Jump to content
MeanderingCuban

Alternative emergency heating source

Recommended Posts

I'm trying to come up with an alternative heating source for my home in the event that my gasoline generator breaks down or there is no gasoline available to run it.  We would not have to heat all rooms at the same time. Perhaps the living room as we can sleep there and the bathroom during showers.

 

My living room has a fireplace but most of the heat would escape out the chimney so that isn't practice.

 

I have thought about perhaps two portable indoor kerosene heaters? Any opinions and advice on this or other alternative heating sources that would be used for 15-30 days?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A kerosene heater is a possibility but you are still tied to being able to get to a gas station. If you have a fireplace you could look at installing an insert. That would help a little bit anyway. If the need were to arise cover the windows and doors with a thick quilt. This way you aren't heating the entire house.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A kerosene heater is a possibility but you are still tied to being able to get to a gas station. If you have a fireplace you could look at installing an insert. That would help a little bit anyway. If the need were to arise cover the windows and doors with a thick quilt. This way you aren't heating the entire house.

I thought about perhaps using the kerosene heater(s) available for only temporary use such as heating the bathroom when in use. That would at least minimize the kerosene use time.  What about perhaps a woodstove for the living room? The fireplace is too inefficient.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

you could always put a wood burning stove in front of the fireplace and pipe the chimney up the existing chimney

 

kerosene is silly expensive and you would run a few gallons a day burning 2 units

 

wood is abundant

 

my wood stove is my primary heat source -- gas burning boiler is backup

 

my pseg bill is generally under $200 monthly during the winter -- I'm in a 1900 square foot ranch

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

another thought on kerosene -- I did use one for a few seasons as additional heat on a room far from the stove

 

I would always light and extinguish the kerosene heater outside -- until that heater was hot it would stink you out of the house

 

when burning it was barely noticeable -- not a quick, momentary heat source

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

another thought on kerosene -- I did use one for a few seasons as additional heat on a room far from the stove

 

I would always light and extinguish the kerosene heater outside -- until that heater was hot it would stink you out of the house

 

when burning it was barely noticeable -- not a quick, momentary heat source

Thanks for the info Heavyopp, I didn't know that about kerosene heaters.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

you could always put a wood burning stove in front of the fireplace and pipe the chimney up the existing chimney

 

kerosene is silly expensive and you would run a few gallons a day burning 2 units

 

wood is abundant

 

my wood stove is my primary heat source -- gas burning boiler is backup

 

my pseg bill is generally under $200 monthly during the winter -- I'm in a 1900 square foot ranch

I just thought about a wood burning stove as well. I could put one on the basement and one in the living room. The basement would be good because it is wide open so on large wood stove would warm the whole basement and the radiant heat would slowly rise to the main floor.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just thought about a wood burning stove as well. I could put one on the basement and one in the living room. The basement would be good because it is wide open so on large wood stove would warm the whole basement and the radiant heat would slowly rise to the main floor.

 

I heated my house with a Fireplace Insert called "The Earth Stove" for 15 years looks like this --> http://hearth.com/gall/d/1045-1/earthstove200HT.jpg

 

We supplemented heat in the bedroom with an electric heater but it was for comfort.  We added hotwater baseboard in 2012 during our addition.

 

During power outages, I used a deep cycle battery and a power inverter to run the fans. 

 

Wood is messy, but warm is nice.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If you don't mind the wood stove in your living room than go for it. You may need to enlarge the harth to comply with fire code. The basement shouldn't be an issue though.

I also use a wood stove as my primary heat source and it works great. The furnace hasn't kicked on yet this winter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just thought about a wood burning stove as well. I could put one on the basement and one in the living room. The basement would be good because it is wide open so on large wood stove would warm the whole basement and the radiant heat would slowly rise to the main floor.

I have an Alaska Kodiak coal stove in my basement in front of the fireplace down there -- I haven't burned it in years 

 

I used to burn coal on both floors -- it is less work -- unfortunately, when diesel fuel skyrocketed it became too costly

 

between the mining costs and taking a truck to get 4 ton of coal it wasn't enough savings over just using the boiler

 

1 stove is work -- 2 stoves is a 2nd job

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm trying to come up with an alternative heating source for my home in the event that my gasoline generator breaks down or there is no gasoline available to run it.  We would not have to heat all rooms at the same time. Perhaps the living room as we can sleep there and the bathroom during showers.

 

My living room has a fireplace but most of the heat would escape out the chimney so that isn't practice.

 

I have thought about perhaps two portable indoor kerosene heaters? Any opinions and advice on this or other alternative heating sources that would be used for 15-30 days?

