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Online Discussion: Tracking new emerging diseases and the next pandemic |
WINTER HEAT |
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Mississipp Mama ![]() Senior Advisor Group ![]() Joined: January 20 2006 Status: Offline Points: 524 |
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Hope I would rather take my chances in the winter with a wood burning stove. If you can afford to have it converted I would. The less dependent we are on the system the better off we will be.
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This reminds me of looking for a house last week. The first house was beautiful, but had no fireplace so I didn't buy it. The next had a gas fireplace so I skipped it as well. There's nothing more efficent and sensible than a woodstove. We used ours for 20 years of winters and it heated our home quite well, plus saved us about $500.00 a year in heating bills. It has well paid for itself. Daydreamer, great idea about the extra firewood and chainsaw fuel............I forgot about that! Dang, there's just too much stuff to remember! I did store up a huge bag of pine cones, ....great fire starters. Also any recycling bin is a good resource for newspaper to wrap the pine cones with. I usually find dozens of unused papers that stores throw away. {Don't touch the stuff that's been used.} Mary Kay |
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Daydreamer ![]() Valued Member ![]() ![]() Joined: February 24 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 439 |
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We don't have access to pine cones here unless we buy them at a store so we make our own fire starters. We take a cardboard egg carton. Fill up each section with dry sawdust (from when we are cutting wood). Then we take a cheap candle and melt it down. We pour the liquid wax over the sawdust in each of the sections. Let it dry and when you need one, you just break off a section and there you do. They burn for a long time.
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Don't put off tomorrow what you can PREP today
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Daydreamer, that sounds like a neat idea.
Do you fill each with enough wax to entirely coat the sawdust? Do you stir it? I've got plenty of old wax from candles so this is a great cheap way to keep warm. Thanks! : ) Mary Kay |
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Daydreamer ![]() Valued Member ![]() ![]() Joined: February 24 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 439 |
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Sorry I didn't get back to this one sooner Mary Kay. We fill each of them enough to completely cover the sawdust. We've never stirred them before. I just make sure the all the sawdust is covered on the top with wax. As it hardens you can see where you missed and just pour a little more on that area.
These fire starters have worked well for me for several years. I hate having to start a fire with small twigs and such. I can but I'm lazy and don't like to take the time.
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Don't put off tomorrow what you can PREP today
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Great idea Daydream. We have used the kind you buy at the store in the past. Guess they will be out of those! Do you use the recycled paper egg cartons, and then just rip it off? We have found that keeping our wood stove going is very easy. It keeps the coals for a long time. It was definitely the best forward looking investment that we made. We have been able to heat the whole house. I also like the way it looks. We got one of the off white porcelain ones that looks very European. Matches my decor quite well. When i look at it sort of disguises the fact that we have gone SURVIVALIST!!! It looks very pretty tucked into my brick fireplace. Friends remark how pretty it is, they have no idea it was a BF investment!!!
We also bought a few Mr. Heater Buddy heaters. They work of of one or two small propane cylinders. The larger model has a fan run with 4 D cell batteries. The run for quite a while, and each unit has a low oxygen shut of system. They are approved for use indoors. That is only with the 1 lb cylinders though. You can hook it up to a twenty lb tank, but you need a hose and must keep the tank outside. We bought a bunch of cases of fuel to use for the heater, as well as cooking. We are having carbon monoxide detectors installed into our security system which will run on solar back up.
I do know that they sell battery ones as well. I think this is a good precaution to take with using propane in the house!!
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Daydreamer ![]() Valued Member ![]() ![]() Joined: February 24 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 439 |
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Diane~yes, we use the recycled paper egg cartons. Once they have the wax in them, they break off very easily. We usually manage to keep a fire in our stove all the time but I've had the occasion that the coals weren't hot enough to get it going very well. I'd just throw one of these on the coals and they'd either catch that way or I'd light them. I wouldn't go through a winter without at least an 18 pack of these. I believe we currently have 5 of the 18 packs so I should be good for quite a while, unless we use them to start our cooking fires outside in the fire pit. I may need to get more made.
