Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Tangled Metal
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Tangled Metal »

Aah! There's a Japanese poem I believe like the UK foresters poem not for burning wood type but bubble size for boiling water to make different types of tea. Apparently bubble size equates to temperature points based around things like shrimp or fish eyes and the like.

Basically it's not about simply boiling but temperature. I think it's from 70C upwards depending on type of tea or similar infusions.
mattsccm
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by mattsccm »

The 80's for me were times of plastic, glass lined flasks wrapped in 2 layers of Karrimat. They still broke. Coleman introduced mr to steel in the 90's.Ok but not great. I now own several Yeti receptacles of various shapes. Too damn hot. I might add that I don't pay for such things :lol: :shock: as a mate works for the company and has lots of samples :D
deeferdonk
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by deeferdonk »

Its worth remembering when thinking about the price of a cup of tea that you're not really paying the price of a "cup of tea".

You're paying the price of a days ingredients, staff wages, rent, insurance, rates, utilities, tax, a bit of profit (hopefully for the cafe), divided by the amount of units of tea etc they can sell in a typical day.

2 or 3 quid sounds unsustainably cheap when you think of it this way!
Nearholmer
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Nearholmer »

2 or 3 quid sounds unsustainably cheap when you think of it this way!
It must be be except at London coffee bars where they fire out thousands of coffees per hour to harassed commuters at peak times.

In most rural cafes it is surely a loss leader, intended to get me to buy cakes and sausage rolls (it works!).
pete75
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by pete75 »

simonineaston wrote: 8 Dec 2022, 12:46pm I'm not so sure - I'm thinking about the roughty tufty types - maybe Mellors out of Lady Chatterleys' Lover or that Lieutenant - later Captain - Sharpe and comparing with the nice sorts from, say, Enid Bylton adventures or indeed the Swallows or the Amazons and I'm fairly certain of the outcome...
None of whom actually exist.
A farm worker of fifty years ago didn't have a lot of spare cash, and relied on his flask for a hot drink when working in cold weather all day. He looked after it.
I've heard some ridiculously prejudicial remarks from the middle classes about us working class folk but claiming we're incapable of looking after a flask has to be one of the most stupid. Petty snobbery at it's worst.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
Carlton green
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Carlton green »

pete75 wrote: 9 Dec 2022, 9:12am
simonineaston wrote: 8 Dec 2022, 12:46pm I'm not so sure - I'm thinking about the roughty tufty types - maybe Mellors out of Lady Chatterleys' Lover or that Lieutenant - later Captain - Sharpe and comparing with the nice sorts from, say, Enid Bylton adventures or indeed the Swallows or the Amazons and I'm fairly certain of the outcome...
None of whom actually exist.
A farm worker of fifty years ago didn't have a lot of spare cash, and relied on his flask for a hot drink when working in cold weather all day. He looked after it.
I've heard some ridiculously prejudicial remarks from the middle classes about us working class folk but claiming we're incapable of looking after a flask has to be one of the most stupid. Petty snobbery at it's worst.
Can’t say that I took that message from Simon’s post and if intended then it would seem out of character to me.

I’ve had flask inners break on me and so did the generation before me, all working folk who looked after what we had but stuff happens.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Bmblbzzz »

fastpedaller wrote: 8 Dec 2022, 8:22pm
Tangled Metal wrote: 8 Dec 2022, 6:49pm Isn't coffee just coffee beans and hot water? You are simply infusing tea leaves or ground up m coffee beans in hot water. It's the same basic process! Boil water, add to infusing element, wait a bit then serve. Why does tea cost a pound less than coffee? I know imho the tea is overpriced by £2.50 and tbh I'd say no even if you paid me that sum to drink it!
We all need to see Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish 'feature' on tea and coffee prices :lol:
I really dislike some places that 'serve' tea as a moderately hot mug of water with a tea bag floating in it :( I won't have it, and would prefer instant coffee. Tea 'not from a pot' isn't really tea, and using water which isn't boiling hot is the last straw. Rant over.
This type of "tea" is at its worst from a trolley on a train.
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horizon
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by horizon »

I have a feeling that Thermos have cottoned on to why some of us are still using 40 year old glass flasks:

https://thermos.co.uk/the-revival-flask-500ml-blue
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
pete75
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by pete75 »

Posh was shopping in Tesco and lost Becks. When she found him he was in the household aisle staring at the display. She asked him what he was staring at and he pointed to the shelf.

