PREPS PART 3: HEATING

LilRose8

LilRose8

Veteran Member
I am hoping to hear from many of you that have innovative or interesting ways of staying warm when TSHTF.

My goal when I get my homestead is to have several sources. Fireplace is fine, woodstove better, maybe a propane stove as well until there is no more. Coal?
I am also thinking of a wood cookstove so I can make meals on it/ in it.
Anyone going underground?
Using solar?

Teach us all your methods including gathering what you will need to keep your method going.
 
LilRose8

LilRose8

Veteran Member
Now THAT is nifty! I could easily try that.
At night would you have to block the intake coming into the house to prevent cool air coming in?
 
Angel Lady

Angel Lady

Inactive
Right now we have a fireplace, kerosene heater and propane heater. Maybe between the three of them we can keep one going.
 
S

Splicer205

Deceased
Just love this thread LilRose. We've got different heating methods depending on what develops. In a situation that we wouldn't care if people knew we were warm, secure, and probably cooking some great food, we'd use a wood stove. Keep about 5 cords stocked.

In a situation that we'd be wanting to lay low and not want it broadcast that we had heat, it would be a freestanding ventless propane gas log stove. 500 gal. propane currently used for hot water baseboard heat, but the gas line is already run below the house and capped off. Fixtures are in place in different locations inside the house so it's ready to go. Have a couple ventless wall heaters, with line run and connections in place. Also keep 20lb. cylinders on hand.

Also have Coleman power cat stoves run by a 1 lb. cylinder. Keep an adapter hose to be able to use a 20 lb. cylinder with it. Keep a supply of 1 and 20 lb. cylinders.

We all have Carhardt insulated coveralls, down jackets, wool socks, underwear, hats, mittens, etc. Have many fleece throws, quilts, wool blankets, etc.

Heat is something I'm always thinking about, since I hate cold. Though I guess if things were that bad, I'd be grateful for my Carhardts, right now, it sure wouldn't be my first choice for keeping warm. Can you imagine dusting in your Carhardts? But, I guess dust would be my last concern. Ugh. I sure hope it doesn't get THAT bad.

:lol:
 
S

Synap

Deceased
A 2-mantle Coleman gas lantern will give off 5000btu in addition to excellent light. I've even cooked on top of one with an adhoc stand for the pot over it. Well..not frying but can boil water<>make tortillas. Get the dual-fuel version to allow reg unleaded gas use. 1 pint gas will run for about 6-8hrs. Of course with any ventless 'heaters' adequate ventilation is necessary. But even with that the lantern did fine for keeping the room(s) relatively comfortable.

5000btu will keep a normal home room warm. In my 24ft RV (also in this 35ft trailer) I always had to open additional windows when running it wide open..even with outside temps below freezing. And as you may know RVs are not very well insulated.

Don't have long term low temp problems where I am now tho. Problem here is daytime cooling for the 3mo hot season. Desert nights and low humidity help for other than afternoons which can reach 110F ouside and 130F inside. In a SHTF sit evap cooling is possible but not as nice as AC on the days when humidity rises. which was my main reason for getting the Yamaha YG-2800i. :)
 
O

old bear

Deceased
We have both a wood cook stove and wood heaters. My wife likes the wood cook stove, but we are using a propane stove right now, because it is faster. We also have a propane heater that we turn on when we leave the house for a couple of days in the winter to keep things like water pipes from freezing.
On a somewhat seperate note I put together a winter emegency bag to go in wife's car, in case she should break down. It has some cold weather clothing and stuff like that. Even a hour in really cold can seem like a long time. While this is not not about "heat" it is about not being cold.
 
ioujc

ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
I have 2 wood stoves, which can double as cook stoves...That's all I cooked on this past winter. Plus a propane stove with a 500 gal. tank. As well as 2 ventless propane heaters, a kerosene heater, and about 6 Coleman double mantle lanterns. Got lotsa old quilts and wool blankets....and 3 very fuzzy warm dogs!!!
 
J

John H

Inactive
Approximately 25% of our normal heat comes from solar from the south facing windows and a sun porch. In a SHTF situation, you can optimize this heat gain by covering north facing windows 24 hours a day and insulating all other windows (foam, reflective insulation, corrugated cardboard or blankets) when the sun isn't shining. East and west facing windows roughly cancel out their losses with their solar gains.

With outside temps in the teens or twenties, this will not keep you comfy, but it will probably keep your house in the 40's or low 50's F and will allow you to use less of any backup fuel source. Remember, a well-insulated but unheated house will over a period of time approach the average of the day and night temperatures, so get those daytime temps as high as possible by whatever means you have (sun, heat from cooking, etc.).

Be sure to close off areas that are not in use and do NOT have water pipes running through them. Buy a roll of inexpensive vapor barrier plastic to close off areas that do not have doors.

