Cheaper than free, to fill the car

Beautiful spring day. Flowers soaking up the sun. Solar panels soaking up the sun, but I’ve switched the solar off. Why did I turn off free fuel for the car? There’s a cheaper option today than free. Say what? There’s so much electricity in the grid, mainly from renewables, that the wholesale price has gone negative, so retailers are actually being paid to use it. Our retailer is Amber Electric, which passes on the wholesale price to us. Right now, they’re paying us up to 9c per kWh to charge the car or run any appliances. Probably less than 5c per kWh on average, over the afternoon. Our house battery is “unfortunately” full from solar yesterday, so we can’t use it to soak up more of the cheaper than free electricity and get paid more. Realistically, we’re not going to get rich from this. We might make a few dollars today. But getting paid a few dollars to refuel the car is better than paying $100 for petrol.

Top pub and top motel in Yackandandah

We aimed for Yackandandah tonight, as it's one of our favourite places to stop. One of our favourite motels is here too: Motel Views, so named because ... well, you can figure that out. On the way, we crossed the border back into Victoria, and back to the potholes. There's a new twist, though. Many of the filled-in ones still have the painted warning circles around them, which were helpful when there was a hole inside. Now we steer around potholes that are no longer there, and the circles around the ones that are still there play the boy who cried wolf. For dinner, we drove straight to the top pub, the Star Hotel Yackandandah. Not to be confused with its fierce rival, the bottom pub (the Yackandandah Hotel). To our surprise, it was a quiet night, and we were one of just two couples eating. We had some laughs with the staff, as they explained that many in this holiday town had gone away on holidays. One of the deciding factors was the fast charger just out the back, though it's…

Self-driving into a port-a-loo

Our stop in Coolac has toilets and ... well, that's about it. There's a hotel, currently being renovated. We pulled in for a brief leg stretch at the Superchargers there, on the Hume Highway, an hour and a half past Goulburn. Parked next to us was a red Model Y with red rims. Its driver, Jack, said he's the only one who likes them. He's on a road trip from Queensland to Victoria with his son. He mentioned the potholes in Queensland, so I warned him about the potholes in Victoria. Leaving Goulburn earlier, the Hume Highway runs right through the Cullerin Range Wind Farm, with its 15 turbines on the hills either side of the road. The much bigger Collector Wind Farm, with 54 turbines, is just to the south. Together they have a capacity of 257 MW, but the wind doesn’t always blow, so over a year they average about 70 MW (27% of capacity, typical for wind farms). That’s about 615 GWh a year, enough to power about 96,000 homes, or to drive an EV like ours about 4 billion km. Similar sized…

Cheapest car in Australia is electric

Stopping at Goulburn for lunch, we came across this cute small EV at the Superchargers. The BYD Atto 1 is now the equal cheapest new car in Australia. Not just the cheapest EV – the cheapest of any kind, electric, petrol or diesel, tied only with the petrol MG3. The "Essential" base trim sells for $19,990 drive-away. It has a lot of features for the price, including air con, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, and vehicle-to-load (so you can run appliances from the car's battery). It's a small car, so it has a small boot (308 litres), but you can of course increase the boot space by folding half or all of the rear seat (up to 1,037 litres). We asked the driver of this car about it. She described herself as a nonna, on a long drive with her granddaughters. She has had many cars in her lifetime, but she says she likes this one the best. She has the next trim up from the base trim, the "Premium". That gives her a bigger battery (43 kWh instead…

Three generations with EVs

Three generations of EV drivers met for lunch at Macs Beach Cafe, Macmasters Beach, on the NSW Central Coast: my daughter Amber, us (Fran and Tom), and our friends Hugh and Margaret. Hugh has just upgraded his Tesla Model 3 to a Model Y, both long range. He and Margaret have already taken it along the south coast, around to Orbost, and back home through Canberra. Before that, they did EV trips in Western Australia, central Queensland, the UK and New Zealand. Margaret has a Hyundai Kona Electric, and started road-tripping in it years ago, back when public chargers were few and far between. Amber has driven most of the way around Australia in diesel vans, but recently upgraded to a used Tesla Model Y. She's enjoying the much smoother ride, less fatigue at the end of a day's driving, and much cheaper "fuel". She's about to do a lap of half the east coast, and has started kitting out her EV for serious road tripping. We (Fran and Tom) had already been to Macs four days earlier, in better…

Hunter Valley, fancy rides

Catching up with three generations: Mum, sister and daughter, in the Hunter Valley, NSW. Lunch at Four Pines Brewery at the Farm, in Pokolbin. I thought we had a fancy ride, but then people arrived via horse drawn carriage, while others left in a helicopter. Some women at the table next to us asked the passing cowboy if he could take them for a ride.

