Ever see a FB post that you REALLY want to repsond to?

[Homercidal]

Recently a friend's wife posted something on FB. It was a link to how to use tea candles to heat a room for pennies a day. Naturally I was curious, because I know roughly how much energy is released by a burning tea candle and I know roughly the approximate size of the average room...

http://www.trueactivist.com/how-to-easily-heat-your-home-using-flower-pots-tea-lights/

Needless to say I fought with myself over this post for several hours, before giving up and having a beer and finding other things to occupy my mind.

 

[Marc77]

Recently a friend's wife posted something on FB. It was a link to how to use tea candles to heat a room for pennies a day. Naturally I was curious, because I know roughly how much energy is released by a burning tea candle and I know roughly the approximate size of the average room...

http://www.trueactivist.com/how-to-easily-heat-your-home-using-flower-pots-tea-lights/

Needless to say I fought with myself over this post for several hours, before giving up and having a beer and finding other things to occupy my mind.

Usually I have to fight the urge to reply to something that's completely asinine but the people who post it believe it's true. Evolution isn't real, world is flat and the universe revolves around the Earth kinda stupid. Sometimes it gets the better of me and I respond as tactfully as possible pointing out that they're wrong, other times I tell them to read a book or sometimes like you...I just go have a beer.

 

[hunter_le five]

LOL.

I thought this guy's response was pretty nice:

Brian X Xxxxxxxxx · Xxxxxxx, Ontario
Neat idea to use a flower pot as a dissipator/regulator for the heat, but the idea of using this as a heat source (apart from emergencies) is just silly.

A tea light contains about 550kJ of energy. The IKEA Canada website indicates that 100 "GLIMMA" tea lights cost $4.51 after tax. The whole pack of 100 will have 55MJ of energy. This equates to 12.2MJ per dollar.

Now let's look at a more conventional heating mechanism: home heating oil. One litre of home heating oil contains 36MJ and at current Canadian market rates costs about $1.20. This equates to 30MJ per dollar.

Now that we've addressed the silly implied claim of cost-effectiveness, let's move on to the equally silly claim of sustainability, shall we?

Please note that paraffin (candle) wax is a petroleum product just like gasoline, diesel, home heating oil, jet fuel, etc.

Perhaps if the author wasn't using normal candles, but in fact kept a very large number of beehives on his boat, he could be harvesting the bees' wax. This might be construed as sustainable, but before we jump to that conclusion, let's run a few more numbers.

According to Statistics Canada, a single person's dwelling consumes about 70GJ per year. Let's assume in Canada that half is for heating. Let's assume again that this boat-dweller is extra thrifty with energy and uses only half again as much for heating. This is about 18GJ required for heating his floating abode. I'll be generous and not account for the extra heating costs in an exposed marine environment.

Since this "true activist" is using making "sustainable" choices, we must assume he's harvesting bees' wax from the hives on board his vessel.

Since bees' wax has about 44kJ per gram, he will need to harvest 410kg of bees' wax per year to keep himself warm.

According to my recent reading, the annual harvest per hive is about 22lbs of honey and about 1lb of wax after rendering. Dropping our archaic units and redundant data, we're looking at about 500g of wax per hive.

The author above (and presumed role model) must then be tending 800+ hives in order to archive this much-vaunted sustainability.

While that sounds very nice, I think there's a very good reason why this is not a wide-spread home heating practice.

 

[619Brewer]

I used to, then I deactivated and my life was enriched with much better things than the asinine drivel of some hipster with nothing but inflammatory statements to make on a social media outlet.

 

[one-L]

I have many times caught myself in the middle of composing a reply to something as equally ignorant or disingenuous only to stop myself and say nope, down that path lies madness. Let Darwin sort them out. Quickly.

 

[Homercidal]

But they are wrong and ignorant! They must be taught the ways of truth!

Normally I just roll my eyes and continue on looking for interesting posts, like recent updates from favorite bands, interesting recipes, jokes, etc. But once in a while you come across something that you just can't believe someone would post.