What kind of heat do you presently have?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=116

 

Just used this" Big buddy" heater from Mr.heater during a short power outage last week. Works very well and is safe for indoor use. You can use small 1lb propane cannisters or buy an adapter to use large bbq tanks.It's easily moved from room to room.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have 2 modern kerosene heaters and one old style that I've bought at yard sales or auctions over 20 years ago. We loose power often during storms and have relied on these a few times.  The old one in the picture below puts out a lot of heat - just let it warm up on the porch - once it's hot it no longer stinks but for the first few minutes it bellows black smoke.

 

I keep 3- 5 gal containers of kerosene on hand. I could warm enough of the house to live semi-comfortably for a couple of days.

 

We heat with oil and I also have an "adapter" that I made so I can run my oil fired heater from these kerosene cans if run out of oil and can't get a delivery.  This has happened.   I've also plug-connected my oil fired heater instead of having it hard-wired.  I can unplug it and plug into my generator or even an inverter on my car battery.  

 

We live in the most rural part of NJ and it's a little hilly right around our house.  When it snows, the road in front of our house fills in between the banks on either side.  We have been trapped at home for 3 days with 6 feet of snow on the road before and lost electric for part of the 3 days.  We have become pretty good at being prepared to be on our own for a few days.

 

But the good news - I can shoot whatever I want, whenever I want in my back yard.kero-heater.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Steam and it works great. If I loose power I can run the electronics on my steam furnace with a generator. But...during an extended outage I may run out of gasoline thus no more power from the generator.

If it is gas fired, you may be able to run it off a battery for quite a while.  Oil fired is a different story.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If it is gas fired, you may be able to run it off a battery for quite a while.  Oil fired is a different story.

It's gas fired. Before I purchased a generator I ran it off a UPS for about a week. However, I'm trying to come up with an alternative means in the event that I am out of gasoline, the generator is dead and the UPS has been used up and discharged. The wood stove is probably the best alternative.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am in the same boat with steam heat. No power, no heat. I had a UPS on it as well. Batteries are expensive and lose life after awhile. I have one of these coming today which will serve multi purpose issues. It saves the headache of an inverter which is built in and a good battery. Should last quite awhile. It really sux that you lose heat when you have gas steam. Never had that prob years ago with the old milliwatt system.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EIAADG/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using TT 2 Pro

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

what kind of ups are you guys using to power your boiler? i assume your not talking about the ones people use on computers but something larger. Thinking of maybe making some sort of power supply for it and then using a generator to charge the power supply for a few hrs and then run off the power supply again, so you can maximize your use of generator and fuel.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Steam and it works great. If I loose power I can run the electronics on my steam furnace with a generator. But...during an extended outage I may run out of gasoline thus no more power from the generator.

 

I'm the same boat. You can also run the electronics off your car battery with a small inverter. If your boiler is like mine, it uses less the 1amp of power at peak draw which means that even a standard car battery won't be easily drained. 

 

Move to a AGM battery that is partially a deep cycle battery and you have a lot of heating power. If you really want to go nuts, get a AGM battery and 100-200w solar panel and charger, and odds are even in pretty crummy weather you will get enough solar power dropped into that battery to keep the furnace going for as long as gas is flowing to it.

 

The issue with wood burning stoves is that most have just been made illegal. The new EPA regs make most wood burning stoves on the market a no go. You need to move to one of the catalytic converter ones which are both expensive and require spare parts over time. There are some catalytic ones out there that advertise that they can run without the converter wink wink nudge nudge but they are also expansive. I think they also run hotter, which is good for warms, but I think they may be more difficult to exhaust safely.

 

I think for short term the propane "big buddy" types are rather nice, they'll run off small propane cylinders or large ones and propane almost never runs out at the store during short term emergencies.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

The issue with wood burning stoves is that most have just been made illegal. The new EPA regs make most wood burning stoves on the market a no go. You need to move to one of the catalytic converter ones which are both expensive and require spare parts over time.

 

There are hundreds of non-catalytic wood stoves that meet the new EPA regulations.   While I loathe the EPA because of arbitrary and capricious decisions such as these, it does not mean that you cannot burn wood or buy a wood stove.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In lieu of not being able to buy a NG generator to power your whole home, having power backup for a steam furnace that will out last most issues, my solution is perfect. It can also be charged via your car's power outlet need be. I'll be bored without power, but I will not be cold. Good time to get caught up on reading material instead of watching the idiot box or hanging on here too much.

 

 

Sent from my iPad 2 using T2 Pro

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...