Umina Beach, facing a fierce rabbit

Catching up with Amber, Scotia and Davey in Umina Beach. Archie, the dog, was scared of Herbert the rabbit, who just looked at him with those "I'm gunna mess you up!" eyes. Amber's Tesla now has a matching fridge in the sub trunk.

No Thai, but still a free charge

From Gloucester, we headed south towards the coast, and our destination for the next few nights, a villa in Erina. We stopped in Raymond Terrace just long enough to use the amenities and reply to some messages. Then Erina Fair, for some takeaway rice paper rolls and a few items at Coles. Our old favourite Thai Thyme Express was sadly gone. We lived on the Central Coast until three years ago, when we sold up and set off road tripping, so Erina Fair is familiar territory.

Following a log truck, knowing our final destination

We took Thunderbolts Way from Armidale, starting with blue sky and green paddocks up on the tablelands. Down off the Great Dividing Range to Gloucester, it was a captivatingly beautiful drive, with lots of contrast. As the road dropped into the forest, the mist rolled in. We crossed a few river bridges, and stopped by some to stretch our legs. We followed a log truck around the wet bends for a while, trying not to imagine the opening scene from Final Destination 2. Stopped for lunch in Gloucester. Bought pies from a local bakery, one known for being less than friendly. We met up with our daughter Amber and her friend since primary school, Kayla, at Kayla’s home, along with her 18-month-old triplets and her Maremma sheepdog, Kimbo. Kimbo is as tall as the triplets, and literally watches over them. He likes stealing their dummies, and gives the side eye when asked to give them up. Amber and Fran gave him plenty of pats, and we spent a couple of hours catching up before heading south…

Motel room with a free tank of fuel!

We checked into the Armidale Inn for the night for $130. That includes a free tank of fuel – well, technically a full battery charge, and morning continental breakfast. We rolled into Armidale, after driving from Maclean, up onto the Great Dividing Range, through Ebor and Guyra. Armidale is Australia’s highest city, at 980 metres. Maclean, where we started the day, is barely above sea level, so the car spent a lot more energy than usual getting us up here. Nice motel, in a row of motels. Set far enough back from the road to not be noisy. We arrived just before sunset, with the sun blinding us as we drove up next to reception. This is another motel that asks drivers to not reverse their exhausts facing the rooms. Apple Maps showed the nearest place for dinner was the Deer Park Motor Inn, just 100m away. We walked into the restaurant as the only customers. The staff were a bit apologetic about the limited offerings, but we were just grateful to sit and chill with a cooked meal. Back at…

A power point in NSW highest town

On our way south, we diverted west across the ranges to Guyra, to pop in to see an old friend. Guyra is the highest town in NSW. It snowed here a few weeks ago, but today it’s 24°C. Daniel says the maximum here is about 30°C. His home is heritage listed. The rooms include the old sergeant’s quarters, and a gaol cell, which is appropriately Daniel’s room. To protect the heritage frontage, he has installed solar panels on the rear of the roof, along with a battery. Loki reluctantly said hi, and Gizmo tested the Tesla’s front camera. 😼 Daniel used to skipper the ferry from Saratoga, which began and ended Tom’s commute into Sydney. They exchanged dad jokes between wharves. No EV charges in Guyra, but that will change, if Daniel has his way. He’s trying to get fast chargers installed in town, to bring in more visitors. He advises the Armidale region council on transport issues. We put in our requests, including: near toilets, near something interesting or shops, and shade. Tick, tick,…

Following the Clarence River, from Maclean

We grabbed a few photos at Maclean Lookout and Pinnacles. We shared the view of the Clarence River with a local wallaby (under the step descent sign, in the photo). A smoke haze covered the horizon in one direction. A quick stop by the river at the small but pretty town of Ulmarra, testing the accuracy of the Tesla’s reversing camera. Next: over the Great Dividing Range, to Guyra and Armidale.

