They have a thin plastic mesh in the pump mechanism that does the foaming. If you refill it with a mixture that is to viscous, the mesh can break and the pump won’t foam anymore.
Also, putting too much water in will temporarily stop the pump from working. The device needs a reservoir of air inside as well. If the pump mechanism gets flooded it may need to be left to dry out before it is usable again. Trying to force the pump when its flooded can also break it.
For comparison, in Australia, gas and induction are at price parity (a budget 4-hotplate setup costs about $200-300 either way). You can buy a single-plate induction cooker for $50 that plugs into the wall and has a temperature configurable from 60-200 C.
Edit: Stopped markdown converting Centigrate to Copyright symbol
PS: Also, electricity is cheaper than gas in Australia, because we have so much rooftop solar, electricity is soon going to be free during the midday peak.
Induction is better for both the global and indoor environment. In some countries landlords aren’t allowed to install gas appliances anymore because of the long term effects on the tenants’ lungs.
Also some newer ones have temp sensors so you can keep a thing at the exact temp you need.
I swear by induction cooking (for both soapmaking and food) for this reason - precise temperature control, even low temperatures that aren’t even possible to get on a gas stove.
Aluminium for instance doesn’t work.
A lot of cheap pans I’ve seen at (AU) Kmart, Big W, Ikea etc are aluminum with a teflon-esque coating, but with a carbon-steel circle attached to the bottom that makes it induction compatible.
Would a cast iron skillet work on one of those?
Definitely, you just need pans with a ferromagnetic bottom, so cast iron works very well.
The outer material doesn’t matter - only the base. Many cheap induction-compatible pans are made mostly of aluminum with a non-stick coating, but containing a layer of ferromagnetic material in the base that will heat up on an induction stove.
I occasionally play bass guitar and keyboards and have found Behringer’s studio-monitoring range of headphones provide excellent quality reproduction for around AU$50 - better than many AU$200 consumer-focused brands. Sennheisers are also good but more expensive.
If you’re not from Australia - there is a lot of opposition from farming and rural communities in general to renewable energy infrastructure. We’ve had lots of issues with rural groups organising misinformation-fuelled intimidation of people building renewables. There is a need to counter that with more information about how climate change is going to be a lot worse for farming and the rural landscape.
Some background in this article from our ABC: Dangerous anti-renewables rhetoric, bullying and intimidation creates growing chasm in rural communities
There is more background to the comparison in Australia. There is a lot of opposition from farming and rural communities in general to renewable energy infrastructure. We’ve had lots of issues with rural groups organising misinformation-fuelled intimidation of people building renewables.
Another article from our ABC: Dangerous anti-renewables rhetoric, bullying and intimidation creates growing chasm in rural communities:
Hostility towards farmers hosting renewable energy projects is increasing, fracturing rural communities.
A Senate inquiry received submissions detailing threats of intimidation and violence amid worsening rhetoric.
“Worlds largest coal port” should be specific enough, surely.
It’s not the direct effect of delaying a few ships for a day, it’s the media coverage. Rising Tide has become a well known protest in Australia and it gets international news every year.
Also - possibly most important - it helps get on board the people who complain about climate protests disrupting “ordinary people” instead of the fossil fuel corporations directly. It’s much better PR to be seen to inconvenience the conglomerates.
In the 2025 summer, Climate change-driven summer heat caused 16,500 additional deaths across Europe, study estimates
The rapid analysis found that climate change was responsible for around 68% of the 24,400 estimated heat-related deaths this summer. Warmer conditions, amplified by human-driven climate change, increased daily temperatures by an average of 2.2°C, with peaks of up to 3.6°C.
The report highlights how even small increases in temperature can result in thousands of avoidable deaths – with older adults particularly vulnerable. People aged 65 and over made up 85% of the estimated deaths.
The formal report: Summer heat deaths in 854 European cities more than tripled due to climate change
Isn’t that when you give a pigeon a bit of food and it vocally thanks you?
Edit: No wait, that’s a bread coo
Thanks, that page also links to Wonderbag which is far more practical to DIY. The branded ones are rather expensive (although to be fair that price includes the charitable contribution).
In any case wrapping a stockpot in silicone (to protect the fabric) and then even more insulating material should be straightforward.
“Tomato” seems to be a component of a food bank logistics system called “Rootable” which may be fork of an older project called “Food Rescue Robot” (gitlab, github).
The purpose of these (and other projects like MEANS database) is to match up donors with recipients and schedule deliveries when they and the volunteer delivery are all available. This way food donations can be transferred quickly without having to have a warehouse full of almost expired food.
The tomato name collision is probably coincidental.
This seems to be a component of a system called “Rootable” and would be better to link directly to that.
There are many sources of fabric that would be otherwise wasted - old clothes going to landfill, sheets and pillowcases, etc.
Some of the libraries around Melbourne now have maker spaces; many of these include sewing machines, and there are weekly clubs/groups and classes on how to use the equipment.
I refill with watered down hand-soap (about 3 parts water to 1 part liquid soap). The pump bottle is what makes it foam, it doesn’t have to be a special surfactant, just anything that is low viscosity.
Be careful not to refill above the level of the internal pump - if you do it can get flooded and the extra pressure can break the pump mechanism.