online it was called a convector heater.

 

[takno]

Yes the ones with the blocks, are they called baxis? When I did find one online it was called a convector heater.

Baxi is the brand that makes all the ones I've ever had. I think there were other brands available. Seems a bit odd to call them convector heaters, given that they seem to radiate a lot of the heat out of the front. Beyond having one which we rarely turn on, I don't know a lot about them though tbh

 

[pdq]

Yes the ones with the blocks, are they called baxis? When I did find one online it was called a convector heater.

This came up for me: https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/fires/outset-gas-fires/
The design on some (most) of those is definitely a bit last century

 

[eoff]

Are old style convector gas fires (not the ones with "flames") common anymore? I'm looking to replace mine but it was hard to find one, or a gas fire without flames anyway.

I have an old style gas fire with back boiler, I just have to keep it going as I'm not sure you can replace them now and it would be a nightmare to do so with anything that is not the same (huge disruption).

 

[najaB]

I have an old style gas fire with back boiler, I just have to keep it going as I'm not sure you can replace them now and it would be a nightmare to do so with anything that is not the same (huge disruption).

AFAIK, you can replace like-for-like, but can't install new.

 

[eoff]

AFAIK, you can replace like-for-like, but can't install new.

That would be nice, but I thought all boilers were condensing and that means a drain which is nontrivial from the middle of a house with a concrete floor.

 

[takno]

I have an old style gas fire with back boiler, I just have to keep it going as I'm not sure you can replace them now and it would be a nightmare to do so with anything that is not the same (huge disruption).

We have the same setup. The pump attached to the boiler gave up a couple of years ago, and it was so inefficient anyway that I've never bothered fussing about getting it replaced. They'll have to do it anyway before they can let the property out to anybody new because a back boiler doesn't stand a chance of meeting the energy efficiency requirements for rentals in Scotland now

 

[najaB]

That would be nice, but I thought all boilers were condensing and that means a drain which is nontrivial from the middle of a house with a concrete floor.

As I understand it, you can get an exemption where it would be excessively difficult to install a condensing boiler.

 

[trainophile]

We had to replace our back boiler a few years ago when the annual service reported it as not up to current standards of safety, and surprise surprise spare parts were no longer available (according to British Gas). Now got a condenser boiler in the kitchen, and when we had a new kitchen three years ago we incorporated a cabinet around it.

Back to phones, a plug-in one is handy if family members are used to calling you on your landline and might be worried if they can't get through.

 

[matacaster]

My grandparents used to have that at their house. I believe there was a disagreement between them as to which to use so they ended up with one dispenser for hard toilet paper and one for the soft stuff we use now. My grandfather persisted in having the stuff after my grandmother passed until I think he just couldn't find it anymore in shops and finally conceded.

At least shiny izal didn't leave newsprint ink on your hands or anywhere else. My grandparents frequently couldn't afford the izal.

The only phone we had that would go in another room was on wheels from Fisher Price!

We were very excited when we got a phone, but the atmosphere became more subdued when we realised we didnt know anyone else who had one to ring.

 

[RuralRambler]

Half of Edinburgh and the Lothians lost power the other day for 45 minutes. The mobile networks lasted for about the first 5 minutes before falling over. I was more focused on warming up the freezing cold flat than on the phone though tbh

Our town lost power in Storm Desmond for a few days. For the first day or so, the landline was down too as the exchanges had no power. We had an old fashioned phone for power cuts but it was useless for the first day. Mobile network was down the first day too. Pretty scary that we were relying on an old battery radio to listen to local news as our only contact with the outside world.

 

[eoff]

A few more from around the home:

• Scouring Powder (Ajax, Vim)
• Oven Pads
• Pilsbury rolls in a can/tube (like a chelsea bun mix)
• Instant Whip
• Cadbury chocolate coins

And in the shed:

• Nitromors paint stripper (the original version, nasty but worked)

 

[Bungle158]

A few more from around the home:

• Scouring Powder (Ajax, Vim)
• Oven Pads
• Pilsbury rolls in a can/tube (like a chelsea bun mix)
• Instant Whip
• Cadbury chocolate coins

And in the shed:

• Nitomors paint stripper (the original version, nasty but worked)

Birds Eye frozen orange juice in tiny cans. Lardy cake, Cyril Lord "Enkalon" carpets. Gas fridges, radiograms. TVs in wooden cabinets with sliding doors.

 

[takno]

Birds Eye frozen orange juice in tiny cans. Lardy cake, Cyril Lord "Enkalon" carpets. Gas fridges, radiograms. TVs in wooden cabinets with sliding doors.

Was the birds eye orange juice for mixing with water? I've never seen anything like it in the UK, but when I was in Canada it was really popular to get what was basically frozen squash concentrate in a tube and put it in a jug of water for instant chilled drink

 

[Bungle158]

Was the birds eye orange juice for mixing with water? I've never seen anything like it in the UK, but when I was in Canada it was really popular to get what was basically frozen squash concentrate in a tube and put it in a jug of water for instant chilled drink

It was heavily promoted mid 60s. TV campaigns, the works. It's over 55 years now, but l recall it living in the freezer compartment and being defrosted the night before breakfast. As l remember, it was orange juice. The branding was Florida Orange. We sometimes had it as a treat, but it cost around a shilling per serving. I think that's around 85p by today's standards. We never had it that often.

 

[Gloster]

What about those home-made water-ice kits? A little bath like container (small enough for a bath by a small mouse) with a small hole in one end wall. You poked a cardboard stick through the hole, filled the tub with flavoured water (not much more than an egg cup’s full) and then put it in the fridge. Hey, presto: one cheap but not very interesting water ice-lolly.

 

[MotCO]

TVs where you had to stand up, and walk over to them to change the channel (to one of 4 available).

 

[Gloster]

TVs where you had to stand up, and walk over to them to change the channel (to one of 4 available).

Four! Us oldies remember when the third channel was still eagerly awaited, and we were looking forward to colour TV. (My grandmother was alternately perplexed and aggrieved that the pictures were still in black and white on her old set.)

 

[PeterC]

Birds Eye frozen orange juice in tiny cans. Lardy cake, Cyril Lord "Enkalon" carpets. Gas fridges, radiograms. TVs in wooden cabinets with sliding doors.

Lardy cake is regularly available from my local baker in Bucks. Sadly the state of my arteries forces me to abstain

 

[eoff]

TVs where you had to stand up, and walk over to them to change the channel (to one of 4 available).

Presets? I'm pretty sure I remember a TV with a channel dial that clicked to a UHF broadcast channel.

 

[pdq]

Even in the 1990s if was possible, I think, to get cheap b/w portables with a single rotary tuning dial.