A motel charging EVs from its own power plant

When our plans changed yesterday, we fronted up to the Waterview Motel, Maclean. It’s simple accommodation, right near town, perfect for an overnight stay on the way along the coast. We’ve been here before, and had the time to take a peaceful walk along the levee bank across the road that keeps the town safe from the Clarence River. Like last time we stayed, I walked ten minutes down the road to get some takeaway dinner from Peking Chinese Restaurant McLean. Fried rice and satayed vegetables hit the spot. A double room on Booking.com listed for $145. But it was only $130 direct. Jeremy and Joy have run this place for nearly four years. Lovely people. He regularly posts on the socials about the motel, improvements and staff. They had some storm damage to the roof that necessitated temporarily removing the solar panels. The tap just passed the tall water bottle test. I nearly failed the get power cord out of the jug handle test. We filled up the water bottles. We filled the car's washer…

Emergency stop in Maclean

Today’s plan was to go inland on the way back south from Byron Bay, to visit an old friend in Guyra. But, we never quite made it. This morning, Francis woke with a headache (not Tom) which gradually developed into a migraine, during our journey south. In Ballina, Fran had a coffee, hoping the caffein would relieve a migraine, since it helps dilate blood vessels and – yeah, for real (or so she tells me). In Evans Head at noon, she took some aspirin, but that came back up. We tried walking it off, getting cool air, fresh air, reduced light, all the things, but it wasn’t getting better. Half an hour later, stopping further south in New Italy, we decided we needed some medical intervention. We headed south to the Maclean District Hospital-ER. We pulled into the emergency bay, and were fortunately the only ones in the waiting room. The staff quickly triaged and treated her. A couple of under the tongue pills for migraine and nausea. But the migraine persisted. So, then an injection of…

New Italy is new for us

We’ve passed the turn off to New Italy several times over the years, on our trips up and down the east coast of Australia. Great to see that the signage now shows EV charging. We finally pulled in there today for a rest stop. It’s a beautiful place, with picnic tables, trees, grass, toilet block, cafe, gift shop, museum, and a bank of v4 Tesla superchargers. It offers overnight stops (in vehicle), for $15 per night. We couldn’t stay long, since Francis's migraine started to kick in. We might drop by next time for lunch. Back in Evan’s Head, I used the last of our water for drinking and topping up the window washing fluid, since the screen had started warning that we were getting low. I figured we’d restock in New Italy. Unfortunately, there is no drinkable water available, just tank water. I don’t like travelling without any water, so I bought a bottle of bottled water, for the first time in years. Lesson learned.

On the lookout for lookouts, Ballina to Evan’s Head

Checkout from Ingenia Holiday Parks, Byron Bay, after brekky at the on site Tallow Cafe. We roughly followed the road south towards Evan’s Head, tapping a few lookouts on the Tesla’s navigation and choosing “Add to trip”. Beautiful day for sightseeing, including from the paragliders launching off the cliff. We chose Evan’s Head, so Fran could visit Muzza's Milk Bar, and experience lolly heaven. Unfortunately, a growing migraine meant that we only got to drive past it. Sadness ensued.

Byron Hinterland day trip

How to plan a day trip? Open the map on the Tesla screen. Tap Lismore. Tap Bangalow. What else? Zoom in along the route. Tap some random lookouts. Tap Federal, and anything else along the way that looks interesting. Off we go. Pie in the park in Bangalow. Drove through the plains around Lismore. Several homes still wrecked, reconstructing or marked for relocation after the floods 😞. Beautiful drive back through the hinterland. Many stalls on the side of the road selling produce, like we see at home around Emerald Victoria. We stumbled across one selling baked goods, so we had to take a look. “The Loose Goose” beckoned us to buy a couple for later. I was relieved that the “falling nuts” sign was not a dietary health warning. Driving on, “the Minyon Falls” appeared as a nearby attraction, so we tapped that pin too. Beautiful backdrop to eat our cherry/choc treats. We love these random exploration days. Back to Ingenia Holiday Parks, Byron Bay, splitting a burger for dinner at the Tallow…