With lots of clothing, sleeping bags, extra blankets and if necessary a blanket strung over a rope inside the house as a sleeping area can keep you alive, if somewhat uncomfortable.

Remember, humans and animals all give off heat (50 - 100+ watts per hour) so keep everyone in one room at night if necessary. Several people, dogs and cats are equivalent to a small electric baseboard heater. :)

In our situation, we have electric baseboard heat, a backup woodstove and some 20 lb propane containers which could be used for emergency heat, but are really intended for cooking with a camp stove.

John
 
Sharon

Sharon

Inactive
Presently about 90% of our heat comes from wood that we cut. I also have two solar ovens.

However, we'll be moving to Ohio soon (from Georgia). We've purchased 5+ acres with a home and garage. But there are 2,265 acres of state land behind us so we should be fine.

I'll be purchasing a coal/wood combination stove. There's a coal mining company 8 miles from us that allows area people to come with their trucks (pick-ups, etc.) and purchase coal for $40.00 a ton.

The home has a coal room!

We also have a wood cook stove that will be going with us.
 
M

momof23goats

Deceased
OUr home also has a coal room. BUt we heat and cook, with wood in the fall, spring, and summer. WE also have several propane camp stoves to use in summer, plus a gas stove.
so we are in good shape. We also have a potbellie, and two other wood stoves, on stand by.
 
B

Buckshot

Inactive
Heating is very important. First make sure your shelter is sealed. 12-20 tubes of chaulk will stop most of the drafts. Construstion guys know how to make a good looking house but most don't understand about sealing windows. When I install a window I use 1-2 tubes of chaulk. This stops all the drafts. Windows double pane vinyl are worth if you do 1 or 2 a month. Triple pane doesn't really gain that much to pay the extra cost. Expanable foam around electrical line, water and sewer lines help cut out drafts and vermin from getting in. Coal is excellent fuel and can be store under a tree. It will collect mositure but you can set up a wire grate near your wood stove and allow it to dry before using it. If you using a woodstove spend the money and get a real chain saw a Husky or Jonsred. You are going to need extra chains, bars, sharpening files, pull cords, spark plugs, chain and bar oil 2 cycle oil. It is normally cheaper to buy your chain and bar oil in 5 gal buckets.
 
N

north runner

Membership Revoked
We have some simple rules for staying warm in the winter. The upstairs bedrooms are going to be cool - use more blankets. If you get cold downstairs hover over the woodstove for a few minutes and get toasty and if you don't want to do that put on more clothes.

If you're using oil or gas heat putting a woodstove in the cellar can heat up the floors. Using a hot water system in a concrete slab is something to try. My niece is using it in a house they're remodeling. They're filling in the foundation with gravel, about 4-5 feet, and retrofitting the slab underneath the house which has been gutted.
 
C

Crawlingtoy

Veteran Member
I am liking the solar heater idea. It looks like it goes on the inside of your window so you dont need to close of any vents, right???

We use wood heat here, got to love free heat.
 
sssarawolf

sssarawolf

We're just plugging along.
Ahhh wood

We have a wood stove in the living room, heats us out of here at times. & we are refurbishing a 1930' style wood cook stove. :)
 
CGTech

CGTech

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Wood cookstove in the kitchen, airtight in the living room. 35 - 40 cords of wood in 8 foot lengths. We're set as far as heat goes. :lol:
 
S

Synap

Deceased
Personal warmers

Small portable warmers using fairly common home or farm chemicals can be easily made. They use what is called an exothermic reaction. One example most may have heard of is the military's MRE Heaters. Another military 'heating pad' invention was similar in that the exothermic chemical reaction is slower and used to warm a body area. I did a sorta review of those last here.

Check out Deemy's bug out bag-heat thread here on TB, using common Calcium Chloride (Ice Melter chem). Excellent discussion and ideas for personal warmers that anyone can make and use. I wish I'd known this years ago on those cold pre-dawn hunting mornings sitting, shivering, teeth chattering...prolly had all the critters around laughing at me. LOL

You can also check out this PBS webpage for some more information and suggested howto's for homemade hand/body warmers.

One chem I recently researched was Quick Lime (Calcium Oxide, Slaked Lime). Works very well (add water=instant heat), and is easily found even in the no-ice parts of the country. In fact if you envision an outhouse situation it's a must anyway. As an aside, being very hygroscopic (sucks moisture bigtime!), it's also used as in the dehydrated food industry. And can be used as an area dehumidifier. So store it so it won't get wet until time of use. ;) Personally I think Deemy's use of Calcium Chloride is better as it's a slower reaction.

All of these 'inventions' (in appropriate containers of course and excepting the quick-lime heater) can be used tucked into clothing, sleeping bags, or under bedclothes to keep you toasty warm for hours at a time. Most of the reactions mentioned are relatively slow, giving off heat for 6-8 hours from just a teaspoon or so of water added to the chems.
 
