# Hailstones



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Well I think this is definitely the coldest day we have had this year(never got this cold last year at all).
We have got a thick blanket of hailstones in our garden which we have never had before. On the odd occasions we have had hailstones they have melted as soon as they have hit the ground.


----------



## steveandmel (Jun 26, 2013)

In Simou we have about 2-3 inches of snow


----------



## Kalimera (Oct 19, 2011)

Veronica said:


> Well I think this is definitely the coldest day we have had this year(never got this cold last year at all).
> We have got a thick blanket of hailstones in our garden which we have never had before. On the odd occasions we have had hailstones they have melted as soon as they have hit the ground.


Cold!....lol

It's been barely over 1 or 2 degrees for weeks where I am in the UK, now that's cold


----------



## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

We had hailstones up here in Marathounda last week. Quite heavy actually. And I think I heard it hailing overnight as it did get quite loud through the night. No snow yet but I'm half expecting to see it at some point today.w


----------



## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

NOW (12:14pm) its snowing here in Marathounda. Very lightly, but snow nevertheless.


----------



## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

All clear in Polis! At around 0700 we had about 30 seconds of sleet which didn't develop into anything more. 

We went to the gym at Droushia Heights Hotel around 1100 and it was snowing quite badly up there, but the roads are driveable.

I'm not looking forward to having to drive to Paphos tonight for Greek lessons. According to Rock FM there is snow in Stroumbi, Polemi and Tala. Hopefully, the main roads will be OK...


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

> It's been barely over 1 or 2 degrees for weeks where I am in the UK, now that's cold


9° here today in Sunni Cornwall


----------



## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Still snowing up here. Lightly for the most part but getting heavy for spurts of a few minutes or so before returning to light. Its not settling on the ground yet but on a few roofs and other surfaces its settling.


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Its funny but I thought I was seeing things on my weather app it showed it was snowing where you guys are.
It aint much warmer in Devon Virgil.
Cheers


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

We've had some flurries of snow here in Konia. I can't recall weather like this so far down in the 10 years we have been here.
Luckily we have plenty of spare gas bottles and do not intend to skimp on keeping warm.


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

wizard4 said:


> It aint much warmer in Devon Virgil.
> Cheers


Well, it is February wizard  .. I hope you have a multi-fuel stove where you are, it's 22° in here :whoo:


----------



## DH59 (Feb 23, 2010)

We had some hail and then a little snow, but nothing settling in Kissonerga. Bloomin' cold though!! Did not sign up to this when we decided to move here!!

Dug out the electric blanket last night - was lovely getting into bed. Not used one in years, even in UK, but then we had central heating which does tend to make a room nice and toasty.


----------



## RMcC (Dec 31, 2013)

Looks like Scotland is coming out in sympathy with Cyprus – we have just had a passing hailstone shower!!!
Has anyone given a reason for this weather in Cyprus or is it normal at this time of the year?


----------



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

DH59 said:


> We had some hail and then a little snow, but nothing settling in Kissonerga. Bloomin' cold though!! Did not sign up to this when we decided to move here!!
> 
> Dug out the electric blanket last night - was lovely getting into bed. Not used one in years, even in UK, but then we had central heating which does tend to make a room nice and toasty.


We will buy a wood-burner for next season. Is it better to buy a multi-fuel one and use coal instead of firewood?


----------



## DH59 (Feb 23, 2010)

Just posted on another thread - we're thinking about a kerosene heater.


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> We will buy a wood-burner for next season. Is it better to buy a multi-fuel one and use coal instead of firewood?


Depends on prices/availability I suppose. I burn a smokeless fuel called Taybrite: Taybrite | Coal Products here. Similar products are available under different names.

Our 77 year old neighbour only burns wood in her multi-fuel stove.

One other thing - there's wood and there's wood. Hardwoods are best IMO.


----------



## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Just had a rather heavy snow shower here, really big flakes. Lasted for about 7 minutes and then stopped but it did settle this time. It was just sunny for 5 minutes and now its getting very cloudly again. Think it will kick off again in a few minutes. 

This time last year in Serbia, I experienced what -25 celcius felt like with 30km/h winds on top of that. I have to say though, at least I had central heating. Struggling to keep the house warm here at the moment because, even with 2 gas heaters running, the heat is escaping very fast.