Cabin with an EV charger

September 15 - 20: Our home for the week: a cabin 15 minutes walk from the beach, complete with an EV charger in the carport. Our visiting (now local) daughter Erin, and her friends Keke and Sienna kept the pace lively. Ingenia Holiday Parks Byron Bay has cabins, powered sites, camping, camp kitchen, cafe (coffee!) pool, in a beautiful setting of grass and subtropical trees. The staff are friendly, offering to replenish any supplies as they zip around on their service buggies, which are fully electric, with a noticeable absence of noise and fumes as they move around the park. At least one of the staff, I suspect the manager, has a n EV. It’s a black Tesla labeled “Lola”, often parked at reception. The reception parking area includes two EV charging spots with destination chargers.

Free parking in Byron, with EV charging

September 16 - 17: A few visits into town and beaches while we stayed in Byron. Fran sent Tom on a quest to buy her a pair of thongs, even though he’s not a shoe person. He got lost in Barefoot Boulevard. Lunch at That Crepe Shop, whilst laughing at the coffee/decaf bag labelling.

Please turn off your engine while parked

On the trip up to Byron Bay, we ordered ahead groceries from Woolworths. We followed Woolworths instructions, which ask us to park in the “Direct to Boot” bays, turn off our engine and message to say “I’m here”. The car park is underground, and mostly sealed, so exhaust fumes have few escape routes, including the lungs of shoppers and staff. We waited quite a while, which is fine – I’m just grateful that they bring the shopping to our boot – a godsend after a long drive. The big SUV in the waiting bay next to us just kept their engine running. Eventually, I put on my best friendly voice and asked them to turn off their engine. I pointed out that Woollies asks us to do that, and all their exhaust was just filling the confined area, including going back through their own car’s open hatch to their child in the back seat. They gave some mumbled acknowledgement “oh yeah”, hopped back into the car, closed the hatch, but kept their #%£* engine running. I just don’t understand how oblivious…

Banana fritter and a Tesla test drive

We’ve passed The Big Banana many times, but this was the first time I’ve stopped there. It’s grown over the years to include a toboggan ride, water slides, ice skating, laser tag and a lot more. But we’re far too sophisticated for all that 😉. All I could think about in the drive up was getting a banana split, which changed to a banana fritter and banana smoothie when we reached the important decision at the counter of Bananas Cafe. In the car park, I noticed a Tesla Model 3 and Y with a QR code on the side, and a label “Self-Serve Test Drive”. It seems that you can just walk up to it, scan the bar code, and take the EV for a test drive. Clever idea, since I guess many people see the EVs parked at the superchargers and wonder what it would be like to drive one. Years ago, I think we first saw EVs charging at the chargers behind Olivers in Gundagai and wondered the same. A couple of years later we took a Tesla for a test drive, and were so impressed that we ordered one on the spot.

Valla Beach and The Big Thong

Checking out The Big Thong at Valla Beach. As you might expect, there is actually a pair of “thongs”, but different designs. I wonder if “Big Thong” actually refers to the shape of the inlet/lagoon. Enticing blue water, with a strong current in places. We sat for a while to chill, but didn’t dare get out any snacks, given the kookaburra warnings, backed up by a keen eyed feathered hunter who followed us around. Last night we stayed at nearby “The Bungalow”, a converted garage. Beautifully done, backing onto a nature reserve, which sometimes has kangaroos, but not today.

Just plug in, because you never know.

Nearing the end of today’s driving, we pulled off the highway to visit the town of Urunga. A walk along the waterfront to the iconic boardwalk. We have walked it before, but not today. Bellies beckoned, so I grabbed some “emergency shoes” from the frunk so we could get into the local pub for dinner. We did our usual trick of ordering one meal to share, and were glad we did when we saw the size of it. And, of course, the pub cat found Francis.