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Don't put off tomorrow what you can PREP today
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I have propane to heat with, also a backup wood stove. BUT, I did not see any mention of a kerosine heater. I have one and it heats for about twelve hours on a gallon of kerosone. And kerosine will last for years without going bad.
I have a 55 gallon drum, and extra wicks for the heater.
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Breeze26 ![]() Valued Member ![]() ![]() Joined: March 21 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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Daydreamer thank you for the fire starter tip. I made some a couple days ago and they turned out great. I didn't have sawdust so I used some hamster bedding (new of course) and worked perfectly.
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Human beings can always be relied upon to exert, with vigor, their God-given right to be stupid. Dean Koontz
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Bridge Lifter ![]() Guest Group ![]() |
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Spoon---
You mentioned that you have utliitiy poles? I hope you are not using those for firewood. They are treated with some nasty chemicals. Creosote is one and the other is a copper based preservative. Thanks! |
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tazman ![]() V.I.P. Member ![]() ![]() Joined: March 13 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 79 |
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I bought a 55gallon metal drum for fuel. where can I buy clean burning kerosene for my keresene heater for cheap.
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Email me your favorite links:My Email
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Gilmore ![]() Valued Member ![]() Joined: April 10 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Setting up a tent in your house reduces the amount of space needed to heat if you lose power/heating capability. Just pretend you're camping. . . Don't forget to drain the water lines so they don't freeze
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Gilmore ![]() Valued Member ![]() Joined: April 10 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Lowes Home Improvement has 100lb Propane tanks for (US) $80.00
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Commonground ![]() Advisor Group ![]() Joined: March 06 2006 Status: Offline Points: 262 |
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REMINDER: Get your chimney swept (cleaned) and service your furnace now.
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Brad ![]() V.I.P. Member ![]() Joined: March 29 2006 Status: Offline Points: 44 |
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I have the impression that the 100# propane tanks use different fittings and hoses than the standard barbeque 20# tanks. Is that correct, and if so, are there adaptors available so you can use 100# tanks with things like a Coleman stove or a Mr. Heater Buddy heater? Thanks for any info. |
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Rocky ![]() V.I.P. Member ![]() ![]() Joined: January 07 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 219 |
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Planning to use a small propane heater in large tent for extended family. With ventilation, is a propane heater any problem re. carbon monoxide? Rocky
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nettie4263 ![]() Advisor Group ![]() Joined: March 27 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 158 |
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Excellent idea, I hadn't thought of that!
How do you drain the water lines??
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gilmor ![]() V.I.P. Member ![]() Joined: April 10 2006 Status: Offline Points: 81 |
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. . Brad, I haven't filled it up yet. . . I'll get back when I do. I know that adapters are available if required. . . Gilmore . . |
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gilmor ![]() V.I.P. Member ![]() Joined: April 10 2006 Status: Offline Points: 81 |
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First shut the water off to the entire house. Can be done at a valve near the meter (probably near street) or there should be a valve just before water enters your home. Find the lowest AND highest point in your water pipes where there are valves. Open the highest one. This will bleed off any pressure that remained in the line after you shut off the entire house. Then, open the lowest valve and HOPEFULLY most of the water in between will drain out. . . This won't be completely drained because of elbows (90 & 45's) that may be higher / lower. Then if you are really ambitious, force air into the "highest" valve to push remain water out. Then, again if you even more ambitious, use a wet / dry shop vac and suck the air / water out of the "lowest" valve. Then, open and close ALL the valves in the house to get anything that was in a "riser" that didn't get drained. Make sure you do both hot and cold water lines. Also make sure you empty the water heater. Also the hose faucets outside your house. . . WHEW, Gilmore . . |
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Guests ![]() Guest Group ![]() |
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I always wondered how to do that! Thanks so much for the info!! It was worth the 'Whew'!!!-k
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