This Old House... is COLD!!

[Scorpio64 5,147]

1 hour ago, Brisco said:

I just picked up a Seek Compact for myself for Xmas. They make ones for Iphone or android. I have been checking it out on a few jobs the last few days. Impressed so far, it was able to see radiant loops in a floor. It is a fraction of the cost of a true thermal image camera.

The Seek is a true thermal imaging camera.  Not all cameras come with a recording device or a display.  The reason the Seek is so affordable is because it's only a basic camera that uses your expensive smart phone to do the rest of the work.  It's also has relatively low resolution (about the same resolution you'd get from a TV made in the 70's) but good enough for looking at back yards at night, engines, windows, outlets and beaker panels to see where problems may lay.

[tony357 386]

6 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

keep it simple. the single biggest thing you can do is to go to home depot, and buy the window insulating kits. they're clear plastic. put them over the inside of your windows. those alone made a 25 gallon/month difference in my oil consumption before i had the woodstove.

 run the woodstove. put a fan next to it, to blow the air around. if you've got ceiling fans, run them. they'll force the heat spread throughout the home too.

This is one of the 1st things you should do as you have single pane windows.This will make big improvement. 

[1LtCAP 4,262]

4 hours ago, Zeke said:

I’d have that wood stove rocking with a big fan right by it. Redneck forced hot air

THAT'S what i do. stove has a fan built in. it's essentially useless, outside of the room the stove's in. but.....put a fan next to the stove, blows the air to the living room doorway....put another fan there to blow it down the hallway. creates a nice circulation.

[maintenanceguy 510]

When I was a kid, we had a wood stove in the kitchen.  My dad ran a piece of ductwork through the basement that had a heat register right behind the wood stove and the other end terminated in the living room.  An in line duct fan pulled heat from the woodstove into the living room and forced a little air circulation through the house.  It worked pretty well.

[10X 3,296]

We’ve got a lot of oversized single pane leaky windows, and when the quotes for replacing them came back roughly equivalent to a year of college tuition and board, we instead got custom cut cellular shades for every window.   Unlike pleated shades, cellular shades are double layer and trap air in the cells.  They’re all cut to fit snugly in each window, and they do an impressive job of insulating the windows (of course, we don’t raise them much in the winter)

[1LtCAP 4,262]

1 hour ago, maintenanceguy said:

When I was a kid, we had a wood stove in the kitchen.  My dad ran a piece of ductwork through the basement that had a heat register right behind the wood stove and the other end terminated in the living room.  An in line duct fan pulled heat from the woodstove into the living room and forced a little air circulation through the house.  It worked pretty well.

you sunofabitch! you KNOW i'm gonna try something like that now, lolololol

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

Again, thanks everyone... great suggestions... some I NEVER would have thought of! Fans in winter? Mind. Blown.  (Frankly, when summer ends, I stash all my fans in the attic - will be pulling them all out tomorrow).

I'll also buy window kits and a bunch of switch plate and outlet insulators tomorrow and start putting them up... then move on to pipe noodles in the basement. Meanwhile, I'll have to consider using my woodstove more regularly - at least during bitter weather like this it would be helpful - especially if I can try to place fans to push heat into the coldest room. (I confess, I'm a teensy bit phobic about it --- haven't used it often enough to get proficient -- I'm a bit paranoid about fire in an old house like this).

I also just realized today (duh!) that I really only use ONE of the French doors (the other is only opened for moving furniture, etc.) so maybe I can at least better insulate the unused door - cutting heat loss where I can. 

I'm hoping all that stuff combined will bring the temp up a few degrees... and more importantly, take some strain off of my boiler. It's relatively new --- I don't want to shorten its lifespan needlessly. 

Thanks again! Stay warm.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

at the risk of TMI.......while it's almost in single digits outside.....i'm sitting here in underwear only. my woodstove keeps it THAT nice in here. granted my house is tiny....but it's just about as old as yours. and i'm comfortable.