Over 200 km streak of self driving, all the way to parking at the EV charger

Solar shade canopy charges the car

Raymond Terrace has become a favourite stop on our trips north. Plenty of amenities such as food outlets, and plenty of Tesla superchargers. The parking spots are nicely shaded, and that shade is from solar panels that of course help to charge the cars. It seems like such as simple solution to fuel up and provide shade at the same time. After having some lunch in the shopping centre, we returned to the car, to do some work and admin on our laptops, plugged into the car’s USB ports, indirectly charging from the solar panels. Did I mention the solar panels?

Norah Head Lighthouse

Heading off from Norah Head, our accommodation for the past three nights. Beautiful flat in a home, complete with an electric Weber BBQ like ours at home. Lunch yesterday with Mum at the Cessnock Leagues Club, after doing a conga line at the front steps. Nice place, but the Keno (?) announcements are too noisy for conversations. Brekky at Norah Head Beach Haus, followed by a photo with the lighthouse. Car packed with a portable cot for our new grandbaby, at our next stop in Thornton, near Newcastle. We noticed that the Hexham bypass is finished – looking good.

Northern Central Coast

Hopping between Tuggerah, Budgewoi and our accommodation in Norah Head. Great to see Amber and her new (used) Tesla Model Y.

Bankstown Superchargers

Quick stop in Bankstown to use the amenities. Then on towards the Hunter Valley, passing an all electric Woolworths delivery truck and an all electric Porsch Taycan. Opposite ends of the vehicle spectrum coming together.

Bargain motel in Marulan

For an overnight stop on a road trip, it’s hard to beat a motel. We won’t be staying long enough to take in the sights. We just need a clean room, comfy bed and a warm shower. Marulan Motor Inn delivered all that for $103. Friendly staff. Walk across to the restaurant for dinner, or next door for fast food like KFC (I resisted). The sink did fail the tall water bottle tap test, however 😉. I didn’t notice, until after I parked, the sign requesting guests park front in. I suspect that’s to prevent rooms filling with exhaust fumes, which of course our EV doesn’t do. Next morning, I assigned some work tasks to Claude AI on my laptop, and left it running on the backseat in the car, plugged into USB power, as we ventured out again along the highway.

Yass Superchargers, in search of services

Our Tesla was planning for us to stop next in Goulburn, but we weren’t going to make it. Unfortunately, the trip planner doesn’t factor in the human bladder. We told it to stop in Yass, at the Tesla Superchargers. There doesn’t seem to be a nearby public toilet, so we ducked into the pub next door. EV chargers don’t generally have services like windscreen squeegees or air hoses, which is a shame. Fortunately, we carry both with us, so we cleared a layer of bugs off the windshield. Back on the road, past the wind turbines that gave us the power.

Bright to Holbrook, with FSD interventions

We don’t really plan our day’s trip ahead. We hopped in the car this morning in Bright, entered our destination for tomorrow as Budgewoi, and let the car decide the route. It decided that we’d stop at Holbrook and (I think) Goulburn, to charge along the way. The route seemed picturesque on the map, so we followed along. The views did not disappoint, but no photos of the scenery this time through, sorry. Parked the car at Holbrook. Our windscreen shade got its first use this warming season. I have the car set to keep the car at below 35°C so the snacks don’t perish. And the fridge in the sub-trunk keeps the cold food chilled. Lunch a block away at The Ten Mile Cafe.

Bye bye Bright

Laundry packed into the frunk. Great to see electric service vehicles in the BIG4 Tasman Holiday Park. No noise and smell. Heading north again, probably stopping in Holbrook for lunch.

EV charging is getting cheaper, while petrol prices increase

After a picturesque day exploring Mount Buffalo, I picked up dinner from Mimi’s Tuck Shop in Bright. While parked, I plugged the car in to charge, opportunistically. I happened to glance at my iPhone to see that my EV charging is now cheaper, while oil prices continue to increase. The price to charge at the Tesla supercharger is now 43c/kWh. I recall it being above 60c/kWh. So, it has dropped significantly in the past year. The price of wholesale electricity in general has dropped, due to renewables in the grid. I know that first hand since my energy retailer, Amber Electric, passes on wholesale pricing for my home electricity. Of course, at home, I charge mainly from free solar hitting my roof, but that’s another story.

Bright to Mount Buffalo

We climbed Mount Buffalo today, electrically assisted of course. Plenty of great lookouts along the way. I think it’s over a 1 km climb in altitude. The snow has melted, but it was still 4°C in the late afternoon. Barely any cars around, apart from us.