'What's these things?' He said, 'a lot of the lads take them on the bus when we travel' She said, 'they're Thermos flasks, David. They keep hot things hot or cold things cold'.

When he asked how it knew the difference she thought better of trying to explain it and merely said he should maybe get one for himself.

The next day he turned up at the training ground and proudly showed off his new flask, telling everyone how it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold.

They said they knew all about them and asked what he had in his. He said, 'two cups of tea and a choc-ice'.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Bmblbzzz »

horizon wrote: 9 Dec 2022, 12:01pm I have a feeling that Thermos have cottoned on to why some of us are still using 40 year old glass flasks:

https://thermos.co.uk/the-revival-flask-500ml-blue
Are they selling a car rug and packet of butterscotch mints to go with it?
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pedalsheep
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by pedalsheep »

Bmblbzzz wrote: 9 Dec 2022, 1:50pm
horizon wrote: 9 Dec 2022, 12:01pm I have a feeling that Thermos have cottoned on to why some of us are still using 40 year old glass flasks:

https://thermos.co.uk/the-revival-flask-500ml-blue
Are they selling a car rug and packet of butterscotch mints to go with it?
At that price they should be including them! :lol:
'Why cycling for joy is not the most popular pastime on earth is still a mystery to me.'
Frank J Urry, Salute to Cycling, 1956.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Tangled Metal »

Bmblbzzz wrote: 9 Dec 2022, 10:14am
fastpedaller wrote: 8 Dec 2022, 8:22pm
Tangled Metal wrote: 8 Dec 2022, 6:49pm Isn't coffee just coffee beans and hot water? You are simply infusing tea leaves or ground up m coffee beans in hot water. It's the same basic process! Boil water, add to infusing element, wait a bit then serve. Why does tea cost a pound less than coffee? I know imho the tea is overpriced by £2.50 and tbh I'd say no even if you paid me that sum to drink it!
We all need to see Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish 'feature' on tea and coffee prices :lol:
I really dislike some places that 'serve' tea as a moderately hot mug of water with a tea bag floating in it :( I won't have it, and would prefer instant coffee. Tea 'not from a pot' isn't really tea, and using water which isn't boiling hot is the last straw. Rant over.
This type of "tea" is at its worst from a trolley on a train.
I once bought a cafetiere of coffee from the end of the pier cafe in Morecambe. A place that seemingly made really nice cups of tea but who somehow made a cafetiere of coffee with no actual taste of coffee. It had coffee, hot water and everything seemed like it should make a cup or two of coffee but no! It had no coffee taste at all. I couldn't be bothered complaining because I realised I was the only one drinking coffee. I think they don't get asked for anything other than tea there. Better off taking coffee off the menu. I really didn't know you could get coffee in a French press so wrong! That's pure skill of a negative kind!
Psamathe
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Psamathe »

Not something you'd use to carry hot drinks around in but I also use the double skinned stainless mugs when touring (current Primus one is excellent). They keep drinks warm for ages, even without the lid.

Ian
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Psamathe wrote: 9 Dec 2022, 4:38pm Not something you'd use to carry hot drinks around in but I also use the double skinned stainless mugs when touring (current Primus one is excellent). They keep drinks warm for ages, even without the lid.

Ian
Me too. Having tried various types of plastic, I come back to the double-walled s/s for its insulation, toughness, and lack of taint.
Carlton green
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Re: Why did the UK persevere with glass vacuum flasks for so long when stanley steel ones existed since 1915.

Post by Carlton green »

horizon wrote: 9 Dec 2022, 12:01pm I have a feeling that Thermos have cottoned on to why some of us are still using 40 year old glass flasks:

https://thermos.co.uk/the-revival-flask-500ml-blue
These new ones, copies of the old classic, don’t have glass inners but rather metal instead.

Doubtless some will think the retro style lovely, but to my mind they’re a bit pricey.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
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