Going to have to be well prepared for next winter I think.


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Got central heating Virgil, but I cant afford to put it on till the evening for a couple of hours, costs too much money for gas.
But you guys in Paphos must be suffering. I was told a story that part of the reason for the change in weather patterns was the the yanks had alledgedly created a hole in the ozone layer, and that they were alledgedly experimenting with changing weather patterns, perhaps someone on the forum knows more about it.
Cheers


----------



## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

@ wizard4 that is a long-time conspiracy theory that can neither be proven nor disproven like most conspiracy theories. 

We all know that the ability to control weather patterns does indeed succeed and has been done many times for high profile events, The Beijing Olympics for example. I highly doubt that we understand the long term effects of such modifications yet. Perhaps the weather here is a side-effect of such modifications, who knows.

If you are interested in the subject of US military based weather modifcation, then google for information on HAARP.

I am neutral on the matter myself, but the weather around the globe has been wacky for years at least. Something is obviously causing it, not that we in the general public are likely to ever be privy to such information.........


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Hi Zach yeah I did look at HAARP, but I agree with you the weather has been changing in recent years as you say if its manipulated we will never know.
Just checked my weather app it shows it is snowing in Paphos, 4C and real feel 2C are you able to confirm that?
Cheers


----------



## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Sounds about right. I am at 1100ft in Marathounda, so I am much higher than Paphos which obviously runs from 0ft up to about 300ft. Its 2c up here with a "feels like" temperature of -2c due to the wind. Its not currently snowing here - it stopped at around 5:30pm and hasn't started again, but the hourly report says it'll start again at around 10pm.


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Ok Zach, well take care my friend and keep warm.
Cheers


Ray


----------



## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

wizard4 said:


> Just checked my weather app it shows it is snowing in Paphos, 4C and real feel 2C are you able to confirm that?
> Cheers


I have just driven from Paphos to Polis, neither of which had snow. The external temperature according to my car thermometer was 0 degrees most of the way, but around 5Km either side of Stroumbi it was minus 1. Thankfully, in Polis its a balmy 2 degrees!

The road was quite icy in places, which made driving quite a challenge (most of you will know that the road has quite a few fairly steep bits with bends). I have driven in far worse conditions (Norwegian Winters every year for about 5 years) but the combination of my age and the Cypriot style of driving make me more wary of these conditions than I've ever been before. I had one 4 x 4 driving idiot overtake me on a blind bend, which normally is par for the course. But it was minus 1 and the bend was near Stroumbi where I saw, on the way *to* Paphos at 1600, a car in the middle of the road which appeared to have had a head on collision with police in attendance. Crazy!


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

wizard4 said:


> Got central heating Virgil, but I cant afford to put it on till the evening for a couple of hours, costs too much money for gas.


Had gas CH at the last place Ray. Old Glowworm Hideaway boiler coupled with single block built 1930's bungalow :frown:

Oil CH here but, I haven't fired it up once in 4 years  
I fire up the multi-fuel stove @ 9.00am. top it up @ 2.00pm and that keeps the whole place cosy.


----------



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

virgil said:


> Had gas CH at the last place Ray. Old Glowworm Hideaway boiler coupled with single block built 1930's bungalow :frown:
> 
> Oil CH here but, I haven't fired it up once in 4 years
> I fire up the multi-fuel stove @ 9.00am. top it up @ 2.00pm and that keeps the whole place cosy.


What stove do you have? How big is your house? How much wood does it consume?


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> What stove do you have? How big is your house? How much wood does it consume?


It's very similar to this: http://www.capitalsw.co.uk/stoves/cottager.htm
Property is a 3 bed (2.5 more like it) granite cottage built in 1790 with THICK walls, which helps.