[JohnnyB 4,322]

9 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

at the risk of TMI.......while it's almost in single digits outside.....i'm sitting here in underwear only. my woodstove keeps it THAT nice in here. granted my house is tiny....but it's just about as old as yours. and i'm comfortable.

I really did not need that picture in my head......Thanks!

[gleninjersey 2,139]

Not an expert but sounds like blown in insulation either didn't make it down completely to first floor (got hung up as a previous poster mentioned) or has become compacted due to settling and has left gaps.

For now sounds like best option is to tape up windows. See if you can set up.appointment to "top off" the blow in insulation if it needs it.

Also, if you do have ceiling fans, and way they run is reversible, make sure they are circulating in correct manner for winter.  One way draws warm air up, other way pushes it down.

Try boiling hot water on stove in huge pot.  Raising the relative  humidity level in house in winter is a must.  Will make it feel warmer as well.

Good luck!

 

[BobA 1,235]

15 hours ago, Zeke said:

I’d have that wood stove rocking with a big fan right by it. Redneck forced hot air

And a rocking chair to sit in and spit on the stove while telling shooting stories. 

[capt14k 2,052]

Your baseboard is very likely installed incorrectly because 90% of installers are lazy or clueless. DO NOT CUT THE FINS. Have it fixed correctly.

 

 

Have you purged the system? You may have a partial airlock. Which is causing the one area to not warm. It depends on how the piping was run.

 

 

Add more zones. Again depends how the system was installed. Separating the upstairs and downstairs should be done at a bare minimum. The houses I grew up in and my father's house now the boiler controls take up an entire sheet of plywood. It looks like submarine control room. Reason being nearly every room is on its own zone. His current house has 10 zones the previous house had 17 zones. My point is the more zones the more control and comfort.

 

 

 

 

 

[Zeke 5,504]

14 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

at the risk of TMI.......while it's almost in single digits outside.....i'm sitting here in underwear only. my woodstove keeps it THAT nice in here. granted my house is tiny....but it's just about as old as yours. and i'm comfortable.

I’d have it glowing red and naked misting myself with a spray bottle.

i really need to install mine.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

Yeah, this is most definitely TMI, guys! NONE of us need these disturbing mental images.

I am a Pioneer Woman today... my woodstove is cranking! I had to review some YouTube vids (that's how infrequently I use it). But, it's definitely pumping extra heat into the house. I'm leaving the house in an hour... hopefully, I'll still have some coals when I return. Otherwise, I'll rebuild it to throw some heat out after the sun goes down (when it REALLY gets cold). Unfortunately, I'm not having much success directing that warm air into the room with the thermostat - the stove is at the opposite end of the house and the path winds around a wall/stairwell, through a narrow hallway, around corners, etc. It's just not a straight shot. Oh, well!

I've also aluminum-foiled the fins in one baseboard heater in the overheated master bedroom upstairs and then threw a blanket against it for good measure --- I'll see if that helps --- if it doesn't, I'll do the same treatment on another run of baseboard. And so far, I got my one leakiest window shrink-wrapped. Even these small steps are taking longer than I thought they would... my windows are tall so I had to lug a ladder upstairs, etc. Ugh! This old house is killing  me today! I can now see it will take me a couple of weeks just to do all these minor steps.. but, I suppose it will save energy every day this winter... and hopefully make the house more comfortable for the next "deep freeze" we get. 

[bhunted 887]

My brother in law had a log cabin years ago and used these fans to move the warm air around..... seem to work.



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[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

That's weird! I was literally JUST LOOKING AT THAT on Amazon! LOL. But, most of the reviews said they're noisy. That would make me bonkers. I'm high maintenance apparently. Who knew? Go figure.

[capt14k 2,052]

Call a competent plumber who specializes in hydronic heat that means No Gold Medal, Perri, or Mr Rooter.

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[Zeke 5,504]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Peel said:

That's weird! I was literally JUST LOOKING AT THAT on Amazon! LOL. But, most of the reviews said they're noisy. That would make me bonkers. I'm high maintenance apparently. Who knew? Go figure.

Who knew...