Bright idea for a road trip

And we’re off again. Heading north to see family strewn from NSW Central Coast to Byron Bay. Driving straight up the Hume Highway is easy, but a bit boring, so we took the back roads along the Black Spur to Alexandra, with packed lunch (thank you Krissy) by the creek, then followed another spur through Tolmie, with a photo op next to a random Tardis.

The grid went out and the car kept charging

I happened to see AusNet's email this morning — a possible outage in our street. Then I noticed an alert from our Tesla Powerwall, to say it was running off grid. Nothing in the house had missed a beat. Every appliance had kept running without a hiccup. I tapped into the app to see how it was going. The solar was still funnelling through our system, charging the car up from its 60% low after yesterday's run into the city. Once the car was full, the leftover topped up our Powerwall batteries. When you install a battery and solar, get it in writing that in a grid outage the battery will still charge from solar. It is one of the things on my list of what to ask for in a battery installation. I suspect the outage was caused by a tree on a power line, given how windy it is today, up in the hills. This one only lasted a bit over an hour, unlike others that have gone on for up to nine days, taking out streets of homes, shops and the local petrol station. And then, just as I posted this, a…

Mid day drive to nearby Selby.

Watching Puffing Billy cross the Selby Trestle Bridge, showering Francis in steam (harmless) as she sat on the hill, waving to excited tourists. Brunch earlier at Selby General Store & Café. Basic menu offerings, including the best egg and bacon roll we’ve eaten. We were welcomed by the hosts, cute dogs, turtles and fish who were as keen to watch us and we were to watch them.

A month of cooking on induction

We have cooked on gas and on electric elements for years. This is our first month with a Westinghouse full induction cooktop in place of the gas. We had trialled induction on a small scale first. We bought a portable hotplate last year (also Westinghouse), as a spare in our kitchen — on the bench at home, and in the back of the car on road trips. Induction still gets confused with the electric cooking most people remember, a metal hotplate or a coil glowing red, sometimes under glass. Induction works differently — it makes the pan itself the heating element, so nearly all the energy goes into the pan rather than into the kitchen, and the glass beside the pan stays cool enough to rest a hand on. Here is what a month of it has been like. What stands out is how fast and how responsive it is. It comes on instantly, goes off instantly, and changes power the moment you ask. It boils faster than the gas did. CHOICE's testing has induction boiling a litre of water in about half the time gas…

Where does the shower steam actually go?

We run the ensuite fan for every shower, and I have wondered where it blows. Last week I took a torch up through the manhole to find out. It does not go outside. There is no duct at all. The fan is part of the combined heat lamp, light and exhaust unit in the ceiling, and it discharges straight up into the roof space. So does the one in the loft bathroom, an older unit doing the same thing, but I think into a tighter roof space. Up there it is timber, insulation and still air, and in winter it is colder than any room below. Every shower we have taken in this house has sent its steam to the coldest, least ventilated part of the building, several times a day, for years. Fixing it properly is not simply a matter of running a pipe out to the eave. The cheap axial fan fitted in most Australian ceilings moves plenty of air with nothing attached to it, and far less once it has to push through a duct — so the fan has to be able to shift air through the pipe as well. The Australian…

Wet windows: the free dehumidifier

One morning the guest room windows had condensation 70 cm up the glass. The same night, in the same house, two other rooms had none at all — and the only difference was that those two had a window open. My first thought was that the wet glass was the problem. It is the opposite. That water was in the room's air an hour earlier. The glass is simply the coldest thing available, so it is where the water goes first. The measurements back it up. Overnight the guest room's moisture level fell, even with the two of us asleep in it and the door shut. Nothing in that room was removing water except the window. The catch is what happens next. Leave it and it runs down to the frame and sits in the corners, and that is exactly where the black spots turned up. We bought a RYOBI window vacuum at Bunnings for $119 — a battery-powered squeegee that sucks the water off the glass into a small tank as you draw it down. Unlike a cloth, it doesn't just move the water somewhere else. Tim Forcey, whose…

Did going all-electric cause our mould?