I bought 1 tonne of that Taybrite (on ebay believe it or not!)
I lit the stove on the 1st Nov. and the critter has been going ever since - I've been greedy with it this year though, so I've just bought another 5 x 25kg bags for £47.50 (about €64)


----------



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

virgil said:


> It's very similar to this: http://www.capitalsw.co.uk/stoves/cottager.htm
> Property is a 3 bed (2.5 more like it) granite cottage built in 1790 with THICK walls, which helps.
> 
> I bought 1 tonne of that Taybrite (on ebay believe it or not!)
> I lit the stove on the 1st Nov. and the critter has been going ever since - I've been greedy with it this year though, so I've just bought another 5 x 25kg bags for £47.50 (about €64)


This is very interesting, because we will also buy a multifuel stove. How much do you burn per month about. I imagine that the season on Cyprus is shorter than in Spain


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> This is very interesting, because we will also buy a multifuel stove. How much do you burn per month about. I imagine that the season on Cyprus is shorter than in Spain


The Danish Morso stoves are very good, you probably have similar manufacturers in Sweden no doubt.

I spoke to the chap in Sussex, England, where my stove came from 9 year ago, and he reckons a new replacement would cost under £400.

Some makes of multi-fuel stove are very expensive and I believe they contain more steel than cast iron, but you can't beat a solid cast iron jobbie for holding the heat IMO.

The old range cookers like AGA were mainly cast iron.

You would ideally need a stainless steel flue liner too, to do the job properly.

You could fork out the money on doing all this - and next winter would be unusually mild 

So, 1 Tonne of smokeless fuel ... I started using it at the beginning of November. it will all be used up come March. I'll leave you to work out how much I burn per month :confused2:

I live in England, Anders. It can also get quite cold at wintertime in Spain of course, and most people burn wood in their multi-fuel stoves I believe.

What is the availability of wood logs like in Cyprus? .. ya can't beat the smell of wood burning IMO.


----------



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

virgil said:


> The Danish Morso stoves are very good, you probably have similar manufacturers in Sweden no doubt.
> 
> I spoke to the chap in Sussex, England, where my stove came from 9 year ago, and he reckons a new replacement would cost under £400.
> 
> ...


I buy 1 m³ oak for 120 €. But I found that the heat content is double in Taybrie compared with wood. I dont bother about the smell os cosyness.

The problem is that I have not found any reseller of that kind of coal in Cyprus and shipping is very expensive. Perhaps a new business.


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

We had a frost this morning for the first time since we have lived here. Now the sun is out and shining into this room making it lovely and warm. The dog is sunbathing on the back step.


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> I buy 1 m³ oak for 120 €. But I found that the heat content is double in Taybrie compared with wood. I dont bother about the smell os cosyness.
> 
> The problem is that I have not found any reseller of that kind of coal in Cyprus and shipping is very expensive. Perhaps a new business.


Back when I used to burn wood, my favourite was Ash, followed by Beech. Oak smells grrreat but can be a barsteward to light.

The problem (for me) would be storing the large amount of wood required, to give me the same heat output (energy) of 1 Tonne of smokeless fuel.

Here's a good site with lots of info: Wood Stove advice - installation, maintenance, problems


----------



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

Veronica said:


> We had a frost this morning for the first time since we have lived here. Now the sun is out and shining into this room making it lovely and warm. The dog is sunbathing on the back step.


Frost also in Pissouri


----------



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

virgil said:


> Back when I used to burn wood, my favourite was Ash, followed by Beech. Oak smells grrreat but can be a barsteward to light.
> 
> The problem (for me) would be storing the large amount of wood required, to give me the same heat output (energy) of 1 Tonne of smokeless fuel.
> 
> Here's a good site with lots of info: Wood Stove advice - installation, maintenance, problems


We will buy this stove

"The Dorset" 12kW Multifuel - Large Multifuel Stoves | Woodburning Stoves, Multifuel Stoves, Log Burners, Cast Iron Stoves, Wood Burners, Chimney Flue Pipe, UK + Europe Delivery


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> We will buy this stove
> 
> "The Dorset" 12kW Multifuel - Large Multifuel StovesÂ*|Â*Woodburning Stoves, Multifuel Stoves, Log Burners, Cast Iron Stoves, Wood Burners, Chimney Flue Pipe, UK + Europe Delivery


Good price! .. 12kw is a hefty critter, you must live in a huge villa 
And, don't forget that the bigger the stove the more fuel it will take to heat it properly.

A wood burner is basically a metal box, any competent blacksmith should be able to 'knock one up'.

It's worth looking into the viability of supplying and indeed fitting stoves to homes in Cyprus!