Now you have a purpose for dryer lint and tp tubes....

[1LtCAP 4,262]

20 minutes ago, Zeke said:

Who knew...

Now you have a purpose for dryer lint and tp tubes....

DRYER LINT is the best fire starter. newspaper is a very very close second.

 

re fans in winter. when you think about it, with a fan, all you really wanna do is move air. be it warm air or cool air, you want to move it.

[ChrisJM981 924]

As capt14k previously mentioned, have you tried purging the air from your baseboard heat? Anywhere where it isn't "hot" look for a little screw at the end of each of pipe. Turn a radiator key counterclockwise while the system is running. If air leaks/hisses out, leave it until water comes out. When water comes out turn clockwise until it's closed and move on to the next.

If the heat is rising, you could close the pipes upstairs off to keep those rooms from becoming sweltering. I'd start with bleeding the pipes first. Most likely the downstairs will heat up much quicker, triggering the thermostat and stopping your bedroom from becoming a sweat lodge. 

Edit: if the above seems like Chinese, Google "radiator air purge" and click on videos. Or check YouTube. 

[capt14k 2,052]

Just had one today. Electric company shut power to wrong unit. No heat last night. I was shocked pipes weren't frozen. Either way after power restored only bathroom baseboard was getting hot. Purged system mix of baseboard purge valves, boiler drains, and bleeders. After purging which I heard zero air come out everything was working fine. It doesn't take much air at all.

 

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[brucin 923]

1 hour ago, 1LtCAP said:

DRYER LINT is the best fire starter. newspaper is a very very close second.

 

re fans in winter. when you think about it, with a fan, all you really wanna do is move air. be it warm air or cool air, you want to move it.

I'm a big fan of a few pieces of FatWood and newspaper. Gets my stove cooking in no time.

[brucin 923]

3 hours ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Yeah, this is most definitely TMI, guys! NONE of us need these disturbing mental images.

I am a Pioneer Woman today... my woodstove is cranking! I had to review some YouTube vids (that's how infrequently I use it). But, it's definitely pumping extra heat into the house. I'm leaving the house in an hour... hopefully, I'll still have some coals when I return. Otherwise, I'll rebuild it to throw some heat out after the sun goes down (when it REALLY gets cold). Unfortunately, I'm not having much success directing that warm air into the room with the thermostat - the stove is at the opposite end of the house and the path winds around a wall/stairwell, through a narrow hallway, around corners, etc. It's just not a straight shot. Oh, well!

I've also aluminum-foiled the fins in one baseboard heater in the overheated master bedroom upstairs and then threw a blanket against it for good measure --- I'll see if that helps --- if it doesn't, I'll do the same treatment on another run of baseboard. And so far, I got my one leakiest window shrink-wrapped. Even these small steps are taking longer than I thought they would... my windows are tall so I had to lug a ladder upstairs, etc. Ugh! This old house is killing  me today! I can now see it will take me a couple of weeks just to do all these minor steps.. but, I suppose it will save energy every day this winter... and hopefully make the house more comfortable for the next "deep freeze" we get. 

On some stoves you can adjust the airflow to get a longer burn. Some have catalytic converters while others recirculate the gasses to burn more efficiently. If you know the manufacturer try and find a manual. That will help you get the most efficient burn possible. 

[ChrisJM981 924]

4 hours ago, capt14k said:

Call a competent plumber who specializes in hydronic heat that means No Gold Medal, Perri, or Mr Rooter.

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@DeerSlayer specializes in hydronic heat. I don't know where you're located @Mrs. Peel, but his shop is in Morris County. 

Edit: He's extremely busy this time of year, so he may not see the message right away. PM me and I will send his contact info. 

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

56 minutes ago, brucin said:

On some stoves you can adjust the airflow to get a longer burn. Some have catalytic converters while others recirculate the gasses to burn more efficiently. If you know the manufacturer try and find a manual. That will help you get the most efficient burn possible. 

I have a Vermont Castings stove and the manual literally states that operating a wood burning stove is "as much art as science." Gee, thanks! That's helpful. LOL. But, it is sort of true... it's not like flipping a switch.

