Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Review : Philips Airfryer (model HD9220/20) : A quick look
Review : Philips Airfryer model HD9220/20
Bought : Autumn 2013
Price (for me) : £80
My cooking skills : Almost zero
My use : cooking fatty foods, usually from frozen
Quick verdict :
Good idea and cooks well but needs improvement and is way overpriced. I can't recommend at that price unless you really want it. I keep having fat smoke incidents but I am reducing these with strategies.
Good points :
Seems a sound idea. It looks better at intense convection cooking than other fat-free alternatives I have seen
Very simple to understand and use
Very intense heat
Not too noisy
Certainly cooks things thorough if you can get the settings right
Should be especially decent for making things crispy outside but well cooked inside, such as breaded meats or 'oven' chips. I would say moreso for things with 'bulk' inside.
Fat-free cooking. Quite a lot of fat drips down to the bottom of the tray.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Review : Mini-stepper exercise machine
Review of mini-stepper exercise machine
Brand : One Body (A 'Tesco' UK brand, I believe)
Cost : £23/$35 (I presume it was on sale)
Marks out of 10 : 6
Marks out of 10 for price : 8
Battery : This stepper uses an AG13/357 battery. See below for further details.
Summary : I think a mini stepper exercise machine is a good addition in a house with little storage as you are likely to keep using it as a 'walking/climbing' exercise and it take up little space and makes little noise.
Mine is a side swing stepper with computer and bungee cords to exercise the upper body. Basic cheapest models are not side swing and usually do not have bungee cords (or presumably bungee cord connectors).
Maximum weight for use of this stepper : 100kg
The stepper is a bit like walking up a slight hill, with all the pressure on the front foot. On my model the computer estimates I am using roughly 1 calorie (4.2 kj) per step at a rate of around 48 steps per minute. I have had this stepper for 2 months and used it almost every day.
Computer : The computer is a great addition. It works on a button battery. It include step-counter, calorie counter, steps per minute, time taken in seconds. It auto starts-stops when you start-stop. One annoyance is that when the 'resistance' is low you need to make sure the step counter sensor is passed or it will not count the step. This is not a problem if you always hit the back stoppers but if you don't it may miss some steps.
Brand : One Body (A 'Tesco' UK brand, I believe)
Cost : £23/$35 (I presume it was on sale)
Marks out of 10 : 6
Marks out of 10 for price : 8
Updates ...
Read more... Update (Nov 13) : Tension adjuster quickly decreasing in tension : I mention that the tension quickly decreases as you workout as the 'nut' turns anti-clockwise as you use it. I bought an extra nut of the same size to fit the tension adjuster bolt in the hope it can stop it from 'unwinding'. So far it seems to be working, and has stopped the tension unwinding while in use
Update : Aug 2015
Cable wheel broke but probably my fault. The cable wheel snapped in 2. I think it was due to me adding an extra nut to the mechanism which caused too much strain on the cable pulley. So probably my fault.
Update Aug 2015
The step counters are often hard to read due to location or light, or they miss steps, so I now use a tap counter app on my phone. I use free TAP COUNTER by WHIZZBANG on my ANDROID phone. Link to app
Tip : read/watch a tablet/phone while stepping to pass the time
Read more... Update (Nov 13) : Tension adjuster quickly decreasing in tension : I mention that the tension quickly decreases as you workout as the 'nut' turns anti-clockwise as you use it. I bought an extra nut of the same size to fit the tension adjuster bolt in the hope it can stop it from 'unwinding'. So far it seems to be working, and has stopped the tension unwinding while in use
Update : Aug 2015
Cable wheel broke but probably my fault. The cable wheel snapped in 2. I think it was due to me adding an extra nut to the mechanism which caused too much strain on the cable pulley. So probably my fault.
Update Aug 2015
The step counters are often hard to read due to location or light, or they miss steps, so I now use a tap counter app on my phone. I use free TAP COUNTER by WHIZZBANG on my ANDROID phone. Link to app
Tip : read/watch a tablet/phone while stepping to pass the time
Battery : This stepper uses an AG13/357 battery. See below for further details.
Summary : I think a mini stepper exercise machine is a good addition in a house with little storage as you are likely to keep using it as a 'walking/climbing' exercise and it take up little space and makes little noise.
Mine is a side swing stepper with computer and bungee cords to exercise the upper body. Basic cheapest models are not side swing and usually do not have bungee cords (or presumably bungee cord connectors).
Maximum weight for use of this stepper : 100kg
The stepper is a bit like walking up a slight hill, with all the pressure on the front foot. On my model the computer estimates I am using roughly 1 calorie (4.2 kj) per step at a rate of around 48 steps per minute. I have had this stepper for 2 months and used it almost every day.
Links for mini steppers :
Amazon USA search "mini stepper"' in 'sports & equipment'
Amazon UK search "mini stepper" in sport & outdoor
Amazon USA search "mini stepper"' in 'sports & equipment'
Amazon UK search "mini stepper" in sport & outdoor
Computer : The computer is a great addition. It works on a button battery. It include step-counter, calorie counter, steps per minute, time taken in seconds. It auto starts-stops when you start-stop. One annoyance is that when the 'resistance' is low you need to make sure the step counter sensor is passed or it will not count the step. This is not a problem if you always hit the back stoppers but if you don't it may miss some steps.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Target : Carpet Steamer
Currently looking for a carpet steamer, not a carpet cleaner. Don't know if such a thing exists. Nearest so far is the Euroflex Monster steamer. Doesn't seem to be available from a UK supplier.
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