----------



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

virgil said:


> Good price! .. 12kw is a hefty critter, you must live in a huge villa
> And, don't forget that the bigger the stove the more fuel it will take to heat it properly.
> 
> A wood burner is basically a metal box, any competent blacksmith should be able to 'knock one up'.
> ...


Do you think it is too big? We have about 150 m² bungalow built 1998, no insulation.

We have an open fire today, but it only produce heat for the crows. So idea is to connect the stove to that chimney. If necessary we can put a flexipipe as lining in the chimney to reduce the size


----------



## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Here is a video we took of the snow yesterday when it was heavier - best viewed at 1080p HD Fullscreen:


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> Do you think it is too big? We have about 150 m² bungalow built 1998, no insulation.
> 
> We have an open fire today, but it only produce heat for the crows. So idea is to connect the stove to that chimney. If necessary we can put a flexipipe as lining in the chimney to reduce the size


I'd email the company and ask them about size if I were thee.

Tis best to line the chimney as it affects the flue temperature which, if it's too cool, will cause the moisture in wood to condense on the chimney leading to problems later on.
A lined chimney will also improve the draught of the chimney, and hence the efficiency of the stove. 

My stove is an 8kw jobbie.

Here's a recommendation for Saltfire stoves from a poster on another forum:

"Last year I bought 3 small ones from saltfire stoves on the internet they were a good price and the company was very helpful as we had to fit diy because of a low income. They helped us size them and comply with building regs.

Two replaced open fires and I was amazed by the heat they throw out for the size I can beleive that they are 70% more effiecent.

The third is in a tiny space in the kitchen and the space on top just fits two very small pans where i heat soup, veg and water for my hot water bottle.

I heated the house totally on free wood and newspaper think I have enough for this year already". 
Any suggestions as to a good make of woodburning stove? in Property, Buildings, Equipment and Alternative Energy - Page 2 of 3


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Looked into setting up that kind of stove Virgil but landlady wouldnt allow it something about affecting the insurance on the building because of its type of construction, the truth is that the front wooden panels should have been replaced with UPVC the same as the back and insulation put in, but she didn't want to spend the money, these were originally holiday homes, and when they laid the concrete base, no membrane was put down, the were built I believe in the 60s so long time ago.
Cheers


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

wizard4 said:


> Looked into setting up that kind of stove Virgil but landlady wouldnt allow it something about affecting the insurance on the building because of its type of construction, the truth is that the front wooden panels should have been replaced with UPVC the same as the back and insulation put in, but she didn't want to spend the money, these were originally holiday homes, and when they laid the concrete base, no membrane was put down, the were built I believe in the 60s so long time ago.
> Cheers


Sorry to hear that Ray, I've lived in caravans and motorhomes during winter so I know about cold AND condensation.

I used to live on a nice little site near Bexhill in Sussex where we actually owned each plot so no site owners. A lot of the older (about my age now!) owners told me they used to have small pot-bellied stoves in the caravans in 'the olden days'.

Indeed yes, the 60's were along time ago - my head is still back there somewhere


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

So is my head Virgil, great era, well music wise, its funny but I remember those pot bellied stoves as well, trip down memory lane my friend.
Cheers
Ray


----------



## expatme (Dec 4, 2013)

I think it is the same for many of us OLDER generation. The 60's were great and the memories flood back. Just been listening and watching a video of the seekers.


----------



## virgil (May 3, 2012)

wizard4 said:


> So is my head Virgil, great era, well music wise, its funny but I remember those pot bellied stoves as well, trip down memory lane my friend.
> Cheers
> Ray


Pot bellied stoves are still available Ray, on eBay, Amazon and:

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/potbelly-cast-iron-stove


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Don't need a pot bellied stove Virgil, my stomache these days is pot bellied enough. Expatme I see you are still having wintry weather there, surely it will start to change now we are into March.


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

wizard4 said:


> Expatme I see you are still having wintry weather there, surely it will start to change now we are into March.


Its much warmer now, lovely sunny spells with just a shower or two.
Spring is sprung.


----------



## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

I am glad to hear that Veronica, enjoy it, cant say the same for here.
Best Wishes
Ray


----------