We spent 2025 and 2026 getting off gas — heat pump hot water, a multi-head air conditioner replacing the ducted gas heater, and finally an induction cooker. Then we found mould on the bed slats. Was it due to electrification? We first found this same mould, on these same slats, in December 2024 — fourteen months before the air conditioners went in, while the gas ducted heater was still doing all the heating. Whatever causes it was here first, and it was here while the gas was. Gas cooking turns out to actually make it worse. Burning gas makes water: roughly 1.6 kilograms of water vapour for every cubic metre burnt. That is on top of the water coming out of the food or boiling water, which happens whatever you cook on. Going induction removed the extra moisture. Not to mention the benzene, which is a known carcinogen. What did change is the ventilation. The old ducted system leaked, and those leaks quietly brought in outside air. Reverse-cycle doesn't leak. Better heating, staler air.…

Flushing wet air out of the house

Warm air holds far more water than cold air. Heat a closed room and moisture is drawn out of the carpet, plaster, timber, furniture and us. Turn the heating off, the room cools, and the air can't hold it any more. It picks the coldest surface it can find: our single-glazed windows, or the slats under our mattress. The fix turned out to be free: open the windows when the heating goes off. Wide open for half an hour reliably removes a third to a half of the moisture the room is holding above the outside air — we've measured that seven times now. But simply leaving a couple of windows open for a few hours, such as overnight, has beaten it every time we've compared the two. Slower per hour, but it keeps working through the small hours when the outside air is at its driest. Our sliding windows turn out to have a catch built into the sill that locks them open a few centimetres and stops them going any further. I had lived with those windows for years without understanding what it was for —…

Our heating doesn't breathe

Last post we found the mould. This one is about where the water was coming from. I assumed the ensuite — showers, obviously. That is a real part of it, though not quite as I pictured. The door stays shut and the fan runs while we shower. It's afterwards that the moisture gets out: the fan goes off, the door opens, and the wet walls, floor and towels carry on evaporating into the house for hours. But it wasn't the whole story, and working out the rest meant unlearning how I thought our heating worked. Here's the misconception, and I held it for years. You switch on the air conditioner. The big fan in the unit outside starts spinning. Air blows out of the head on the wall inside. Obvious conclusion: that fan is pushing outside air into the house, warming it on the way in. Wrong. No new air comes in at all. The outdoor unit and all that white insulated pipework only move refrigerant gas, and the gas never enters the room. It just makes a hot surface inside, and the head blows the room's…

Our winter guest: mould

While changing the sheets last week, Fran spotted green mould on the bed slats. Then black spots on the window sills. Then more on the curtains, and on the underside of the mattress. Up here in Emerald, in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, winter means months of fog, rain and single-digit nights — lovely for the ferns outside, less so for the timber inside. We'd met this mould before — the same slats, the same underside of the mattress cover, in December 2024. We cleaned it off and thought that was that. Cleaning treats the symptom, so this time we went looking for the cause. That decision turned into a two-week investigation that took over the house. We started logging temperature and humidity in every room, several times a day, and we bought two dehumidifiers and a window vacuum along the way. What we turned up were things we didn't know about our own house — behind the tiles, under the floor, and in the ceiling. The surprise wasn't where the water was coming from — showers,…

Off the gas for good

91.16 cents a day for a pipe we no longer used. Cancelling it took a chatbot, a $9.13 fee, and a question about whether the house was being demolished.

Rebate for replacing our gas stove

The rebate is worth about $200. I'll get $120. You cannot claim it yourself — and the app only accepts documents from your phone's photo gallery.

Installing our induction stove

The crew arrived at seven. By lunchtime the gas was capped, the old Smeg was gone, and 40 amps of new circuit ran from the switchboard to the kitchen.

Where does this circuit go?

Ten circuits, one unreadable label, and a 20 amp breaker that powers nothing. What I found by switching off every breaker in the house, one at a time.

Quotes to install an oven and induction cooktop

I thought connecting an oven was an afternoon and a few hundred dollars. The first quote was $3,014 — so I went looking to understand why it's such a big job.

Oven bought in March, arrived in July

The docket said “ETA 3 weeks”. It took 106 days, six phone calls, and an oven posted back to the warehouse because nobody read the email saying hold it.