Like heating an entire room with 4 tea candles. I mean, it's a brilliant idea! Maybe if I took EIGHT tea candles and like SIXTEEN pots, I could power a moped and drive myself to work for free every day! (Still working on not blowing the candles out, but after that it will probably be a piece of cake to get that thing running!)

 

[bob1852]

This thing is pretty hipster approved...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnfV_3LM5l8

Burn scrap wood to make Starbucks coffee and charge your iPhone at the same time...

 

[DrunkleJon]

Okay, I must admit that in a normally heated room lighting a candle does "seem" to make the room feel warmer. I know that enough energy to raise the rooms temperature is not really feasible, but you have to give the tree huggers some credit for making the astute idea that fire = heat which can then suppliment your normal heating. Maybe this is feasible if you want to use tea candles for illumination as well.

 

[Glynn]

This is what you get for reading facebook

 

[HefeHood]

Facebook?

 

[SharonaZamboni]

I find myself wishing that I could quote, then edit the quote. I've replied with my edited quote a couple times,but it's just not the same.

 

[Homercidal]

Okay, I must admit that in a normally heated room lighting a candle does "seem" to make the room feel warmer. I know that enough energy to raise the rooms temperature is not really feasible, but you have to give the tree huggers some credit for making the astute idea that fire = heat which can then suppliment your normal heating. Maybe this is feasible if you want to use tea candles for illumination as well.

Yeah, maybe that would be true if the plans didn't call for covering the candles with TWO upside down flower pots. I think it's supposed to be some kind of energy amplification system.

I think someone replied that it could effectively raise the temp in a room that was 4'x6' in area. I think that's roughly the size of the linen closet in our back bathroom...

 

[DrunkleJon]

Yeah, maybe that would be true if the plans didn't call for covering the candles with TWO upside down flower pots. I think it's supposed to be some kind of energy amplification system.

I think someone replied that it could effectively raise the temp in a room that was 4'x6' in area. I think that's roughly the size of the linen closet in our back bathroom...

Or maybe they think it will capture the heat that escapes up and radiate it out better and somehow do that same amplification. I dunno. People are gullible.

 

[Melana]

you can make oil lamps from rendered animal fat... and to think we just throw that away!

 

[tonyp063]

You throw animal fat away?!?!

Potatoes roasted in goose fat are the chosen food of the gods!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Yeah, I've seen stuff like that on Facebook...

...often from mutual friends of my wife moreso than my own friends...

...and I have trouble holding my tongue, so I've replied...

...and there's a reason I've completely deactivated my Facebook account!

My home is much more peaceful now ;-)

 

[Homercidal]

I sometimes get posts on FB and Emails from people about "Whatever awful thing will happen if you do THIS". And no matter how many times I reply with Snopes, they still keep forwarding that stuff.

Weird Al said it best in his song, "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me!" (In the style of the composer and arranger for artists like Meatloaf, Air Supply, Celine Dione, etc....)

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I sometimes get posts on FB and Emails from people about "Whatever awful thing will happen if you do THIS". And no matter how many times I reply with Snopes, they still keep forwarding that stuff.

Don't reply just with snopes. Incorporate the snopes link into a tremendously vicious, hopefully hilarious, reply-all flaming of the person who sent it to you. Bonus points if the reply is to your mother.

Yes, I've done it.

No, I don't get forwarded these things any longer.

 

[Grannyknot]

I don't have facebook, but I always thought it was for letting people know how perfect your life is?
Who knew it spawned ingenious methods of heating a hamster cage.

 

[BigAndo]

Facebook is the devils work.


Sent from my iPod touch using Home Brew

 

[Epimetheus]

Recently a friend's wife posted something on FB. It was a link to how to use tea candles to heat a room for pennies a day...

That is one of my favorites for moronic new-age energy conservation. Why do we spend over 6k per year educating our children when it is obvious their brains drip out of their ears as adults?

Facebook is a method of sharing stupidity in all its forms. Why, last month some fool posted they were MAKING BEER AT HOME! What a maroon. You need barrels and big stainless tanks and scientific measuring thingies and a team of really big horses, and it sill would not taste as good as a Bud Lite.