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egads

egads

Veteran Member
At our cabin; we have a pellet stove (and love it), we also have propane wall heaters for when we are not there. We have 70-gallons of stored kerosene for 2-heaters as back-up.
 
twincougars

twincougars

Deceased
At our retreat home we have a wood cookstove, a wood-fired hot water heater, two regular woodstoves, a pellet stove, two keroscene heaters, three portable electric heaters, a propane "sunflower" heater, one propane Coleman cookstove and one Coleman gasoline cookstove (each with two burners).

Additionally we have a backup 5KW generator (gasoline), solar and wind power electric with 4KW inverter and backup 1300 watt inverter.

Belt and suspenders all the way.
 
day late

day late

money? whats that?
Lets' not forget personal heating. Assuming that when tshtf there isn't electricity, and for any number of reasons you don't want to attract attention to yourself, there is still a way to keep quite toasty when outside. When I was in the service I picked up a poncho liner. I don't know what the thing is stuffed with, but it has kept me warm in the snow and ice of Mich. in the middle of Feb. A prep item that anyone in those kind of areas really should have. After all, it IS easier to keep yourself warm than an entire house. They can be found at a Army/Navy surplus store, and are really not that expensive.
 
kanuck57

kanuck57

Membership Revoked
Any south facing wall should have large windows.
We in the north have triple pane windows which in itself have a 20 R factor for insulation. During the winter on a sunny day the house is warm enough from the windows that the oil furnace doesn`t kick in til late afternoon. We also have the woodstove that is used.
 
T

tsk

Membership Revoked
Use a woodstove in the winter for heating and sometimes cooking.

Didn't even plug in the heater this winter.
I'll bet the gas company hates us! :lkick:

LilRose, I thought we were going to do a prep item a WEEK, not a day. I missed prep item #2, and am still working on lighting! :lkick:

tsk, tsk... :usfl:
 
LilRose8

LilRose8

Veteran Member
Sorry TSK...seems that there is so much urgency lately, I thought we would speed things up so everyone could add to their preps with other folks' great ideas.
By all means, keep contributing to the other threads. We need all the great ideas we can get.
 
H

homestead2

Contributing Member
We live in an area of SE Ohio that had a lot of gas and oil well drilling a few years ago. Lots of the land owners were left with the luxury of free gas, and some were actually able to buy their well from the drilling company and even get their lease back.

We were one of those lucky families. Our well was offered back to us at a time when money was tight, but we scraped it together and bought it. We were so afraid someone else would buy it out from under us. First thing we did when we owned was to quit selling gas.

We have that free natural gas for heating and the hot water heaters and for the $60 a light, we have the natural gas lights that make the light of a 60 watt bulb. Our gas well is priceless to us. It supplies the gas to three houses and our greenhouse.

We also have wood heat in case we should ever lose the well or it should ever fail. Don't see that happening, but we have always preached having a back up heat source, - and practice what we preach.

Our son built a house on the farm this past year and he grumbled when we insisted that he have a chimney laid up for wood heat and get a wood stove. We ran the free gas to his house, but - again, practiced what we preach about having the second source of heat. He may never need it, but someday he may thank us.

We use the wall mount, non-vented gas heaters because they require no electricity. In a power outage, you still have your heat -- and, since our water to the house is gravity flow, - we still have water - and hot water.

homestead2
 
m.anderson

m.anderson

Veteran Member
And if something happens to your heating system,you should have sleeping bags
rated well below freezing.

Might make the difference between a good nights sleep or cramping up because
you are shaking so hard.

Getting out of the bag the next morning to face the cold is another adventure on it's own
 
Laurane

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
Wonder if anyone has invented.....

a toilet seat using exothermic reaction to set in the outhouse?? Someone could make a mint out of that invention. :screw:
 
CGTech

CGTech

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Crawlingtoy said:
Has anyone tried a wood burning furnace? Seems like an interesting concept, might be more efficient?
Click to expand...

We had a wood burning furnace for almost 10 years. They do work quite well, but as a prep item, note that they still need electricity to run the blower fan. Without that, they are almost useless, unless you have a massive heatdump setup right from the top of the firebox.

We yanked ours 2 years ago due to safety concerns (was quite old), and put in an airtight. Never looked back. No electricity required, uses less wood as well.
 
C

Crawlingtoy

Veteran Member
I saw them in a solar power magazine with a low amp draw fan??? Seems like you could rig up something. The reason I actually brought this up is the house we live in now has a natural gas furnace and I have been trying to get the fan switched over to solar power so it can run when the power goes out every other day in the winter. It seems like so many houses have a similar set up, could be a good idea to figure something out and share it with others.
 
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