YouTube videos were most helpful (as always)... I realized I was rushing the process... I have to be more patient, let it get cooking with a nice bed of embers before reducing airflow and getting the secondary burn. And yes, I'm a big fan of fatwood too! I bought a box last year after feeling frustrated with other methods. A couple of strategically placed pieces... foolproof! I just have to be more patient. As a beginner, I think I might benefit from a stove thermometer too... instead of trying to "guess" when the stove is at the optimum heat. The saga of woman vs. the elements continues...!

As for those who mentioned purging the baseboard heating system... in my system, all of those valves are located in the basement... and I watched an HVAC guy do it. He even left me the tool that fits in the valves (it has an older style valve). But, I don't think that's the problem as all the radiators are, in fact, pumping out heat. I've had air pockets in the past (like after someone worked on my boiler) and it was enough to make that part of the loop noticeably off-temp.

Edit: as I've walked around the house "feeling for leaks", I've concluded that my French doors are probably even a bigger problem than windows. Storm doors need to move up several slots on my Things to Do list... no longer a "want" but a "need". They are leaking like a sieve. It wasn't this bad in the past, so I'm suspecting they may have had a little warping since last year.. 

[DeerSlayer 241]

[mention=7008]DeerSlayer[/mention] specializes in hydronic heat. I don't know where you're located [mention=8469]Mrs. Peel[/mention], but his shop is in Morris County. 
Edit: He's extremely busy this time of year, so he may not see the message right away. PM me and I will send his contact info. 

Lol @ pipe noodles... "pipe noodles" = Armorflex.

Don't cut fins off your baseboard elements, simply close the damper on the cover, that's why they're on there. Block the airflow and they stop putting out heat. That's how they work. They move the air through the fins by convection.

And yes I specialize in hydronics. I'm currently thawing a 3 zone house in Lake Hopatcong, that's completely frozen top to bottom with the thaw machine... FML...

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[1LtCAP 4,262]

'nother great source of kindling......twigs. when you're raking your yard, save em. windy day? gather the twigs. rain? gather those suckers. i had 4 milk crates full of them. ran out though. now using newspaper and lint

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

14 minutes ago, DeerSlayer said:

Lol @ pipe noodles... "pipe noodles" = Armorflex.

Don't cut fins off your baseboard elements, simply close the damper on the cover, that's why they're on there. Block the airflow and they stop putting out heat. That's how they work. They move the air through the fins by convection.

And yes I specialize in hydronics. I'm currently thawing a 3 zone house in Lake Hopatcong, that's completely frozen top to bottom with the thaw machine... FML...

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You have my permission to use "pipe noodles" in your advertising... but I'd like a modest cut of any extra business it reaps! 

I closed the dampers years ago in the master bedroom; it's still too much heat. To my novice eye, they just sized it wrong. There's TONS of baseboard in the hot room, a tiny little length in the cold room. I think they just calculated it wrong. But for the moment, I'll focus on all the air leaks from windows, doors, etc. Oh, and I'll take a break from whining and remind myself that there's actually warm-blooded creatures, including homeless PEOPLE, who are living outside in these temps. Horrifying thought!

Just now, 1LtCAP said:

'nother great source of kindling......twigs. when you're raking your yard, save em. windy day? gather the twigs. rain? gather those suckers. i had 4 milk crates full of them. ran out though. now using newspaper and lint

GREAT idea! Instead of putting them curbside every year, I'll find a place to stash them in the yard where they'll have some cover. Thx!

[DeerSlayer 241]

GREAT idea! Instead of putting them curbside every year, I'll find a place to stash them in the yard where they'll have some cover. Thx!

Let's gut your entire house, and install radiant. You'll never complain about uneven heat again...

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[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

Just now, DeerSlayer said:

Let's gut your entire house, and install radiant. You'll never complain about uneven heat again...

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You touch my quirky, charming random width knotty pine floors...and it's war, buddy! I'll suffer (to a degree) for authenticity and preservation.